Author: Musicality

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/why-every-musician-must-be-a-singer-too/
Are you scared to sing?

Many musicians are.

They see the human voice as just another instrument, and since they already play one instrument they feel no need to learn that one too.

If asked to sing they tell you that they’re “not a singer”.

Fair enough.

But here’s why every musician who doesn’t sing should seriously reconsider that choice:

Your voice is not “just another instrument”!

It’s your first instrument!

Read on to discover why a lot of musicians don’t sing and why they should.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/whats-the-point-of-scale-ear-training/
Scale degree ear training is one of the best ways to develop your relative pitch and truly understand the musical role of each note you play.

Scales are a highly unpopular topic with most instrument learners, and this tends to have a knock-on impact on ear training, so that scale ear training is neglected.

This is highly unfortunate.

Learn the value of learning scales by ear in the full article.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/a-composers-path-with-kangyi-zhang/
We talked with Kangyi Zhang about the path of a composer.

Kangyi began his musical career as a third choice school elective.

But what began as studies in traditional Chinese orchestra has since morphed into a very active career as a prominent composer of contemporary Western classical music.

He’s also biotech engineer and comedian!

We were eager to learn more about the composing side of Kangyi. Join us and explore the intriguing life of a musical composition.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/learn-to-play-by-ear-using-chord-tones-part-one/
Here’s a fun exercise for learning songs by ear on guitar!

Learn how to play along to popular 4-chord songs!

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/five-notes-will-change-your-life-pentatonic-scales/
Scales, scales, scales!

Major scales, natural minor scales, harmonic minor scales, melodic minor scales, chromatic scales, diminished scales, Lydian augmented scales…

Just how many scales do we really need to know?

What if there was one scale to rule them all?

Well, there is one scale that – while it may not rule them all – is by far the most useful.

Hint: it’s not the major scale!

Check this article to learn the 5 notes that will change your life!

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/5-surprising-ways-to-become-more-musical/
Have you ever struggled with wondering if you truly have what it takes to become a great musician?

If you’ve asked how to become better at music you’ve probably heard the same advice time and time again: practice your instrument, learn classic repertoire, drill your scales, study the theory, pass the exams… and so on.

But what if there’s another way?

There are actually a wide range of ways you can become more musical.

Here are 5 ways to become more musical which might seem like strange suggestions at first… but each one can rapidly transform your musical abilities.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/best-songs-female-solos/
While many songs sound great performed by both male and female singers, some tracks are definitely better suited to one gender or the other.

Whether it’s due to the lyrics, the emotion, or the melody, there are a number of tunes that seem to sound best when performed by female vocalists.

Wondering which tunes we’re talking about?

We’ve rounded up 6 of the best songs for female vocal solos, ranging from light and playful to deep and soulful.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/bassline-melody-four-ways-hear-difference/
You might think that telling bass from melody should be an easy task.

But from the Baroque era to the music of today, the bass line has always been a powerful attractive force in music, pulling our attention away from the melody line and sometimes causing us to lose track of which is which.

It doesn’t help when composers purposefully blur the distinction, or the bass player steps up to take a solo!

So what can you listen for when you’re not sure what’s melody and what’s bass?

Here are four ways you can tell these two apart.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/even-tiny-steps-can-make-you-a-stellar-musician/
Becoming a musician can be overwhelming.

Sometimes we look at the greats: Beethoven, Joplin, Hendrix, Florence—or whoever your idols may be—and we are so impressed it seems crazy, perhaps even arrogant, to imagine we could ever reach their heights.

So should we even bother to try?

“Always aim for the Moon.
Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars” — W. Clement Stone

This quote perfectly illustrates the right attitude to music. It’s not an all-or-nothing game! Even if you don’t make it as a world-renowned artist, the process of trying will make you a far better musician than if you set your sights lower.

Or to put it another way, keep your goals ambitious (and making sure they’re MAGIC) and you greatly increase your speed towards becoming a stellar musician.

Never let the overwhelming world of music, music theory or aural skills stop you from getting started—or from keeping up your momentum!

Read on to discover more tips to unlock your musical freedom.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-improvise-on-piano/
It’s a taboo among musicians to claim that one instrument is harder than another to learn, but something we’ve been discussing inside Musical U lately is that piano is simply harder than other instruments.

It requires an independence and coordination of your two hands in a way that no other instrument really does.

Piano is probably the most versatile of instruments in the variety of arrangements, styles and complexity of music it can produce – making it both one of the most powerful and most intimidating instruments for learning to improvise.

Fortunately there are some simple steps you can take to gradually become an expert piano improviser.

Learn how to get started today in this article!