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https://www.musical-u.com/learn/introduction-to-improvisation/
Improvisation: a topic that is full of once-in-a-lifetime moments, tremendous virtuosity, and freedom. Get started improvising music with this article from Musical U! https://www.musical-u.com/learn/introduction-to-improvisation/

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/transcribe-music-like-pro-lead-instrument-melody/
When think about transcribing a music track, you probably think first about the melody played by the lead instrument.

This is the part we think of as “the tune” and remember most easily from music we’ve heard. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/transcribe-music-like-pro-lead-instrument-melody/

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/songwriting-right-now-latest-tricks/
As with any other art form, in music we are constantly refining and inventing new means of expression. We break or simply neglect rules, we let our emotions do the talking, and we search for the next hot thing that once again reminds us of the beauty of discovering a new sound that rattles the walls.

So what are some of the latest trends in songwriting these days? https://www.musical-u.com/learn/songwriting-right-now-latest-tricks/

This shouldn’t discourage you – quite the opposite. You’ll find you can learn by leaps and bounds in situations where you are challenged, because you find yourself wanting to rise to the occasion.

This week, we explore some seemingly intimidating topics, and break down how you can make them accessible and learnable for yourself: we look at the exciting and stimulating waters of multi-instrumentalism, sit down with a singing mythbuster to learn how you can apply science to your singing for amazing results, introduce you to a process for learning to read music if it’s a skill you’ve yet to tackle, and give a primer on the seemingly-difficult-but-actually-not topic of musical frequencies.

Each of these involves going deeper than your mere practice – it involves looking at the mechanics of your practice, the “how” and “why” of why you play, how you play, and how you can improve. Get excited!

Multi-Instrumentalism

Learning a second, or third, or fourth instrument is one of the most challenging yet rewarding ways to expand your musicality.

And we’re not talking about being a guitar virtuoso and sometimes dabbling with the harmonica a little bit – we’re talking true proficiency in more than one instrument, in a way that benefits all aspects of your musical practice: your songwriting, your understanding of theory, your aural skills, and your ability to play in a group setting.

If you’re deciding whether earning another instrument is right for you at this point in your journey, or want to read more about what benefits you can look forward to if you undertake learning a new instrument, there is no better place to get the info you need than Musicality Means: Playing More Than One Instrument.

So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and add another instrument to your repertoire. What instrument should it be? Learning to play the basics on the piano is a very valuable skill that can serve your musicality in multiple ways. For more information, Jason at Teach2Teach discusses why every musician should learn piano.

Once you have a second instrument under your fingers, is there any limit to where you can take your musical prowess? New-York based musician Josh Plotner doesn’t think so, and has created some truly amazing renditions of popular songs where he plays all the parts. Be sure to check out his amazing take on “Bohemian Rhapsody” using only woodwind instruments.

In addition to all the benefits that playing multiple instruments has for performing, multi-instrumentalism has immense benefits for those that are music producers also. No matter what level you are working at, you can increase your capacity to produce music by learning additional instruments – even the enthusiast working on GarageBand! For more information about why multi-instrumentalists make better producers and how you can get started, we turn to Dan Cooper at Rodel Sound.

Busting Vocal Myths

The vocal world is absolutely rife with myths about all things singing; if you’re a singer, you’ve likely been given some bizarre advice on how to pronounce vowels “naturally”, what to (or not to) eat and drink before your big performance, or something about “singing from your diaphragm”.

Most of this well-intentioned advice, however, doesn’t have much basis.

Allan Hubert-Wright is the founder of Le Chanteur Moderne, one of the most respected vocal training institutes in France. There, he helps his students bring out the best in their voice – using modern vocal science and hard facts about the human voice. In Singing and Science: Busting Myths, with Allan Hubert-Wright, he tackles some pervasive vocal myths, gives you the truth about learning to sing, and shares insights that will save you years of frustration and wasted effort if you’re just starting to sing.

Allan breaks down a subject which gets so much attention in the singing world: how to breathe as a singer. Eager to find more resources that will help you, we found these wonderful vocal and breathing exercises from Molly’s Vocal Studio to get started you started.

Many singers begin with a certain goal, a certain style of music that they would like to begin singing. This is only natural, and a great way to begin as a singer. As you continue to progress, however, you may want to begin branching out into other styles as well. Nancy Bos teaches how you can train your voice for any style.

One of the most pervasive myths of the singing world has been the concept of diaphragm breathing. But, as Allan explained, this technique does not help a vocalist gain the strength and control that they need to perform. For another perspective and some helpful tips to begin improving your vocal breathing today, Kevin Richards from Rock the Stage NYC discusses belly breathing.

Music from the Page

Reading music can be a tricky beast to handle, and may seem like a daunting skill to acquire for those who are just starting to play, or those who typically play by ear.

In 4 Tips for Learning to Read Music – the Fun Way, Braedin Lewis of JamAlong outlines a method of learning to read music that is interactive, collaborative, and simple – a process that cuts the intimidation and tediousness factor, and sets you up to be able to jam collaboratively, play the music you love, and stay motivated while you tackle learning this skill.

Should you learn to read sheet music? While we are big advocates of learning to play by ear, learning to read music is another important part of growing your musicality skills. Take your ear training skills and bring it to the music with some suggestions from Fire Inside Music.

Using tools like flashcards and games is a fun and engaging way to study music. And, as the saying goes, “There’s an App for that”! We were happy to find an app that is equal parts interactive, engaging, and adorable – learn more about Melody Cats, an App where cats help you learn your notes, melodies, and rhythms.

Sight reading, especially with a music study buddy, is another way to improve your music reading, not to mention honing the much-coveted skill of sight reading itself! While every musician struggles to become better at sight reading, it is a skill that can be learned through deliberate practice. Very Piano gives some pointers on improving your sight reading skills.

Musical Frequencies

Science is a big part of music, and understanding the science behind your practice is a great challenge for those looking to take their practice to the next level.

This week on the Musicality Podcast, we give an introductory primer on the topic of audio frequencies. If you’ve ever wondered about the bass/treble knob on your stereo receiver, been curious about EQing, or just want to understand the sounds your instrument makes a little better, don’t miss our episode About Frequencies in Music.

This was a fascinating discussion that went into topics we don’t typically cover on the podcast. But the fundamentals of what makes music music are truly amazing and should be looked at from the scientific perspective. Bo Constantinsen discusses this topic further on whatmusicreallyis.com.

From simple 3-band to complex 64-band equalizers, EQing your musical mix is imperative if you are playing through any kind of electronics, or if you’re recording your music. Audio Skills teaches using an EQ in only 4 easy steps.

As we near the end of this week’s roundup, we wanted to share with you a feel-good story about the power of music education. NBC Los Angeles recently ran a story about how one music teacher is increasing his student’s math test scores by teaching them music. Our world of music is truly amazing, and it warms our hearts to see that Lamar is enhancing the lives of the children he meets by bringing music to them.

The Anatomy of Music

As any seasoned musician will tell you, once you get to a certain level in your musicality, the next step is to understand the “how” and “why” behind what you’re playing.

Do you exclusively play by ear? Consider how you can enrich your musicality further by learning to read music as well – the two skills go together beautifully. Are you looking to step up your singing game? Learning about the science of singing will make you impervious to the ridiculous vocal myths out there, and allow you to hone your voice on your own terms. If you’ve mastered your instrument already, your musical journey is far from over – the opportunities of learning a second instrument and diving into the world of musical frequencies are knocking at your door.

The post Multi-Instrumentalism, Busting Vocal Myths, Music from the Page, and Musical Frequencies appeared first on Musical U.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/four-chords-and-the-truth/
What do many of the biggest musical hits have in common? Only using four chords. What are the secrets behind those four magical chords? Learn more with Musical U: https://www.musical-u.com/learn/four-chords-and-the-truth/

Listen to the episode:

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Links and Resources

• Interview with Allan Hubert-Wright
• Interview with Jeremy Fisher
• About the Word “Tone”
• About the Word “Tone”, Part Two

Transcript

Today I want to talk about a topic that is baffling to a lot of musicians – so baffling that many don’t even get why they might *want* to understand it. And that is: audio frequencies.

Now already we’re sounding quite dry and scientific! And audio frequencies are basically a science-y view on music, and all sound. But that actually proves to be fascinating and quite powerful for a musician – once you get your head around it.

This is one of those topics that is far too huge for a short podcast episode to really cover. We could literally do a hundred episodes about audio frequencies and music. So I’m going to focus here just on the fundamental “what and why” of learning about frequencies – and leave all of the “how” for now. But I will mention at the end a great free resource you can check out if you want to dive in.

Why frequencies are important

So let’s begin with: why talk about audio frequencies at all on the musicality podcast? Well, the first thing to say is that “audio” is just another word for “sound”. All music is experienced as sound, and audio *frequencies* are a particular way of analysing, representing and understanding what’s going on in sound.

You might have come across frequencies in your musical life in a few places. We mentioned it in our previous episode on Tone when talking about bass and treble, low frequencies and high frequencies. It came up in our interviews with Jeremy Fisher and Allan Hubert Wright talking about how the human voice can do some interesting and unexpected things – and we can explain what’s going on by looking at the frequencies. You might have seen the big mixer desk in a studio or at a live gig where there are various sliders to control different frequencies. Or if you’re an electronic musician or you’ve done some home recording you’ve probably played around with equaliser settings or plugin controls that are set in terms of frequencies.

In my experience a lot of musicians bump up against this idea of frequencies and often figure out how to do what they need to with the equipment they’re using or wherever it’s come up. But most don’t take the time to really look into this topic – which is a shame because there’s a lot of exciting stuff that can be empowering to you as a musician. More on that later.

Learning about Frequencies

When I first learned about frequencies it was in the context of a high school science class, talking about waves in water, or a spring or string bouncing and vibrating, or some really abstract stuff about how light works. And I was a geeky kid so that stuff was interesting to me. And I kind of got that sound was about air vibrating and that was a pressure wave and it vibrated at a certain frequency. But I don’t think it was until I got to university and studied physics and computer science and got into the nitty gritty of frequency domain transformations and fast Fourier Transforms and a bunch of other stuff with intimidating names that I really *got* why frequency was so important for thinking about sound. And then when I did my masters we really went deep into music specifically and this scientific view on what’s happening in a musical sound.

Actually, that’s a lie. I did catch glimpses of why this stuff was cool earlier on. I remember spending lots of time fiddling with the EQ settings in Winamp to make my music sound better, and looking at the cool visualisations my computer could show based on the frequencies in the music – and I kind of got the idea that there were a *lot* of frequencies in music. It wasn’t just that a sound wave had one frequency which was how fast it vibrates the air. There was some way of looking at music that made it *all about* frequencies.

So then at university I learned all the cool underlying maths and science and I was lucky to do one of the only masters programs in the world that focused on, essentially, the science and data of music.

All that is to say: I am definitely biased! I love this stuff. But I definitely remember how baffling it used to be, and I’m happy to say that you definitely do *not* need to go as deep as all that for frequencies to be fascinating and useful to you as a musician.

What is a Frequency?

Okay. So what is a frequency? Well, it’s the rate at which something happens. A low frequency means it’s happening once in a while, a high frequency means it’s happening very very often. And in the case of sound we’re talking about how often the air moves back and forwards in a wave. That back-and-forward motion hits our ear and we perceive it as sound. We measure that rate in a unit called Hertz, where 1 Hertz means once per second, 2 Hertz means twice per second, and so on.

Humans can hear air vibrating at roughly 20 Hertz up to 20,000 Hertz – it differs from person to person and with age, but that’s a good rule of thumb to remember.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. We perceive low frequencies as a low *pitch* and high frequencies as a *high* pitch. The relationship between pitch and frequency is a bit subtle – we might do a future episode all about that. But as a starting point you can think of the range from low to high frequency as mapping to how we hear from low pitch up to high pitch.

So let’s hear an example, the simplest possible example: Here is a sound which actually does have just one frequency, like that science class explanation of how sound works. You might have actually heard of this one, it’s called “A 440” because it’s 440 Hertz and the pitch is the note we call “A”.

And here’s 262 Hertz, which is the pitch we call “Middle C”.

When a sound wave has just one frequency like this it’s called a “sine wave” – something you might have come across in maths class. And this pretty much never happens in real life. It’s great as a demonstration and a tool for thinking about sound, but real sounds, and especially musical sounds always have a mixture of frequencies in them, like you’ve taken a bunch of those simple sine waves at different frequencies, some higher, some lower, and combined them.

For example if I add a few more frequencies into this sound – essentially taking several of these simple sine waves and playing them at the same time, you might hear this.

Now that’s starting to sound a bit more musical! With a fade in and out, it actually sounds a bit like a note played on an oboe

So every musical sound you actually hear in real life, from a single note on oboe (which actually sounds a bit like a sine wave) through to every drum and cymbal in the percussion section is made up of a mix of frequencies.

On the percussion end, the sound becomes what’s called “noise” – basically what happens when you throw not just a few frequencies in there, but *all* frequencies.

That’s called white noise – and noise is more interesting than you might think – another topic for another episode…

So all sounds exist somewhere on that range, from a single frequency through to the noise of all frequencies at once.

Now that we’ve had a taste of audio frequencies and how they might relate to music I’m going to hit pause – and we’ll pick this up in a Part Two to talk about the two big reasons frequencies are important for musicians and why you might want to learn a lot more about them.

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The post About Frequencies in Music appeared first on Musical U.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-learn-to-sing-in-tune/
Have you wished you could sing the songs you love – but thought it was impossible because you can’t sing in tune? Fret no more with this guide to singing in tune! https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-learn-to-sing-in-tune/

And to be truthful, there is an unfortunate caste system separating those who can read music, and those who can’t. The music-readers often look down their noses at those who don’t read music, and the non-readers sometimes feel inferior. Or in many cases, non-readers actually feel that they are more authentically musical by the very fact that they play without sheet music. There is an old joke where a jazz musician is asked if he can read music, and he replies “not enough to hurt my playing!”.

The truth is, you can be a great musician whether or not you read music. And if you don’t, we encourage you to continue having a great time creating music by ear! However, if you’re this far into this article, the odds are that you are someone who does indeed wish to learn.

Chances are, then, that you’ve had the impression that learning to read music is an arduous process that can take years. Well, we have some good news for you: it isn’t!

Here’s the deal…if you approach it in the right way, using clever strategies and keeping the process fun, you can be reading music inside of a week. Ready to start? Let’s do this!

1. Use the Buddy System

OK, the first rule is never learn alone! Sure, it’s possible, but trust us: when you share the learning process with a friend, everything goes faster and you’ll get a lot more enjoyment out of it.

One of the best things about learning together is that you’ll have someone to hold you accountable – it’s harder to skip your scheduled practice when your Study Buddy texts you and says “see you in a few”!

Looking at the music itself, most of the songs you’ll be “sight-reading” have chords that go with them. In other words, 80% of songs in western culture are comprised of two things: a melody and a chord progression.

When you are sight reading per se, you are reading the melody part, but the melody by itself can get a bit boring after a while. Now, if you try sight reading the melody while your friend strums the chords, you’ll have a whole new experience… suddenly you’re not just practicing, you’re jamming!

This is why we at JamAlong recommend traditional Irish tunes as one of the best ways to get better at sight reading – they all come with cool chord progressions that your Study Buddy can accompany you with. And lastly, when you have a steady strummer next to you, it forces you to stay in time, and not “cheat” by pausing to figure out the next note.

Some Musical Games

Now that you’ve got your Study Buddy lined up and ready to go, let’s talk about some of the ways you two can learn to read music together.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A set of Flash Cards to use to identify all the notes. We have a free set you can download, and you can either print out both the notes and the “answer” page separately, or print double sided on a single piece of paper so the note names are on the back of the card.
• A “Notation To Instrument” chart for your particular instrument (we have them for banjo, mandolin, guitar, and ukulele).

So get those printed out, and then let’s get started playing games! Here are a few ideas to get you started…

Say and Play – One of you has all the cards (or sheets), and calls out the letter name of a random note. You then have to find it and play it on your instrument. Score how many you get right, and then switch roles. Play as many rounds as you wish, then tally up your scores if you’re in the competitive spirit.

Musical Battle – You’ll need two full “decks” of flash cards for this one. Each player takes the top card from their stack. The players compare them to determine which note is higher, and the first to correctly do so takes both cards and adds them to the bottom of their stack. Continue until one of you runs out of cards.

Concentration – This is the same as the regular card game of the same name. Start with all the cards “music note side” down, spread out on the floor or table, then take turns turning over two cards. Whenever you find two of the same letter you get to keep them, and the trick is to remember what the cards were that you turned over before to find more pairs.

This is only a small example of the games you can come up with, so let your creativity go wild!

2. Sight read – but not with nursery rhymes

It is an unfortunate fact that many books that teach you to read music use the dullest melodies imaginable.

I mean, who wants to hear “Mary had a Little Lamb” or “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” again? You’ll have a lot more fun and therefore learn faster if you use more exciting material, so we’ve compiled a collection of some songs you’ll enjoy playing.

Try to guess them just by playing first, and then if you get stuck, look at the answers on page two. And as you pick through them, remember to be patient with yourself! Learning to read music is like learning another language, and you can’t expect yourself to be spouting eloquent phrases right off the bat.

3. Get involved in “jamming” styles of music

Traditional sight reading education has a penchant for classical music. To be clear, we have a great deal of respect for classical melodies and they can be quite rewarding to learn to play.

The drawback is that you won’t find a lot of jam sessions playing Bach or Mozart. If you’re going to take classical music seriously, you’ll eventually have to find yourself a string quartet or symphony to be a part of, and that’s quite an undertaking!

The good news is, there are styles of music that feature lots of written melody that aren’t classical music, and one of the most popular is Irish music.

The traditional Irish jam session features hundreds of intricate little melodies, all written out in music notation. We have had personal experience with many students who picked up a copy of an Irish tune book, and were delighted with how fun it was to practice their sight reading with tunes like “The Irish Washerwoman” or “The Maid Behind the Bar”:

Most of these Irish tune books have hundreds of songs in them, so you’ll have enough material to practice on for years to come. For example you can download some Irish tune books on our free eBooks and charts page, under the heading “Traditional Irish Tune Books”.

Now you can have an endless supply of melodies to practice your sight reading on, and you can find an Irish jam and double your practice time while having a ton of fun! Just so you know, it is common and even expected for the participants in a traditional Irish jam to bring a music stand and music books – so you won’t look out of place.

4. Composition as a sight reading tool

What – me, compose? No way.

Well the actual fact is, if you can hum, you can compose. Composing is in essence just coming up with little melodies, and anyone can do it.

Obviously most of us won’t be at the level of Mozart or Bach, but that’s not the point anyhow.

The sort of composing we’re wanting you to try is more like a musical game, where you’ll come up with combinations of notes and then use these “compositions” to help you with your sight-reading. It’s easy and fun, and you guessed it: we’ll be using our music cards!

This exercise is quite straightforward. Just shuffle your music cards, and then lay a number of them in a row, music side up. Put some longer spaces between them at random intervals (these will be where you pause, or “rest”), pick up your instrument of choice, and experience your masterpiece!

This exercise will give you infinite sight reading drills, because all you have to do is re-shuffle the order of your cards and presto, you have a composition! If you aren’t at the stage of knowing the notes on your instrument yet, you can still just “say and play” the row of notes, and you’ll get a great workout for memorizing the note names.

Playing Off the Page

Now that you have all the right approaches, let’s sum up these four ways to help you learn to read music:

1. Learn note names with a Study Buddy to turn a potentially tedious exercise into a sport
2. Practice sight reading with music that you enjoy or are curious about
3. Learn melodies and licks from music that is well-suited for jamming – then go jam!
4. Practice basic composition with our flash cards, and play the melodies you create

For more great free resources and other study materials, set up your complimentary account at JamAlong!

This method of learning to read music is about as easy as it gets, but if you feel like really spoiling yourself, you can always just book a “Live” Video Lesson with our friendly instructors here at JamAlong, and we’ll walk you through it every step. And it’s always nice to have someone there to answer questions when they pop up (and they will). Come visit us to book your live online video call!

JamAlong Music founder Braedin Lewis has been playing music since he was knee high to a grasshopper, and teaches and plays banjo, guitar, mandolin, and ukulele. He has been playing bluegrass and folk music for over 40 years, and has performed with stars like Leftover Salmon, Joe Craven, Radim Zenkel, and many not so famous. His teaching style and method have been applauded for being fresh and enjoyable, and he has helped hundreds to enjoy the “jamming game”. His motto is “you’re better than you sound!”, and he welcomes all questions and comments, as long as they don’t involve politics or eighties music.

The post 4 Tips for Learning to Read Music – the Fun Way appeared first on Musical U.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-find-the-tonic-of-any-song-in-a-major-key/
One of the most important skills you can learn with ear training is how to find the tonic of a given song or composition.

Finding the tonic in sheet music is a fairly straightforward process; you have all the notes written out for you, and a key signature to help you out even further. But what if you don’t have sheet music? What about finding the tonic by ear?

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-find-the-tonic-of-any-song-in-a-major-key/

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-learn-to-sing-in-tune/
Have you wished you could sing the songs you love – but thought it was impossible because you can’t sing in tune? Fret no more with this guide to singing in tune!

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-learn-to-sing-in-tune/