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Learn how Notable Values, a resource for independent thinking about identity development and career outcomes for musicians, Susan is actively transforming the way we teach and learn what it means to be a musician today and in the future. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/fixing-a-broken-music-identity-interview-with-susan-de-weger-part-1/

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Music theory is not a set of rules and regulations that must be followed like traffic laws. Theory is a way to explain how certain combinations of notes work together, and a method of identifying and categorizing different sounds. Knowing music theory is not a constraint to your creativity, so let’s look at how it helps! https://www.musical-u.com/learn/practical-value-music-theory/

Maybe you try typing “[name of song] chords” into Google, but the results you get don’t sound true to the song. Or maybe the chord structure is just too complex and you would prefer to keep your version a bit simpler.

The latter situation happened to Mexican indie-rock quintet Canvas when they approached the song “Yo No Nací Para Amar” by one of Mexico’s most iconic voices: Juan Gabriel.

The chord structure didn’t make that much sense and never quite repeated, so they chose to base everything off the main vocal melody and write their own chord progression for it. This allowed them to create their own specific arrangements, and thus push the song into exciting and new territory.

Let’s have a listen, shall we?

Before: Juan Gabriel’s Original Version

An icon of Latin music and one of Mexico’s best-selling artists of all time, Juan Gabriel was known for his flamboyant stage presence, soulful voice, and cross-genre experimentation. He experienced decades of success with his unique fusion of Mariachi, rock, disco, and pop music, releasing over 40 singles and garnering fame as one of Mexico’s best and most prolific singer-songwriters. His 1980 hit “Yo No Nací Para Amar” (translation: I Was Not Born To Love) is an amazing example of his vocal abilities and melodic genius:

Melody First, Chords Later

Whenever covering a song, or even while just listening for pleasure, it helps to understand the artist’s approach to making music. In the case of Juan Gabriel, it’s important to note that he was first and foremost a vocalist.

His approach to composing was coming up with a melody along with some lyrics, and then basing all other elements of a song off of that. He chose the chords that worked best for his melody, wrote them down, and then made arrangements for a band or orchestra to follow.

Of course, an important thing to note is that when composing in this style, several chords can work for the same part of a melody. Since several notes are being played simultaneously, this opens up a lot of harmonic possibilities. This also explains why you can come up with several different chord progressions that fit a single melody.

A Vocally-Oriented Arrangement

The arrangements of the studio version of this song are for a band to play. The piano is providing the bedrock in terms of harmony, while the bass guitar is defining the root note of each chord. If you pay attention to each chord change, you’ll notice that the progression is quite complex, and unlike most progressions in pop music, it’s not cyclic.

As usual, the drums and bass are driving the subtle rhythm of the song while an organ-like instrument does a playful counter melody. As you’ll notice while listening, Juan Gabriel’s vocals and lyrics are the pure essence and soul of the song.

When performing live, Juan Gabriel would usually adapt this song for an orchestra to play. You can have a listen here and see what elements are preserved, and which are totally transformed:

Song Structure

Juan Gabriel has kept it nice and simple. It follows a typical A/B song formula, where A is the verse and B is the chorus. The outro is even a rehash of the chorus’s melody – a sort of re-statement, really. As is common in pop music, the chorus is the most memorable part of the song.

After – A Modern Version By Canvas

The guys from Canvas recorded this cover just for fun in July 2016. Only after learning of the original composer’s death a month later did they upload it to their Facebook page as a way to pay their respects.

A Shift in Style

As a five-piece indie rock band, Canvas has a very different style of composing than Juan Gabriel. All five members contribute to the processes of songwriting and arranging. Most of the time, they even take on production duties themselves.

Like many bands, a big part of their songwriting process comes from jamming together. These sessions tend to ignite spontaneous bursts of creativity. The ideas that stick tend to make it to the final arrangements is usually a group decision.

From this difference in the creative process, you can already picture their cover of “Yo No Nací Para Amar” being quite different. When approaching this song, however, they decided to act almost like Juan Gabriel’s arrangers. They took the original melody, chose Santiago Prado (bass & lead vocals) to sing it exactly like it was written, and decided that they would write a chord structure of their own that followed Santiago’s vocals:

Other than that, they allowed the music to flow freely, as demonstrated by their unique instrumental elements and sections that share almost no similarities with the original.

It is worth noting that the skeleton of the song – drums, bass, and synths in this case – were all recorded live. This was most likely done at a time when the band was able to perform the song together. This would allow them to be even more flexible with the additional guitars and synths, which were added separately.

Painting Music On A New Canvas

From the first few seconds of the song, it’s already apparent that there is much more going on than in the original. The tempo is faster and more aggressive, and the drums are much more driven and marked than in the original.

In the intro, there’s an atmospheric synth doing a continuous melody, and lead guitarist Isaac Reyes is doing a little staccato motif at the end of each measure.

As the intro transitions into the verse, everything stops. The vocals come in first, with the whole band’s instrumentals following a beat after. The vocal style is a bit more restrained than the original, with less flair but with that raspiness that works beautifully in rock music. During the verse, the work of the lead guitar keeps things exciting and builds up energy; the first half of the verse contains sparse guitar licks, while the second round showcases more of that math-rocky staccato.

Canvas does a great job at introducing the chorus in the song. Similar to the verse, the instruments drop out just before the chorus kicks in, allowing the vocals to take center stage. Here, the chorus is sung in unison by two band members for more impact. The instrumentals return a few beats later, this time with a more continuous beat and more dynamic instrumentation.

What I love most about this cover are the fully instrumental bits. Following the first chorus, Canvas come up with a whole new section and the guitar does a small solo that rivals the pain and sorrow of Juan Gabriel’s original vocals. The outro, with its loud and steady clashes, shows how each band member was capable of evoking the song’s torment using their own instrument.

Shifting Support

Canvas’ cover is a perfect example of how you can create your own chords and arrangements from scratch using a song’s original vocal melody. They took a classic from one of Mexico’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters, and transformed it into a collective endeavor without losing any power or emotional depth in the process.

The post Before and After: Covering Juan Gabriel appeared first on Musical U.

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Have you ever struggled with your tone not sounding full? Or perhaps you have been told your tone is dull and is not projecting over other instruments in your performing group? You may be skipping over a very important part of becoming a musician… the art of listening! With Donna Schwartz Music https://www.musical-u.com/learn/listen-and-sing-your-way-to-great-musicianship-with-donna-schwartz/

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Is memorizing songs something that you struggle with? This is a skill that can be learned, and this article will surely help you along the way! https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-do-guitarists-memorize-songs-to-play-is-this-part-of-ear-training/

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Good songwriting requires hard work, time, and commitment. Early in your songwriting practice it’s easy to fall for common myths that discourage aspiring composers. This explains why many give up before they even start. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/music-composition-myths/

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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. Get started today => https://www.musical-u.com/learn/whats-the-point-of-scale-ear-training/

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It can be tough sometimes to know where to spend your hard-earned money and where it’s okay to skimp a bit. That’s why we’ve put together this quick list of 3 areas where you really don’t want to spare expenses. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/music-investments/

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Today, we’ll dive into some specific tips and tricks you can use to learn interval recognition more easily. First we’ll look at tips for recognizing particular types of interval, and then we’ve got 3 helpful tricks to use in your own interval ear training approach. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/interval-ear-training-tips-and-tricks/

The list may be long, but we picked out a few key skills to explore: writing songs in minor keys, finding success as an independent musician, overcoming performance anxiety, and recording yourself to self-critique and improve your practice.

Composing in Minor

The I-IV-V progression may be the most popular chord sequence in modern music, but sticking exclusively to major chords in your songwriting has its limitations – all music can’t just be statically happy!

So, how do you inject harmonic richness and shifting moods into your music?

Dip your toes into the world of minor with Discovering Minor Chord Progressions. In one article, you’ll learn how minor chords are built, but how to. Then, you’ll put your skills to the test with four exercises guaranteed to cement your understanding and get those creative juices flowing.

Learning minor chords is a great way to expand your musical vocabulary and play with different tonalities. Many musicians actually prefer to play within minor keys, depending on their preferred genre of music. Guitar Chalk gives a great introduction to the F# minor chord, and the various positions in which it can be played.

Why learn minor scales? Because this will directly impact your ability to learn minor chord progressions! The circle of fifths is a great way to learn all of your minor scales. And it’s not a one-trick-pony; to learn more about what else the circle of fifths can do for you, check out Pyramind’s 5 ways to use this indispensable musical tool.

Learning about minor chord progressions is one thing, but how can you apply these progressions to your instrument? Youtuber GuitarLessons365 shows you some easy ways to incorporate minor chord progressions into your practice!

Success as an Independent Artist

There are countless perks to being an independent musician. You are in the driver’s seat, with every facet of your music, from its conception to its promotion, under your full control.

However, this freedom can be a double-edged sword. Without a label to back you, you need to wear multiple hats: songwriter, manager, accountant, publicist, and so on.

Beyond this, you need something that makes you stand out in a sea of fellow musicians. This week, Musical U interviewed one musician whose success lies in her versatility. With a voice that blends seamlessly with everything from folk to jazz, Kendra McKinley has carved out a name for herself in the Bay Area music scene and beyond with both her original tunes and intriguing covers. In Singing, Songwriting, and Success as an Independent Artist, with Kendra McKinley, she shares her songwriting philosophy, her wide range of influences, and how developing her ear has helped her in her musical journey.

Kendra shared her approach to songwriting in the interview, and her tactic of recording evolutions of the song as it develops. Writing music is a skill that many musicians desire, but some are not always able to make that transition. Perhaps it would be helpful to consider songwriting as a hero’s journey, as Tony Conniff explains.

What makes a song work? And how can you, as a songwriter, learn some of the same techniques that were used by legends such as George Harrison? Learn about the songwriting magic that you can use when writing a bridge with the help of Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers.

Kendra has found a niche in writing her songs while also incorporating cover songs into her music career. Many artists have taken very similar approaches, and it is a great way to diversify your material! But how should you go about creating your cover song? Dylan Laine talks about three different approaches that you can take when doing a cover.

Getting Musicality Down To A Science

What if there was a surefire way to build your confidence, make the most of your practice time, open up new creative avenues in songwriting, and eradicate performance anxiety?

In Making Music with Ease, with Gerald Klickstein, we are joined by the author of one of the most influential books in the music education world: “The Musician’s Way”. This isn’t your average self-help book. It emphasizes an individualized, holistic learning framework not found in traditional music education, involving creativity, positive energy, accuracy, and competence – four factors that empower and encourage growth.

“The Musician’s Way” isn’t just written based on opinions – as a lecturer who has served on the music faculties of several US universities, Gerald has built up his book on the foundation of careful research and evidence-based methods.

Being a musician can be stressful, as we put so much on our shoulders before each performance. In “The Musician’s Way”, Gerald shares some great insights on how to excel in high-pressure situations.

Gerald devoted a whole section of “The Musician’s Way” to talking about performance anxiety. Performance anxiety is an issue that affects nearly every musician at some point in their musical journey. Getting used to playing in front of people is not the easiest thing for most musicians, but there are ways that you can push through and succeed. The Flute Coach offers some great advice on beating stage fright and nailing your performance.

However, for some musicians, the feeling of panic when performing is so strong that it can threaten your very identity as a musician. They may try every tip that experts provide, but it is never enough to overcome this dread of performance. For these cases, there is therapy that can help you achieve your passions. The Cross-Eyed Pianist discusses the option of Cognitive Hypnotherapy and how it can help you overcome those nerves.

Listening to Yourself

It’s a piece of advice you’ll hear over and over again: “to improve faster, record yourself playing and listen!”

However, any musician can tell you that this is much, much easier said than done.

Why?

Because recording yourself is a little bit like performing, bringing with it some of that associated anxiety. While initially intimidating, recording yourself and listening back is actually a great way to dip your foot into the pool of performing, rather than diving right in at the deep end with a live set in front of other people.

In About Learning Faster by Recording Yourself, Musical U founder Christopher Sutton divulges the three major reasons you should take a deep breath, hit “record”, and play. He also shares ways to make the emotional process of recording yourself playing smooth sailing.

Even the most seasoned musician can greatly benefit by recording themselves and listening to their performance. This will allow you to hear your playing from your teacher’s perspective, and make honest evaluations of where you can improve. Wondering how to get started? FiddleHed explains the science of recording yourself, providing tips on how to make the most of your sessions.

Christopher talked about how recording your music practice is almost like keeping a diary of the progress that you make. Think of how fun it would be to revisit the journey that you made to achieving a great goal! For your reading pleasure, Collabra shares even more ways to making music practice a habit and keeping yourself motivated.

Every musician wants to see continuous progress in their musical performance, and recording your practice is only one part of a strategy to track your progress. Many musicians also use practice journals to document observations and other insights that they gain during a session. Flutist and music teacher Jolene Harju shares the important revelations she has had during some particularly memorable practice sessions.

From Learning to Doing

A major hurdle for some musicians is actually working up the courage to apply what they’ve learned. So, go ahead: hit “record”, play, and listen back. Step away from the realm of only playing major chords. Try your hand at songwriting, even if you’re primarily a cover artist. And most importantly: build your confidence so you can excel in those high-pressure situations, like your next important recital or a big audition.

The post Success as an Independent Artist, Composing in Minor, The Benefits of Self-Recording, and Getting Musicality Down to a Science appeared first on Musical U.