Musicality World

Hi, this is Christopher Sutton, the Founder and Director of Musical U, and I’d love to share with you what’s new in Musical U this month.

We have three big things to mention at Musical U this month. The first was the official launch of our Improv Roadmap which rounded out last month’s “Improv Month” celebrations. Then we had new Resource Packs for guitar, bass and piano on the topic of Intervals. And two new Singing packs on swing rhythm and syncopation. And finally, we’ve made a big change to how you can join Musical U, which is important to know about if you’ve been thinking about joining. Stay tuned for the details on that.

You can watch the video below or read on to learn more:

New Improvisation Roadmap

Let’s start out with the major new addition to Musical U: our new Roadmap for learning to improvise music. As you may know, at Musical U we provide a fully flexible training system so that you’re not forced onto a particular “course” that may or may not suit you and might cause you to get stuck and frustrated. Instead, you’re able to use the training that best suits your background and will most quickly help you reach your goals.

But with over 50 training modules now inside Musical U we appreciate that some guidance might be useful, to help you choose the right ones to use! So apart from providing very personal support and guidance any time our members need it, we also have what we call “Roadmaps”. These show you which modules and exercises can be most useful for learning a big skill like improvising, while still giving you the flexibility to proceed in the way that makes sense for you personally.

We had five Roadmaps already: For playing chords by ear, two for playing melodies by ear, one for getting a great sense of rhythm, and one for learning to sing well. This month we added our sixth, which was highly demanded: Learn to Improvise.

As you can see, it’s divided into Four Phases, and each one includes modules and exercises to help you develop your improvising skills step by step.

If you followed along with Improv Month, then you’ll know that at Musical U we take an unusual approach to improvisation which lets you learn quickly and easily while avoiding the major limitations of the traditional methods for learning improv. So we’ve built out our training modules for this subject as well as drawing on our existing material for rhythm and recognising notes by ear, to produce this detailed Roadmap that can take you from zero improv ability through to a free, creative and versatile ability to improvise your own music any time you like.

So the team here is really excited about this because we’ve been helping members learn to improvise for quite some time already but now finally we have this great big Roadmap that we can point them to which lays it all out clearly and in detail.

Instrument Resource Packs for Intervals, Swing and Syncopation

The second major addition to Musical U this month was the new Resource Packs for guitar, bass, and piano on the topic of intervals. We already have a whole set of training modules to help you recognise intervals by ear and put them to use – as well as a couple just to cover the “what, why and how” of intervals, and why you’d want to learn them in the first place! And so I was really looking forward to seeing what our amazing Resident Pros came up with this month to help members bring intervals to life on their instruments.

We don’t have time for a detailed look, but you can check out our Resource Pack Preview post for a quick video excerpt from each of these, to see what the Pros shared.

Over in our Singing Pack, we got slightly out of sync with the other packs recently – which was perhaps fitting given that the topic was syncopation! So while guitar, bass, and piano already had Resource Packs on Swing Rhythm and Syncopation, this month guest Pro Nina Rosenberger stepped in and did a fantastic job building on our core rhythm training modules to help all the singers at Musical U put their swing and syncopation rhythm skills to good use.

Musical U Wait List

The final thing to share with you this month isn’t quite as delightful – but it’s a positive thing as well, we think.

This month we instituted a waiting list to join Musical U. Since the beginning we’ve provided our members with an unparalleled level of support and guidance – and if you check out our Member Spotlight posts, or any of the member quotes featured on our website you’ll see how crucial this is – and how even members who join thinking they just want training modules and don’t need the personal support in fact end up benefitting hugely from it.

Over the last couple of years though, Musical U has almost tripled in size – and it was becoming hard to make sure we continued to provide such a high level of support. So rather than let the quality of our training be threatened we’ve made a small change to how joining Musical U works.

When you visit the website now and choose to join, you’ll now be placed on a waiting list. This lets us manage how quickly we have new people coming in and ensure that every new member gets the support they need to really succeed in their training.

I know this can be frustrating. I had an email just this week in fact from someone annoyed that we had got them all excited about joining and then they had to wait a week or two to get in! I can understand that, and we hope this will just be a temporary thing. But for now, we know that this short delay will be totally worth it – because once you’re in the doors you’ll have access to the world’s best musicality training along with all the personal support and guidance you need to succeed and reach your musical goals faster than ever before.

At the moment our wait time is just a couple of weeks – but that may well change, so if you’re interested in joining please do go ahead and sign up, so that you’ll get access as quickly as possible.

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So those were the three major changes at Musical U this month: A brand new Roadmap for Learning to Improvise, packed with training modules and exercises to take you from zero improv ability to free, creative and confident improvising. New Resource Packs for Intervals as well as singing ones for Swing Rhythm and Syncopation. And finally, a small change to how joining Musical U works, to ensure we can continue to help every member get the success they deserve.

Thanks for joining me for this look inside what’s new at Musical U this month – and I hope to see you inside soon!

The post What’s New in Musical U: April 2018 appeared first on Musical U.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/musicality-meanswriting-notation/
Learning how to read and write music notation is a key skill in musicality. When you can write your own music, not only can you express yourself musically, you can share your musical ideas with other musicians. But to do this, you need to be able to write music notation. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/musicality-meanswriting-notation/

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/5-ways-to-get-early-feedback-in-your-career/
It can be hard to judge the quality of your music correctly, and it’s likely you’re either overestimating or underestimating yourself. Here are some tips to get started from the team at Drooble https://www.musical-u.com/learn/5-ways-to-get-early-feedback-in-your-career/

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/beginning-modal-improvisation-with-brian-kelly-from-zombie-guitar/
If you’re just diving into the world of improvising with modes, it’s likely that you have a lot of questions. What is a mode, and how is it different from a key? We have a guest expert on modal improvisation to answer all of these burning questions – and more… https://www.musical-u.com/learn/beginning-modal-improvisation-with-brian-kelly-from-zombie-guitar/

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/songwriting-right-now-latest-tricks/
In music we are constantly refining and inventing new means of expression. So what are some of the latest trends in songwriting? https://www.musical-u.com/learn/songwriting-right-now-latest-tricks/

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/deliberate-practice-for-musicians/
You’ve heard it before: “practice makes perfect!” So why do some weeks, or perhaps even months, leave you feeling like you’ve only made a tiny bit of hard-earned progress for all of those hours of work? https://www.musical-u.com/learn/deliberate-practice-for-musicians/

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/arranging-for-songwriters-nashville-guitar-guru/
Arranging is the process of making choices about how a piece of music is to be performed, including details of instrumentation, the way the harmony is expressed, and the form or structure of the piece. Learn more with Dave Isaacs https://www.musical-u.com/learn/arranging-for-songwriters-nashville-guitar-guru/

Though technical proficiency and theoretical knowledge is undoubtedly important, the “natural”, expressive musician within you will come out when you get a sense of the feeling and intent behind the music you’re playing, and how the rhythm, melody, dynamics, and tempo of a piece inform it.

This week, we explore intervals and their aural “qualities”, interview a music educator about how he centers creativity and expression in his teaching ethos, present a new way to “feel” the rhythm of a complicated piece of music, and bring in an expert from our own team to demonstrate the various flavors found in different scales.

Internalizing Intervals

The basis of training your ear to recognize melodies is to first recognize intervals: the spaces between notes.

Though learning intervals can seem rote, boring, and mechanical, it absolutely doesn’t need to be. Every interval has a certain “feel” to it, and by relating each one to your instrument and to the music you know and love, interval recognition becomes simple and intuitive.

For this month’s Resource Pack on intervals, our Resident Pros will show you just how intervals fit on your piano, bass, or guitar and how the very structure of your instrument reflects profound musical realities. Check out Intervals: Resource Pack Preview to get a sneak peek at our three resident pros’ helpful exercises, patterns, and tricks for contextualizing intervals.

Learning intervals isn’t just part of your ear training – many would refer to intervals as the very foundation of your aural skills. Once you are able to hear the relationship between pitches, it will  open up a whole new understanding of harmony and musicality. Peak Eleven explains more in their lesson on music theory for beginners.

For many music students, using “interval songs” is a pretty standard trick that helps pass exams. Julian from Jazz Tutorial talks about how this is a mistake that could hamper your long-term growth, and offers a better way to recognize intervals in the music that you are playing.

While some think that recognizing intervals is just a neat little skill to have, there are numerous ways that you can apply interval recognition to your instrument. Adultpianolesson.com talks about applying the basics of interval training.

Creative Teaching

With so much educational material focussed on playing music “the right way”, it’s refreshing to see teachers that concern themselves more with creativity and expression than hitting every note perfectly.

This week, Musical U interviewed Forrest Kinney, a musician and music educator who has gained acclaim for his fresh, creativity-focussed teaching ethos. Besides being an accomplished musician (particularly in the realm of improvisation) and a highly in-demand speaker, Forrest is also the widely-published author of the Pattern Play series of piano books, which focus on getting players off the page and into a creative headspace for music-making.

Discover Your Own Musical Creativity, with Forrest Kinney is essential reading for any musician eager to exercise their creative muscle in their playing and songwriting. We know you’ll enjoy this enlightening conversation as much as we did.

In his interview, Forrest shared how he went through a period of self-doubt prior to becoming the musician that he is. Most of us don’t want to talk about it, but this is a common experience in a musical journey! While Forrest found his way through improvisation, there are an infinite number of paths that a musician can take. Katie Wardrobe from the Music Tech Tips podcast recently discovered how one pioneering music teacher is helping teens find their identity through musical creativity.

Improvisation is made out to be this high tower that only the most skilled and sophisticated musicians are able to climb. But the truth is, it’s a totally attainable skill – all we have to do is… play! Michele McLaughlin outlines her easy method to sit down and begin improvising.

One of the things that we found the most inspiring was the love and devotion that Forrest has for his music. No matter what level of “success” we obtain as musicians, having that passion for the simple act of playing is more than enough reward. Acclaimed teacher Madeline Bruser and Nancy Kester discuss the role of the teacher in bringing out the love of making music

Rhythm in 2’s and 3’s

It’s hard to keep your cool when faced with complicated rhythms, sneaky syncopations, and even strange meters.

However, the good news is that every complex rhythm is made up of simple building blocks that you’re already familiar with. Though there’s many ways to break up these complex rhythms, one of the most useful and straightforward is thinking of rhythms in terms of 2’s and 3’s.

This technique requires a minimal amount of math, and applies to virtually every rhythm, no matter how many sixteenth notes it contains, or how alien its time signature seems.

Head over to Counting Music in 2’s and 3’s to get started – you’ll find a detailed breakdown of how this method works, and a slew of exercises to get you going!

If you haven’t worked through the exercises in this guest post, take a couple of minutes to revisit them before moving on. Or, you can use that most dreaded (and loved!) of musical tools – the metronome – to help improve your rhythmic accuracy, with this lesson from Mike Outram.

There were certainly some interesting rhythmic figures in this post – maybe ones that you have never seen before, although you have likely heard them in popular music. While much of popular music stays within “safe” meters, there are a number of artists that push the envelope of their musicality and experiment with new and interesting time signatures. The Rebel Music Teacher takes us through a song by Muse, and shows how you can use active listening to discover asymmetrical simple meter.

Paul Davids has one of the most popular guitar YouTube channels out there. And for good reason! In one video, Paul takes us through eight songs with odd time signatures that aren’t too difficult to get under your fingers – take a look, and try to internalize these time signatures!

A World of Scales

Though the major scale may be the popular kid in school, there’s a world of scales out there waiting to be played.

In About Scales and Their Flavors, Musical U’s content editor/product manager Andrew Bishko takes you through a variety of scales, demonstrating each one for you to hear, and discussing the feel that each lends to music that it’s used in.

This episode will inspire you to start thinking of scales in terms of creative tools to make music with, rather than just drills to get your fingers moving.

So many scales, so little time! Andrew mentioned that nearly every music student starts with the major scale. The major scale is important to help set the foundation for your understanding of tonality and how the relationships between notes work. For another look at the major scale, Zac Pugh Guitar explored the inner workings of this fundamental piece of music.

As you expand your understanding of the major scale, it’s time to add a little bit of sadness to the mix. Of course, we’re talking about minor scales! Scales are not just lines of music, but they are nested within a musical key that will establish which notes are flat or sharp. Katie from the Modern Songstress is here to help you understand the differences between major and minor keys.

Let’s round this up with a bit of discussion about the musical modes. Andrew mentioned that discovering and improvising with musical modes was quite liberating. Polishook Piano has a fascinating lesson on how modes fit into the broader world of tonality, and how they can add to your musical expression.

Feeling the Music

No matter what your level of proficiency is, your playing and songwriting will benefit immensely if you take the time to understand the “vibe” that certain elements lend to music.

Do you want to compose a score for a horror movie? Look to the Locrian mode to achieve that tense feeling. Are you drumming for a band that plays Latin music? Syncopation is your friend, and the beat patterns found in syncopated rhythms will ensure that your playing keeps the band in the right groove.

All this said, go forth and arm yourself with the musical tools you’ll need to play the music you love – with feeling.

The post Internalizing Intervals, Creative Teaching, Rhythm in 2’s and 3’s, and A World of Scales appeared first on Musical U.

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-learn-to-sing-a-roadmap/
Have you wished you could sing but never known where to start? Or perhaps you’ve spent hours singing songs you love and wondered why you never seem to improve – or why other people don’t seem to think you sound so good. Today we’re sharing a new guide that can help you become a great singer, step by step. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-to-learn-to-sing-a-roadmap/