How to develop good sight reading skills

Any musician will tell you that one of the most valuable skills they have is the ability to read music quickly by sight.

How do you develop this skill? Most begin by memorizing the musical staff and note locations. But this method will only yield limited results. It's like trying to read one letter at a time with words.

You have to read musical thoughts and ideas more than just the individual notes and then group them in a way that makes sense to you.

Would you like to learn how to do this? Click here!!

Musical education, when does it end?

When you were first learning about music, perhaps how to read music or play an instrument, there were a lot of new things to learn. Notes, scales, chords, technique, and many musical terms and symbols.

There are a basic amount which every musician should know, and then there is a specific knowledge which relates to the genre of music you want to play and study.

When does the learning end? Quite simply put, never. A musician's musical education and progression is ongoing and expansive. After a while mastery of an instrument and a musical form may take place, but this only leads to new and exciting paths.

In the beginning it may seem boring and monotonous but if you can make it past this stage, the rewards for your effort are well worth it.

Where do you begin? Click here for your start!!

Classically trained - does it make a difference?

Many musicians today in a variety of genres have a classical background, that is, they studied classical music as a foundation for their musical education. While some might say that this is not needed depending on the genre of music you want to perform or study, in my opinion it does help and makes a huge difference. Allow me to elaborate.

I studied classical music when I was learning the piano. The music was very complex and yet so beautiful that it motivated me to want to understand it and music in general in a more deeper way. This in turn has helped me in playing a variety of genres, rock, jazz, and others with greater ease. I also appreciate the history of music and the progression as a whole thanks to my classical training.

At present, I am immersed in trying to learn the works of the great masters and enjoy studying the musical scores of chamber music and orchestral works. My goal is to broaden my knowledge and understanding and have greater influences on my own compositions.

Would you like to learn how to compose music? The first step is to have a solid understanding of music and how it works. Click here to start today!

Health and musicianship - are they related?

Being a good musician and health, are they related?

Consider being a musician to being an athlete. Do athletes stay in good physical shape? Of course they do! Is it likewise important for musicians to stay in shape? Absolutely! Their performances will reflect this. Especially is this the case for singers.

Good health is essential and is too broad of a subject to discuss in this blog post. However, in addition to being healthy, there are exercises every musician does in order to stay musically in shape. Chord progressions, scales, and other exercises to name a few.

Do you have a good workout routine? How about one for ear training?

Stay tuned for my new ear training course which will help you stay in shape!

Learning music theory - is it fun?

When teaching music theory to their students, most music teachers will admit that their students find it boring. Endless drills, memorization of musical spellings, chords, scales, Latin, Italian, French, and German terms, and on and on. Most students just want to play and enjoy the music they play.

Is it possible to make such a subject fun and exciting? Yes indeed!! The secret lies in how a subject is taught. Anything can be made interesting or dull. It all depends on how it is presented and what the learning style of the student is.

One thing that always makes it interesting is if the student can understand the subject on a deep level and see the why of what is taught. How can this be accomplished?

Ear training is a start and the better a student can hear, the more fun his or her learning will be.

Want to learn music theory? Click Here!

How to increase your enjoyment of music

Many people love listening to music. In fact, most listen to it every day. It's like food to them. But like food, it can only be enjoyed if the sense which is used is sensitive and responsive. For example, if your taste buds ceased to work, you would not be able to enjoy the rich variety of foods you like.

The same thing can happen in a musical sense. Some musicians and non musicians have not trained or sensitized the organ which processes sounds, their ear. Thus their enjoyment of music in all its rich variety is stunted.

How do you overcome this dilemma? The only way is to train your ear to be more sensitive and hear the depth and breadth and length of the richness of sound in the music you listen to each day. 2 skill sets are essential in this regard - perfect pitch and relative pitch.

In future articles I will explain this in more detail. Stay tuned!!!

Want to learn music theory? Click Here!

Click here for Virtual Sheet Music - Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

Understanding music

To understand music, what does this mean? It means to understand it as a whole, the sum and all its parts.

For anyone who has studied an instrument perhaps you were taught how to play and even how to read music. But rarely will a student be taught how to understand it. Many teachers do not teach this but it is an essential skill for any aspiring musical student, regardless of the instrument or genre of music performed.

What is a key to understanding music? Stay tuned and I will be writing about this in another post.

Want to learn music theory? Click Here!

Click here for Virtual Sheet Music - Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads