The end of January is approaching, so it seems like a good time to ask: how are your New Year’s Music Resolutions going? If you’re struggling by yourself and need a helping hand don’t forget that for the month of January all Musical U members receive a free “Your Musical Plan” guide to help plan and achieve their musical goals this year. For more information check out Get your Musical Plan for 2016.
This week we have a great collection of new resources for singers, songwriters, improvisers, saxophonists, those thinking of studying music at university and anyone who feels like a beginner – but aspires to sound like a professional.
Singing Harmony
This week we welcomed Meghan Nixon from HowToSingSmarter.com to share her top tips on how to sing harmony. If you are confident singing a melody in tune, but have struggled with harmonising either in a duet or choir, this tutorial is for you! Read on for four fun and effective ways to learn to sing harmonies.
Mastering the Melody
If you are following our Songwriters Secrets series, you’ll be excited to hear of our next instalment: mastering the melody. In this tutorial songwriter Sabrina Peña Young shares her expert advice on writing melodies including the importance of a hook, and how to write melodies suited to your singer’s vocal range.
Sound Like a Beginner?
No matter what instrument you are learning or what level of musical excellence you are aiming for, it can be hard and frustrating at times. If you are in need of a confidence boost and some sound advice to keep you on track don’t miss this blogpost by the Musical U team: Sounding like a beginner is the only way to sound like a professional.
This poodle seems to have the right idea.
What's better than a dog playing piano and singing? Nothing. The answer is nothing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-hQwjrzjTQ
Posted by Easy Ear Training on Friday, January 15, 2016
Taking a Music Degree Rocks!
Are you thinking about being a music major, but not sure if it is right for you? In this article music graduate Jenny Green talks about 5 reasons why taking a music degree rocks. Debunking common concerns about the versatility of a music degree for future job prospects this article is a must-read for anyone considering being a music major.
Free Like an Improviser
One of our favourite topics at Easy Ear Training is improvisation. It is often thought of as an advanced and rare talent, but is in fact a learnable skill. With some basic guidance you can experience the freedom, creativity and immense satisfaction of being able to improvise a solo. Normally the barrier to getting started is either being overwhelmed by the options (too many notes to choose from!) or getting stuck in rigid patterns like a robot. This is where our new tutorial comes in, Improvisational Freedom Through Constraints. We explain how giving your improvisation more restrictions actually helps you have more freedom in your playing, and let your inner musicality start to come out easily and naturally.
Speaking of improvising easily… A few weeks ago we published a tutorial on how to improvise blues on saxophone. This week we have made a short summary guide, so that in just 6 steps and a few weeks of practice you’ll be confident jamming along with classic blues tracks. All you need is your saxophone, ears, basic sax fingering – and a love of the blues!
I hope that we have answered all your singing, songwriting, and improvisation questions. If you were sitting on the fence, unsure if a music degree was right for you, I hope that Jenny’s article has given you some helpful pointers. Look out for her followup blogpost next week: 5 Surprising Drawbacks of Taking a Music Degree. To be notified of the latest articles don’t forget to Like the Easy Ear Training and Musical U Facebook pages!
