Hello and welcome back to all of my regulars, and an especially warm welcome to the people who are being referred to the site thanks to Magic Rosin! I am proud to announce the 2,000 US viewer was seen last night which is a milestone for me! I honestly imagined this site to be a random page that was searched every now and again for a laugh as I talked about something that no one cared to read! But seeing I have hit the 2,000 viewer in the US, and a grand total of 2,400 viewers which there are about 40 or 50 regulars. I would like for all of the new viewers to have a nice start with the blog. As you have probably guessed, my name's Adam and I play the cello and love to compose music... And not just one genre in particular. I think that all music, even if it's not one kind that I listen to often or at all, is valid on some level. It should be shared with the public and cherished as a piece of art. The differences in music should be separated by a permeable wall; Classical, for example, should influence modern music just as much as modern "classical" music should be influenced by modern music such as pop, rock and etc. This doesn't necessarily mean for one to put a beat box to Vivaldi's Four Seasons but if you can make it work then do so. Music is determined by the composer!
Now, you may be looking at that and wondering why it: A) sounds like a vitamin water bottle label, or B) what is the point of that if this is a blog about music theory. The answer to latter question is this blog isn't all about theory. I try to put a mix of things on here to not only open people up to the variety in the world! In order to understand music, you need to know what music is like all over the world and try mixing new elements into your style. For example, I am working on a few arrangements of some classical Christmas tunes for the holidays and one that I'm going to assume a lot of you have heard is The Piano Guys' version of Nearer, My God, To Thee (link). For those who haven't heard the original, then it is a standard SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tener, Bass) hymn for a church choir. However as you hear around half way into a 7/8 feel and sounds almost syncopated at times. That is the general idea behind composing and arranging music: Find (or create) a tune and make it fit in the context of what you want. And in the blog I have a couple of series that I have to help you with this adventure and an important announcement. The first series I started was the actual music theory lessons which have been going on for a while. Coming up after ever 5 to 10 episodes, I do a theory recap post to help catch everyone up on what they missed. Following that, I started the "How to Practice" series in which I give situations where a lot of student musicians get stuck and I present solutions to those problems by either giving the most common way out of it or I create a method (which is what the next episode will be on *hint hint*).
And now, down to the final and the most important part of the post: The big announcement. I am starting 3 new series for the blog: "Interviews with the Professionals", a Fan Music series and The "Global Musical Experiment". The first series is exactly what is says; being a student at Winthrop University I get to talk to the professionals who stop by and ask questions so I have created a series of questions that I ask everyone and share their knowledge with you. The second is also as it sounds as well, if you guys want to write a song, submit it to me and I like it, I will post it on here for everyone to see and get you some views. Finally, the last one is a little more complex than it appears.
As I stated before, I have a somewhat large international fan base ranging from Great Britain, France and Russia to South Korea, Indonesia and Japan. I would like to start an interactive page where everyone can post a little bit about where they are from and post a video describing the song they choose to post and why they chose it. I have already started this "forum" sort of discussion on my Facebook Fan Page with a few people but I need everyone to help pitch some music in! However, the magic begins when I select your post and put it on here to share! So if everyone will join the Facebook Fan Page and post one thing on it then this will be an amazing musical learning adventure for everyone to see life from other parts of the world. And if you're not a fan of Facebook, then I have a Twitter page you can follow as well! Hope you decide to stick around and don't be afraid to look around the page or contact me with questions, changes or ideas you have!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Episode 9: Understanding Intervals Part 2
Hello and welcome back everyone! Now as I left off with this series, we talked about the basic intervals; Major Minor and Diminished. Now I'm going to add two more intervals to the set that you know and a a couple of special cases you may have heard of. As always, if this interests you then don't be afraid to add to the friend pages on Twitter and Facebook!
Now to review what we talked about last week, we went over the intervals and how to tell them apart from one to the other. As I showed with the chart at the bottom of the post, it is nothing more than following the half steps between the notes. So in case it was a little confusing that way, here is another way of thinking about it.
Original Chart:
Minor Major Perfect
1 0
2 1 2
3 3 4
4 5
5 7
6 8 9
7 10 11
8 12
Simpler Chart:
Minor Major Perfect
1 0
2 H W
3 W+H 2W
4 2W+H
5 3W+H
6 4W 4W+H
7 5W 5W+H
8 6W
1 0
2 H W
3 W+H 2W
4 2W+H
5 3W+H
6 4W 4W+H
7 5W 5W+H
8 6W
H= Half Step
W= Whole step (2 Half Steps)
Now the new material I wanted to mention to you is a Diminished (o) interval and Augmented (+) interval. A diminished interval is an a half step below a minor interval and an augmented in a half step above a major interval. So for example we have a G-Bb which is a Minor 3rd (G-Ab-A-Bb), then a step below that is a G-Bbb (B double flat). Another example would be an D-Fb because a D-F is a minor 3rd, but lowering it down a half step makes it a diminished interval. Another way to look at the same interval is a D#-F. D-F in a minor 3rd, but raising the base note still closes the gap in between the notes. Now looking at augmented intervals, let's take a G-B which is a major 3rd. If you add a half step to the B you have a G-B# which makes it an augmented interval. Another way to see it is a Gb-B would be an augmented 3rd. Don't let the enharmonic spelling throw your answers off. A B# might sound like a C, and is an enharmonic spelling of C, if the note they write is a B then the notes around it must fit the occasion. Another example of augmented intervals is a G-C#. G-C is a perfect 4th, however with the addition of the sharp we have an Augmented 4th and the first of our special conditions.
The example mentioned above (G-C#) is an augmented 4th, but it is also a tritone. A Tritone is the a series of notes that are the exact middle of our 12 tone interval system. G-C# is 6 half steps from either tonic and give a very dissonant and very identifiable sound to music. A tritone consists of either an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th. Both are in the middle of our scale system.
Another way that I think makes learning intervals easier is the use of inversions. An Inversion is the process of moving one note an octave higher or lower to find an interval. The rule of inversions is if an interval is major before the inversion then the inverted interval is minor. The reverse is true as well, if an interval is minor then inverting it will result in a major interval. So a M6 would invert to a m3 and a m7 would invert to a M2. Perfect intervals always invert to perfect (P4 inverts to a P5, and PU inverts to a P8). Then Augmented always inverts to Diminished. That's why there are two notes that make up the tritone, augmented 4th and diminished 5th.
The example mentioned above (G-C#) is an augmented 4th, but it is also a tritone. A Tritone is the a series of notes that are the exact middle of our 12 tone interval system. G-C# is 6 half steps from either tonic and give a very dissonant and very identifiable sound to music. A tritone consists of either an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th. Both are in the middle of our scale system.
Another way that I think makes learning intervals easier is the use of inversions. An Inversion is the process of moving one note an octave higher or lower to find an interval. The rule of inversions is if an interval is major before the inversion then the inverted interval is minor. The reverse is true as well, if an interval is minor then inverting it will result in a major interval. So a M6 would invert to a m3 and a m7 would invert to a M2. Perfect intervals always invert to perfect (P4 inverts to a P5, and PU inverts to a P8). Then Augmented always inverts to Diminished. That's why there are two notes that make up the tritone, augmented 4th and diminished 5th.
Video Posted On Youtube! I would like some reviews on it!
Someone suggested I start a video series on the blog, so I posted what will hopefully be the first in a series. If you want to view it, click here. If you like it or have some ideas for the series then let me know. I would love some ideas for it at the moment! And don't forget to follow me on the Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, or add the RSS feed to however you follow RSS feeds There will also be an actual post later today in case someone was wondering if this was the only one today. *hint, hint*
Friday, October 19, 2012
How to Practice Episode 6: The Pyramid of Music
Hello guys and welcome back! Today I have the next episode in the blog's how to practice series which is The Pyramid of Music. This is the basic idea of what to look for when sight reading music and what you should continuously have right when sight reading. This is most useful for students who are learning to sight read and to prevent students who tend to stop in the middle of songs in order to correct things. If you like this post then subscribe to the blog by following me on twitter, on the Facebook fan page or sharing the post by clicking the links at the bottom of this post!
Now, you may be wondering why is sight reading important and my answer for you is your musical life will be so much easier and practicing would be much more effective if you know how to. Say for example you were pressed to learn an etude of some sorts in a week. If you didn't know how to sight read then learning the study would be harder than you would want it to be. Now apply the same scenario from learning an etude in a week to learning your part in a symphony in about a month. The task is simpler knowing how to sight read than it is without knowing.
The more commonly used method in teaching sight reading is the term S.T.A.R.S which stands for Sharps and Flats in the key Signature, Time signature and tempo, Accidentals, Rhythm and Signs. If you would like to review this method more than here is a link to a view of using it. Learning this method will help with sight reading because it is focusing your attention on details that most people would have missed without looking for something. Now let's say you did this but the piece is too hard for you to simply sightread the piece. Here is where the Pyramid comes into play. This is a method I've been developing for a few years and it is a way to for you to know what can I drop if I need to. NEVER USE THIS IN A "JUST BECAUSE" MANNER.
Ok, now the first important thing that comes to music is you need to have the rhythm right and be able to count the time signature. The basis of all music throughout history is rhythm. Think about an indigenous culture from any place on the world, and how they used music to communicate using beats to create chants. This is the fundamental level of music and when sight reading this should be the first focus on what you're reading. If you can get this much right, you are on your way up the pyramid! Following this step the next level of importance is knowing what key your in and knowing how they fit into place with your music. Most music has some kind of central key that it fits around, which is identified by the key signature. You should be able to identify what key you're in and play according to that key. immediately following this is noticing the accidentals. If you spot accidentals when sight reading music then note them in your mind and make sure you play them when you go back over them. Finally you need to note anything else that you missed before hand which are articulations, bowings/breath marks, dynamics and anything else that wasn't mentioned. Finally the top of the pyramid is putting emotion into the piece.
So, as you have seen this is my pyramid idea for sight reading. As I've stated a few times before one shouldn't use it in everyday circumstances, only if your sight reading a piece that the director or your instructor wants you to look through. I hope this helps you guys and I'm working on my next contest so stay tuned! And don't forget to follow me on twitter, facebook or by email and if you liked this post or any post then share it!
Now, you may be wondering why is sight reading important and my answer for you is your musical life will be so much easier and practicing would be much more effective if you know how to. Say for example you were pressed to learn an etude of some sorts in a week. If you didn't know how to sight read then learning the study would be harder than you would want it to be. Now apply the same scenario from learning an etude in a week to learning your part in a symphony in about a month. The task is simpler knowing how to sight read than it is without knowing.
The more commonly used method in teaching sight reading is the term S.T.A.R.S which stands for Sharps and Flats in the key Signature, Time signature and tempo, Accidentals, Rhythm and Signs. If you would like to review this method more than here is a link to a view of using it. Learning this method will help with sight reading because it is focusing your attention on details that most people would have missed without looking for something. Now let's say you did this but the piece is too hard for you to simply sightread the piece. Here is where the Pyramid comes into play. This is a method I've been developing for a few years and it is a way to for you to know what can I drop if I need to. NEVER USE THIS IN A "JUST BECAUSE" MANNER.
Ok, now the first important thing that comes to music is you need to have the rhythm right and be able to count the time signature. The basis of all music throughout history is rhythm. Think about an indigenous culture from any place on the world, and how they used music to communicate using beats to create chants. This is the fundamental level of music and when sight reading this should be the first focus on what you're reading. If you can get this much right, you are on your way up the pyramid! Following this step the next level of importance is knowing what key your in and knowing how they fit into place with your music. Most music has some kind of central key that it fits around, which is identified by the key signature. You should be able to identify what key you're in and play according to that key. immediately following this is noticing the accidentals. If you spot accidentals when sight reading music then note them in your mind and make sure you play them when you go back over them. Finally you need to note anything else that you missed before hand which are articulations, bowings/breath marks, dynamics and anything else that wasn't mentioned. Finally the top of the pyramid is putting emotion into the piece.
So, as you have seen this is my pyramid idea for sight reading. As I've stated a few times before one shouldn't use it in everyday circumstances, only if your sight reading a piece that the director or your instructor wants you to look through. I hope this helps you guys and I'm working on my next contest so stay tuned! And don't forget to follow me on twitter, facebook or by email and if you liked this post or any post then share it!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Episode 8: Understanding Intervals Part 1
Hello and welcome back to those who are returning, and welcome aboard for those of you who are new to the series! Sorry this took me so long to post but I've been loaded down with stuff and I sort of forgot about this episode. So after I made the episode for last week I read over it and found out you were suppose to read this a few months ago... So, here we are! We need to start getting down towards the heart of music, and start learning about intervals and why they are important to music. If you like this post is great then please share this by clicking the Facebook, Twitter or Google+ buttons at the bottom!
First off you need to know what an interval is. An interval is the distance between two notes. There are 8 basic intervals: A Unison (same note or C to C), a 2nd (C to D), 3rd (C to E), 4th (C to F), 5th (C to G) 6th (C to A), 7th (C to B) and an octave or 8th (C to higher C). This distance will work between any series of notes but I was using those as an example. A to F is still a 6th just like a G to an A is a 2nd.
There are three main qualities of intervals: Major, Minor, and Perfect. The best way to see this is to separate the different qualities into their own section and learn them individually. First is the Perfects, which are only used to describe a perfect unison, perfect fourth, perfect 5th or perfect octave. As the perfect unison is the same note being repeated, and a perfect octave is the same note being played back to back but one is higher than the other. The perfect fourth and fifth are special because as it says, they are an important part of music. A perfect 4th is 5 half steps from the tonic note. The tonic is the note that starts the comparison or chords as we will get to later. If you need to review half steps and whole steps, please refer to episode 2 (click here). A perfect 5th is 7 half steps from the tonic note. Think about it from the layout of a keyboard. If we start on C, a perfect forth above would be an F (C#-D-D#-E-F) and C to G would be a G (C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G). A forth above G would be a D (G#-A-A#-B-C-C#-D) and a forth above F would be a Bb (F#-G-G#-A-Bb).
Now major and minor intervals work in the same way. They include 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th. A major 2nd is 2 half steps, which is a whole step, or another way to say it is from C to D. A minor 2nd is only a half step or from C to C#. A minor 3rd is 3 half steps or from C to Eb. A major 3rd is 4 half step or C to E. A minor 6th is a 8 half steps or a C to Ab and a major 6th is one half step higher, C to A. Finally A minor 7th is 10 half steps or C to Bb and a major 7th is one higher C to B.
For those who this is just too much information then, I have a chart to help you comprehend this a little better. The numbers is the number of half steps from tonic to the note.
Minor Major Perfect
1 0
2 1 2
3 3 4
4 5
5 7
6 8 9
7 10 11
8 12
If this interests you, then please share it by hitting the icons below! I am interested in seeing how many people read the blog regularly. If you want to stay up to date with the blog series or hopefully soon to come the Youtube series, follow me on Facebook, Twitter!
First off you need to know what an interval is. An interval is the distance between two notes. There are 8 basic intervals: A Unison (same note or C to C), a 2nd (C to D), 3rd (C to E), 4th (C to F), 5th (C to G) 6th (C to A), 7th (C to B) and an octave or 8th (C to higher C). This distance will work between any series of notes but I was using those as an example. A to F is still a 6th just like a G to an A is a 2nd.
There are three main qualities of intervals: Major, Minor, and Perfect. The best way to see this is to separate the different qualities into their own section and learn them individually. First is the Perfects, which are only used to describe a perfect unison, perfect fourth, perfect 5th or perfect octave. As the perfect unison is the same note being repeated, and a perfect octave is the same note being played back to back but one is higher than the other. The perfect fourth and fifth are special because as it says, they are an important part of music. A perfect 4th is 5 half steps from the tonic note. The tonic is the note that starts the comparison or chords as we will get to later. If you need to review half steps and whole steps, please refer to episode 2 (click here). A perfect 5th is 7 half steps from the tonic note. Think about it from the layout of a keyboard. If we start on C, a perfect forth above would be an F (C#-D-D#-E-F) and C to G would be a G (C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G). A forth above G would be a D (G#-A-A#-B-C-C#-D) and a forth above F would be a Bb (F#-G-G#-A-Bb).
Now major and minor intervals work in the same way. They include 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th. A major 2nd is 2 half steps, which is a whole step, or another way to say it is from C to D. A minor 2nd is only a half step or from C to C#. A minor 3rd is 3 half steps or from C to Eb. A major 3rd is 4 half step or C to E. A minor 6th is a 8 half steps or a C to Ab and a major 6th is one half step higher, C to A. Finally A minor 7th is 10 half steps or C to Bb and a major 7th is one higher C to B.
For those who this is just too much information then, I have a chart to help you comprehend this a little better. The numbers is the number of half steps from tonic to the note.
Minor Major Perfect
1 0
2 1 2
3 3 4
4 5
5 7
6 8 9
7 10 11
8 12
If this interests you, then please share it by hitting the icons below! I am interested in seeing how many people read the blog regularly. If you want to stay up to date with the blog series or hopefully soon to come the Youtube series, follow me on Facebook, Twitter!
Monday, October 8, 2012
New idea for the blog *NEED EVERYONE'S INPUT*
Ok guys, as you may or may not know there is a large number of international viewers and in celebration of being seen in every developed country in the world last night, I want to hold a new contest that will benefit everyone! Someone at Winthrop gave me the idea that I should host a mini cultural event with everyone on here. Basically I would give you a sample of my life here in SC along with a song that I feel is a cultural song from the US and you would send to me (via Twitter, the Facebook Fanpage, over email or as a comment on the page) a little bit about yourself and a song from your country. I'm going to start with mine on here and we'll see how far we can go. If I like yours then I will post it on here in a new series for the rest of the world to see. So, let me know via Facebook, Twitter, email, or comment below and don't forget to share this page with your friends!
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Review: Magic Rosin 3G Ultra
Before I start this review, I want to thank Sarah West for her sample of Magic Rosin's 3G Ultra (click here). This was unexpected but I am so thankful you sent them to me try test out! Now I have another review for you guys out there and thanks to a few anonymous viewers, I have a few changes to my post I want to see if it helps you guys out. For those who aren't regulars and would like to see more from the blog I will have a new post out over the weekend with a contest! So don't forget to checking in!!
Now, let's break down how I conducted my test. Like I said before with Magic Rosin's 3G rosin, I started out with the rosin the testers used regularly by playing a scale and something that they knew off the top of their heads and after running my absorbent microfiber cloth over their strings and bow I applied a generous amount of the Magic Rosin to their bow and they played the same thing. This time however, when it came to the bass players, we had a little debate over which was the best so we had to have a blind audition and I'll explain how that works later.
Since I was unable to get in touch with one of my violinist I used to test the 3G ultra I decided to not to test them for the time being but I feel that it might be too strong a rosin for them. Whenever I get a hold of them I will update the post with the results.
I got a hold of one of the violist I used to test the 3G and after we went through it I feel that it might have been border line between strong rosin and too much bite for them, but it all depends on the player's style and taste. The player and I both liked it a lot like that but I do know how one of the others is with their rosin and that probably wouldn't suit those style of players well. I would recommend this for an electric violist or someone who likes to play electric viola. I give it a 4/5 for viola.
Now, going into my personal range of specialty I spent almost a week testing the rosin with my cello and I think this IS the best rosin for cellos I've tried, which ranges from student quality to $35-40 professional rosin. I found this to give me the clarity I need while also projecting well and sticking to the strings. I ran this by a couple of other cellos and I was hearing the same results from them as I was from myself. This rosin is made for cellos except for students or cellist who use very sensitive strings. I give it a 5/5 for cello.
Finally, we have our tests from the bass players! I found this series of test (yes, it took multiple trials to get through all of the tests and make a well rounded decision!). We started out with the usual method of testing rosin and discovered the huge differences between other commercial rosins and Magic Rosin. The first is the clarity of rosin, which most are either gritty, muddy or don't give the projection that is desired. Magic Rosin went and not only made it clear but it also gave us a lot of projection that the other rosin's gave us. After a few tests like this we got to the point that we thought we were hearing things so we had a blind study between Magic Rosin 3G Ultra, Magic Rosin 3G, and two competitors rosin and acquired four identical bows. We went and rosined all of them up with some rosin and had a random person write down the bows rosin to when they handed it to us and hands down we felt the Rosin 3G Ultra had everything else beat. I give it a 5/5 for bass.
It is hard to believe that there is rosin that can be used for all four instruments but it really exists! And for the price of a few cakes of Magic Rosin, you are making a wise investment into not only yourself but your students if you teach privately or in public schools. For more about the rosin click on the link above. If you would like to follow the blog, follow me on Twitter (click here), Facebook (click here) or email me directly! I want everyone to message me by any (or all) of those methods above and tell me one thing you want to see changed or one thing you like about the blog and share this with a friend!
Now, let's break down how I conducted my test. Like I said before with Magic Rosin's 3G rosin, I started out with the rosin the testers used regularly by playing a scale and something that they knew off the top of their heads and after running my absorbent microfiber cloth over their strings and bow I applied a generous amount of the Magic Rosin to their bow and they played the same thing. This time however, when it came to the bass players, we had a little debate over which was the best so we had to have a blind audition and I'll explain how that works later.
Since I was unable to get in touch with one of my violinist I used to test the 3G ultra I decided to not to test them for the time being but I feel that it might be too strong a rosin for them. Whenever I get a hold of them I will update the post with the results.
I got a hold of one of the violist I used to test the 3G and after we went through it I feel that it might have been border line between strong rosin and too much bite for them, but it all depends on the player's style and taste. The player and I both liked it a lot like that but I do know how one of the others is with their rosin and that probably wouldn't suit those style of players well. I would recommend this for an electric violist or someone who likes to play electric viola. I give it a 4/5 for viola.
Now, going into my personal range of specialty I spent almost a week testing the rosin with my cello and I think this IS the best rosin for cellos I've tried, which ranges from student quality to $35-40 professional rosin. I found this to give me the clarity I need while also projecting well and sticking to the strings. I ran this by a couple of other cellos and I was hearing the same results from them as I was from myself. This rosin is made for cellos except for students or cellist who use very sensitive strings. I give it a 5/5 for cello.
Finally, we have our tests from the bass players! I found this series of test (yes, it took multiple trials to get through all of the tests and make a well rounded decision!). We started out with the usual method of testing rosin and discovered the huge differences between other commercial rosins and Magic Rosin. The first is the clarity of rosin, which most are either gritty, muddy or don't give the projection that is desired. Magic Rosin went and not only made it clear but it also gave us a lot of projection that the other rosin's gave us. After a few tests like this we got to the point that we thought we were hearing things so we had a blind study between Magic Rosin 3G Ultra, Magic Rosin 3G, and two competitors rosin and acquired four identical bows. We went and rosined all of them up with some rosin and had a random person write down the bows rosin to when they handed it to us and hands down we felt the Rosin 3G Ultra had everything else beat. I give it a 5/5 for bass.
It is hard to believe that there is rosin that can be used for all four instruments but it really exists! And for the price of a few cakes of Magic Rosin, you are making a wise investment into not only yourself but your students if you teach privately or in public schools. For more about the rosin click on the link above. If you would like to follow the blog, follow me on Twitter (click here), Facebook (click here) or email me directly! I want everyone to message me by any (or all) of those methods above and tell me one thing you want to see changed or one thing you like about the blog and share this with a friend!
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