Question of the Week 4: Thoughts on New Authors?

Hey eveybody, Sulli here and I had an interesting conversation with someone the other night to drive this question. Here's the back story for anyone who's asking: I was up one night talk to some friends of mine who write on a fan generated content site called "Fimfiction.net" (beware, this is brony territory if you don't like them) and he was wanting to write some reviews on here of CD's and stuff. Of course the matter now seems to have fallen through (though he may end up writing some things anyways but not regularly) but it had me thinking. Also it reminded me to figure out about our other authors, Lester and Dallas. Dallas has been having a rough time in his life and has decided to take a little break to work on some music. Lester has been working a lot in college, but says he will be back to work on the series in the near future.

So then, here's my question to you: Would you like for me to try a new author on here? Or perhaps open up the possibility of looking for more authors to post on here along with me? Maybe even you are wanting to write on here. Either way, leave a comment below on what you think and we'll see how the results turn out! As always, don't forget to subscribe by entering your email in the box on the right and following us on the social media listed above!

Practice Tips #3: Don't Be Afraid to Play Outside Your Comfort Zone

Hey guys, Sulli here with the weekly Practice Tips. Before I continue though, I want to say that I'm sorry about the lack of posts over the past week or so. I've been having some major computer problems so expect a small delay on these and The Composer's Vlog. As always, don't forget to subscribe if you like what you've read and if you would like to enter our contest today on creating a name and/or logo then feel free to do so! There's going to be a special surprise for everyone Friday in order to make up for this!

Today's lesson is not be afraid of getting out of your comfort zone. As most people will know, that tends to be a very common problem with musicians, especially younger ones. The best thing to do is to not be afraid of what you're trying to do. Have the confidence to play what you think it sounds like, versus not playing anything at all. It is better to have learned from ones mistakes than never taking the risk and tried. Another thing to point out now is that some people may not realize they're stuck in a comfort zone "rut", but they may need that special push the get them out. In this case, you or your friend will need some motivation.

Some motivational ideas for younger students (this works on 20 year old college students as well... Trust me on that ;P) is holographic stickers. Give them stickers after going farther outside to learn something new as a reward. If stickers don't work then you can use anything that will get their attention from candy, to new music or simply praise. It's all up to you. For older students or adults who need that kick, then use whatever reward they prefer. The best for some would be going out with friends and having a good time or just spending a night to yourself. It is all up to you. I mean, if you really wanted to you could write a post about what you do and how it makes you feel! :D If you do then don't be afraid to leave a link in the comments! And as always click the links above to follow us on FB, Twitter, or Soundcloud!

Question of the Week #3: Favorite Type of Music?

Hey everyone, Sulli here with the next question of the week. As always, leave a comment below and subscribe to us via the email link to the right. Question: What is your favorite type of music to listen to? Leave a comment below and as always, no trolling! Happy commenting!

Special Post: 10,000 views and Growing! Special Surprise for all!

Hey everyone, Sulli here and I'm here to gratefully announce we've hit 10,000 views! I am here to announce that we are hosting a new contest, along with a few changes. We hit view #10,000 sometime Saturday morning so whomever it was that rolled us over, thank you! And also thank you for all the support everyone has given to bringing this page as far as it has! We couldn't have gotten as far without viewers like you.



I have talked this over with the other authors of the blog and we have decided that the blog needs a new name and a new logo to accommodate. However, we don't have any ideas for a new name so we are asking everyone to submit a name and a logo idea. The best 3 ideas of each will go down into final vote between everyone out there. Lester, Dallas and I will have the final say on it. The person/people who are selected will get a shout out, and will write a song in your name.

Also, for those who have been following me on Twitter know I am celebrating the 150th follow I'm extending the video to two: The acoustic fiddle tunes on my cello and then the Star Spangled Banner on the electric cello. However, I will have to hold off on posting them for a couple of days due to the extent of recording them while babysitting. However, I WILL have them up asap! Between those and working on the Composer's Vlog episodes, I've been a little stressed out.
Before I go, I have one last announcement. Before school starts for me, I want to post one more special episode as a test for future series (As you may have noticed, I have been testing a lot out lately). I have been talking to some upcoming dubstep artist who are working on a charity fundraiser and have decided to review all the albums and say which I think had the best album. I will have the first episode of 3 up next Friday. As always, don't forget to subscribe if you haven't, leave a comment or email if you have a question/concern/suggestion and have a good day!

Question of the Week #2: What is your favorite DCI?

Hey everyone, Sulli here with the next Question of the Week! Now, before I begin I need to say sorry about yesterday. We had some technical difficulties and I will have it up later tonight or tomorrow.

Anyway, here's the question of the day is to explain what a DCI is, tell us what your favorite is and why they are! As always, leave a comment below and don't troll people because of their opinions or be ready to be removed and happy posting! (I'm not answering this b/c I would give away the answer to the first question!)

Composer's Vlog Ep. 5: Time to get ready for something different!

Sulli here with episode 5 of the Composer's Vlog. Today we finish up the score as far as I'm wanting to get done! Next time, Tavarus and I are heading to the flea market for some sounds. Don't forget to subscribe!

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Question of the week #1: Who was more influential pt. 1

Hey everyone, Sulli here from the ASMusicTheoryBlog and I have a new series I'm going to start today and post it ever Wed. First, however I want to wish everyone in the states (or anyone who wishes to celebrate) a happy 4th of July from myself and the blog staff.

Back to the topic at hand, I am starting a series here which is Question of the Week or probably after this one ASQuestionOTW or some acronym similarly. Also, I'll vary the questions from week to week or maybe keep a genre a month sort of thing. If you have any suggestions, then let us know.

Today's question of the day is from Marlon Taylor who asks: "Who is the most influential band in British history; The Beatles or Led Zeppelin?".  Leave a comment below what you think about this. You can leave your name or be anonymous, but the only rule is NO TROLLING/HATE. Remember, these are opinion and everyone's entitled to an opinion. If it happens, then I will block the comment. Otherwise, happy commenting!

Special post: "Hit Me With Music" on Scales

Hey guys, how's everyone doing? Sulli here with a special post for you. Today, Uri and Anu from "Hit Me With Music" are going to post an article about scales. If you like this article then feel free to subscribe to the right by inputting your email or following me on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and SoundCloud). Let us know what you think in the comments below or emailing me at the address above. Thanks for reading!

Hi, Adam Sullivan Music Theory Blog readers! We're Uri and Anu, and we're writing a really unique introduction to music for you over the next few months. Music textbooks try to teach you how to read clefs, whole notes, and quarter rests without telling you why they're important, and other pop music books dive into the neuroscience behind music with a limited crash course on how music works. There's no simple primer on music that teaches music through questions that people really care about, like "What makes music sound happy vs. sad?" and "What makes rock sound like rock?" So, we're writing a book to give you an easy-to-read intro to the concepts you've always wanted to understand, like chords, rhythm, and harmony, through answering questions you actually care about! First, let's start with a sample from our book:

To understand music, we must understand scales.

Our everyday lives are generally full of units of measurement, and many of those units are essentially arbitrary. If you’re driving down a quiet street and a cop pulls you over for doing 90 miles per hour, the thing he’s measuring (your speed) may be real and meaningful but the units he’s using (miles, hours, miles per hour) are essentially arbitrary, the products of a quirky set of historical accidents. There is nothing fundamental about the length of an hour that makes it an especially meaningful unit of time: if our Babylonian forerunners had done things differently we could easily be using a basic unit that was some other length. Equally, there is nothing fundamental about the length of a mile that makes it an especially meaningful unit of distance; for that reason, a lot of countries have in fact chosen a different (equally arbitrary) unit called “a kilometre” to do the same work.

By contrast, some of our common units have a deeper logic to them. The length of a day was not decided for us by some ancient civilization  “a day” is the non-arbitrary length of time that it takes the earth to spin once around its axis. This gives days some very useful and meaningful properties.

How about music? In the same way that time (on earth) is organised around these things called “days,” music is organised around things called scales: sets of musical notes lined up in order. But is the length of a scale arbitrary (like the length of a metre) or fundamental (like the length of a day)? Let’s find out."

You can read the rest of the sample segment we wrote here. If you like Julie Andrews and Judy Garland, we promise it'll be a fun read :).

The Kickstarter for our book runs through this Thursday, July 4. We've already reached our initial $1,000 goal, and are now reaching for a stretch goal of $1,500! If we raise $1,500, we commit to adding an online multimedia supplement to our book within three months of publication. Keep in mind that with any contribution $5 or above, you'll get a copy of the Hit Me With Music e-book as a perk!

We also want to hear your ideas and suggestions for the book and multimedia supplement! Write to us at hitmewithmusicbook@gmail.com.