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Easy Music Theory Newsletter Free, from Spring Day Music
April 2002
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April 2002 A Publication of Spring Day Music www.EasyMusicTheory.com (c)2002 Spring Day Music
Hello! You've received this because you've purchased Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory on CD-ROM, or because you've subscribed through our sign-up page at EasyMusicTheory.com. (or someone forwarded it to you). See the bottom of the newsletter for unsubscribe instructions.
Welcome to the April edition of the Easy Music Theory Newsletter. Yes, we know it's May, and we're very sorry it's late, but we're bound and determined to give you a newsletter per month no matter what!
If you're looking for our other newsletter editions, go to http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com/newsletter.html. That's the newsletter signup page, where you can find a link to our previous editions.
==================== In this Issue&ldots; ====================
1. The Easy Music Mix Contest 2. Being A Dedicated Musician 3. The Natural 4. Using Transposition to Make a Song Singable 5. Try a Little Chord Substitution 6. Question of the Month: How Do I Get My Students (and Myself!) to Practice More? 7. Skill-Testing Question
======================== 1. The Easy Music Mix Contest ========================
Many of you are discovering that the Contest is not so much a contest as a challenge! It's not a game of chance. You need to use your ear. Go to http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com/contest.html for this month's listening challenge, which ends May 20, 2002.
The winner of the March challenge is Vandana Bali from Calfornia. Congratulations! We've got a fine CD of music on the way to you. To find out the answer to the contest, go to the contest page at http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com/contest.html.
Want a free CD? Me too. You may get one if you go to the contest page!
======================== 2. Being a Dedicated Musician ======================== What does it take to be a dedicated musician? Careful how you answer. Many will automatically associate dedication with profession. In other words, the dedicated musicians among us are those that play or write music as an occupation.
No so! Dedicated people are committed people. Just because you hold down a day job in an office does not mean you are not a committed musician. If you are reading this, you probably are a dedicated musician.
The hallmark of a dedicated musician is one who is on a path of self-improvement, pure and simple. They are that select group of people who have decided to apply personal discipline to their lives, and, little by little, day by day, lesson by lesson, purposed to move to higher and higher levels in their quest for improvement.
This quest takes many forms. Here at Spring Day Music, we see a large number of dedicated people just like you, who have made a decision to increase their level of practical knowledge of music. Now that you've made that decision, make it work for you! Make a plan - one that can succeed, and go for it. And don't forget, there's a lot to be said for, "Slow and steady wins the race."
Now, if you're reading this newsletter, wondering how to get moving with self-improvement in music, just try these five simple steps:
1. Get your hands on a music theory course. (And yeah - we think ours is the best!) If nothing else, you at least need to get your hands on a course that covers the basics, and can be understood!
2. Look at your course as a cruise line voyage. It's not one huge trip; it's a huge trip made of many stops. Many waypoints. Many milestones. So see each lesson as a port city. Come into port, have fun, get things done, and celebrate the accomplishment! You know, you may not know what a dominant chord is right now, but once you enter that port, you'll know, and it'll be knowledge you'll have for the rest of your life!
3. Check into the Easy Music Theory forum, and check out the questions other folks have. If you do that just once a week, you'll be amazed at how much you'll grow.
4. Keep reading this newsletter. Gary and I agreed at the outset that we wanted this newsletter to be a solid piece of music education that you can read and re-read, and really benefit from as a musician.
5. Turn your shortcomings into victories. If you find yourself away from your study plan for a month or two, don't wallow in self-pity. What's done is done. You can't re-live the past. Instead, use it as a wake-up call (man, I really thought I'd never use that tired phrase!) and just get going again.
Now, there are many things you can do to demonstrate dedication to yourself, so you may easily come up with your own list of to-do's. But if you need a little help, that list of five steps will get you pointed in the right direction.
-David
============================= What kind of calendar does a trombonist use for his gigs? "Year-At-A-Glance." :-) =============================
3. The Natural =============================
Well, there's the movie, of course. But the natural in music is different. A few folks had mentioned that they were not sure of what the natural sign was all about.
Think of a note on a staff, say, an F on the bottom space of the treble staff. (For those of you who are wondering, notes are covered in Lesson 2 of Easy Music Theory course. For information, go to http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com ). If you want to raise that note a half-step, or semitone, you'd place a sharp in front of the note, which looks like this: #.
Want to put that F# back? No problem. To put a sharp back to where it was (it's natural state), you take away the # and use a natural sign instead.
It's hard to put a natural sign in print so that it can be viewed in a newsletter, so to see this demonstrated, go to http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com/natural.html . You'll get the complete primer there.
=================================== 4. Using Transposition to Make a Song Singable ===================================
Ever come across a song that seems too high for your voice? Just change the key. Lesson 19 of Easy Music Theory tells you how.
Here's a simple way to change a song to the key that's right for you. The first method is the no-brainer: just keep moving the key down and see if you can sing it. Let's say the song is in the key of G-Major. Find the section of the song that contains the highest note. Move everything down one whole step. Can you sing it? Good. That means that you transpose the whole song down one whole step, and you're done.
Here's another interesting method. Many singers have a fairly good idea of their highest note. Let's say your highest note is an E-flat. The song you're learning goes up to G. Simple. The interval from E-flat to G is a major third. To make this song singable for you, transpose the entire song down a major third, and you're done. (Make sure that lowest note is singable, though.)
A word of caution. You think you know what your highest note is. But your highest note in a fast-moving emotional song is likely not your highest note in a soft ballad. In the fast-moving song, your highest note is probably higher, because you're belting it out. If you sell yourself short, and transpose your song too low, you may be killing the energy in your song, and it'll lay there like a cold pancake.
Don't forget, the important thing about high notes is the energy and interest they inject into your song. So be prepared to try the opposite. Got a song that really moves, but it just doesn't have any energy? Try transposing it up so that your highest note is right at the peak of your range (even try a note higher than that). You'll be amazed at the energy you'll throw into it! Upper range is a factor that's very carefully considered by producers of hit recording artists. Now you know why!
============================= 5. Try a Little Chord Substitution =============================
Lesson 16 deals with all the different chord qualities. If you've read the free article called "Writing Music - Making it Work" that comes with the Easy Music Theory on CD-ROM course, you know that it is possible to substitute certain chords for other chords, and get some great variety in your music.
Let's try a little chord substitution. If you've got a piece in the key of C major, find a place in your music where the chord is F. That F chord is made up of F, A, and C, and it's called a four-chord (IV) because it's based upon F, the fourth note of the C major scale.
Now, instead of F, play a D minor 7th chord. Why? Well, a D minor 7th chord contains D, F, A, and C. Notice that three of those notes can be found in the F chord. Try it. Not only does it work, but because the bass note is now D instead of F, it may give you just the sound you were looking for.
Music arrangers try these chord substitutions for many reasons. Primarily, they are looking for interesting sounds. But also, they may be looking for ways to "smooth out" a bass line, to change the mood of a piece, or to keep a composition from sounding boring.
You don't need to be a self-proclaimed composer or arranger to do this. Try it with any piece. And if it fits the bill, then use it. And I guess that means you're now an arranger!
============================= What's the difference between a baritone saxophone and a chain saw? The exhaust! Heh-heh&ldots; =============================
6. Question of the Month: How Do I Get My Students (and Myself!) to Practice More? =============================
Needless to say, practicing is vital to success on any instrument. In last month's newsletter I gave reasons why a practice record can be a positive way to reinforce good study habits. But beyond a practice record, how can you get your students to practice? Or for yourself - how can you help yourself to be more inspired to take out that instrument on a daily basis. I'll address this issue with regard to students you may have, but hopefully you'll find that these ideas will help you as well.
Practicing won't happen unless you actually take the instrument out, so here's an idea: Suggest to your students that they buy a stand for their instrument, and as much as possible keep the instrument out the case, on the stand. Having it out and ready to play will encourage him/her to play it. Just make sure that the instrument is in a safe place so that it doesn't get knocked over! Reed players will need to keep their reeds in a proper container, but it will help to at least have the instrument assembled. Remember to keep your instrument clean and properly maintained.
It is possible to buy printed music that comes with a CD of accompaniments so that you play with a piano or band. That is often a source of inspiration to practice. Also, there is a wonderful program called "Band-in-a-Box" that allows you to play very good accompaniments from your computer.
For some students who relate well to computers, it can be fun to use a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel to keep track of the number of minutes of practice per week, month, or year. It's fun to translate that to seconds, and see how many seconds per year spent practicing! Use Excel's calculator mode to create the proper formulas - that can be a fun and innovative way to inspire certain types of students to practice.
And a final piece of advice - always play musical recordings for your students. Or take them to a concert. Often, when they hear their instrument being played correctly it serves as an important inspiration to keep practicing and playing.
Don't forget to try the practice record we have at our site. You can download it at http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com/practice.pdf
============================ 7. Skill-Testing Question ============================
"Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father" is a phrase used to describe what? You can find the answer in Lesson 9 of Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory. For more information about the course, go to http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com .
============================ You've reached the end of this month's Easy Music theory Newsletter! Questions or comments? Send them to emtinfo@easymusictheory.com. =============================== Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory represents the finest in music theory instruction. If you play an instrument or sing in a choir, you can expand your musical horizons by learning music theory. Get all the information at http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com ===============================
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This newsletter is copyright (c) 2002 Spring Day Music, a division of Corporate Impact Inc. Contact us at 902-481-2677, or emtinfo@easymusictheory.com
Newsletter editor: David Ewer Music education content: Gary Ewer and David Ewer
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©2001 Spring Day Music. All rights reserved Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory is a trade mark of Spring Day Music, a div. of Corporate Impact Inc. Contact us at emtinfo@EasyMusicTheory.com
