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Easy Music Theory Newsletter Free, from Spring Day Music
January 2002
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The Easy Music Theory Newsletter
January 2002 A Publication of Spring Day Music www.EasyMusicTheory.com
Welcome!
Welcome to the first edition of the Easy Music Theory Newsletter. We sincerely hope you enjoy and benefit from this newsletter. Our aim is to provide you with some solid information you can use in your musical journey.
If you've received this newsletter because someone forwarded it to you, wonderful! Now, just go to http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com to subscribe to receive your own copy, delivered automatically to your email address every month.
This newsletter is a companion to Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory. Many of you reading this are already using Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory on CD-ROM course. If you are, make sure you go to the site that is exclusively for you: http://student.EasyMusicTheory.com On that page, you'll find a short piece from Gary that gives you tips on how to study music theory. You know, music theory can be fun and fulfilling. You don't need to beat yourself over the head with it. Go to the student site, and you'll get some solid tips on making your music theory learning experience powerful, and of course, useful!
**News Flash! The Student web site is up and running. It's for those who have purchased Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory on CD-ROM. Go to http://www.Student.EasyMusicTheory.com Free articles (PACKED with useful info), and more are on the way. So...
If you're not using Easy Music Theory, you should! Go to http://www.EasyMusicTheory.com
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. Music Theory in Action!
2. Message from Gary Ewer
3. How to Practice Your Instrument
4. Question of the month: What is Perfect Pitch?
1. MUSIC THEORY IN ACTION!
Music theory is not meant to be dry theoretical drivel. It's meant to help you write and play music that is powerful and captivating. If you haven't viewed our free article on this subject, make sure that you do. It's called "Calling All Musicians...Why You Need Music Theory". It's at http://www.easymusictheory.com/whymusictheory.html
Hey, need a guitar chord chart? Send an email to articles@easymusictheory.com with "guitar chord chart" in the subject line, and it's yours, free.
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2. MESSAGE FROM GARY EWER
Sometimes you can wonder... what's the use of music theory? Can't I play my instrument without it? Isn't theory going to "cramp my style"? Here's the answer... music theory will do two things for you right away:
1- Allow you to communicate your musical ideas to other musicians with ease.
2- Increase your musicality by helping you understand the music you are playing.
Humans have an innate desire and need to create. It is part of what makes us human. Once we have created an artistic work, there is usually an immense feeling of satisfaction and resolution- a feeling that we have "made a statement". Used correctly, music theory allows you to be literate, and to expand your musical horizons, and to give you a vocabulary and method for making that statement. Sometimes musicians fear that studying music theory will stunt their musical growth. Nothing could be further from the truth! Theory actually enhances your musical growth by allowing you to fully understand why something sounds the way it does. Think of it this way - Did learning to read words stunt your ability to be creative with words? Of course not - such a claim would be ludicrous! Reading opened up an entire world of books, and expanded your understanding of the English language by allowing you to encounter and understand other authors.
Don't let your musicality be limited by a lack of music theory. Get into how music works, and you'll reap the benefits!
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Believe it or not, the biggest reason why some students make such slow progress on their instrument is not that they aren't practicing enough. It's because they aren't practicing correctly. Many students waste valuable time trying to get their band music to sound right, but often feel that their progress doesn't reflect the time they've put into it. Here are some hints that will allow you to use your time more efficiently:
1- Don't just "play through" your music. When you make a mistake, go back a few notes, and play through the trouble-spot at half the tempo. Do this several times, deliberately and slowly placing the fingers until the trouble is worked out. Then slowly increase tempo.
2- Do some silent practice. Do the fingerings while singing through the music, especially if you play a brass instrument, where constant playing can be tiring.
3- Use a metronome. A metronome will not result in an unmusical performance. The metronome will keep your tempo steady, and will greatly discipline your use of practice time.
4- Play your instrument every day. You will begin to lose the fine muscle-control you've been developing by skipping days. Once in a while, you need a break, but try to practice six out of every seven days.
4. Question of the Month:
What is Perfect Pitch? Can I develop it? (Do I want it?)
Someone walks up to a piano and begins to play a sequence of notes... and you can identify which notes are being played without looking at the keyboard! If you can do this, then you have what is commonly called perfect pitch. It is actually quite rare- only a very tiny percentage of musicians - one or two percent - have it. It may seem like an impressive feat, to name notes with no previous tonal reference. But in fact it is not a terribly useful skill for musicians.
Perfect pitch does not mean that the person has a better understanding of tonality, or even a higher level of musicianship. The great majority of musicians, even the world's best, do not possess perfect pitch. In order to be a true musician, you must have the more important skill of relative pitch. Relative pitch is the ability to name notes relative to a given pitch. This means that if someone plays a note on the piano, and then identifies that note by name, the musician's sense of relative pitch will help identify all other notes played afterward.
This skill of relating all pitches to a given pitch is tremendously important for musicians. And it is a sign of a certain kind of musicianship that is essential for serious musicians. If you don't feel that you have this skill yet - don't despair. It's likely that this ability will continue to get better and better.
So wouldn't it be a good idea to try to develop perfect pitch? Not necessarily. First of all, it is questionable how accurate you can be with this skill. People with perfect pitch may not be able to identify a certain pitch as being exactly in tune, and therefore their perfect pitch is not really much use to them. Sometimes bands, orchestras, and pianos are tuned slightly higher in pitch than the standard pitch (A 440) and this might be disconcerting to a person with true perfect pitch. And if you play a transposing instrument like a saxophone or clarinet, you might find it a bit strange to be looking at the one note on a page, and hearing a different pitch.
Some people and companies sell products that promise to give you perfect pitch, but... save your money! Even if it works (and there are conflicting claims regarding this) perfect pitch is not an important skill for musicians. Forget perfect pitch, and work on the more important skill of relative pitch. Most conservatories and other music school offer ear training programs. Such programs will improve your sense of relative pitch - a better use of your money!
5. Skill-testing question
How many beats in a 6/8 bar? Be careful!! The answer might surprise you! If you think you know the answer, go to Lesson 13 of the Easy Music Theory course- the answer is there!
Write us at Easy Music Theory to ask a question or make a comment: easy@musictheory.halifax.ns.ca. And don't forget about the Easy Music Theory Forum. Ask any question about music theory. You'll get an answer. The forum is at http://www.easymusictheory.com/ceilidh/emtforum.html
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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
Why not forward this email newsletter to a friend? Until next month... study and practice! You can do it!
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
Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory™, Easy Music Theory™, and Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory on CD-ROM!™ are trademarks of Spring Day Music
Did you know you can watch Gary teaching music theory? Gary makes music theory easy! Buy Gary Ewer's Easy Music Theory on CD-ROM, and you'll get more of the teaching you've come to enjoy from Gary, plus all-new worksheets (these are great!), new quizzes, and answer sheets. But the greatest feature of the double-CD-ROM course is the awesome videos of Gary teaching each lesson. Don't miss out. Click here to learn more, or click here to purchase now. It's completely guaranteed!
www.EasyMusicTheory.com Spring Day Music 902-481-2677 emtinfo@EasyMusicTheory.com
©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
