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Useful Machine for Teachers and Community Musicians

I recently purchased a Roland CD-2e recorder and it’s just the sort of kit I love – compact and versatile, it’s a real ‘instrumental teacher’s companion’.

 It’s primary function is as a portable 2-track (Stereo), direct-to-CD, recording device. There are two internal microphones, or external mics can be connected. It also has LINE input for keyboards, cassette-decks, etc.. You can record either to CD or to an SD card (up to 8GB). It comes with a 512MB card which will record up to 46 minutes of audio. The machine is powered by 6 x AA batteries or the supplied AC adaptor. Mains power is required for operation in CD mode.

For people, like me, who have fought a losing battle with microphones and soundcards to make recordings in lessons, it’s a real boon! Recording couldn’t be simpler and, while the purists can fiddle with placement of the unit or external microphones and settings, it produces excellent results when it’s simply plonked down near the players and Record and Play are pressed on the remote control. It automatically records in the next available slot. This will be great in a workshop situation, where I will be able to make recordings without interrupting the flow in order to fiddle with equipment. The Menu offers a number of “Convenient Functions for Recording”, including “Automatically Starting Recording When Audio Is Detected” and “Inserting a Count Before Recording Begins”.

In addition to accommodating transposing instruments, the option in much MIDI software to change the key of playback has proved a useful accessibilty tool in many other situations. Now, with the CD-2e, I can treat audio in the same way. In addition to changing key, pitch can be adjusted and the tempo slowed down. Other useful functions are a tuner and “Center Cancel”. The latter cancels the portion of the sound that is heard in the centre of the stereo image, such as the main vocal, making it less audible. In this way, the user can enjoy simple karaoke or practise singing or playing an instrument with a commercially-recorded backing.

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Spring Music for Families and Friends

The uncommonly warm and sunny February weather in the UK has made the big outdoors the place to be and I’ve certainly not been tempted to spend extra time at the computer. Now, it seems, we are about to plunge back into winter again and exploring spring music and activities at the computer seems like a good idea.

The Spring Fun page on the Full Pitcher website has music playback, lyrics and activities for a selection of seasonal pieces to share with family and friends. There are lively activities for Cuckoo, a Tyrolean folk dance with a yodelling chorus, and Hot Cross Buns,  while Morning Has Broken and Winter, Goodbye provide gentler moments. Spring is the theme from the Vivaldi concerto, with lyrics added and ideas for improvisation.

Spring Fun

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Pre-schoolers and Tonic Sol-fa

Someone commenting on my post, “Sol-fa, So Good” asked about materials for parents to learn sol-fa with their pre-schoolers.  I think a lot of people might be interested in my reply, so I’m putting it up as a new post and also posting it on my Family Music Forum. I’m figuring that more people will see it in these places than buried amongst the comments about sol-fa generally:

Any pre-school music group describing its sessions as based on “Kodaly” or “Colourstrings” principles will be using tonic sol-fa. Parents will usually be encouraged to learn with their little ones and to continue the fun at home.

Colourstrings Music Kindergartens began life as the pre-instrumental programme of the junior music school at the East Helsinki Music Institute. Everyone was astonished at the effect the programme had on the musical development of the young participants and the standards they went on to achieve in the Institute’s junior ensembles. There is now an excellent training programme for people who wish to teach the programme and classes are available in many different countries.

Songs in the “Singing Rascals” books and tapes have been selected from those which over the years have proved appealing and easy to learn. They are presented in child-size hardback books which are beautifully illustrated and children adore them!

Dr. Géza Szilvay, Head of East Helsinki Music Institute and Compiler of the “Singing Rascals” series says in his introduction:

The “Singing Rascals” books are intended as a means of helping parents, grandparents, kindergarten and nursery school teachers, and all those who have children in their care, to create stimulating and purposeful moments with them… …The series is supported by a parallel series of audio tapes on which infants sing and young children perform the melodies, but no cassette, however good, can replace the lap and guidance of the close relative or friend.

These same sentiments inform my own “GridPlay: Creative Explorations, Level 1” software resources, which owe much to my experience of using “Colourstrings” materials with pre-schoolers:

 

For more information about “Colourstrings”, visit www.colourstrings.co.uk. I would recommend starting with the “Pentatonic” book. The audio is now available in CD format from www.westcoastmedia.co.uk. I can’t recommend these resources too highly.

Several posts on my blog deal with aspects of tonic sol-fa, so if you don’t see what you want in this post, check the ‘Category’ menu in the sidebar for more on this subject.

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Jazz Improvisation For Beginners

Many instrumental teachers whose own background is in classical music find
themselves drawn into jazz in response to requests from pupils. The syllabus for most graded music exams now include ‘jazzy’ pieces and a visit to the average music shop will turn up numerous easy anthologies with ‘jazz’ in the title.

If I weren’t a teacher, I would never have touched jazz with a barge-pole – I
didn’t care for it at all! “Boring and cliché-ridden!” was my response to the ‘wallpaper’ jazz to which I had been exposed. As I offered ‘creative music tuition’, way back when this was unusual, I checked out materials that purported to teach jazz improvisation to beginners. My heart would sink as I opened yet another book stuffed with repetitive scale and and arpeggio exercises that engaged the intellect and the fingers but left the heart and imagination cold. It was only when I had the opportunity to ‘dip my toes’ in real improvisation with kindly jazz musicians that I understood how exciting and absorbing it could (should?) be. It’s obvious, really – just as one wouldn’t teach grammar to a child before encouraging them to speak, it makes better sense to engage the beginner improviser in a dialogue before worrying about chord sequences, etc..

In the UK, improvisation is now an established part of the curriculum and, in order to service the demand arising from this, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools  of Music, the biggest of the UK graded music examinations boards, introduced grade exams in Jazz Piano and, a couple of years later, exams for Flute, Clarinet, Sax, Trumpet and Trombone. For many, there’s something a bit distasteful about a jazz exam and the ABRSM acknowledges that many students using their resources will not be at all interested in doing an exam – each anthology is wisely described as being for “Grade/Level” 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. There are fifteen pieces at each level and each piece includes an improvised section. There are 5 “Blues”, 5 “Standards” and 5 “Contemporary” pieces in each anthology. All have been arranged by leading jazz educators. For each book, there is a CD of performances and, in the case of melody instruments, ‘minus-one’ backing tracks played by a small ensemble. It’s great to have a choice of fifteen pieces, all carefully graded at the same standard. Better still, there’s not a cliché in sight!  This repertoire is varied and fresh. A teachers’ manual, “Jazz Piano From Scratch”, is designed to help the classically-trained teacher get to grips with the jazz syllabus.

“Jazz Piano From Scratch” suggests several ways of approaching the solo sections but, because of the  way in which pitches are suggested in the right hand of solo bars, the focus is mainly on melody. Although chord symbols appear throughout, exam candidates at grades 1-3 are not expected to analyse chords. A melodic approach had already been adopted for graded jazz exams of the Guildhall School of Music, which board has since amalgamated with that of Trinity College London to form the Trinity Guildhall examination board. Jeffery Wilson’s “Progressive Guide To Melodic Jazz Improvisation” is still available and this book, with its accompanying CD, is an excellent resource, although it has only three pieces at each grade/level. Each of the improvisations is based on one of the scales set for the grade.

Over the years,  I have accumulated many beginner jazz improvisation resources but these are the ones I and my pupils enjoy most and we strongly recommend them to other beginners.

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Functional Forums

I have long wanted to improve two-way communication with visitors to my sites and have been frustrated by the lack of feedback and by the very small amount of real communication that seems to take place online. That’s one reason why I set up this blog and I have been delighted to create new connections through it. I also wanted to further The Full Pitcher’s mission of helping those whose musical interests are not well-served in the, mainly commercially-focussed, music scene to locate the information and resources they require and to share their ideas.

I have been nervous of setting up the forums I wanted The Full Pitcher to provide because of the technical, financial and labour implications. I’m pleased to say that, after much thought and research, I have now found a, modestly-priced, hosted solution that seems to provide the features I require. I have set up my bulletin-board with several forums, matching the special interests identified by my visitors.

The forums will, of course, enable members to provide mutual support but I intend them also to be bulletin-boards in the traditional sense of a place where members can publicise their events and courses, etc. and where The Full Pitcher can post links to the specialist resources it makes available online. At present, forums are set up so that anyone can read them but only registered members of the board can post. Posts will be rigorously moderated, on a daily basis.

Forums Homepage
Class Music Teaching
Instrumental Teaching
Music & Disability
Improvisation
Family Music
Music Technology in Education

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Rethinking Music Notation

When Jim Plamondon left a comment on my posting, “Sol-fa, So Good!”, suggesting a visit to his site describing a new instrument he is developing, I clicked through for a quick visit. It was getting late, so I didn’t intend to stay long. Next thing I knew, though, it was well into the next day and I still hadn’t got round to reading about the new instrument!

What Jim presents on www.thumtronics.com is not just a musical instrument but a whole new system of music notation, simpler than Common Western Musical Notation and one which sweeps away the inconsistencies and consequent stumbling blocks to musical literacy.

A few years ago this would have been an alarming prospect for music educators: how could a parallel system, however pupil-friendly, be integrated into the present musical scene and with the existing mass of repertoire in standard notation? Today, developments in computer notation make it possible to transpose easily between various systems based on equal temperament. In my current score-writing software, Sibelius 4, I can present a score in standard notation, solfa pitch symbols, solfa and rhythmic notation, guitar tablature and graphic score. Perhaps, in a few years time, ThumMusic will be added to the list.

The ThumMusic system combines tonic solfa with a visual representation that is consistent across clefs and octaves. It is totally compatible with CWMN, underlining the patterns of relationships between intervals. The ‘Thummer’ is the first instrument in which the layout conforms to the pattern of intervals – the layout and fingering are the same in any key or octave. You can see how it works with an onscreen layout linked to the computer keyboard. I think this, in itself, is a great little tool for learning major and modal scales – once the pupil has learnt the fingering for C major/A minor, they can play the scale from any tonic and read off the note names. There is constant aural, visual and tactile reinforcement of pitch concepts.

Just as harpsichord, clavichord, church organ, piano, celesta and synthesizer all share the same keyboard layout but each have their own characteristic sounds, appearance, playing styles and repertoire, ThumBoards could take many forms. Although the Thummer promises to be a really simple and highly motivating instrument for the beginner, the video demonstrations show it will have considerable expressive potential in the hands of a fine musician, and bear in mind that this is a prototype instrument.

Check out this project, which could conceivably be the biggest thing to hit the musical world in a long time! I’m sure Jim Plamondon would really appreciate your feedback.

www.thumtronics.com

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Songs for Autumn and Harvest Festival

I have been trying to spin out the last few days of summer but, every time I go outside, I find that more and more nuts have fallen from the hazel tree beside my back door; the shrubs are beginning to take on autumnal tints and, next Sunday, the BBC’s “Songs of Praise” team is celebrating Harvest Festival. Reluctantly I’ve decided it’s time to change the “Seasonal Fun” page on the Full Pitcher site.

On the “Autumn Fun” page, the songs can all be explored with full lyrics and audio playback. There are ideas for using the songs in groups of mixed age or ability. A PDF of melody and lyrics for all the songs can be downloaded.

We kick off with a part-song, “Autumn Makes Me Glad” This can be performed as two separate songs. “Part Two” has few words and is largely based on a falling minor third – the first interval that children sing spontaneously. Playback of the second part alone is included and this could be used to support the singing of the easier part, while more able singers could add Part 1.

“The Birds” started life as an item from a classroom cantata for performance by children with physical disabilities. A range of bird calls are suggested in the score but these can be replaced by improvised contributions on flute and recorder.

Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours” is the tune used in the comic song, “Camp Grenada”. Here it is given suitably autumnal words, with suggestions for rhythmic activities.

“Fireworks” can be performed as a unison song or as a round in 2-4 parts and there are creative performance suggestions.

Finally, we have a song set to a theme from Vivaldi’s “Autumn”.

Also of seasonal interest are Tim Hopkins’ songs for Harvest Festival, found on the “Sacred Music” page. I love Tim’s songs -so fresh and catchy. Tim has also contributed a number of original children’s carols to the “Music for Christmas” page. Again, full playback and lyrics will be found on site.

See:
Autumn Fun
Sacred Music
Music for Christmas

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Amateur Chamber Music

There are many opportunities for amateur musicians to join orchestras and choirs, but what of those whose preference is for small-scale musical works? Playing chamber music with sympathetic musicians must be one of the most absorbing and rewarding of all musical activities! Sadly, though, drawing together the instrumentalists to play a particular work can be almost impossible for those who do not have a large circle of musical acquaintances.

Some enthusiastic would-be chamber musicians have solved their own problem and provided fantastic opportunities for fellow players in their locality by setting up amateur chamber music clubs. Surrey (UK) is blessed with not one but two clubs through which members can arrange to play their preferred repertoire in their own homes and to share their discoveries with the wider membership in informal monthly concerts.

The Kingston and District Chamber Music Society (www.kfcms.org.uk) is well placed to draw members from South-West London and from the northern parts of Surrey, although some members are happy to travel into the area from further a-field. The society also arranges two annual 1-day ‘outings’, at which  members can play a session with up to five different groups.

Farnham Chamber Music Club ( www.fcmc.org.uk ), which has historical links with KDCMS, holds its monthly concerts in Churt. As this is near the borders of three counties – Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire, membership is very much a cross-county affair. The varied and hugely enjoyable monthly concerts attract non-performing members as well as singers and instrumentalists. Although everyone is encouraged to contribute occasional concert items, no one is obliged to do so. Some groups meet regularly on the understanding that it is strictly for their own pleasure. A recent innovation is the ‘piano group’. Pianists are always in demand as accompanists and welcome as recitalists but some felt they would like to to explore more repertoire for 4-, or 6-, hands, etc..

If there is no club like these in your area, maybe the web-sites will inspire you to start your own! A marvellous online resource for would-be chamber musicians is the web-site of Amateur Chamber Music Players. Inc ( http://acmp.net ). This is a lively international organisation which may introduce you to opportunities closer to home of which you are unaware!

Another possibility is a local adult education college/ institute, where the prospectus sometimes lists weekly chamber music coaching sessions. If all else fails, a residential summer school may provide an annual ‘fix’ of the music you long to play!

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Not So Fast!

One very useful contribution that a computer can make to the instrumental lesson or practice session is providing accompaniments. Even where the teacher is able to play a piano accompaniment, it is often preferable to be able to focus on the pupil’s performance without the distractions of accompanying.

Nowadays, much student repertoire is available with CD accompaniment. This can make practice much more enjoyable in the early stages and, at a more advanced level, pupils have much needed opportunities to become familiar with the accompaniment. All too often, though, the CD recordings are too fast for the pupil’s tempi, particularly in the early stages of learning a piece.

Until recently, MIDI was the only way of varying the speed of accompaniment without changing pitch. Many teachers who are familiar with a MIDI sequencer have been in the habit of preparing files for the use of their students. These could be played back on the pupil’s computer with a simple media player but, in order to have the flexibilty to change keys and tempi, a more sophisticated MIDI sequencer was required. There are, now, one or two simple players that are accessible to less-experienced users. VanBasco’s Karaoke Player is a great piece of software – very well featured, simple to use and free! Tempo and pitch change is available and individual tracks can be muted, so that most files can be played with, or without, the solo line. A number of educational publications are supported by midifiles, including some ABRSM materials.

Even better, it is now possible to slow down audio recordings. This can be done with one or two new CD recorders but, as yet, the hardware is expensive. Audio-processing software can also provide this facility and the “Audacity” software is an excellent free example. However, this is probably a bit intimidating for someone who just wants to play files. For simplicity, “The Amazing Slowdowner”, from Roni Music, would be a better bet. This costs about $49 and, for that modest sum, you get the facility to play and process music directly from CD.

“SmartMusic”, of which more later, is a whole computer-based accompaniment system available, on a subscription basis, from www.smartmusic.com. I was delighted to discover that SmartMusic 10 includes a load audio function, which opens wav, mp3 and aif files. It can vary tempo and pitch and allow passages to be looped.

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Discord and Resolution

A focus on discord and resolution is, I believe, one of the most useful approaches for the beginner improviser. Of course, discord and resolution are dependent upon harmonic progressions but there is no need for the beginner to know why certain combinations of sounds create dissonance while others are concordant.

What creates tension will vary from one culture to another, and from style to style. However, most of us have heard so much music that we instinctively feel the tension and discomfort of combinations that demand resolution in our genre. This constitutes one of the biggest barriers to beginning improvisation – the fear of ‘wrong notes’. So, it’s very useful to set up situations in which discords are bound to happen and the beginner can learn that they can resolve them. This can have a very liberating effect on the approach to improvisation.

It’s easiest to follow instinct when working vocally and, for those who sing, this is a good place to start. For a group, a fun exercise is for each to sing, at a signal, a random pitch.. After walking around the group for a few seconds, trying to hold the pitch, a new note can be chosen. Participants should listen to their pitch in relation to that of their closest neighbour, sometimes  adapting to blend with it.

The pentatonic, gapped, scale is often recommended for beginner improvisers because the lack of semitone relationships between the notes of the scale removes the strongest dissonances. This scale is equivalent to a major scale with the fourth and seventh degrees omitted. This builds confidence and the scale is very common in folk music of many regions and in jazz. Although there are no really harsh sounds when combining  parts using a  pentatonic scale, some things will sound better than others. Where desired, greater consonance will usually be achieved by dropping to the note below. The improviser can focus on shaping the melody, without disconcerting harmonic clashes.

The confidence gained from working with pentatonic scales can be applied to major scales. Just as with the vocal exercise, a pupil can sound a note of the scale, at random, on the first beat of the bar, as the teacher/accompanist  plays a chord. If the pupil is comfortable with the pitch they are sounding, they can hold it for the rest of the bar. If not, they can drop to the  next lower pitch of the scale on the second beat of the bar. If the discordant note is the leading note of the scale, they should rise to the tonic on the second beat.

Another exercise I use is to teach a tune, made up entirely of whole notes, based on notes of tonic and dominant seventh chords. Pupils are then asked to precede each note with the note above in the scale, dropping to the chord-tone on the second beat. Likewise, each note can be preceded by the note a semitone below, resolving up on the second beat. The pupil can then experiment with various combinations of chord-tone and upper or lower appoggiatura. After a little experience of these exercises, discords are ‘no big deal’.

Have fun!