Remember to View the Post! The link is at the bottom of your email. When we play from sheet music, we’re playing someone else’s idea. You may be at the very beginning of your studies, just learning how to find Middle C on the piano and play a short piece on one note; or you may …
Remember to View the Post! The link is at the bottom of your email. Why do people learn to play a musical instrument? Children can be inspired by seeing a professional play, or knowing that one of their friends is learning music. Many children are offered lessons in school. Some are encouraged to learn by …
In last week’s Humoresque I presented you with three recordings so that you could see the effect of changing either pitch or rhythm on your perception of a melody. But the audio tracks didn’t show in the email. I should have realised this, as it’s happened once before, and I should have warned you that …
Which came first, Pitch or Rhythm? Pitches = the notes you play or sing, in the correct order. Rhythm = the duration of each of those notes, i.e. how long they last. Musicians measure pitch with letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Sometimes sharps or flats are added, but …
Years ago I read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography, “Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story”. In it, he tells a story which illustrates his mindset before competitions. Actually, I think the entire book is about this. Mindset. Competitions. Winning. Being the best. I’ll give you the story in a bit, but first let’s put this into …
Humoresque has decided to tackle the subject of music practice. Yes, I know. Again! It has long been a mantra of music teachers everywhere that it’s better to practise “little and often”, rather than one enormous splurge on the morning of your music lesson. In principle – I can see why people say this. In …
Read more “Little and Often! But how little? And how often?”
Humoresque welcomes you back and wishes you all a Happy New Year! We had a lovely Christmas in Malvern with all the family, and then Carly and I celebrated the New Year by ourselves at home. The new term started this week, and so Humoresque is up and running again, and keen to help you …
Well done everybody! I loved hearing all your performances of The Donkey, and there really was a huge variety. In Category 4 there were clip-clopping donkeys, donkeys with strange and exotic chords and donkeys who picked up speed as they neared their destination! Category 3 was even more inventive, with wonderful added harmonies. In Category …
I’m looking forward to hearing everyone play The Donkey next week. Yes, the competition begins on Monday 8th December and runs until Saturday 13th December. There’s a first and second prize for each Category winner, and Humoresque will announce the winners on Monday 15th December. If you’ve won a prize, you’ll get it during your …
It has recently come to Humoresque’s attention that not many of you read these posts. Humoresque began on 6th April this year. The intention was to provide a weekly term-time blog post which would be helpful (hopefully!), informative (mostly!), entertaining (a humoresque!) and light-hearted (i.e. short!) All Humoresque’s posts are on my website, and you’re …