MusicCLASS
001 Children | 004 Children's Resources | 005 Music Appreciation | 101 Beginning Musicianship | 201 Musicianship | 600 Collaboration
Please use the headings to quickly scan all the sections then dig deeper later. Skim all the sections then find the one most appropriate for you. Do your practicing. Good luck and fun jamming.
Clicking one of the AREA HEADINGS will bring you back to the top of the page
MUSIC FOR CHILDREN
The best way for kids to get into music is to have adults give the kids fun projects like clapping or singing along, playing NAME THAT TUNE, or teaching them easy and fun musical parts so that they can practice PERFORMING. The other approach is to teach them a bunch of somewhat boring rules and things to memorize, but that can also be fun if you make a game out of it!
Find cool songs they like and show them how THEY can play it! My nephiew really likes sports so I first showed him the baseball song (C-G-A-B-C-G-A-B-C#...). Once he got the first part right, with lot's of praise and fun, I showed him the next part, just up one half step, he enjoyed learning CHROMATIC modulation, building up to cresendo and all that! Creating the fun project for your students will be a great joy to you as well.
The Pink Panther is a great song to teach on Piano with the C#-D and D#-E slides that use the Piano well. Of course Heart And Soul is GREAT with it's C Major - A minor - F major - G major, the memorable parts, and the cool melody on top! Make new songs out of old songs they know, and you can also work off of Call and Responce (Chorus) and ROUNDS.
You might want to check out our
OTHER RESOURCES
To find other Music for Children sites, check:
Yahoo Search for Music For Children
And here are sites that teach music for free:
PWTV: What is Jazz?
Guitarist's Anonymous: The Musician's Resource (Guitar Tab's and Lessons).
MUSIC VIDEO 101
Caribbean Music and Dance Programs
music and movement activities for daycare, early childhood and preschool
Lafayette Summer Music Workshop
SCHOOLMUSIC.COM: Music Software, Printed Music, Instruments and Accessories for Music Educators
Kafiristan.com- free banjo and guitar workshops! Free banjo e-zine!
MacMUSE Software
Clarus Music, Ltd. Musical Plays, Classroom Resources, Recordings,Videos, Books, Teaching Aids, Music Software, CD-ROM
CenterStage - Main Page
Talc Tolchin Piano Instruction Videos - Kspace.com
The Discussion Program of Literature and Music
DO-MUSIC'S WEB SITES
Mr. Improv's Page
MP3 Music Global Network Battle of the Web Bands
Singin' Songs Music presents J.P. Taylor and the Academics
Musicapaedia: Teach Spanish Songs as Full Lessons, K-12
Music Technology Chat!
MuSICA: Music & Science Information Computer Archive
CCC Music: Welcome
Hawaiian Language -
http://hawaiianlanguage.com E Komo Mai! Welcome!
Books, Videos, and Music on Kwanzaa
Bizri Arabic Music Links
free, music theory, music instruction, music composition, ... music for everyone
Home Recording dot com - Learn how to record and mix your own music tapes, CDs, MP3s on digital, computer, or cassette tape!
Yahoo! Entertainment:Music:Computer Generated:Computer Generated Composition:Fractal Music
BluesGuitarist.Org--free blues guitar lessons, instruction and licks with online sheet music, tablature and MIDI jam tracks.
Untitled Document
!!!#1 Edition The World's Easiest Guitar Course, How To Play Guitar Video... Only the best guitar music and songs. FREE Chord Chart.
Yahoo! Regional:U.S. States:California:Cities:San Francisco:Entertainment and Arts:Music
sfmusician.com
Musician's Tech Central - Information Clearinghouse for Music Electronics, Recording, MIDI, Digital Audio, Indie How-to
Tramdriver - Musician Resource Guide and Directory
Yahoo! Regional:U.S. States:California:Cities:San Francisco:Business and Shopping:Business to Business:Music
Yahoo! Full Coverage:MP3 and Digital Music News
Yahoo! Computers and Internet:Multimedia:Audio:Formats:MP3:Web Directories
Yahoo! Computers and Internet:Multimedia:Audio:Formats
Yahoo! Entertainment:Music:Computer Generated:MIDI
Auricular Media Design - Web-based and Digital Design and development
Ultimate MIDI Page
The MIDI Farm Internet
Harmony Central¨: MIDI Tools and Resources
Welcome to The MidiWeb(tm)
MIDIWORLD
MIDI File Format
Instrument Jokes
MUSIC APPRECIATION
Music Appreciation are the most fun music classes, because you learn by sitting and listening to the music you like, and learning how to critique it! It is great to know the music behind your favorite songs, ... unless they are poopy! A friend of mine said he liked his favorite style of music until he learned music, then he said to me "They aren't playing anything!" Hopefully the music you like will turn out to be interesting technically.
Listen to your favorite song. Do you know what instruments are playing what part? This is music appreciation: knowing what instrument is playing what part. It is not that difficult, your ear is the only tool. Listen to many styles of music and be aware of the instrumentation.
A cool thing about learning MUSIC APPRECIATION is that you'll have a use for all those musical terms like CRESENDO, ALLEGRO, FORTE, PIANISIMO, STACCATO, and RETARD. You might even be able to make up descriptions like "From the Funky Out Of Time INTROSTANDIMO, the first Operatical Vocalisimo amazed my ear with Tremello Vibrationism and Simplisimo Symblisimo." Someone might just believe you!
Many would say that the loss with the growth of Music Technology like drum machines, karioke, and disco, is that people don't know about how much work actual musicians put in to make real beautiful harmonizing arrangements.
Of course nowadays anyone can make stereo SAMPLES of the greatest arrangements and performances, and by pushing a button make the same music! This is why you should improve your MUSIC APPRECIATION; because it is being lost, and techno-toys have made us forget how great Stevie Wonder plays the harmonica, Grover Washington Jr. plays the saxaphone, or how MUSICALLY original folks like The James Brown Orchestra, Billie Preston, Sly Stone, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Bootsy, Yellow Magic Orchestra and others were. Junie Morrison's "Technofreaks" reminds us "Remember how to groove!"
BEGINNING MUSICIANSHIP
The best way for kids to get into music is to have adults give the kids fun projects like clapping or singing along, playing NAME THAT TUNE, or teaching them easy and fun musical parts so that they can practice PERFORMING. The other approach is to teach them a bunch of somewhat boring rules and things to memorize, but that can also be fun if you make a game out of it!
Find cool songs they like and show them how THEY can play it! My nephiew really likes sports so I first showed him the baseball song (C-G-A-B-C-G-A-B-C#...). Once he got the first part right, with lot's of praise and fun, I showed him the next part, just up one half step, he enjoyed learning CHROMATIC modulation, building up to cresendo and all that! Creating the fun project for your students will be a great joy to you as well.
The Pink Panther is a great song to teach on Piano with the C#-D and D#-E slides that use the Piano well. Of course Heart And Soul is GREAT with it's C Major - A minor - F major - G major, the memorable parts, and the cool melody on top! Make new songs out of old songs they know, and you can also work off of Call and Responce (Chorus) and ROUNDS.
You might want to check out our OTHER RESOURCES area below for other Music for Children sites, music educator sites, and free music lessons on-line. Here we begin our music lessons:
SONG = RHYTHM + HARMONY
The TEMPO or SPEED or TIME of a song is called BPM or Beats Per Minute. If a song is at 120 BPM that is 120 Beats Per Minute which is actually 2 beats per second right?
Every single sound also has a PITCH or NOTE or FREQUENCY. The way that orchestral instruments tune up is with the statement: LA = 440 . This means that the note "A" has the frequency of 440 hz, or 440 times per second. In the old days a TUNING FORK would be used that is set to exactly 440 and instruments are tuned to it, nowadays there are electric tuners and such. There are other tuning styles, we will get into them later. We will also develop materials to teach TAMBRE or SOUND ENVELOPES later (the difference between say a flute sound and an electric guiter sound).
The audible range of pitch is from about 20 to 2000, or 20 hz to 20000 hz. In that range there are sounds from the lowest bass tones to the highest pitches you can hear. The musical tuning system that is in use today is called the EQUAL TEMPERMENT system. This is also called 12 MAKES 8 which means that from one note "A" to the next "A" which is called an OCTAVE, we devide it into 12 equal divisions, and of those 12 notes we use 8 to make our scale. Other tuning systems in use might devide the octave into 7 parts, and make a 5 note scale, or whatever.
If you played the note A at 440 hz on a guitar string, you would hear the tone "A3" (the A right above 'middle C'). If you halved the length of the note by pressing down on the middle of the string, or, simply hold your finger right in the middle of the string called playing the harmonic, you would get the next octave of A, or A4, which has the frequency of 880 hz. Here is the HARMONIC SYSTEM starting on the note 'C,' and you will see where the 'MAJOR CHORD' comes from:
• ROOT NOTE = C1
• FIRST HARMONIC = C2
• SECOND HARMONIC = G2
• THIRD HARMONIC = C3
• FOURTH HARMONIC = E3
• FIFTH HARMONIC = G3
• SIXTH HARMONIC = A3
• SEVENTH HARMONIC = Bb3
The 'naturally occurring' harmonics help to see how notes are added up to create CHORDS. A CHORD is a series of notes on top of each other, generally using a 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 - 9 etc.. system. Here are the basic C MAJOR chord (a TRIAD is just 1-3-5) and a few more extended C MAJOR chords:
This link takes you to a chart of all the common chords. We will be updating these charts and including GUITAR notation soon.
CHORDS don't really just sit by themselves, they are strung together into CHORD PROGRESSIONS. Here are a few examples of chord progressions or CHANGES:
• C Major - A minor - F Major - G 7
• E minor - A minor - E minor - B minor
• E minor7 (b5) - A 7 (B9) - D minor 7 - G 7
• F 7 - Bb 7 - C 7
Notes on a musical staff have lengths, how long the note is held. Also the rests between notes have lengths or TIME VALUES. Here are the main ones to know:
LENGTH
NOTE SYMBOL
REST SYMBOL
WHOLE NOTE
HALF NOTE
QUARTER NOTE
EIGHTH NOTE
SIXTEENTH NOTE
LESSON TWO:
TEMPO - Horizontal
Practice how your ear hears TIME. Try playing along with a recording and singing or listening along, then turn the player off for a few seconds and see if when you turn it back up you are in the right part of the song. This is testing and tuning / timing up your internal clock, your internal rhthem (of course your subconscious knows all these things, human brains manage the rhythms of hundreds of functions constantly). It's just a tuning in to your internal clocks, and learning how to give them wonderful tools to make yourself more accurate in your timing. It's funny how many people think their timing is perfect, and others think they are sloppy and out-of-tempo! Learn some ways to practice, and never let someone say your timing is weak.
A great tool for this is the good old metronome, or what most SEQUENCER programs have set as the CLICK TRACK. Use a metronome or record a rhythm / click track and PLAY ALONG WITH THEM FOR HOURS!!! Many professional artists can't play along with a click track! Hopefully you can hear the click or pulse in your head, hear where others might be dragging or rushing the time, hear where you want to be on the time, and in "real-time" help the other musicians get right into the time AND feel while still being impeccably in time yourself.
You can usually change the instruments of these click tracks, the main thing is to play them loudly while you play loudly - and record and listen back to make sure and critically check where your rhythmic and timing weaknesses might be. Time and tune yourself up and be the tightest musician in your area rhythmically and the universe will hear your "tightness" and you will be dialing up your desires in the etheral universe, and probably in your real life!
HARMONY - Vertical
Sometimes it's great to go "out-of-time" and just tell musicians to play a certain chord until cued to the next chord, this is truly seeing HARMONY AS VERTICAL. It's similar to how an enlightened Buddhist would say there is ONLY THE NOW. Rhythm goes along horizontally just as time does, but Harmony is in the immediate this second, totally vertical, unlimited height; that's a revelatory technique and it definitely ties in to this area of study. Of course all pitches are frequency just like rhythms and timing. In our BASIC MUSICIANSHIP area we show basic note, harmony, and chord information. Here we give you REAL MUSICIANSHIP.
TRIADS = 1 - 3 - 5
There are 2 basic types of TRIADS: MAJOR, and MINOR. They are determined by the 3rd. A Major chord like C Major Triad is C - E - G. The C minor chord is C - Eb - G (some would include the SUSPENDED or SUS4 chord here - C sus4 is C - F - G).
Count the steps from the root to the 3rd. From C to E is 4 steps; a Major 3rd. C to Eb is only 3 steps, making the chord minor.
TRIADS are M or m, Maj or min, for simple triad major chords just put the letter, like C or E or Bb; just add the minor to minor chords like Cm or C-.
From what you've just read, if someone asks what is the chord of Eb - G - C you should be able to tell them that it's C minor. G - C - Eb is also C minor. Triad chords are easy to figure out because there are only 3 notes and if they are in a different order it's just called an INVERSION of the chord.
7th CHORDS = 1 - 3 - 5 - 7
There are 3 basic types of 7th chords: M7, m7, 7. CM or CM7=C Major 7th, Cm7=C minor 7th, C7=C (Dominant) 7th.
As a Jazz Pianist the three types are played as: CM=C 6/9 (E-G-A-D) or CM7 add 9 (B-D-E-G), Cm7=Cm9 (Eb-G-Bb-D OR Bb-D-Eb-G), C7=C13 (E-A-Bb-D) or C9 (Bb-D-E-G). If you can just plug these 2 inversion of these 3 chord types, you can basically follow along with most any chord changes and what you play will fit perfectly.
EXTENDED CHORDS = 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 - 9 - etc...
This is where it get's tricky. When you are dealing with TRIADS and 7ths you can figure out most any song's progressions or changes pretty easily, and there's some room, in case you like to do your 2-5-1's as 4-5-1's and so forth. When you venture into these chords you had better have your musical hat on and be ready to hear someone else's version on the circle of fifths, what a resolving chord is, and how songs are phrased.
Basically, you have the 2 types of TRIAD chords above, and the 3 types of 7th chords above. In extended chords you have so many more because a C that is implying domanant could be C, C7, C9, C13, C6, C add 9, C7 add 9, C6/9, and other people might have other names for that type. There is a chord type called ALTERED, and Calt could be C7, C7(b5), C7(+5), C7(b5b6), C7(b9), C7(+9), C7(b5b9), C7(+5b9), C7(b6b9), C7(b5b6b9), and there are still all those options for the 11th and 13th. I think the best scale to play over altered chords is fully diminished scale 1-2 starting right above the root, for example Calt being C#-D-E-F-G-G#-A#-Bb-B -- You'll have to practice a 9 notes per octave timing for your runs...
The best way to learn these chord types and progressions is to know, and play the CIRCLE OF FIFTHS. There are many ways, the most common being CM - Am - Dm - G7. That's 1-6-2-5 in C. The next one to work on is Am - D7 - GM - CM - Gbm(b5) - B7(b9) - Em - E7. That is also called 2-5-1-4-7-3-6 (in the key of G). Practice these changes in all keys, all chord inversions, solo and sing and dance steps on top of it, and you are there (through level 1)!
MUSICIANSHIP
World Music Connection is helping you learn how to be an even more professional musician. Here are some basic rules and hints you should use as a working musical artist, and below is our TIGHT-SCHOOL that gives you some HOT CHOPS TIPS so that you will be "Tight" no matter who you play with!
For basic music instruction including RHYTHM, HARMONY, CHORDS, PROGRESSIONS go to our Beginning Musicianship area.
BE A USEFUL MEMBER OF YOUR MUSIC PROJECTS
You should always have a SONG LIST / KEY LIST / CHEAT SHEET for the project or group's songs. If you are blessed enough to keep it all in your head, fine. What about when your favorite other musician want's the same overview of CHORDS, STYLES, ARTISTS, and LYRIC SHEETS that you've prepared for yourself? Make these lists available to others too and the musical organization you do will come back to you.
You should also be extremely reliable, because musicians have a bad reputation for reliability that you should help overcome. Call people back, and promptly, so that they can know what's going on, if they can use you in their project.
Go over your material A LOT!!! It is always obvious at a session or rehearsal who has been doing their woodshedding (rehearsing on their own). That's the sort of negative way to look at this, let's look at the positives: The more you practice all the material, and other similar material, and work with other members on it, the more latitude you'll have in the session! If you've found another song in the same style that your project is working on and it really helps you get into the feel and vibe of the style, have the cats warm up on that song. It might make the difference between people doing the least that they can and a group collaborative learning and uplifting experience! Once you've done your homework, there is no reason you can't share all the tricks and techniques you've found with your co-artists.
So get a walkman tape deck (or 5) and be able to run over the material 24-7. If someone else in the project says they don't have time for that, make them a tape and loan them a walkman. You might just save the musical project, and you'll have others to learn with together. Making others in the project notes, tapes, charts and such really helps you all bond and they'll be sharing their chops with you too!
TIGHT SCHOOL
Here we really do World Music Connecting by sharing with you techniques to give you enhanced overview of songs and arrangements. This information will help serious music artists to be able to 'get inside' the music, and have clean tight chops that don't step on anyone elses part. These rules may not apply to your style or musical level but are useful rules to know. You may not play "Latin Music," but the MONTUNO studies below can be applied to any form of music and will help you be a complementary musician and a complementing sound.
In this lesson we are discussing the rules for playing the MONTUNO - Salsa Piano part correctly depending on how the CLAVE pattern is played (the pattern for the little sticks that hold the meter, feel and pulse in Cuban music). The CHUCKS area below this one describes other ways to be on the correct side of the musical phrase as well.
THE CORRECT SIDE OF THE PATTERN
The CLAVE pattern has definite sides. It is the most efficient way to learn the sides of musical patterns by learning CLAVE RULES. When you are talking about the sides of the pattern you are talking percussionist rules, or standards. For example, a part of the KINTO solo in GUAGUANCO Afro-Cuban Drumming requires that the kinto solo does not step on the clave part at all, no note of the solo can be the same as the clave's. This is a concentrated syncopation technology where the soloist not only embeleshes the pattern but... tries to confuse it. I've seen cat's pull the timing two ways from sunday while a master percussionist is just trying to hold the clave pattern and IT AIN'T AN EASY RHYTHM TO HOLD!!!!
Tres Golps (3 pulses) looks like this:
That's the first half of a clave pattern. Here you will see it in ONE BAR and TWO BAR charting. Jazz and Salsa is usually in CUT TIME, so the count is twice as fast. These graphics are in both types, because the percussion rules are the same.
There are considered to be 2 clave patterns, SON CLAVE and RUMBA CLAVE ("Bembe Clave" is so complex we'll get to it later). Both of these clave's can be played in 3 - 2 or 2 - 3, this is the clave being on one side or the other.
3-2 SON CLAVE
2-3 SON CLAVE
3-2 RUMBA CLAVE
2-3 RUMBA CLAVE
The 3 side of the clave is the DOWN side. A 3-2 clave pattern has the down side at the beginning of the phrase instead of in the middle. The rule, and you will find it a tough one, is to never play your MONTUNO or rhythm part on the down side of clave. The following pattern, your basic C 1 - 4 - 5 -4 montuno,
should not be played against a 3-2 clave, instead you would use one like this:
You can see that the second montuno is UP on the DOWN side of clave. You could also use a montuno where both sides are UP, and that montuno fits over any clave!
That gives you a start, a bunch to think about, and years of things to practice. We'll be testing your progress so do your TIGHT-SCHOOL homework.
CHUCKS
Background and underlying rhythms are often called CHUCKS. A good way to understand how they compliment the basic rhythmic pulse is to theck out how they can be on one side of the rhythm or the other.
CHUCK ON ONE SIDE
THE OTHER SIDE (TURNED AROUND)
Play even just a C Major chord with these rhythms, you will see the difference in feel, and different ones (different sides) can be used in different parts of arrangements.
DESIGNING MONTUNOS
In these lessons bass parts are written in treble clef for simplicity; once you learn them take them down at least one octave. The 3 montunos above would be played over a TUMBAU or bass pattern like this:
C 1 - 4 - 5 - 4 TUMBAU (Bass pattern)
So put the TUMBAU in your left hand, then add the MONTUNO in the right.
The following shows more bass and piano parts fundamental to montuno theory:
C TUMBAU
C7 MONTUNO 1 (or Gm7 - C7)
C7 MONTUNO 2 (or Gm7 - C7)
In MONTUNO design you will find that the montuno plays a primary role in the RHYTHMIC role of a song or progression and also a primary MELODIC role. When singers are getting their parts together it is often necessary for them to hear the chords, and chord progressions; often a piano or guitar is the only instrument necessary for this. Montunos do all of that - show the HARMONIC pattern as well as the RHYTHMIC pattern. As explained above, the montuno should be correctly layered on top of the rhythmic pulse.
To also compliment the basic melodic aspects of the song the montuno is based on the LEADING TONES of the chords. So if the chords go from Gm to C7 the leading tones are Bb and F to Bb and E (the 3rd and 7th of both chords). You will see that that is almost exactly what C MONTUNO 1 does above. The following example shows this even better, the leading tones in C 1 - 6 - 2 - 5 are B&E, A&E, C&F, B&F. Notice how that is exactly what the following montuno does, you could even take out the G and A on top of the piano part and it still is perfect as a montuno, defining the rhythmic arrangement AND the melodic arrangement.
C 1 - 6 - 2 - 5 TUMBAU
C 1 - 6 - 2 - 5 MONTUNO
The above is a great practice for 1) CIRCLES OF FIFTHS, 2) LEFT / RIGHT HAND COORDINATION, and 3) TUMBAU AND MONTUNO development. Once you can feel the delay in the montuno, against the bass hand's standard 3-3-2 timing you will be feeling and learning one of the best syncopation techniques, one syncopation leading another syncopation by just a hair!
Try the above in as many keys as you can, until you or your neighbors are sick of you, and you will then have so many chops you will be massively popular, and we will put you in our featured artists pages.
For basic music instruction including RHYTHM, HARMONY, CHORDS, PROGRESSIONS and a huge list of music learning resources on-line go to our Beginning Musicianship area.
COLLABORATION
Any time you play along with someone, that could be called collaboration, although it generally means co-writing or co-arranging a song with someone. Collaboration can be very exciting, having someone else add parts to your song. Our intention is to give you as many tools and resources to collaborate with people by using the internet and resources on the web.
Imagine, you can ask a person in SPAIN to help you with a Spanish part to your project; a Brazillian to help you with choerography, a German DJ for techno-dance grooves, or whatever is in your head!
We should all definitely use this new technology, which is now just a part of life, to further our musical goals. First of all you can find people into just the music you're into, and make friends, and make contacts and progress unknown before!
One of the best resources in cyberspace is NEWSGROUPS. There are over 30,000 newsgroups, they are basically virtual bulletin boards where people can leave messages (and files). Opening your newsgroup reader might be as simple as clicking one of the following links, or it might take a lot of setup, possible even communicating with your internet service provider to find out what your newsgroup reader is called (i.e. news3@myserver.com or supernews@myserver.com).
news:alt.binaries.sounds.midi-tools
news:alt.binaries.sounds.midi-utilities
news:alt.music.midi
news:alt.binaries.sounds.samples
news:alt.binaries.sounds.samples.music
news:alt.binaries.sounds.midi.funk
news:alt.binaries.sounds.midi.originals
news:alt.binaries.sounds.midi.soul
news:alt.binaries.sounds.mp3
news:alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.jazz
news:alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.latin
news:alt.binaries.music.mp3
news:alt.binaries.sounds.music.makers.samples
news:es.musica.alternativas
news:alt.folklore.music
news:alt.music.african
news:alt.music.carnival
news:alt.music.festivals
news:alt.music.flamenco
news:alt.music.synth
news:rec.music.funky
When you browse these newsgroups you will find many people and companies looking for writers and collaborators. You can follow any links they put in their newsgroup posting, or you might be able to go to their web site. You can then eMail them of your interests, and it is nice if you can include links to your web page, or where they can hear your music on-line.
Look at the postings and responces to them before posting to newsgroups. You might even want to ask your ISP (Internet Service Provider) what is appropriate NETIQUITE for posting.
Just like much of the help we give to you, setting up your newsgroups is a matter of putting in the correct SEARCH information. Once you have your news server loaded or running, try adding newsgroups. You are probably asked to enter search words, and you should choose logical ones like: LOVE, PEACE, JAZZ, FUNK, POP, SPACE, DANCE, or whatever. For a news server to download all it's newsgroups to your computer can take from 5 to 50 minutes, it may have to download 10MB of information.
It's always easier if you just know the name of the newsgroup you want, you can usually just type it into the URL area of your browser, or if it's on a web page you can just click it; but it is a lot of fun seeing what newsgroups are out there, so when you have some time find all the newsgroups that have your interests in them. Happy newsgroup browsing!
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