https://www.musical-u.com/learn/introduction-to-chord-progressions/
The backbone behind countless unforgettable songs is a simple chord progression.
Understanding chord progressions is the key to understanding your favourite songs, and writing your own tunes.
Ready to dive in? Let’s get started!
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/introduction-to-chord-progressions/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/expand-your-musical-understanding-and-have-fun-with-solfa-hand-signals/
Spending time working on vocal control for ear training is fantastic practice for musicality.
One of the best methods for increasing pitch recognition is Solfa – an incredible technique that supports inner hearing and sight-singing.
In this lesson, we teach how to get started with Solfa using hand signals to strengthen sense of pitch. Have fun!
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/expand-your-musical-understanding-and-have-fun-with-solfa-hand-signals/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/get-familiar-with-the-minor-pentatonic-scale/
Similarly to the major pentatonic scale, the minor pentatonic is a staple of rock and blues guitar.
While the two scales share notes, the use and overall sound of the minor pentatonic scale is quite different from the natural minor scale.
Learn more in this guide: https://www.musical-u.com/learn/get-familiar-with-the-minor-pentatonic-scale/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/what-is-a-scale/
Everyone says that scales are very important. They are often the first thing taught when learning music.
But what is a scale? And why do we need to know it?
Find out in this free article.
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/what-is-a-scale/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/why-do-unison-and-octave-intervals-sound-the-same/
Why do unison and octave intervals sound the same?
Harmonic unison and octave intervals are difficult to distinguish. It can be frustrating when taking a quiz, but it does reflect a real musical challenge.
Find out why in the article below:
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/why-do-unison-and-octave-intervals-sound-the-same/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-can-you-get-excited-about-ear-training/
Ear training is one of those topics that tends to illicit yawns and apprehension from many musicians.
But the fact is that ear training is only boring if you’re using methods that don’t suit you. Learn why we are always excited about training our musical ears here at Musical U.
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-can-you-get-excited-about-ear-training/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/big-5-skills-modern-musicianship-chad-west-interview/
Becoming a musician just means you learn to play an instrument, right? Not quite…
In fact, as music learners quickly discover, there are a wide variety of skills involved in being a capable and versatile musician. These go far beyond just knowing the movements to make your instrument play the right notes.
Dr. Chad West is an Associate Professor and Chair of Music Education at Ithaca College and frequently presents at music education conferences. He is a leading expert on the core musicianship skills mentioned above, and has codified them as five distinct skill groups to be learned.
After reading about Dr. West’s work on the SmartMusic blog recently we were very keen to talk with him about his fascinating research and find out more about how he views modern musicality training.
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/big-5-skills-modern-musicianship-chad-west-interview/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/solfege-do-re-mi-isnt-childs-play/
Have you ever felt a melody go in one ear and out the other? Like there was nothing concrete to grasp to help you remember?
Thankfully, not all is lost. In fact, hundreds of years ago, a system was developed to enable musicians to recognize and transcribe those sought-after melodies.
The framework of Solfa helps to establish relationships between pitches and training your ear to hear patterns. And while it may invoke memories of the famous song from “The Sound of Music”, it’s certainly valuable for musicians of all ages!
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/solfege-do-re-mi-isnt-childs-play/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/talking-rhythm-counting-101-2-3-4/
Have you ever wondered how to play a rhythm from score notation, or write down a rhythm you’ve heard?
In this Talking Rhythm series you will learn two easy and effective ways to “talk” out rhythm patterns from notation. In this article we’ll introduce the first one: “count chant”.
Have fun!
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/talking-rhythm-counting-101-2-3-4/
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/the-many-moods-of-musical-modes/
Scales are pretty incredible. A collection of notes played in ascending order has the ability to tell a story and convey a mood.
Music Theory 101 and practical lessons often neglect to mention that there’s a whole other collection of scales that can evoke moods and atmospheres beyond the cheerful-morose binary.
Let’s dive into the MODES!
https://www.musical-u.com/learn/the-many-moods-of-musical-modes/