Musicality World

Hi, this is Christopher Sutton, the Founder and Director of Musical U, and thanks for joining me for this look inside what’s new at Musical U this month.

We’re actually going to do something a bit different this time though. If you’ve watched one of these videos before, you know that normally what I do is I run you through the new modules and resource packs and all the goodies we have inside Musical U that are new this month. But today I started doing that, and I was looking at our great new resource packs for syncopation and for swing rhythm, and I was going to talk about our Fireside Chat, the new feature where members get to talk directly with the team. This month, we had a great one on performance, and I was getting psyched about that.

But then I got totally sidetracked, because this week March starts, and March is Improv Month at Musical U.

It’s a new thing we’ve put together where we’re going to theme the month all about the topic of improvisation, and I decided what I wanted to do with this video was actually just bring you guys up to speed on all the great stuff we have going on this month for Improv Month.

You can watch the video below or read on to learn more!

Improvisation Month

It’s the first time we’re doing a themed month like this before, but we were working on new improvisation modules for Musical U, and decided it would be fun to release them all in a big batch with our roadmap and do a bunch of public content too, to celebrate the topic of improvisation.

Improvisation is such a big and exciting topic in music, but it’s one that a lot of people feel left out of, and it’s certainly not just about jazz. It’s not just about certain instruments. For us, improvisation is really the heart of being free and creative in music, so we were so excited to put together a dedicated month to show you all how you can get involved with improvisation, and how it can be fun and easy to get really good at improvising.

So, we’ve got so much going on during March, let’s do a rundown.

Before we dive in, though, I want to give a quick shout-out and thank you to my team, because although I’m the one here today telling you about Improv Month, actually, it’s really been Adam and Andrew in particular and all of our team who’ve been working behind the scenes to line up all of the amazing experts and content I’m about to tell you about. So, big credit to the Musical U team, and thanks for pulling together such an exciting Improv Month for everyone.

On the Podcast

So first of all, over on the Musicality Podcast, we’ve got a series of fantastic expert interviews lined up. I’ll be talking with Nick Mainella of the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Podcast, David Wallimann, whose Guitar Playback site sells great courses for guitar, and he also has over 100,000 subscribers for his guitar tutorials on YouTube, Brendan Lowe of the Jazz Piano School, and David Reed from the popular Improvise For Real method for learning to improvise.

We’ll be interspersing those, as always, with teaching episodes, so we’ll be talking about how to approach improvisation, improvising rhythms specifically, how to improvise with scales and with chords, and how to add structure and form to your improv so it’s not just all an endless string of notes. So, the podcast is going to be 100% improv in the month of March.

Articles and Tutorials

On the website, the public website, we have a bunch of new articles and tutorials coming up, including one about how to improvise in the world of classical music, one on the musicality that goes into improvising a solo.

And we have three great guest posts lined up. Marc-Andre Seguin of jazzguitarlessons.net, Nadav Biran of CatzAudio, and Robert Callus of LearnGuitarMalta.com are all coming in to share their unique perspectives on learning to improvise.

Inside Musical U: New Modules, Resources and Roadmap

That’s what’s going on outside that everyone can get involved with. All of these are available to you, the podcast episodes, all of these new articles, but like I said before, this all kicked off with thinking about what we’re doing inside Musical U to help our members learn to improvise.

Ever since launching Musical U, we have been helping members with improvisation, because we believe that having a good ear, being able to do things like play by ear, is a cool part of how you can improvise freely, so all of our training modules have already been helping members get a feel for improvising, but now we’re really bringing it home with a set of modules specifically about improvising.

We’ve already published two, one called Approaching Improvisation, and one called Improvising Melody, and in March, we’re going to be releasing Improvising With Chords, one of phrasing, another on form and structure, and one on improv practice, giving you plenty of opportunity to really hone those skills.

These are all going to come together in our new Roadmap for learning to improvise, which will show you how to use these modules, and give you additional exercises and pointers to make it easy and fun.

And, of course, we’re bringing in our Instrument Packs on this topic too, so the new resources in those for guitar, bass, piano, and singing during March are going to be on the topic of improvisation as well.

If you are a member of Musical U, or you’re planning to become one, you’re going to get access to all of this in-depth training on every aspect of improvisation.

Finally, one other exciting thing is we’re going to wrapping up the month with a masterclass: a live, online training session that you can join. It’s going to be open to everyone, and this is going to give you some great pointers on how you can learn to improvise.

Join us for Improv Month!

As you can see, we’ve got a ton of stuff going on in March. It’s going to be really exciting, and I’m so happy that it’s come together so well. All that remains to say is, how can you get involved?

Well, the number one thing is subscribe to the podcast. If you go to MusicalityPodcast.com, you’ll find an easy way to subscribe on your computer or mobile device.

Number two is follow us on Facebook. Please go to our Facebook page and click Like and Follow, because otherwise, if you just like the page, you may not see any of our content in your news feed. So if you want to get all of this great stuff that’s coming up in Improv Month, please both Like and Follow our page on Facebook.

Finally, of course, some of this stuff is members-only. The training modules and the roadmap, that’s what we’ve been pouring our heart and soul into, and those are for members of Musical U, so if you’re interested in becoming a member, please head to Musical-U.com/join.

Thanks for joining me for this look inside not what’s new but what’s coming up in Musical U this month, and I hope you’ll join us for all of this great improv month content and find your way to unleashing your musical creativity through improvisation!

The post What’s New in Musical U: February 2018 appeared first on Musical U.

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Collaboration among musicians is nothing new to the business. The Beatles, for one, were formed as a result of several individuals deciding to work together as a group, all the way back in the late 1950s. With the changes in technology, can you make it work for you for song collaboration? With Tunedly

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We had the honor of sitting down for a chat with Mike Moynihan. Mike is a professional jazz saxophonist who hails from Tucson, Arizona. From effective self-criticism, to putting in “the work,” to always keeping a performance mentality, Mike really had us thinking we should be thinking and practicing more like him! https://www.musical-u.com/learn/listen-changes-notes-confidence-professional-musician/

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While major scales have their place in the joyful, the bright, and the hopeful, minor keys are the mastermind behind the music that tears at your heartstrings. Learn more about minor keys, and how you can incorporate them into your musical practice! https://www.musical-u.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-minor-keys/

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More than Words? Writing lyrics to a tune may seem simple at first glance. How difficult can it be to toss together some rhymes? But the reality is that you want to avoid some key pitfalls when writing lyrics. In this article you will learn some insights into the world of songwriting, especially in regard to writing lyrics. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/songwriters-secrets-lyrics/

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The inner workings of the typical piano hide behind yards of carefully lacquered furniture. As innovative concert pianist Sarah Nicolls collaborated with contemporary composers, she found herself exploring the sonic possibilities found inside the piano using various tools and body parts to produce otherworldly yet acoustic sounds. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/turning-the-piano-inside-out-with-sarah-nicolls/

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When people think of the work opportunities that the music world offers, the first job descriptions that come to mind are typically gigs like musician, record producer, and radio DJ. But, as we’ll learn from composer Mike Reed, the music industry has its fair share of “hidden” jobs… https://www.musical-u.com/learn/creating-background-music-masterpieces-with-mike-reed/

For your musical journey to continue progressing, you need to be constantly updating your musical toolbox – that is, your set of skills that allow you to express yourself through your playing.

This week, we’ve got four incredibly useful tools for your consideration: a unique guitar technique from one of the key musicians in the Nashville scene, the concept of swing rhythms and the interest they add to your music, the skill of seeking out and finding your own musical opportunities, and the art of arranging music.

Double-Down on Music

Brad Davis has been on quite the ride throughout his musical career. Not only has he worked with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson, but he is a successful recording artist in his own right who has developed some killer guitar techniques and tools.

In Doubling Down on Your Craft, with Brad Davis, he gives us an in-depth look at his journey in mastering guitar, how he ended up collaborating with some of the biggest names in music, and how he developed his unique guitar method, the double-down-up.

Brad has even patented his own guitar invention, a B-string bender known as “The Brad Bender” to get at some crazy country links.

The “double-down up” picking style is a must-try for guitarists – it’s amazing how big of a difference this slight variation on picking style can make in the sound of your playing! Perhaps we have been neglecting picking hand technique as we learn guitar! For another approach to accentuating the up strums, Matt from Country Song Teacher shows how he adds interest and variety to his chord progressions with a simple, yet powerful, method.

Now that we are talking about right-hand technique, let’s continue exploring other ways that you can improve your guitar picking. Our friend David Andrew Wiebe’s guest post on Music Industry How To describes some simple exercises that you can use to strengthen your picking hand

Brad mentioned a technique that is probably new to anyone that is not familiar with the style… flatpicking. In addition to his double-down-up, perfecting his flatpicking technique opened up a lot of doors in his musical career. Read more about how to flatpick and its history on Flatpick.com!

Swingin’ Rhythms

“It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing” isn’t just the name of a timeless jazz standard – it’s proven to be quite a prophetic line!

Uneven or “swung” rhythms are found everywhere from rock and pop to country and jazz. Though you may think that swing is rhythmically elusive, fear not: our resident pros are here to demystify the concept of these groovy rhythms.

Head to Swing Rhythm: Resource Pack Preview to learn how our guitar, bass, and piano experts break down this feel-based rhythmic concept into accessible parts!

The Musical U Resident Pros offer some great tips on how to get your instrument into the swing of things. While learning how to swing on your instrument is important, Band Directors Talk Shop offers an alternative on how to get started – and it all starts before the first note is even played!

To be successful at playing swing music, you need to make sure that you have a solid rhythmic foundation. As we’ve talked about previously on the podcast, you can begin to develop a feel for rhythms, which will take you a long way to swinging success. Our friends at Learn Jazz Standards have put together five exercises that will help you get there.

When we think of swing, we often reminisce of the 1930s and 1940s, at the height of the big band era. Or, we fondly remember the all-too-brief revival in the 1990s. But if your zoot suit is getting a bit dusty and you have a sudden urge to jitterbug, no need to fear! There are still plenty of fantastic musicians creating new swing music to be enjoyed. Check out this new album of original swing music from Keenan McKenzie.

Centering Music

For some, music is a hobby…for others, it’s an all-consuming passion that they are compelled to practice.

For Stan Stewart of Muz4Now, music has been a life-long compulsion leading to an career in  songwriting for any occasion – with his own improvisation-based touch!

In our interview with Stan, he provides some fantastic insights about seeking musical opportunities, and gives valuable advice for anyone seeking to dabble in musical improvisation. Seeking Musical Opportunity, with Stan Stewart is an absolute must-read for any independent musician looking to find their sound and get their music out there!

It was incredible to hear how early in his life Stan began to compose music. While not everyone is fortunate to have such an early start composing, it is a fun skill that you can pick up at any age! To get started, here are some helpful tips from Flat.

What do you need besides a little bit of inspiration when starting to write a song? If something is missing from your composing toolkit, perhaps you just need to find a better tool. Learn about how to use Noteflight, and how it can enhance your compositional experience!

For many musicians, music has been a powerful force in their life that has healed many of their pains. Some musicians will even profess that playing music has saved their lives! Music can be that powerful. Philanthropy is a great way to give back to your community, and one record label has found a way to turn their love of music into a force for good – read more about how Sino Studios gives back!

The Art of Arranging

If you think musical arrangement is an art reserved for classical composers and orchestras, this episode of the Musicality Podcast is for you.

This skill is not reserved for advanced musicians, and can be as simple as figuring out how to play your favourite blues rock anthem on your acoustic guitar.

In About Arranging Music, we look at the elements that arranging can encompass, and how you can dive into arranging yourself – no advanced theory or musical expertise required!

We hope this podcast has convinced you that arranging music is not something that only professionals do. The truth is that anyone can start arranging music with a little bit of training and motivation. David Wallimann shares his tips for any beginner wanting to get into the arranging game.

Christopher mentioned in the podcast that one way to arrange music is to simply play it on a different instrument. With a little creativity, there are almost no limits to what you can do when arranging music! One young musician is particularly fond of a musical style that’s near and dear to the hearts of all of us at Musical U – a cappella. Take a behind-the-scenes look at how Dan Purcell makes a cappella arrangements using Garageband.

To wrap up this roundup, we travel to the beautiful Hawaiian islands for a lesson on arranging music for the most lovely of instruments, the ukulele. Ukulele Tricks outlines four things that you need to master to arrange a chord melody song. Get strumming with this fascinating lesson and we’ll see you at the beach!

Same Musician, New Tricks

We hope this week’s content has inspired you to add a new skill or two to your arsenal, whether it’s Brad’s double-down-up technique or some basic arranging skills. With new skills come new musical opportunities. And that can come in the form of interpreting your favourite music your way, finding new places and people to play to, or even writing your own tunes.

The post Double-Down on Music, Swingin’ Rhythms, Centering Music, and the Art of Arranging appeared first on Musical U.