Music Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-10-2023

Playing rock guitar starts with having a vocabulary of chords of different types, including basic, as well as barre forms (6th-string root and 5th-string root) and a few other movable types.

Video / Updated 12-14-2022

A pull-off is a basic guitar fretting technique that adds variety to your articulation. This video lesson shows guitar novices the same pull-off techniques that professional guitarists use all the time to create memorable music.

Article / Updated 11-29-2022

The concept of using auto-accompaniment is simple: You play some notes on the lower range of your keyboard, and that tells the system to start playing some backing music in the key you gave it. You choose the style of music it plays from the choices presented on the front panel. The result is the sound of a full band playing, giving you a professional backing track that you’re in complete control over. How auto-accompaniment works Playing with accompaniment usually means you have a split keyboard, with the lower range (left hand) dedicated to playing notes/chords to trigger the accompaniment and the right hand having a live sound to play your melodies with. Some arrangers and digital pianos have a full-play mode, where you play acoustic piano with two hands and the keyboard uses your two-handed playing to determine the chords. Accompaniment uses styles or rhythms — collections of MIDI-based music tracks that play various instrument sounds to produce the sound of a backing band. They’ve been played and recorded by skilled musicians to faithfully reproduce various musical styles. The unique thing about the accompaniment “engine” is that it can adapt these parts for any chord you give it, changing the notes within the pattern to fit the various root tones and chord qualities in music (major, minor, diminished, augmented, and so on). This adaptability is how auto-accompaniment differs from a prerecorded backing track, which rigidly plays back the exact notes you played to create the part. Starting a pattern playing Simple portable keyboards don’t always have full auto-accompaniment, so look for a button labeled Chords, Accompaniment On/Off, ACMP On/Off, Arranger Mode, and so on. These options indicate that you have full accompaniment parts, not just drums. Here’s how to get a pattern playing: Press the Styles or Rhythm button. Make sure the Chord/Accomp button is on. Play a low C on the keyboard to start the pattern playing. If you feel comfortable, try playing a C triad (C-E-G) instead. If the music doesn’t start, press the Start/Stop or Play button while you play the note or chord. Accompaniment needs you to play a chord to tell the players what key and what chord type you want them to play (C major, F minor, and so on). So if you just press Start/Stop or Play, the drums will start without the rest of the band. With the music playing, select some other patterns and listen to how the music and parts change. For simple models, you can use the + and – buttons to move up or down to the next pattern or to scroll through the available patterns one at a time. Or use the numeric keypad (if available) to directly enter the number of a specific pattern you want. On low-end models, the pattern names may appear on the front panel. On other models, the names are displayed on the screen. Higher-end models present the Styles/Rhythms on multiple buttons, with each button representing a category of styles arranged by musical genre. Listen to various styles being played using a simple C triad in Book VI, Chapter 2, Audio Track 142. Breaking down an accompaniment pattern An accompaniment pattern usually has the following elements: Drums: Drums include the traditional drum kit, with bass drum, snare, hi-hat, cymbals, and so on, playing a beat. Percussion: This element includes things such as tambourine, cowbell, shakers, congas/timbales/bongos, triangle, and other hand percussion, providing extra color to the rhythm. Bass: Bass presents the low notes that play some sort of rhythmic, moving series of notes. It may be an electric, acoustic (upright), or synth bass sound, depending on the style of music. Chordal part(s):Chordal parts are often a keyboard sound and possibly some strummed guitar parts (acoustic or electric). Having a few tracks of this sort is common. Other sustained parts: These options include string, vocal, and synth pad sounds — sustained chords for additional interest and sound variety. Background melodic figures: These can be string lines, brass and woodwind melodies, synth patterns and arpeggiations, and guitar licks. Every part will not always be playing; parts may come in and out depending on a number of settings and factors, such as which variation you’re using and the taste of the pattern programmer. In Book VI, Chapter 2, Audio Track 143 is a style broken down into its separate elements or tracks. Mixing the sound of the band Mixing a musical recording involves adjusting the volume balance of each of the instruments, deciding which speaker they come out of (called panning), and possibly adjusting or changing the effects that are being used. Mid- and higher-priced arrangers give you access to these functions. Taking control of these aspects of your backing band allows you to make the sound exactly the way you want it. How do you know whether your keyboard has this capability? Look for a feature/parameter called the Mixer. Credit: Images courtesy of Korg Italy; Casio America, Inc; and Yamaha Corporation of America A skilled musician/producer has already volume-balanced all the styles and rhythms in your keyboard, so you probably don’t need to make big changes. But two common scenarios require a little adjustment here and there: Slightly increasing or decreasing the volume of a backing instrument: These fixes are small; you’re not trying to redo the whole band mix. Turning off a part: This process is called muting a part or channel. To change the volume of a part (it may be called a Part or a Track), you select it, use the interface controls to increase or decrease the volume parameter value, and then resave the style/rhythm. To turn off a part entirely, you may have two options. If your mixer design has a dedicated Mute parameter, you can use that parameter to turn off the part. If it doesn’t have a Mute, simply turn the part volume all the way down to 00. Again, be sure to resave the Style/Rhythm.

Article / Updated 11-29-2022

Here, you can see the two most common pedaling indications. On your piano, press the pedal down at the “Ped.” sign, and release (pedal up) at the asterisk or at the bracket ending the line. These indications are always shown below the bass staff. The notch in the line indicates where to change the pedal, quickly clearing any sustained sound (pedal up) and resetting the sustain (pedal down). Changing the pedal requires careful attention to clearing the harmony cleanly and completely. Good pedaling is a matter of timing and listening. Your goal is to train your ear to listen for a smooth transition and a clean change from note to note and chord to chord. You don’t want to time your pedaling to match your hands, releasing and then pressing the pedal down as your fingers move from one chord to another; if you do, you’ll hear a gap between chords. This is because you’re lifting both the keys and the pedal together, so the dampers stop the sound when your fingers leave the keys. You need the sustain pedal down at this time. You have to wait to change the pedal so it happens simultaneously with playing the next chord. Your heel should stay on the floor, and your toes can rest on the pedal. Some pedals require more weight and pressure, and foot size and power make a difference. You can use your longer toes plus some of the ball of your foot to press down the pedal, but as always go for comfort and ease. Your ankle is the hinge that allows your foot to move with the least amount of movement and effort. Pedaling shouldn’t affect your general posture, so if you find that you have to shift around or adjust your balance to accommodate pedaling, you may not have started from a good position. Broken-chord pedaling In this exercise for broken-chord pedaling in Book V, Chapter 3, Audio Track 112, you change the pedal on a single note. Block-chord pedaling In this exercise you change going from chord to chord and on any moving lines within the harmony. Listen for smooth transitions!

Article / Updated 11-14-2022

To shape and sing the tip consonant sounds in the table below, the tip of your tongue touches the alveolar ridge. The voiced consonants are D, L, N, and Z. The T and S don’t require any voice, so they’re unvoiced consonants. While shaping these tip consonants, make sure that your Tongue’s tip is moving from your bottom front teeth to the alveolar ridge behind your front teeth. The tip of your tongue curves for the D and T and flattens more on the alveolar ridge for the L and N. Lips are released and free of tension. As you move from the consonant to the vowel, your lips may be shaped for the vowel sound as the tongue’s tip touches the alveolar ridge. The consonants in the table may be pronounced differently in other languages. For American English, you want the tip of the tongue to touch the alveolar ridge for the tip consonants. For other languages, the consonants may be made with the tip of the tongue touching the teeth. For this exercise, practice curving the tip of the tongue slightly so it touches the alveolar ridge for the D and T, and flattening on the alveolar ridge for the L and N. Practicing D, T, L, N, S, and Z D T L N S Z do to Lou new sip zip doe toe low no sap zap dab tab lab nab sing zing If you have a lisp, make your S with the tip of the tongue against the roof of your mouth (not your teeth) while the sides of your tongue touch your teeth. If your S sounds too similar to a leaky tire, release the grip on the tip of your tongue. Practice saying the word its. You say ih and then place the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge for the t. Then the tip of the tongue releases in the center for a tiny stream of air. Release the air slowly to feel and hear the s. Hold out the s to feel the movement of the airflow. When singing the words don’t you, can’t you, and could you, or any other combination that has a D or T next to a Y, make sure that you say, “Could you?” and “Don’t you?” and not, “Could jew” or “Don’t chew.” You can get a laugh in a song in the wrong place if you chew too much on the wrong consonant combination.

Article / Updated 11-10-2022

Layering or blending two sounds together creates a wonderful, rich sound on the keyboard. Think of the sound of acoustic piano blended with some warm strings; it’s the perfect sound for playing a sensitive pop ballad. Combining a pipe organ with some vocal choir sounds gives you just the right blend for praise and worship music. Some products call layering Dual Mode or Dual Voice Mode. It simply means you’re playing more than one sound at a time. If your keyboard has dedicated sound name buttons like Grand Piano 1, Electric Piano, Pipe Organ, Strings, and so on, you may be able to easily layer two of them together. Try this method commonly found on digital pianos and stage pianos: Press and hold a piano sound button. Now press another sound button. Release both buttons and play the keyboard. If your keyboard has this feature, you’ll hear both sounds layered together. Another common approach is to have a dedicated Layer button. Look at the front panel of your keyboard; if you have this feature, try these steps: Select a sound you want to use as the foundation. Press the Layer button. Information then comes up on the display to guide you in choosing the second sound you want to layer with the first sound. Use your product’s sound selection/navigation method to find a second desired sound. Select it for the layered element. Play the keyboard and enjoy. Finally, some keyboards have dedicated buttons for Parts, Zones, or Layers. These buttons are usually labeled Zone 1–4, Upper 1⁄2 / Lower 1⁄2, or Part 1–4. By turning on and off different combinations of these buttons, you can add layers to your keyboard setup. This feature is most commonly found in arranger keyboards and more-advanced stage pianos/controllers. Hear examples of single sounds combined to form a layer in Chapter 8, Audio Track 59.

Video / Updated 11-09-2022

Open chords are chords that fall within the first four frets typically using open strings. They sound twangy because they include unfretted strings that are permitted to ring open. This chart represents 24 of the most useful open chords you use to play guitar:

Article / Updated 11-07-2022

Playing piano can be like having a choir at your fingertips. You have a ten-member group, some are shorter and some are taller, some like to show off and some prefer to blend in, and one or two really don’t take well to being singled out. As the conductor of the fingertip chorale, you have control over how each “voice” in your choir responds to your direction. You can bring up the bass, hush the choir while the soprano has a solo, or lift up every voice for the full-out finale. Here are some exercises to gain command over each finger combination so that when you’re playing two notes together you have the strength and control to balance and blend. These interval exercises also let you scrutinize the many combinations of fingers, intervals, and positions on the keyboard to get to know how each finger responds. Special attention is given to strengthening those fingers that need it the most. Playing seconds with different finger combinations Seconds are any interval combination on adjacent keys, white or black. Because of the keyboard layout, that means a variety of hand and finger positions to work on. Each of these finger combination exercises includes a study for the right hand and the left hand separately. Play through these exercises a few times slowly at first — concentrating on each hand — listening carefully to adjust the balance and timing of each finger combination. Curve your fingers and keep the finger joints firm to play the seconds evenly. Then gradually increase your speed each time you play the exercise. As you increase your speed and accuracy, play these exercises as a series, starting with the right and left hand in the first finger combination, moving on to the right and left hand in the next finger combination, and so on. As you play the seconds with each finger combination, imagine the two fingers moving together as one unit. In the first combination, for example, finger two and finger three move together to strike each interval in a synchronized motion. Finger combination: Two and three Start your 2nd and 3rd fingers. Adjust your attack and your timing to play the seconds evenly while changing hand positions. Listen to the two and three finger combination found in Book V Chapter 1, Audio Track 100. Finger combination: Three and four Try to eliminate excess movement by keeping your hand close to the keyboard. Finger combination: One and two You may find playing the seconds evenly difficult to do with this finger combination. Your first two fingers are such different lengths! Bring your fingertips close together, like you’re forming an “O,” before striking the keys. Finger combination: Four and five Work on building strength in your 4th and 5th fingers by keeping the joints firm to make the accents strong. Playing thirds with different finger combinations These exercises improve your agility as you maneuver both major and minor thirds. The different finger combinations keep all your fingers nimble. Finger combination: One and three Make sure you have a nice, high arch to your hand, and let your fingers hang down and your fingertips lightly touch the keys. Finger combination: Two and four This next exercise is a good one to play with both staccato and legato articulation. Finger combination: Three and five Balance the thirds so the two notes are the same volume. Make sure your thumb stays relaxed and isn’t playing louder than the other fingers. Finger combinations: One and four, two and five, one and five Here’s an exercise for the thirds found in Book V Chapter 1, Audio Track 101. Keep your wrists up high, and lift your fingers up like spider legs, bringing them down evenly in twos. And not too fast — stay relaxed and melt into the keys. Playing fourths with finger combinations Practicing fourths is really good for finger independence. The different finger combinations keep your muscle coordination sharp. Finger combinations: One and four, two and five This one is especially good for the 4th finger. Work on keeping it curved, and prepare it directly above the key that it’s going to strike. Finger combinations: One and three, one and two You’re stretching here. Maintain a good shape in your 5th finger; don’t let it go flat as it reaches to play its note. Help your pinky by letting go of the fourth interval and moving your hand out, arched, toward the pinky. Playing fifths, sixths, and sevenths Your hand is open wider, and you’re moving your hand across the keyboard while maintaining a nice, rounded hand shape. Watch for twisting. Exercise in fifths 12/8 time is counted as 12 eighth notes to a measure, with each eighth note getting one count. Each measure can have a rhythmic pattern of four strong beats, on one, four, seven, and ten, with three eighth notes inside each strong beat. Keep both fingers five and one pointing down into the keys. Exercise in fifths and sixths As you play this exercise, fingers four and five are round, but not stiff. Give these fingers some power and flexibility by bouncing your wrist lightly: “down-up, down-up” as you count “one-and, two-and …” Exercise in fifths, sixths, and sevenths Give this fifths, sixths, and sevenths exercise found in Book V Chapter 1, Audio Track 102 a bluesy, rhythmic feel with a fairly deep wrist bounce on the strong beats in 12/8 time. (That’s one, four, seven, and ten.) Performance piece: “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” This familiar old ballpark favorite, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” found in Book V Chapter 1, Audio Track 103 is arranged with — you guessed it — different interval combinations in each hand. Play each interval pair by using a single, confident hand move.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-25-2022

The picking-hand sequences known as roll patterns are what gives bluegrass banjo its unique and incredible sound. It’s important for these patterns to become completely second nature, because you use them in all aspects of bluegrass banjo playing. Melodic and single-string banjo techniques offer alternative ways to play based around scales. These ways of playing are used increasingly in progressive bluegrass banjo styles. Trying out a G-major scale using both techniques reveals the difference in these approaches. Finally, when playing with others, you’ll need to support other musicians with backup techniques. A key to playing great banjo accompaniment is knowing your movable up-the-neck chord shapes, beginning with the F-shape chords.

Article / Updated 10-06-2022

The orchestra world is a slowly evolving beast. At its heart, a classical concert is the same animal that your grandparents may recognize. However, the past two decades have seen developments that have brought the audience closer to the music. Here’s a look at what’s changed — and what’s not. Identifying what’s new First, much more new music is being performed, which is due primarily to one factor: new music is gorgeous again. Rather than exploring ever more alien and atonal styles, composers are reverting to tried-and-true ideas like melody, harmony, and beauty. The sound of a symphony written yesterday is all the more beautiful for exceeding expectations; the sight of a living composer onstage does wonders to remind the audience that music is a living thing. Second, in recent years the prospect of a female or minority conductor or soloist (or President of the United States) has gone from strangely curious to practically normal — and the audition screen (a physical barrier between auditioning musicians and the jury, so that nobody knows what the auditioner looks like) has further leveled the playing field for female and minority musicians in major orchestras. Orchestras are finally beginning to look more and more like the rest of the world. Third, many orchestras have begun programming thematically — grouping the works on a program, or the programs in a series, according to a common theme (and naming the concert or series after that theme). Once the purview of smaller, more nimble orchestras, this practice has spread to many more, creating instant associations for the audience among the pieces on the program. It’s not unusual to see a whole program devoted to music about the ocean, for example — or a whole season devoted to the music of proudly nationalist composers. Of course, thematic programming is a marketer’s dream because it can easily spur the imagination — and it really helps pack the hall. But this kind of programming isn’t yet universally accepted, especially in the larger orchestras. Fourth, small chamber groups and even whole orchestras have taken to performing in unorthodox venues, such as bars and coffeehouses. Audiences get a kick out of seeing their favorite guest artists up close, feeling like part of a special fan club — and maybe sharing a beer with them later. Finally, conductors, soloists, and chamber groups have begun talking to the audience from the stage. Even the most engaged listeners don’t always read the program book. Some conductors welcome the audience and comment on the history and structure of a complex work, sometimes having the orchestra demonstrate with examples. Even for the most musically knowledgeable audiences, a few words from the podium don’t hurt a bit. These are all wonderful trends, providing a point of departure for new and old listeners alike. Unfortunately, with the exception of a few groundbreaking orchestras, just about everything else about the classical concert experience in the United States has remained the same over the past decade. For that matter, it’s remained the same over the past century. The concert as picture in a gilded frame, painted on a canvas of silence, can be a stunningly beautiful thing. But even 90 years ago, the presentation of classical music, with its excessive reverence for the frame rather than the picture, appeared hopelessly antiquated to many. As far back as the 1920s, composers dreamed of shattering the barriers that had grown up around classical music organizations, whose conventional concerts they derided as “orgies of inbreeding.” Classical music, in fact, is the only art form that is still presented in essentially the same way as it was 100 years ago. Musical organizations often say that they don’t want the symphonic world to end up as a museum. Actually, they should be so lucky; with their stunning new exhibits and interactive displays, many of today’s museums are far more innovative than most orchestras. Opera and theater companies mount imaginative new productions of old masterworks; ballet companies commission tons of new choreography and new music. No doubt about it — compared to the producers of opera, dance, theater, and visual art, the typical classical music group still lags far behind. Looking to the future A great performance is vital and moving. But how should the presentation of art evolve over the next century? In most parts of the Western world, classical performances still attract an overwhelmingly Caucasian, Eurocentric, upper-middle-class, elderly audience. Surely that wouldn’t have satisfied the great composers, who poured out their hearts for all humanity. Musicians could go a long way toward refuting the cry of elitism by changing their uniforms. Seriously, what’s with the black and white? Tuxedos or black suits are fine for certain occasions, such as funerals — but must they be the norm in concert? They smack of exclusivity. They create a distance that the composer never intended. Surely someone can come up with a uniform that’s classy, elegant, modern, welcoming, and chic. If the Beatles could do it more than half a century ago, it can be done now. Classical music will attract some people more than others — and it’s a harder sell to teenage audiences. But look at the enormous success of Video Games Live — a sampling of video game images set to lush and dramatic (and overly amplified) orchestral music — which has filled classical concert halls to the brim throughout the world, with hardly a gray hair in sight. The same goes for the Lord of the Rings Symphony, complete with full orchestra and 200-voice chorus, which sold out multiple performances in prominent classical venues. Have you listened to this music? Seldom have the soundtracks of movies or video games so closely resembled the German Late Romantics. And young people love it. The visuals get them in the door, but it’s the music that makes their pulses race. Could it be that those who have fallen for The Return of the King or World of Warcraft could come to crave Brünnhilde’s immolation scene from Götterdämmerung — with appropriate visuals? In the last century, venerable conductors such as Leopold Stokowski and Herbert von Karajan experimented with every medium, using technology to enhance the art form. Today’s classical musicians should follow their example. Society is increasingly visual; there’s no question that the next few decades will bring more video into the concert hall. Finding the truest solution Of course, visuals can go only so far; this is a medium of sound. Orchestras evolve at different rates, and there will always be room for the concert of the past. How do musical organizations give audiences a thorough understanding of why sounds matter? One way or another, the key is education. Young children eagerly embrace classical music. Their minds are fully open; they immediately grasp the playful spirit of the great composers. It’s rare to meet a child who doesn’t love classical music. Early exposure to classical music can ignite a lifelong passion. This is the truest solution, the kind that will ensure that future generations can share in the riches of classical music. The fact that you’re discovering these riches is a wonderful start. The best thing you can do now is share them with someone even younger.