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Musicality Now — Music
Musicality Now

Ever wondered why some people seem to have a gift for music? Have you wished that you could play by ear, sing in tune, improvise and jam? You are in the right place.

Musicality Now is a mix of interviews and teaching, featuring some of the most inspiring and insightful musicians and music educators, talking about how to learn the core inner skills you need to feel like a “natural” in music and enjoy freedom, creativity and confidence.

Topics include: Playing by ear, Singing in tune, Jamming with other musicians, Having a good sense of rhythm, Writing your own music, Writing notation, Improvising a solo, Talking intelligently about music, Understanding Music Theory, Clapping in time, Knowing your instrument inside and out, Tuning your instrument by ear, Reading notation, Sight-reading music, Playing from a lead sheet, Performing live, and Playing multiple instruments.

Musicality Now is brought to you by Musical U (musical-u.com), the leading provider of musicality training online. Learn more and get shownotes at musicalitynow.com.

Copyright: © Copyright 2017 Musical U (Easy Ear Training Ltd.)

Latest Episodes:

047: About Meter in Music Feb 15, 2018

Show notes

Rhythm is rarely random - instead, it follows an underlying structure to give the song a certain flow, a structure called meter. In meter, depending on which beats are emphasized in a bar, completely different rhythms and "flows" can be created. Let's look at how this works!

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 047

Links and Resources

• Interview with Jeremy Dittos

• About Grid Notation

• What is "the beat"?

• Playlist to get you started with recognizing meter

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046: More Ways of Knowing Music, with Jeremy Dittus (Dalcroze School of the Rockies) Feb 13, 2018

Show notes

Have you ever heard of Dalcroze? It's a remarkable and effective approach to music-learning that's often discussed alongside Kodály or Orff.

Today we're speaking with Dr. Jeremy Dittus, the founder and director of the Dalcroze School of the Rockies in Denver, one of the most prominent Dalcroze schools in the US, about his own experiences learning this approach and how (and why) he teaches it now.

In this conversation we talk about:

- How "reading between the lines" of sheet music, Schenkerian analysis, and Dalcroze training all helped transform Jeremy into the musician and educator he is today

- What exactly "Dalcroze" is and how each of its five components can benefit a musician

- How and why Dalcroze uses both the fixed and movable do systems of solfege

- How Dalcroze can enrich a musician who's learning in the traditional way, and why walking past a Dalcroze classroom typically means seeing a room full of adults smiling, moving and having fun.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 046

Links and Resources

• The Dalcroze School of the Rockies

• Videos of Plastique Animée

• Video of Eurythmics class

• Website: Dalcroze USA

• Book: "The Perfect wrong note" by William Westney

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045: About Your Voice Sounding Weird Feb 08, 2018

Show notes

If you sing, it's likely you've recorded and listened back to your voice. Chances are, you were surprised by what you heard, and thought "Is this really what I sound like?". In this episode of the Musicality Podcast, we explain why recordings of yourself sound different from what you're used to hearing, and how to get comfortable with listening to recordings of your own singing voice.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 045

Links and Resources

• Interview with Judy Rodman

• The Benefits of Recording Your Music Practice

• HearFones, a tool for vocalists to hear themselves

• How to Love Your Own Singing Voice

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044: All Things Vocal, with Judy Rodman Feb 06, 2018

Show notes

Today we're speaking with Judy Rodman of judyrodman.com and the All Things Vocal blog. Judy went from being a professional jingle singer in the 70s to getting a recording contract as a singer and having a Billboard #1 song, to writing songs and having one of them become a #1 hit for Leann Rimes, to now being an in-demand vocal coach in Nashville and the creator of the All Things Vocal blog and podcast.

With that incredible career, it would be easy to assume Judy has a gift, or that she relied on natural talent. But as you'll learn in this conversation, it wasn't smooth sailing and it was a particular mindset that allowed Judy to have such success in so many different arenas in music. It's also abundantly clear from this conversation that Judy has soaked up an incredible amount of learning along the way and excels in sharing that expertise in a clear and valuable way for her students.

In this conversation we talk about:

• What it was that let her succeed again and again as she pivoted her music career through the years

• The two areas she recommends beginning singers to focus on and specific exercises to help with both

• The number one most important thing to focus on as a singer if you want to improve and have a good-sounding voice

• How studio singing differs from singing on stage

• A clever device that can help you past that feeling of thinking you sound odd or bad when you hear yourself on a recording

There is a ton packed into this conversation and whether you've never sung before, you sing and want to get better, or you're already performing on stage and in the studio, there is going to be something valuable for you to take away, and we know you're going to want to immerse yourself more in everything Judy offers to help singers.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 044

Links and Resources

• Judy Rodman's website

• All Things Vocal blog and podcast

• Power, Path & Performance course

• Singing in the Studio course

• Hearfones as a singing tool

• Here We Are, Judy's album with her husband

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043: About the 12-Bar Blues Feb 01, 2018

Show notes

Without the 12-bar blues, we wouldn't have rock 'n' roll... or, come to think of it, much of the Western music we have today! In this episode of the Musicality Podcast, we'll look at the simple chord progression that comprises the 12-bar blues, how to play it in any key, and how the 12-bar blues can be used as a powerful songwriting tool (and not just by blues musicians!).

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 043

Links and Resources

• Interview with Bill Hilton

• About the I, IV, V, and vi Chords

• Finding Chords in Scales

• Playlist of songs that use the 12-bar blues

• Introduction to Blues

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042: How to Really Play Music, with Bill Hilton Jan 30, 2018

Show notes

Today we're talking with Bill Hilton, author of How to Really Play the Piano and the host of a hugely popular YouTube channel where over 120,000 people tune in to watch his video tutorials.

As always when we have a guest who specialises in teaching a particular instrument, this episode is packed with tips and insights not just for that instrument, but for your musicality in general. In particular, Bill has great wisdom when it comes to the mindset that adult learners need.

In this conversation we talk about:

• The missing pieces that hold pianists back from feeling creative and expressive on piano, and how to really learn to play

• How becoming an amateur singer made him a better piano teacher

• What defines "cocktail piano" and why this style is so popular and useful to learn

• The surprising advantages that can actually make it easier for adults and retirees to learn an instrument than children

Bill's attitude and his teaching really cut right to the heart of what really matters in making music. We know you're going to enjoy this conversation.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 042

Links and Resources

• Bill's YouTube channel

• Bill's personal website

• How to write a classic jazz song

• Book: How to Really Play the Piano

• Book: Cocktail Piano

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041: About the Hook Jan 25, 2018

Show notes

We all know the "hook", if not by name. It's the catchiest, most memorable part of a song, and the culprit for getting the tune stuck in your head. In this podcast episode, learn what makes a hook, what differentiates it from the chorus, and how some famous artists have used it to elevate their songs from great to unforgettable.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 041

Instrumental hooks answers:

• Queen - Under Pressure (or Vanilla Ice - Ice, Ice, Baby)

• Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water

• The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony

• Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

Links and Resources

• Interview with the HookTheory team

• Musicality Means… Knowing the Slang

• The genius of "Hook" by Blues Traveler

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040: Multi-coloured Music, with the HookTheory team Jan 23, 2018

Show notes

Today we're talking with Dave Carlton and Chris Anderson, two of the three creators of HookTheory - one of our favourite music-learning websites and one that can transform the way you understand melodies and harmony in the music you love. Ryan Miyakawa, the third team member, couldn't be with us today but we're hoping to have him on the show for a followup episode in future.

HookTheory is one of a handful of websites that we are constantly recommending to people who are learning music and looking for easier ways to understand music theory. We've been continually impressed with their approach and the quality of the teaching they provide, and it was a real delight to immerse ourselves in the two HookTheory books last year.

HookTheory is a new way of visualising notes and chords in music, as well as a very different and far more effective and interesting way of teaching core music theory concepts in songwriting.

In this conversation we talk about:

• The quite different musical backgrounds that the three HookTheory creators have and what they found a shared passion for that led to creating HookTheory together

• What makes HookTheory different and why that might matter to you

• Whether or not interactive tools like HookPad which make it easy to write music with computer assistance are removing the need for learning music theory yourself

If you've never been to HookTheory.com, we know this conversation will inspire you to go dive in, and if you've seen HookTheory in action, you'll enjoy this peek behind the scenes of where such a cool project came from and what's in store for the future.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 040

Links and Resources

• HookTheory.com

• Previous interview with Dave: an introduction to hook theory

• The I-IV-V progression

• The Kodály Method

• The benefits of solfege

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039: About Grid Notation Jan 18, 2018

Show notes

Though hearing a rhythm in your head or tapping along to the beat comes naturally to many musicians, it can be trickier to understand rhythmic notation and put a beat to paper. Enter Groove Pizza, a simple, interactive tool to help you understand rhythms using a visual grid system that lets you see exactly how the beat is formed. In this episode, we're giving you a crash course on forming and tweaking some common beats with Groove Pizza!

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 039

Links and Resources

• Interview with Katie Wardrobe

• Groove Pizza

• Honing your sense of rhythm

• Learning common beats

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038: Top Musicality Tools and Tech, With Katie Wardrobe (Midnight Music) Jan 16, 2018

Show notes

Today we're talking with Katie Wardrobe, the founder of Midnight Music - a site we've followed for several years because it is the go-to place to learn about cool new music tools and websites and insights on how they can be used in music education.

Katie runs hands-on workshops, presents regularly at conferences in Australia and overseas and she offers online training and support to music teachers all over the world through her music technology professional development online community - the Midnight Music Community.

She is also the author of Studio Sessions, a keyboard and technology program for middle school students and the host of the weekly Music Tech Teacher podcast.

One thing we've always admired is how Katie is always able to find interesting and creative ways to use new music websites and apps for real practical teaching purposes. We loved having the chance to pick Katie's brains on how to best use music tech in education, as well as learning a bit more about her own background and what led to her having such a creativity-focused perspective on technology in music education.

In this conversation we talk about:

• How growing up as the daughter of two music teacher parents impacted her early music education, and whether she believes it was nature or nurture that led to her becoming a music teacher herself.

• Her opinion on whether easy music-making technology reduces (or even removes) the need for spending time learning music in the traditional way.

• Her top suggestions for free online tools you can use today to develop your musicality in fun and interesting ways.

This conversation is packed with useful ideas for self-taught musicians and music teachers alike, and you're going to come away with at least one (but probably several) cool new ideas for using technology in your musicality training.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 038

Links and Resources

• Midnight Music

• Music Tech Teacher Podcast

• Book: Studio Sessions

• Ultimate Free Music Tech Resources Guide 2017

• Groove Pizza online drum sequencer

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