So we’ve travelled the best part of 2,000 or 3,000 years as we’ve examined the history of music, and especially the history of vocal music. If you’ve missed any of the posts in this series, you can jump to all Read more…
If you, or one of your students is heading for Grade 5 theory, you’re probably dealing with the rather dull subject of enharmonic equivalents. Most of the existing resources on this topic are pretty uninspiring, rather like a page of Read more…
The first review of the season from the Usher Hall, taking our seats in the gods for Britten’s Simple Symphony, MacMillan’s Piano Concerto No 3 and Holst’s The Planets. Where and When: Usher Hall, Edinburgh; Friday 4th October, 7:30pm The Music: As always Read more…
If you look deep enough you will see music; the heart of nature being everywhere music. Thomas Carlyle
October is here. I love October, but then it’s the month in which my birthday falls, so I’m biased! Posts on learning Build Greater Confidence by Approaching Practice Like a Surgeon (Bulletproof Musician) – Why reflective practice is Read more…
Practicing is the most challenging part of every musician’s life. Whether we’ve been playing six months or sixty years, we all face days when we just don’t want to sit down and work, or if we do, we don’t want Read more…
October is here and it’s time for a new Composer of the Month This month, to time with this composer’s birthday, I’ve chosen one of the “one hit wonders” of the musical world. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that many Read more…
For most people, when they think of “modern” music, the first things that spring to mind are either contemporary popular music (which is a story for another series), atonalism, or 4’33. For singers, however, none of these ideas really reflect Read more…
One of the most challenging things about singing compared to playing an instrument is memorisation. Singers are expected to perform from memory in most situations, while instrumentalists are much more likely to have the music out in front of them. Read more…
The Royal Lyceum’s 2013-14 season gets off to a World Premiere start with Ian Rankin’s debut play, Dark Road. Where & When: Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh; Friday 27th September 2013; 7.45pm (Preview show) The Show: It will come as no Read more…