UreMusic Education

Correct clarinet embouchure enables a player to enhance tone and improve flexibility on the instrument. Avoid bad habits and incorrect embouchure placement from the beginning of your studies to ensure that you learn to play effectively and correctly. Correcting an improperly trained embouchure can be very difficult. Learn proper clarinet embouchure as soon as possible to avoid issues later on down the line. Clarinet The clarinet should be pointing toward the ground at a 35- to a 45-degree angle. The exact angle will change slightly among players. Players with an extended lower jaw will need a greater angle, while those with an inward sloping jaw will need less of an angle. The reed of the mouthpiece should face the floor, and the actual mouthpiece should extend into the mouth about 1/4 of an inch. Mouth The mouth needs to form a tight seal with the tip of the mouthpiece. To do this, you must tense the muscles in your cheeks. Imagine you are sucking through a straw to form a proper embo...

“Taps” plays in military services to honor soldiers. It has long been associated with soldier funerals and solemn ceremonies in the military. The story of Taps is full of romantic accounts and legends, even if many of these accounts have no basis in historical fact. Overtones “Taps” started partially because of the limited notes available to buglers. Bugles are capable of playing tones that exist because of a natural phenomenon called  overtones . The bugle call “Taps” uses these natural overtones to create all of the pitches in the tune. A bugle player can play taps without the need for valves, which is important to know since the first brass instruments did not have valves and relied on different-sized extensions to change the key of the instrument. Practically speaking, bugles needed to be low maintenance since in battle valves need lubrication. Calls Bugle calls alert troops, announce military services and signal commands. “Taps” signifies lights out. Appropriately, “Taps” appe...

Voice lessons are invaluable for singers who want to study effective techniques, improve their range and extend their vocal longevity. A vocalist should be aware, up front, of costs associated with these lessons. When deciding to take lessons, vocalists must weigh all factors in determining the actual cost of vocal coaching. Tuition As of 2021, according to CostHelper (costhelper.com), a typical studio will charge $10 to $35 per half-hour lesson and professionals with advanced degrees and performing experience may charge upward of $100 or more for this duration. Vocal tuition will vary among studios and will be based on the teacher’s skill, abilities and location. According to U reMusic.com , a teacher living in a major city will usually charge more for lessons than a teacher who lives in a rural area due to the generally higher cost of living and higher demand for teachers. Materials In some instances, a vocal teacher may include materials in the tuition. However, this is rare since n...

Regular music theory and jazz music theory have similar goals but use different terminology. This can be confusing, but even within traditional theory, different terms exist depending on what side of the world you live. The process of learning the difference involves learning the terminology for both styles. Breaking it down to the simplest elements, jazz music is just shorthand for classical theory. This is important in jazz because performers have to improvise and don’t have time to think about Roman numeral relationships and extended analysis. Learning the terminology for both styles will make you a better musician. Triads Jazz musicians often cite a large amount of chords available in jazz music that are not available in classical music. Again, this is a misunderstanding. Jazz music makes use of flat five chords, called diminished chords in classical music. The seventh chords used in classical music exist in jazz music as well. The only difference is the notation. Think of jazz as ...

You’ve got a great melody, nailed some vocals, and now you need to set the background music to make your song come alive. If you don’t have the necessary skills to notate your music, you can get a composer for hire to help you with writing your background music. You could also use various  ambient music composition techniques  to create music that works with your song and vocals. The best option for a songwriter that has an idea of what they want the song to sound like is to hire a professional to help with the background lyrics, and in the meantime, begin learning to compose their own background music. So, let’s take a look at some key techniques you’re going to need if you want to compose your own background music. Musical Basics If you’re serious about learning to write your own background music, you need to learn about  musical notation . Once you can notate your ideas, learn about chords, chord progressions, and key signatures. If you only develop a basic understandi...

Heavy metal riffs combine small musical motifs to create melodic fragments. A motif is the smallest identifiable musical idea that consists of more than one note. A melodic fragment is simply a chunk taken from a potentially longer melody; fragments are not complete musical ideas and serve only to ornament, enhance, or develop the music. Heavy metal riffs used in songs help create additional interest and intrigue in the songs. Basic knowledge of key signatures, note names, and basic chords will make it possible for you to create your own songs and riffs. Creating the Song Write or hire someone to write the lyrics for your song if you have not already created them. If you don’t have lyrics, look through poetry books with poems from authors that have been deceased for 70 years. These are in the public domain in most areas but double-check with copyright laws. The  Library of Congress  website has information on copyrights for United States citizens. Form of the Piece D...

The trumpet is the highest-pitched member of the brass family of instruments. Trumpets have a range of about three-and-a-half octaves, from F below the treble clef (F3) staff to C two octaves above the treble clef (C7). Some trumpet players have the ability to play even higher or lower. The trumpet is capable of playing these pitches because of the acoustic principles and mechanical construction. Vibrations Vibrations are the basis for the trumpet’s sound. The trumpet player creates vibrations by pressing their lips together to create a buzzing sound. Trumpeters can buzz specific pitches by creating additional pressure with the lips and concentrating the airflow by keeping the cheeks tucked in. By increasing the speed of the vibrations the trumpet becomes capable of playing pitches of varying ranges. Trumpet players use the muscles in the embouchure to control pitch. The embouchure are the muscles of the mouth and lips. Valves The trumpet uses a concept known as the overtone series. Th...

The Chinese calendar adds a month every few years. This means that Chinese New Year is not the same  d ay every year. The extra month occurs because the calendar uses lunar and solar cycles. Adding a month every few years helps to keep the calendar aligned with these cycles. The date changes and can range from January 21 to February 20 of each year. In 2011, the date for Chinese New Year occurred on February 3. In 2021, Chinese New Year fell on February 12. The Chinese have a deep respect for music and several types of music exist for the celebration of each New Year. Vocal Music Chinese New Year celebrations make use of vocal music based on Chinese scales and rhythms. Smaller string instruments such as the erhu, a two-stringed fiddle, often accompany the vocal music. The use of vocal music has a strong tradition in China and places heavy emphasis on glissando and quartertones to slide into notes instead of immediately falling directly on individual pitches. Instrumental Music The ...

With a few tricks, memorizing the notes of the bass and treble clef is a simple process you can learn in a single afternoon. Both the treble and bass clef have similarities in their structure. They both have five lines and four spaces and use ledger lines to extend the staff when the notes ascend higher than the staff allows. When these lines and spaces are put together, a musical alphabet is spelled from bottom to top. Acronyms  Acronyms in music can help students learn the names of the notes. Have the student create a phrase that starts with the first letter of each line and then have them create one that starts with the first letter of each space. For instance, in the treble clef there are 5 lines: E-G-B-D-F. Have the student come up with a phrase to remember those lines such as "Eat Good Berries During Football." It doesn't necessarily have to make sense, just as long as the student can remember the phrase. Clef Position  The position of the clef is another way to rem...

Glockenspiels are made of several smaller metal plates that create specific pitches when struck with a mallet. This is a great toy for a toddler, as it requires no experience to produce a sound and is relatively inexpensive. Small toy versions and miniature professional versions are available, depending on your budget. Allow your toddlers to experiment with the toy at their leisure. This helps them to learn cause and effect, with the added benefit of exposure to high and low pitches. Drums Drums are relatively inexpensive and come in a large variety of styles. There are buffalo drums, toy snares, and hand drums that your toddler can bang to create sound. Make this even more interesting for the toddler by purchasing several mallets for him to use. Look for feeling, rubber, wood and even string mallets so your toddler can hear how different mallets change the drum's sound. Recorder While a toddler won't be able to play correct recorder fingerings or learn songs, she'll still ...

The most important element that defines a piano concerto is the instrumentation; a piano concerto is written for a piano soloist with an orchestra. Classical and traditionally structured piano concertos generally have three movements, although since the time of Beethoven it has become more common to include an additional, fourth movement. More recently, composers have written concertos in other forms, including single-movement works, but all concertos meet the basic requirement of a having a piano soloist and an orchestra. Movement 1 The first movement of a piano concerto is traditionally cast in sonata form with an added cadenza. Classical sonata form comprises three parts: exposition, development, and recapitulation; in a concerto, however, right before the recapitulation a cadenza is added; a cadenza is an opportunity for the pianist to show off her technique and improvisational skills, during which the orchestra generally stops playing to allow the pianist to play freely. After the...

From performance to business, music degrees provide several career opportunities Music degrees can provide you with a secure future in careers both directly and indirectly related to music. It is important to remember that a Bachelor of Music degree comes with the benefits of an advanced education. Music students will still study the required core subject areas of the university and will be prepared to enter into several occupations. Performance  Becoming a performer is a very real and practical option for someone with a music degree. Musicians who have stage presence, an ability to maintain professional connections, and discipline can succeed as performers in orchestras, small ensembles and even solo careers. Education  Musicians with music degrees can work in private and public schools; they must obtain the appropriate certification to teach in public schools. Advanced degrees in music also make it possible to pursue professional music positions in universities and colleges....

Chance music allows the composer to roll the dice with compositional elements. Although the first half of the 20th century saw an increase in highly formalized and restricted compositions, the second half saw the emergence of a restrictive antithesis. Composers were starting to write music that gave the performer more control over the performance of a piece of music. Aleatoric music gave additional creative responsibility to the performer and left some elements of the music up to chance. Keep reading to find out more about this extraordinary development in Western art music. Aleatoric Music Aleatoric music gives more creative responsibility to the composer. Aleatoric music allows the performer to control certain aspects of a composition. The composer will decide ahead of time which elements are aleatoric. The elements left to chance can include one or all of the following elements: medium, expression, duration, pitch or form. Medium Instruments may be left to the performer to decide in...

Transcribing audio files to written notation requires persistent effort and a certain degree of musical knowledge to succeed. Musicians should already have an understanding of how to read music. Without this basic knowledge, it will not be possible to transcribe audio to written notation. For those that do have the knowledge to transcribe music methods exist to accomplish transcription successfully. Looping Looping refers to a process of taking a small segment of the audio and repeating it. This technique makes it possible to concentrate on a small portion of the music. If the music is slow, you can try looping each chord until you can accurately notate it. For faster music, it may be beneficial to purchase an audio editing program. Choose a program that will allow you to slow the music down significantly without distorting the sound. These programs are useful for beginners, but they should not be used as a long-term solution. Developing your speed and learning to transcribe music ...