Music Theory 1

Tonality

Before you starts, please memorize the following rules for sharps and flats

# (sharp)FCGDAEB   fa do sol re la mi si
b (flat)    BEADGCF  si mi la re sol do fa

How to sing? - Can you feel it? The naked king.

From the first day I study music, I have been hearing saying like this from everywhere (from professional to amateur musicians) --Expressing yourself in music is more important than singing (or playing) with right technique.

Well, that is partially true. Yes, no one would like to hear a machine singing or playing the piano. However, do you know how to express yourself in music?

We always hear the comments from some people saying that some performers are full of emotion and passion in their performing, they make people cry in this way.

Well, wake up!

Can you really tell a person singing with all heart or expressing the mood? I bet you not.

You can not feel it because very few musicians do it during their concerts.

You cannot hear it. You are just trying to squeeze tears out of your eyes because you feel you have to and other people say that this musician is full of emotions.....

Isn't that familiar with the story you and I have read from our very young age?

'The Emperor's New Clothes' !

Yes, people could not see anything on the emperor but they still pretended they did because they did not want to be called fool. Everyone kept pretending how much they appreciate their king's new fashion, until one kid, pointed out the truth, 'The king is naked! ' .

No! you cannot feel the expression in music. There's nothing wrong with your ear and your feeling. It's because those so- called 'musicians' do not know anything about music but create another level of noise. Somehow they are so famous because the media say so, therefore audience should be admiring them and people pretend they understand everything the so called musicians express.

But actually they do not express anything. They show you only weired facial expressions and monkey dances, which is accompanied by another level of noise.

How to sing? - The first step

When you get a new song as your assignment, try to do the following steps.

1. Try to sight read by hum all the notes there with the right rhythm.

This is the most important step to develop sight reading skills and you teach your ear and brain how to produce the right pitch with your voice.

One of the most important things for singer is to sing the right notes. Unfortunately many singers fail to do so, even some of the most famous ones.

Without singing right notes,  hitting the right pitch, it does not make sense to learn singing.

2. Sing the notes with solfege and letter name.

Solfege works as guide for your right pitch. Never skip this step. If you do not know any solfege, well......better not to call yourself singer.

Letter name is very important for students in North America to pass the exams. (C, D, E, F, G , A, B)

3. Sing and Clap

Sing the right note with solfege and clap the right rhythm.  Believe me, it is the most difficult part for students, but it's the best way to test yourself if you understand what are written on the sheets.

One of the most essential things in music is to sing(play) the notes at the right time with right rhythm. Rhythm is the heart of the music. If your heart stop beating you are dead, so do your music. Music is life, is art, is everything.

Do everything with metronomes. Starting with lower speed, and gradually speed up.

Remember, this is ONLY the very first step in your learning process!

Good music - Man Is For The Woman Made by Henry Purcell

Are you good at dealing relationship between men and women? How do you describe the relationship between men and women? As early as 17th century, our great musician told you the answer already. I cannot stop smiling each time when I listen to it.

Purcell said, ' Man is for the woman made and woman is made for man......as for digging is the spade.....as to cool us is the fan......'


Here is the link of the song. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp7OIRo6Pdo

Music exams

Many students want to pass the highest level of exam as soon as possible.

I have some students, after passing the highest level of exams with decent marks, do not know music at all.

They cannot sight read properly.

They have no knowledge of music.

They do not know the dynamics.

They do not use the right muscles to sing and  play the piano.

They do not sing and play anything without asking teachers to show them....and more, etc etc.

Why?

Because for most music schools and music teachers, the more students pass exams, the better their reputations are. They will get more and more students by referrals.

So how do they teach?

Teach them like teaching monkeys.


How do students learn?

Learn by imitating everything teachers do.

So after exams, students forget everything. Music is imitation for students; Music means more and more students and money for teachers and schools.

Japanese pianos....

Japanese are hard workers. But it does not mean everything they have made are good. At least the pianos, I really dislike their pianos.

I have Japanese cosmetics, Japanese skincare and Japanese recording machines, and they work quite well.

But their pianos are a big NO, especially the upright Y***** ones. All of them produce very bad sound, and the touch is so light that no one, even the youngest learners are not able to train their muscles by playing it, and the bad sounds can ruin their hearings.

I do not understand why people buy second hand Japanese piano than buying brand new German or American pianos. Used Japanese pianos here cost more than any good pianos.

Again, I do not recommend to buy Japanese (especially upright y*****) pianos at all. A total waste of money!!!

Idol?

Idol or idiot?

Who can be an idol for people? A person who does not know notes, sings no bitch and dance like monkey can be a singer? A person who pretend she or he is singing a 'belcanto' way and call herself opera singer? Who wins the live show competition?

I am tired of all these winners from idol shows. Some call themselves great opera singers. For being a great opera singer, you need years of years of voice training. Not only voice training, you need many knowledge in music, in art, in math, in science, in language and so on.

Nowadays many people pretend to sing like opera singers on the shows. But if you have been being trained voice properly for years, you understand that is just another lie. They are just fooling people in such way to pretend they can sing better than others.

Yes, they win and they get so many chances to tour around the world as opera singers and earn billions of money.

But because they have more chances to be exposed to in public media, they are teaching people to act and sing in that wrong way.

They tell people that you do not have to learn any notes or knowledge of music, and you can be famous easily without learning.

They tell you the younger you are there, the more people call you talented. But actually everybody can mimic opera singers' way of singing. If that's for entertainment on tvs, that's fine. For being in real concert, that's a joke.

They tell you to make many mistakes as you can once you become stars. People will discuss you more. The more you are on news headline, the less people will forget you......

Who kills (good) classical music? Everyone

It has been in my mind for long time. To my mind, it is one of the most inconvenient and ugly truth in the world. My criticism may be harsh for the following related topic. But that is my real feeling. If you dislike it, leave the page.