Musicality Now

Recently on the show we did an episode on something called the Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization (LCCOTO) with Andrew Bishko from our team. Andrew introduced me to this when he wrote a tutorial about the Lydian scale for our website, and in the process of putting that article together we came across a man called Andy Wasserman, one of just a handful of people in the world who is fully trained and certified to teach the Lydian Chromatic Concept.

In this episode Christopher and Andrew talk about the musicality of playing multiple instruments. How becoming more musical makes it easy to pick up a second (or third, or fourth!) instrument - and how playing more than one instrument can help you become more musical.

Today we’re joined by David Row (r-aoo) of the Make Moments Matter website and podcast. David is an elementary music teacher in the US who specialises in the Orff method of music teaching. Orff is something we’ve mentioned a couple of times on the show before because it’s one of a few approaches that really puts musicality at the heart of music learning.

In this episode, we introduce you to frequencies in music, discuss why they’re important, and give you a simple primer on the fascinating science behind them.

Today we're joined by Allan Hubert-Wright, the founder of Le Chanteur Moderne, one of the most respected voice training institutes in France, and one which is remarkable for using modern voice science to help singers and singing teachers be more effective by leveraging what we actually know about the human voice.

Choosing the perfect online course for you is half the battle. The other half is ensuring that you stay engaged and motivated so you can complete the course and get as much out of it as possible. Learn all about how you can be proactive and smart about your course to maximize your odds of success.

Today we're joined by Bree Noble, who as well as being an award-winning singer-songwriter is the founder of the Female Musician Academy and host of two popular podcasts, Women of Substance Radio and the Female Entrepreneur Musician podcast, both of which we listen to ourselves.

Not everything is in 4/4! Learn about polyrhythms, or rhythms where two (or more) rhythms occur simultaneously. Musical U's Anastasia Voitinskaia gives a rundown of polyrhythms, where they're found, and how to count them, and why you should make them a part of your musical repertoire. 

Today we're joined by Kendra McKinley, a San Francisco singer-songwriter who we interviewed on our website last year after a cover song she recorded made us sit up and pay attention. Her music has been described as having a "striking musicality" and we think that's a great way of putting it, so we were delighted to have the opportunity to sit down with her and learn more about where that musicality came from and how she goes about writing and recording her songs.

Did you know that it's possible to practice your musical repertoire even when you don't have your instrument in your hands? Learn all about the skill of audiation, a.k.a. imagining music in your head, and how it can improve your musical memory, your understanding of the music itself, and even your performances.

Today we're joined by Sharon Mark-Teggart, who along with Dr. Sally Cathcart runs The Curious Piano Teachers, one of the leading organisations training up the next generation of piano teachers. And as you'll discover in this episode they're leveraging the latest research into what makes for effective learning and teaching to help those new teachers be more successful, enjoy their teaching more, and be continually developing and improving throughout their teaching career.

The world of online music education is ripe with opportunity for a musician interested in self-directed learning. In this episode, we explore the factors that should go into choosing an online course that is compatible with your musical goals and vision.

Today we're talking with composer David Asher Brown, who is also the man behind PianoCub.com, a website that can help anybody to start learning piano online. David’s work as a composer is wonderful and varied, and well worth a listen - but as you’ll be hearing, that’s just one clue as to the fascinating variety of projects and interests David has explored during his musical career so far.

With so many possible uses, it can be difficult to know exactly what we mean when we say "tone". In part two of our series about tone, we look at three more common uses for this multipurpose word, and how to contextualize them in music.

Today we're joined by Jeremy Fisher, one of the co-founders of Vocal Process, one of the most impressive and useful websites for learning how to develop your singing voice and sing better. Through blog posts, live in-person training, online webinars, books and even an app, Vocal Process covers all the most in-demand topics for singers, ranging from how to get started and sing in tune, through extending your vocal range, through developing your singing style and even passing auditions.