Making Music Magazine Sept/Oct 2009

Making Music BETTER LIVING THROUGH RECREATIONAL MUSIC MAKING速

9 BETTER LIVING THROUGH RECREATIONAL MUSIC MAKING速

www.MakingMusicMag.com September/October 2009

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Sept/Oct 09 warm-ups Preparing to play: tips for every instrument.

LACING THE AXE A step-by-step guide to restring an electric guitar.

transposing tricks

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7 18 22 35

14 20 30

Learn to change the key of your music—it’s easier than you think.

Features

Vocal stylings

Intergenerational orchestra

Tricks professional vocalists use to change their sound.

Young and old learn from each other, while sharing the joys of music.

Best in show ipod apps

Amateur organists discover the thrill of competition.

Fun and handy programs to enhance music making.

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Lester Holt The NBC anchor relaxes off-camera with his bass.

column Scott “The Piano Guy” Houston on taking risks with your music.

Departments 6 LETTERS 10 VIBES 20 FORTE 37 TUNED IN

44 COVERED 46 IN THE SPOTLIGHT 47 DESTINATION 52 HARMONY

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Making Music

september/october 2009 | Vol. 5, Issue 5

Editor-in-Chief Antoinette Follett afollett@MakingMusicMag.com Editor Cherie Yurco cyurco@MakingMusicMag.com

By Antoinette Follett n As a regular viewer of NBC’s TODAY

show, I felt like I knew weekend anchor Lester Holt. Although I had heard he played upright and electric bass, I never really thought of him as a musician until Editor Cherie Yurco and I met with him at the Yamaha Artist Services studio in New York City for a Making Music interview.

Seeing his off-air personality let us get to know him as a person and a recreational musician. It was a real treat. Holt entertained us by playing his upright bass, which he brought along. He’s a down-toearth person, and when he performs on bass, he really wants to escape his NBC anchor persona to be “just one of the musicians.”

This issue of Making Music focuses on the process of learning and preparing our bodies and minds for practice and performance. We all enjoy playing our music and sometimes that eagerness may cause us to skip important warm-ups or to avoid practicing the basics, like scales and rudiments. Rushing the preparatory stages of practice, or failing to maintain proper health, can hinder us from getting the most out of music. Emily Spring’s story, “Ready, Set, Warm Up!” gives tips on preparing the right way, depending on what type of instrument you play.

Another theme to the September/October issue is becoming a more self-reliant musician. Besides the article, “Transposing Tricks,” which explains how to transpose a song to another key, staff writer Liam McCabe offers step-by-step instructions to restringing a guitar in “Lacing the Axe,” and putting together your own djembe from a kit in “Do-it-Yourself Djembe.”

Whether you decide to build an instrument, learn how to restring your guitar, or transpose a favorite song, music is all about self-discovery and pushing yourself to try something new. In his column, Scott Houston challenges us to be “daredevils” and take on new musical challenges like improvisation.

If you have any additional thoughts or comments please write to me at afollett@ MakingMusicMag.com.

On the Cover Lester Holt, anchor on NBC’s TODAY show and network news programs enjoys playing the bass in his spare time. He occasionally plays in gigs around New York City and even did a professional recording for the soundtrack to the television show House.

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Staff WriterS Jackie Saunders Liam McCabe Meredith Laing Emily Spring Art Director Lisa A. Mergler-Santoro Graphic Interns Ashley Kodya, Ron Rabideau, and Rachel Sacks Photo Credits Richard Mulye Chuck Wainwright music consultant Stephen Laifer Marketing Director Honore Stockley honore@MakingMusicMag.com web/marketing manager Richard Mulye richard@MakingMusicMag.com Advertising Manager Krista Galster kgalster@MakingMusicMag.com subscription COORDINATOR Andrea Fragassi afragassi@MakingMusicMag.com Publisher Bentley-Hall, Inc. 221 Walton St., Ste. 200 Syracuse, NY 13202 315-422-4488 315-422-3837 fax www.MakingMusicMag.com Subscriptions–1 Year: USA: $30; Canada: $60; All Other Foreign: $105 US Funds Only.

Circulation and subscriptions, phone: 315-422-4488 ext. 116. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to: Making Music; 221 Walton St., Ste. 200; Syracuse, NY 13202 Nationally distributed by Rider Circulation Services Phone: 323-344-1200. Online: www.gorcs.com Making Music, ISSN (1552-2946), is published six times annually. Making Music is a registered trademark of Bentley-Hall Publishing. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2009 Bentley-Hall, Inc. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission from the publisher. The views expressed in Making Music are those of their respective contributors and are not necessarily those of its publisher, editor, or staff. All advertising material is subject to publisher’s approval.

All materials intended for publication should be directed to Making Music; 221 Walton St., Ste. 200; Syracuse, NY 13202; fax: 315-422-3837 or e-mail: afollett@MakingMusicMag.com.

Making Music assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited articles, photographs, or art.

BETTER LIVING THROUGH RECREATIONAL MUSIC MAKING®

A CAPPELLA n Eddy Evers, 80, loves two things: his Lowrey Regency organ and his Honda Goldwing motorcycle. And at one point, Evers almost had to decide between the two. To pay for the organ he wanted to buy, Evers shined up his Goldwing, placed it on his front lawn with a “For Sale” sign, and waited by the phone. After speaking with one interested customer, Evers called him back saying he was sorry, but he had decided he wasn’t going to sell it. “The guy laughed and said, ‘I figured you weren’t going to sell it,’” says Evers, recounting the incident.

After all, it was Evers love for riding his Goldwing that helped him discover his inner organist. Evers is a member of the Goldwingers, a group that rides around with like-minded bikers. Once a week, they stop to eat dinner at a place one of the members suggests.

One night, the group stopped at Lambert’s Music Center to grab a bowl of hot chili and check out the Lowrey L.I.F.E. (Lowrey Is Fun and Easy) club. Evers and his wife put their names in a jar to win 10 free organ lessons. His wife won, but Evers decided to use the prize since he was more musically inclined.

“I was surprised I could play a song right away,” says Evers. After those initial lessons, he says he was hooked. “I took piano lessons years ago. I could always play the melody but I had trouble with the chords,” says Evers. “I caught on to the organ in a couple of weeks and it’s just fantastic to play.”

Evers enjoys playing hymns like “The Marines’ Hymn” and old cowboy songs like “Ramblin’ Rose.” He’s worked his way through six Lowrey songbooks and enjoys playing for his 15 grandchildren.

“Every time I have company I play for them,” says Evers. “I’ve never had the nerve to do that before.”

The L.I.F.E. group at Lambert’s Music volunteers its time and music by performing for local nursing homes in Anderson, Indiana.

Evers hopes to join the group once he builds up his confidence a little more. Not forgetting his Honda Goldwing, Evers still wants to travel through the five states he has left before he’s hit all 48 in the Continental US. “I really wanted to get all the states before I quit,” Evers says. “My bike got kind of heavy and my legs were getting bad, so now I have a three-wheeler. It’s exciting—right up there with playing the organ.”

Read Eddy Evers’ entire story at www.MakingMusicMag.com/ staccato/Evers.html

Staccato

RECREATIONAL MUSIC MAKING INSIGHT

COUNTING IN singers Age of Cleopatra Stratan of Romania, the youngest singer to appear live and record an album.

>>3

Number in millions of adults in the US that participate regularly in a chorus.

32.5 >>74 >>100,000 >>

Percent of chorus members that say group singing has helped them become better leaders or participants in other areas of their lives

Number of participants in the largest sing-along, in Hyderabad, India, 2009

Did you Know? n In 1987 Aretha Franklin became the first woman

inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. As of April 2009, a total of 50 women have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Other female inductees include Carole King, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Madonna, and Bonnie Raitt. This year’s inductees included rockabilly and country music singer Wanda Jackson.

“

My guitar is not a thing.

It is an extension of myself.

It is who I am.”

—Joan Jett www.MakingMusicMag.com

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letters A Classic Touch n Nice job on the classical guitar story. It’s true that a classi-

cal guitarist is thinking about shaping the music and hearing the individual voices of a classical piece. It’s like playing a mini orchestra.

My training is in classical guitar and I have spent many hours playing. I’ve found using a footstool puts stress on my back when I’m playing for many hours. I often play 10 hours in a day with all the performing. Using an A-frame is terrific. It takes stress off your back and allows you to play with good posture.

Jean Welles Los Angeles, California

Bridge the Genre Gap n The first time I saw this magazine was the March/April issue and I enjoyed it a lot. I picked it up at the conservatory where I take violin lessons. I’d like to see some stories on who are some musicologists and what do they do? I like the different genres of music the magazine covers.

Mary Terens Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Uke Fever n I’d love to see more stories on the ukulele. I enjoy play-

PC

ing Polynesian on my ukulele and singing with some hand percussion. I play at Hawaiian get-togethers, church, jam with friends, and perform at local events. My honorariums are donated to Pacific Islanders charities.

Also, my wife plays keyboard for personal joy at home.

Virtual Grand Piano Pianissimo is a virtual grand piano for Windows that runs as a stand-alone application or as a VSTi plug-in for popular digital audio workstations. It recreates the warmth, expressiveness, and powerful sound of a world-class grand piano with a price ($79) far below that of competing products.

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Software Should Be Easy to Use.

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Lin Beyer Wooster, Ohio

Turn the Beat Around n I would like to see more articles about nontraditional music. African, Afro-Cuban, salsa, clave, and tropical artists should be featured as they have a large influence on some of today’s rhythms.

Steve Sosa Syracuse, New York

We appreciate comments and suggestions, and we encourage readers to send them to us via our website (www.MakingMusicMag. com),by e-mailing afollett@Making MusicMag.com, or by writing to: Making Music; 221 Walton Street, Ste. 200; Syracuse, NY 13202-1211. www.acoustica.com

Talkin’ ’bout Our

Generations

Intergenerational Orchestras Bridge the Gap with Music

By Meredith Laing

Older and younger generations, with widely differing life experiences, often have trouble seeing eye-to-eye.

However, through intergenerational orchestras, veterans, baby boomers, and those from generations X, Y, and beyond come together in harmony.

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www.MakingMusicMag.com www.MakingMusicMag.com

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hree multi-age orchestras, the New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra (NJIO), the Florida Intergenerational Orchestra of America (FLIOA), and the Emerson Intergenerational Orchestra (EIO), have members ranging from age five to 95 who work toward a mission of connecting generations though music.

Playing everything from Haydn and Mozart to themes from The Pirates of the Caribbean, these groups prove that music is timeless.

Downbeat As a teenager, Lorraine Marks, 53, founder of the NJIO and the FLIOA, discovered that she had a lot to learn from her elders.

Marks started making music with a group of elderly musicians when her viola teacher invited her to join him and his friends in their string quartet. Although Marks felt that she was not yet very skilled as a violinist, she remembers that, “Having the opportunity to sit down with them and play along really helped my musicianship.

They were very encouraging.”

Bill Atkerson, 57, founder of the EIO in Houston, Texas, had a somewhat different inspiration for starting his orchestra.

A member of the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, Atkerson noticed that younger and older church members would sit through the services together but didn’t seem to interact much outside of church. “I wanted to create something where children and adults could work together regularly,” he says.

An orchestra was the natural choice for Atkerson, who has a master’s degree in music. Working primarily as a lawyer, Atkerson also understood that it can be difficult for those working nine-to-five

People always ask me why I have to have that big word—intergenerational—in the name.

It’s because these orchestras are not only about the music, but about the relationships that are being built.

The older musicians she played with were so encouraging, in fact, that Marks continued to pursue music through college, eventually becoming a public school music teacher in New Jersey. When she found that she needed to seek out new ways to encourage her students to practice, she returned to her intergenerational quartet experience. “I kept thinking, what motivated me to practice and do well? And it was that experience that I had with the older musicians,” she recalls.

Along with some friends and colleagues, Marks started an after school program for string students, which allowed them to play beside older and more knowledgeable musicians. Given the opportunity to see

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With funding from the county’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the program grew into what is now the NJIO. Then in 2005, Marks formed the FLIOA after moving to Boca Raton, Florida.

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firsthand what they could achieve, Marks found that her students began to work harder and take more of an interest in their instruments.

september/october 2009

—Lorraine Marks

jobs to find opportunities to make music.

He explains, “I thought it would be nice to find an outlet for people to perform, one that wouldn’t be too stressful.”

Harmonize Music making in an intergenerational setting seems to benefit everyone involved.

According to Marks, the benefits for children include exposure to positive role models, the opportunity to learn from the past, and an understanding of the skills and capabilities of elders. Older adults are able to make new friends with common interests, create meaningful connections with the younger generation, and share their musical knowledge.

Susan Feldman, a 69-year-old cellist, has experienced these benefits during her time with the FLIOA. Feldman played the cello through high school, but hadn’t picked up the instrument in almost 50 years until she joined the orchestra three years ago.

Sitting in the back of the cello section, she says that she was nervous and not very confident in her playing at first. Now, she is first cellist and is proud to be a mentor to younger players.

“I see their progress as they sit next to me and try to pick up on what I’m doing, and I feel so proud that I’ve been able to help enrich these young people’s lives,” Feldman says. “The orchestra has given me joy, friends, something to look forward to, and something worthwhile to practice every day.”

One of the most fascinating things about intergenerational orchestras is that typical age roles are sometimes reversed. Atkerson, for example, mentions an adult violinist in the second violin section of the EIO who picked up the instrument after following the lead of his two daughters, both violinists in the first violin section.

“It’s not always young people learning from older people,” agrees Marks. “Sometimes it’s the older people who are learning an instrument, and the kids are their role models. It works both ways.”

The relationships between orchestra members extend beyond music, too. The FLIOA has parties and often takes trips to museums and different cultural events. Marks has noticed musicians getting together for dinner before rehearsals, and Atkerson has organized movie trips for his orchestra.

Lately, Sam Marder, a 13-year-old cellist in the FLIOA, has been spending time with fellow orchestra member Dr. Barry Schwibner, a retired plastic surgeon who also has experience in the movie industry. Together, the two of them are creating and editing a video of some of the orchestra’s concerts.

Marder, who has earned the nickname “Sammy Spielberg,” feels that he’s been able to learn more through the FLIOA than he could have through his school orchestra alone. He explains, “Adults can share their life experiences and their morals; they can pass on the things that they’ve learned.”

(Above) Lorraine Marks conducts NJIO at a concert in front of the Capital Building in Washington, DC; (Right) NJIO poses during the Lincoln Center Fountain Plaza Concert Series, where it performed.

(Above, left) FLIOA member Sam Marder, 13, warms up on his cello before a concert at Sugar Sand Park, Boca Raton, Florida; (Above, right) FLIOA poses for a photo with conductor Lorraine Marks after a concert last April.

Crescendo The spirit of intergenerational orchestras seems to be contagious. The Emerson Intergenerational Orchestra started with only seven members, but its numbers quickly grew, as church members were inspired to reunite with their old instruments or to try something new.

“We have a tuba player who, before he joined the orchestra, hadn’t played in probably 30 years,” Atkerson says about Kevin Harris, 45. Atkerson also tells the story of one flute player, 12-year-old Megen Routbort, who started playing the flute because she wanted to be able to play with the orchestra.

The orchestra now boasts more than 40 members, although Atkerson admits that one of the biggest challenges in directing the orchestra is the instrumentation, which can vary year to year. “We don’t have auditions, so we could end up with the same number of trumpets as violins,”

he says with a laugh. Luckily, Atkerson is skilled in composition and orchestration, and is able to arrange music to meet the orchestra’s needs. That way, everyone has an opportunity to play, no matter what his or her instrument or ability level.

Marks too, welcomes anyone and everyone into the orchestras, which have three divisions: beginners, intermediate, and advanced.

NJIO and FLIOA have received an outpouring of recognition since being featured on national television news. In recent years, the groups have performed at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Capital Building in Washington, DC, and at the International Conference on Aging in Madrid, Spain.

Repeat Marks, who jokingly calls herself the “intergenerational orchestra guru,” hopes

that her orchestras will encourage others to begin similar programs. “I can give my wisdom to others now,” she offers. “I’m happy to do that.”

She wants people to understand that multi-age orchestras are valuable, regardless of their level of artistic prestige. “People always ask me why I have to have that big word—intergenerational —in the name?” she says. “It’s because these orchestras are not only about the music, but about the relationships that are being built.”

Atkerson echoes this sentiment. “Our performances are not perfectly polished—but that’s not the point. We just want people to have a good time making music.”

Meredith Laing, 24, has played violin since age three. She teaches violin lessons and loves playing orchestral and chamber music with people of all ages.

www.MakingMusicMag.com

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Vibes MUSIC & HEALTH NEWS

❱❱ Soundtrack to the Brain Firefighters, rescue workers, federal agents, and police officers have to be on top of their game in a crisis. That’s where music comes in.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) began a study of neuro-training called “brain music,” which uses music created from listeners’ own brain waves to help them deal with common stress-related ailments like insomnia, fatigue, and headaches.

Home Is Where the Opera Is n An opera company in London recently invaded an

Ikea store and put on a full-scale performance amongst the leather sofas, wooden bookshelves, and marble kitchen counter tops.

Mammoth Music Theater performed a four-night run of the show Flatpack, which told the ups and downs of ready-to-assemble furniture that the Swedish company sells.

Four classical singers, a cellist, a pianist, an accordionist, and four percussionists, plus a cast of actors and dancers, many dressed in Ikea yellow and blue, entertained houseware browsers in the ready-made room sets of the store.

Story lines covered topics from the difficulty of setting up the furniture to the choices consumers make when shopping. Operagoers were handed programs in the format of furniture assembly instructions. Some shoppers simply ignored the performance, measuring the dimensions of possible purchases.

Opera Director Rebecca Lea had to ask the Ikea store 14 separate times for permission to put on the show.

While the acoustics were challenging, Lea was able to work around the sometimes less than ideal furniture store backdrop. Lea said to a Times reporter, “Last week someone was Hoovering in the background, and I was annoyed at first, until I realized: that’s an F#.”

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“Brain music” uses the frequency, amplification, and duration of musical sounds to move a person’s brain from an anxious to relaxed state. Since every brain has its own “soundtrack,” the scientists studied brain waves to determine the appropriate music for different scenarios.

“Strain comes with an emergency response job, so we are interested in finding ways to help these workers remain at the top of their game when working and get quality rest when they go off a shift,” says S&T Program Manager Robert Burns. “Our goal is to find new ways to help first responders perform at the highest level possible, without increasing tasks, training, or stress levels.”

The compositions recorded by scientists studying brain waves promote one of two mental states in each individual: relaxation (for reduced stress and improved sleep) or alertness (for improved concentration and decision making).

Each two to six-minute track is performed on a single instrument, usually a piano. The relaxation track may sound like a melodic, subdued Chopin sonata, while the alertness track has more of a Mozart sound, according to Burns.

After a subject’s brain waves are set to music, each person is given a specific listening schedule, personalized to their work schedule.

The music can boost productivity and energy levels, or trigger a body’s natural responses to stress.

The soundtracks are created by a company called Human Bionics, which markets a product called “Brain Music Therapy” to correct sleep disorders.

To hear a sample of these recordings visit the website: tiny.cc/Og090

Tiny Tim’s rendition of

“Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips with Me” reached #17 on the US charts in June 1968.

His only daughter, born in 1971, is named Tulip.

The Little Uke that Could n Although the economic recession makes some musicians think twice about plunking down hard-earned change on a new guitar or an upgraded keyboard, ukuleles are still flying off the shelves with sales up anywhere from 10% to 15% at music stores around the country.

Louis Wu, owner of Ohana Ukuleles in Long Beach, California, says despite the overall economic slump, his ukuleles are in high demand and sales haven’t slowed.

Decent ukuleles models can be purchased as low as $30 and the happy little sound can ease the worries and pain during rough patches in life.

“I think people need something to keep their minds sidetracked from whatever is going on with the economy,” says Wu. “They need something to keep them cheerful. The ukulele is really that instrument today.”

❱❱ Music the Mega-Vitamin For people suffering from Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or those recovering from stroke or cancer, studies increasingly show that music therapy can help.

A group recently formed in a London hospital, “Sing for Joy,” brings together two dozen patients with Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and other ailments, to help them cope with illness. Some of the patients say singing makes them feel physically better.

A common symptom of Parkinson’s disease and similar conditions is voice loss. Each week the group begins its rehearsals with vocal exercises designed by speech therapists.

“All neurological conditions affect the throat because it has so many muscles,” says Sarah Benton, a choir member with multiple sclerosis. “So singing, which makes you lift up your body and expand your lungs, is perfect for neurological diseases.”

Dr. Wendy Magee, international fellow in music therapy at London’s Institute of Neuropalliative Rehabilitation, describes music as a “mega-vitamin for the brain,” helping improve motor function, communication, and even cognition.

Though neural pathways are damaged for one particular function such as language, Magee explains that musical neural pathways are actually much more complex and widespread within the brain and music can actually help people remember things if they have brain damage.

Singing familiar songs or playing an instrument can also help a person improve brain function and to rework pathways in the mind that were once lost.

In a recent study in Finland, patients who suffered a stroke recovered quicker than those with traditional therapy when they learned to play an instrument such as the piano or drums during rehabilitation. www.MakingMusicMag.com

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Vibes Bring on Bach’s Brass n The lituus, a trumpet-like instrument played by Ancient Romans, was recently reconstructed by Scottish scientists almost 300 years after it went extinct. Though made of wood, the horn qualifies as a brass instrument. Using special software, researchers at the University of Edinburgh, along with the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, worked to resurrect the instrument of old.

PhD student Alistair Braden and Professor Murray Campbell of the university were approached by the Swiss-based Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB) to recreate the lituus. SCB is a conservatory that focuses on early music and instruments.

Using software Braden invented to improve the design of brass instruments, he was able to design a lituus based on expert guesses as to what it looked and sounded like.

The finished product is a 7.8-foot trumpet-like instrument made of pine with a flared bell at the tip. The sound is piercing and has a limited tonal range.

❱❱ Swine Song While Swine Flu threats encourage some to slather on the anti-bacterial gels and wear surgical masks, it inspired one man to write a song from the genetic sequence of the strain.

Stephan Zielinski of San Francisco, California, created a computer algorithm from the genetic sequence of the viral protein hemagglutinin, found in swine flu, and composed his song by assigning instruments and musical notes to various properties of the protein.

Zielinski, a computer programmer, writer, photographer, and blogger, who writes music in his spare time, took the various categories of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and assigned each category a different instrument: piano, organ, low synthesizer, or percussion. Assigning notes to specific amino acids created the melody. Each beat of the song also corresponds to one of numerous amino acids.

The song was composed entirely with a computer using a commercial product, plus programs Zielinski designed himself. The finished song took about six hours to complete.

What fascinates Zielinski about the swine flu is that scientists can map the genome of the virus but our bodies cannot recognize it as a “bad guy” until a vaccine is made.

“Although the map is there, and you can even make a song out of it, we can’t explain it to these itty bitty little cells in body,” says Zielinski.

To hear the song visit tiny.cc/aypyv.

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Bach’s “O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht” (“Oh Jesus Christ, Light of My Life”), is the only existing piece of music that uses the lituus. SCB performed the piece earlier this year.

To get more information on the lituus and see it in action, visit www.MakingMusicMag.com/vibes/horn.

$13 Million

Price that CBS paid for Fender guitars in January 1965.

At the time, newspapers reported that CBS paid $2 million more for Fender than for the New York Yankees, although it was later learned that the Yankee deal was paid in two installments, $12 million up front and an additional $2 million paid two years later.

Learn from video tips and techniques, gear demonstrations, and inspiring stories from musicians like you.

Find music related gifts, back issues and so much more! Visit us today.

www.MakingMusicMag.com

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Vibes

Prepare Your Body Properly for Both Practice and Performance

Begin by going through some chromatic major and minor scales, increasing your playing speed gradually until you are able to play relatively fast and without error.

Then, try playing broken thirds, broken fourths, arpeggios, and other finger patterns to increase the blood flow to your fingers.

Start at a slow, easy speed, and gradually build up the tempo until you are able to play relatively fast and without error. If you use a pick, include some alternate picking in your warm-up, too.

Remember to always keep your arms and wrists relaxed and to keep things simple.

By Emily Spring

PIANO, KEYBOARD, ORGAN

It’s understandable to want to pick up your instrument and jump right into playing. But don’t forget to warm up—your ability level and your overall health depend on it!

Start by playing some tried-and-true Hanon exercises. (These can be found at the Petrucci Music Library online site: imslp.org) First use just one hand at a time and then put both hands together.

When you begin, allow your arms to support most of the weight, and as you continue to play, gradually let your fingers support more arm weight. Then, play scales in at least two octaves, including chromatic, major, and minor scales. Play them at different speeds and with different dynamics and articulations.

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An often-ignored practice in an artist’s music curriculum, warming up is vital to a musicians’ health and overall success. Just like athletes stretch and warm up before physical activity to prepare their muscles and avoid injury, musicians need to warm up their instruments and their bodies, especially hands and fingers, before making music. This will allow you to create the best possible sound and ultimately will help prevent long-term damage, such as tendinitis and carpel tunnel syndrome.

No matter the instrument, before picking it up, begin with some easy stretches, focusing on the back and core, then moving to the arms and fingers. Follow with a warm-up for your particular instrument. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, but you do need at least a simple, relaxed routine to follow before playing. It should be consistent, effective, and what works best for you. For many instruments, scales are a great way to warm up.

Here are some ways to make the most of your time as you get ready to play.

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GUITAR, BANJO, UKE

september/october 2009

ORCHESTRAL STRINGS When warming up, always be sure to play without vibrato so that you can listen carefully for intonation and concentrate on drawing a clear tone with the bow. Play through some scales using long, slow bows on each note. Then play two notes per bow, then four, then eight, and so on, until you reach your limit.

The notes will get faster as the bow speed stays the same. Don’t forget to warm up your bow hand, too. Play scales using different bowing strokes: short staccato strokes, bouncy spiccato strokes, or only playing at the tip or frog of the bow. Finish with arpeggios, which will help you ease into tricky finger patterns that you might come across later in your playing.

IN TUNE IN TUNEwITh ThE

VOCALS

Warm up your larynx by humming, starting at the top your vocal range and letting your voice fall in a glissando down to the bottom of your range. Then, repeat the same exercise, opening up your mouth and vocalizing on different vowel syllables—aah, eee, ooh, etc. Don’t worry about controlling the pitch or air flow; just let the air out naturally, like a sigh. Next, sing up and down five-note scale patterns, starting at the bottom of your range and moving one note higher each time until you reach the top of your range. Try alternating between smooth legato singing and short staccato singing. Finally, loosen up your mouth by singing full octave scales using some classic tongue twisters. Sing the entire phrase on one pitch, then move up to the next pitch, repeating until you reach the top of the scale. Be sure to articulate cleanly but keep your mouth free of any tension. Try these tongue twisters for a challenge: “Sally sells sea shells by the seashore,” “the lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue, the tip of the tongue, the teeth, the lips,” and “friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.”

wITh ThE

.

TImESTImES .

DRUMS, PERCUSSION Drums can be one of the most physically demanding instruments. Percussionists should warm up longer than others—about 20 to 30 minutes—before rocking out, and drum set players should also remember to warm up the legs and feet with some easy stretches. To warm up the arms, start by slowly running through a variety of sticking patterns—single-stroke rolls, double-stroke rolls, paradiddles, and flams. Gradually increase your speed until you reach full potential. Then, slow down again until you reach a comfortable speed, and repeat. For pitched percussion instruments, such as xylophone or glockenspiel, try following the same exercises recommended for keyboard instruments.

woodWINDs, brass Cold wind instruments sound flat, and they will sharpen as warm air (your breath) goes into them. For this reason, warming up is important, not only for your comfort and playing ability, but for Great sounding drums can also be the pitch of the instrument itself.Great Beforesounding you pick updrums the instrucan also be great for the environment. Remo’s ment, focus on maintaining relaxed, controlled Relax Remo’s great for the breathing. environment. ® drumshells are made in the USA Acousticon your neck, chest, and stomach muscles® so that they can easily Acousticon drumshells are made in the USA with 100% recycled wood fiber. expand. Take deep breaths for two counts, inhaling through your with 100% recycled wood fiber. mouth; then exhale for four counts, making an “s” or hissing Durable Lightweight Easy to Play sound. Repeat this six to eight times, while maintaining good Durable Lightweight Easy to Play Non-animal skin drumheads posture. For brass, try some simple buzzing on the mouthpiece Non-animal skin drumheads in the middle register, combined with deep breaths.

Once you pick up the instrument, play through some slow scales and arpeggios, gradually extending the range upward and downward, while increasing the speed.

Aim for fluid connection between notes. remo.com Finally, move on to some fingering exercises remo.com to prepare your hands and fingers for rapid Remo, Inc. has won the California Waste Reduction Award 10 years movement. Remo, Inc. has won the California Waste Reduction Award 10 years straight for their commitment to reducing waste and recycling.

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15

Vibes

Out of

Hand

Living with Musician’s Dystonia

By Liam McCabe

Billy McLaughlin relearned how to play guitar as a lefty after being diagnosed with musician’s focal dystonia.

M

cLaughlin was diagnosed with musician’s focal dystonia, a neurological condition that causes involuntary muscle contractions in the hand or embouchure whenever the victim tries to play his or her instrument. In the hand, symptoms progress from loss of precise finger movements to uncontrollable finger curling.

Somewhere between 1% and 2% of all amateur and professional musicians suffer from dystonia, according to Glen Estrin, president of Musicians with Dystonia. The cause is not related to poor technique or overuse. “Our brains decided that we’re just not going to do this fine motor skill,” he says.

There is no cure for focal dystonia and treatments are usually ineffective. External muscle therapies and Botox injections help some patients, but the positive effects are meager. “The best case scenario is a 20% to 30% recovery,” Estrin says.

With few medical options, some musicians found ways to retrain themselves, using alternative hand positions that don’t trigger the dystonia. Classical guitarist David Leisner was diagnosed with musician’s dystonia in 1984 now plays with the muscles in his upper arm and shoulder and can once again perform at a fully professional level.

Leisner is “almost an anomaly,” as Estrin puts it, because

1616 september/october 2009 september/october 2009

n In 1999 Billy McLaughlin noticed that he was inadvertently refingering some of his melody lines. The New Age acoustic guitarist, best known for his top-ten 1994 album Fingerdance, found that the middle, ring, and pinky fingers on his left hand felt lazy. The symptoms grew progressively worse and playing became difficult.

Eventually his fingers curled inward whenever he put his hand to the fretboard, and by 2002, he was unable to perform.

most performers who find work-arounds are still limited by dystonia to some degree. Pianist Leon Fleisher, for example, was able to regain most of the control of his right hand more than 30 years after the onset of dystonia through a combination of Botox injections and deep-tissue massage. Until then, he could only perform repertoire written for the left hand alone. Even now, with the returned use of his right hand, he has to refinger certain passages and only plays pieces that don’t trigger his finger spasms.

McLaughlin, 47, took a different approach: He retrained himself as a lefty and returned to the stage in 2006. “The key for me was to stop looking at what was broken and start focusing on what works,” he says. Ideally, he’d love to take control of his right hand again. He can only play tap style as a southpaw, as picking and traditional fingerstyle are still too difficult.

“Transferring those skills from one hand to the other is like trying to sign your name with the opposite hand,” he says.

He’s currently awaiting another round of Botox treatments and is looking into other therapies.

The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation, the parent organization of Musicians with Dystonia, runs local and regional support groups for dystonia patients throughout the country.

Visit www.dystonia-foundation.org for more information.

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17

Hundreds of organ enthusiasts compete in a nationwide talent search by jackie saunders

Throwing convention to the wind wasn’t exactly Jeff Buchholz’s plan when entering the Roland Atelier Organ Fest, but it definitely worked in his favor. Instead of playing the standard “Tico Tico” or “Amazing Grace” on the home organ, Buchholz’s tune of choice was Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do.” Buchholz’s mother-in-law, an organ teacher, saw an ad for the local contest in the fall of 2008 and encouraged him to learn a song and enter. “She happened to have an endless stock of sheet music and she picked the Bryan Adams song,” says Buchholz, 41.

“The more I worked on it, the more I liked it. I started adding the voices and before I knew it, I was three-quarters of the way through the song.”

A piano player as a young boy, Buchholz recalled his musical prowess from the past and ended up as the national champion in the festival’s Hobbyist division at the finals in Los Angeles in March, winning both the local and semi-finals in the qualifying rounds. “I was only playing for a month

18

september/october 2009

and somehow it just all came together,” says Buchholz. “I couldn’t be happier—it was a great experience.”

Calling All Organists In order to promote organ-playing at a grass-roots level, Roland Corporation set up a nationwide competition to find the best organists in four divisions: Youth, Hobbyist, Advanced Hobbyist, and Professional. Then in the fall of 2008, organ dealers and music stores began to spread the word about local contests and hundreds of contestants began to sign up. “It was a friendly, light-hearted competition not based on putting pressure on the players but helping them learn how to orchestrate on their organs and share their music,” says Lynda Smith, manager of business development for Roland.

The competitions were judged in a set up similar to American Idol, where the contestants received feedback from three judges after the performance. “We all felt comfortable going in and I just felt like, even if I don’t win, I had a good time,” says Buchholz. Judges would tell the contestants what they enjoyed about the performance

and give constructive tips for the future.

“It was informational and fun and it made the audience more interested in the outcome,” says Smith. “There was this general feeling after everyone played that it was such a good time that they wanted to compete again. The audience was so supportive; it really did boost their confidence as musicians.”

After Buchholz performed in the local competition in Dana Point, California, he remembers joking to his mother-in-law, “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if I actually won?” The joke was on Buchholz when he advanced to the semi-final round in Orlando, Florida, and then went on to win the division. “I think my best performance was in Florida,” says Buchholz. “At that point there were so many contestants from all over the country I thought there was no way.”

A Life Long Love Mark Cammuso, 50, first set his eyes on an organ in a mall in 1975. “I convinced my parents to buy that first one for me,” says Cammuso. “It didn’t hurt that the salesman

(Clockwise, from far left) Jeff Buchholz performs during competition; Organ Fest emcee Chris Halon speaks with Buchholz after his performance; The Organ Fest winners (L to R) Professional Stan Koyama, Beginner Hobbyist Buchholz, Advanced Hobbyist Mark Cammuso, Youth 2 Division Brent Evangelista, 11, and Youth 1 Division Riley Dunn, 14; Cammuso performs during competition.

was playing ‘Spanish Eyes,’ my dad’s favorite song, so it was easy to persuade him.”

Cammuso loves the organ because of the versatile sounds it produces. The organ provides not only the sounds of a piano, but also those of a whole orchestra, says Cammuso. Although he only took lessons for a year, he continued to play the organ throughout his life and tries to play a little bit every day. Now a retired vice president of a credit union, Cammuso has extra time to scour local organ stores for concerts and workshops. He found out about the Roland Atelier Organ Fest on the Internet.

Cammuso has a soft spot for romantic ballads and classics such as “Moon River” and “My Heart Will Go On,” and he decided to take his first crack at the Roland organ competition by playing, “Over the Rainbow,” in the Advanced Hobbyist category at a music store in Clearwater, Florida. “I was quite nervous and, when I got off the stage, I told my friends in the audience I made some mistakes,” says Cammuso, whose friends assured him they didn’t hear any. “I had convinced myself I made mistakes.”

After winning the local and semi-final competitions, he competed in the finals in Los Angeles, tweaking the arrangement of “Over the Rainbow,” each time so the judges wouldn’t get bored. “At the finals all the contestants ate lunch and dinner together,” says Cammuso. “There was a lot of camaraderie and support for each other.”

Throughout the various levels of the competition, the judges came out into the audience after the performances and spoke with contestants and the audience. “They made you feel welcome and were very friendly,” says Cammuso.

The warm and welcoming atmosphere encouraged audience members, many of whom play the organ, to enter next year’s contest.

“It was probably a little scary for some of the players to play in front of the pros but everyone was so diplomatic and praised everyone’s efforts, that even more people are willing to compete next year,” says Cindy Soriano, manager of Desi’s Music Centers in San Diego, a host of one of the

local competitions. “We just had fun. We were like a bunch of soccer moms rooting everyone on. The atmosphere was all about socialization, making music, and camaraderie.”

On to the Future Hot off his victory in the Advanced Hobbyist category, Cammuso is already preparing for next year’s competition. He plans on playing “Time to Say Goodbye,” an Italian duet originally sung by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman in 1995.

Buchholz plans on competing again, but moving up to the Advanced Hobbyist division. “I just want to get in there and do the best I can and hopefully get a lot of ideas from the people who are up there playing for years,” says Buchholz.

Although he will definitely participate again, Buchholz hasn’t chosen next year’s performance song yet. “I am trying to come up with something nobody has heard before,” he says. “I’m still searching for that really interesting piece of music that makes people say, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize the organ could do that.’” www.MakingMusicMag.com

19

Forte MUSIC HOW-TO’S HOW-TO’S MUSIC

L

TOOLS: Set of new strings A soft cloth Wire cutters Peg winder (optional) Lemon oil (optional)

acing The

1

2

by liam MccaBe

Guitar strings are fragile. They’ll eventually snap right off the instrument, but even a few days worth of strums, bends, and sweat dulls their tone and luster. It’s physics. n

Luckily, strings are easy to replace. The process can seem daunting to an inexperienced player (or even to some veteran guitarists), but with a few tips and a little practice, it’s as easy as playing a power chord.

Set up in a clean, dry area. Put a piece of cloth or carpet under the guitar to protect the finish. Prop up the neck with a book so that it’s flush with the body. This ensures consistency and prevents accidents, like dropping the instrument or applying too much pressure to the neck.

Grab the tools listed at the top of the diagram, and you’re ready to start.

20

STEP 1: If your guitar takes strings through the body, remove the protective plate from the back of the guitar. Otherwise, start at step 2.

STEP 2: Loosen the machine heads until each string is slack. A peg winder speeds up this process tremendously.

Restringing SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009

3 STEP 3: Starting with either the high E or low E, remove the string by pulling it from the machine head, through the bridge, and out the back of the body or through the tailpiece. It may help to clip the string with the wire cutter to avoid scratching the finish with the curled end. Repeat, in order, with the rest of the strings.

STEP 4: Use the cloth to wipe down the fretboard. If the board is especially dirty, a dab of lemon oil will help to remove grime from the frets and revitalize the wood.

5

STEP 5: Starting again with the high or low E, feed the new string through the slots in either the back of the body or the tailpiece of the guitar.

Pull it through the bridge, over the saddle, up the neck, and over the nut.

6

STEP 6: Feed the string through the post hole so the string points toward the tuning peg. Neatly wrap the string around the post starting at the top and working down, while turning the machine head until the slack is out of the string, but no further. Clip the excess string above the machine head, leaving two inches to allow for further tuning.

STEP 7: Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all strings are set as described. It is important not to tune any individual string to pitch until this point, as this could possibly warp the neck.

STEP 8: Grab the high or low E string about halfway down fretboard and lightly pull it away from the guitar for a few seconds, tightening slightly as you pull. Let go of the string and tune to pitch. Repeat, in order, with each string until they all are tuned.

STEP 9: New strings will still fall out of tune very quickly, so play a little bit and retune as necessarily until they seem to hold their pitches. Clip the excess strings above the machine heads.

The whole process, properly done, can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on your experience and how much cleaning is necessary. And remember, strings are like diapers: If they’re dirty, it’s time for a change.

Your

Electric Guitar www.MakingMusicMag.com

21

Lester Holt

off air the

Away from the camera, the NBC anchor is Lester the bass player

By Cherie Yurco

Most recreational musicians look back to fond memories of playing and NBC News/TODAY show Anchor Lester Holt is no exception. However, few others can boast about sitting in with Jefferson Starship and Earth, Wind, & Fire, or jamming with Clint Black. n

22

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009

Cool Sound

An Upright Move

Though Holt didn’t come from a very musical family, he had a strong desire to learn the upright bass from the first time he heard one. “I first heard a bass at an assembly in junior high,” he explains.

“I thought, ‘What’s that instrument? It sounds so cool.’” From that moment he was determined to learn.

Though those early electric basses hold a special place in Holt’s heart, he’d always yearned to play an upright, the instrument that first attracted him to the bass.

“I love the sound,” he says. “We had an old upright at my high school, and I tried it a couple times, but the bridge was broken.

Finally, when I moved back to New York City in 2000, I went down to 48th street and picked one up and struggled it onto the subway. I thought, how hard could this be? I just started figuring it out and playing it.”

Holt describes himself as self-motivated, probably partly due to his upbringing.

An upright bass was beyond his means.

“My father was retired from the Air Force and there wasn’t a lot of money,” says Holt. “Whenever we needed money we had to figure it out for ourselves. So, I went down to a pawn shop and picked up an electric bass and a couple of books and I figured it out.”

That type of self-motivation served him well as his career grew. “That’s kind of what you do as a newsperson,” says Holt. “You become an instant expert on things.” Like many recreational musicians, Holt’s music took a backseat after school ended. “I played in high school and into college, and when I got into TV, the bass got put in the closet. Every once in a while I would bring it out.”

As his family and career grew, taking him to New York, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and finally back to New York a third time to join MSNBC, Holt managed to find time here and there to rekindle his love for music.

“I still have my original pawn shop bass in my office,” he says. “The Aria is special because I got that when I was 17 and I still have the original amp that I bought when I was 15.”

He’s collected a few more basses along the way, including a Yamaha Silent Bass, a Gibson SG, and several Fenders.

“For me, different instruments have different sounds. That’s what I tell my wife, anyway, when she says, ‘How come you needed another bass?’” he jokes.

Holt, 50, is humble about his achievements on the instrument. “I like people to imagine it’s pretty hard but if I can teach myself, it’s actually a pretty easy instrument,” he says. “I never had a lesson in my life. I’ve used a lot of books and DVDs.” Along with the change in instrument, Holt’s musical tastes have evolved. “In high school I was all about big band stuff—Sammy Nestico, Count Basie, and Maynard Ferguson,” says Holt. “In the second act of my bass career with the upright I’ve been getting into more backhand vocal jazz, playing the standards.”

“I’m not a really great music reader,” says Holt. “Jazz is a great cover for someone like me, because you can really use your ears. When you’re playing, say symphonic classical music, you can’t really play by ear. I love the improvisation and jazz kind of puts me in a mood. I just love the sound of it. It takes me places and kind of unwinds me.”

At first, Holt just enjoyed playing the upright along to CDs in the comfort of his own home but it wasn’t long before he had a couple gigs.

“I was at a musician’s party and they asked everybody to bring an instrument,” says Holt. “I started playing and I met a singer, Cleve Douglass, and we hit it off. He asked me to come join him on some sets.”

“I’ve come to realize that everybody needs something else in their life other than their profession.”

www.MakingMusicMag.com

23

“So, over the last few years, I’ve played here and there,” says Holt.

“Sometimes it’s a couple songs or a full set. Cleve has kind of an Al Jarreau sound. It was fun for me. Whenever he calls me, I’m happy to play.”

As a professional musician, Douglass tours a lot and teaches, so lately there’s been less chance to play together. “I am sort of looking for opportunities,” says Holt. “Someone who kind of just lets me sit in to jam.” One such opportunity came earlier this year when Holt performed at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill with guitarist Woody Mann in a benefit for the New York City Parks Department Senior Citizens programs.

Holt returns to his old high school.

Time for Music Like any recreational musician with a busy career, Holt often struggles to find time for music.

Holt jams with Clint Black.

24

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009

Occasionally Holt wonders if he should take lessons. “It’s not that I’m being stubborn,” he explains. “I just can’t work lessons into my life. Also, it scares me that I’ve probably learned so many bad habits, but they’re working for me.”

Practice in any given week can mean just a few stolen moments between working. “I play the Aria when I’m bored,” he says. “At the network a lot of what we do is standby, where you have to

Photo: kim Cornett

Holt with guitarist Woody Mann.

Photo: Alan Roche

“There’s no consistent practice,” says Holt. “If I’m having a pretty slow month, I can yank the bass out and play for 15 or 20 minutes. But then I’ll be traveling, or on a story, and it collects dust. With an instrument like this, because of the physical nature of it, if I take a month off and come back, it seems so heavy. My fingers hurt and I’ve got to get the calluses back.”

be in the building in case news breaks. So sometimes I plug in the bass and try not to knock the walls down.”

“TV news is kind of all-encompassing; it kind of runs your life,” says Holt of his day job. “I’ve come to realize that everybody needs something else in their life other than their profession. When I’m in a club or playing somewhere, I’m playing with guys who are not TV people and probably don’t really watch me; it’s a different world. It’s Lester the bass player, not Lester the network newscaster.”

“What’s always funny is, at the end of the set, when they announce the musicians, and they say, ‘… and on bass Lester Holt,’” laughs Holt. “You always see a few people in the crowd who are like, ‘Of course, that was him! I knew he was familiar.’

But there’s that disconnect; they were thinking, why would he be standing back there?”

Fringe Benefits Though his busy career in broadcasting may eat into playing time, it does have its fringe benefits. “The benefits of the job are that I get to play with a lot of famous musicians, which is always a blast,” says Holt.

One pinnacle opportunity was a chance to sit in with idols Earth, Wind & Fire in 2008. “It wasn’t jazz, but that’s my music!” says Holt. “I had such a ball with those guys. I hung out with them before a concert in the Washington, DC-area and interviewed them. We talked about what a timeless group they are. Then, they allowed me to play with them during the sound check. It was pretty cool.”

illip Bocqu et

Holt live on stage with Cleve Douglass.

Photo: Ph

Photo: Craig Rubel

Holt rocks with Jefferson Starship.

Records—an experience he says he never could have imagined. He recorded with actors Greg Grunberg and Hugh Laurie for their charity group Band from TV. “They were doing the soundtrack for the TV show House, which is produced and owned by NBC Universal,” explains Holt. “The regular bass player couldn’t make it. Somebody knew that I played bass. So the next thing I know I’m flying out to L.A. We had a great day!”

“One of the songs on the soundtrack was an arrangement Hugh did of ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want,’” says Holt. “We also did a great arrangement of ‘Minnie the Moocher.’ I not only play bass on it, but I also did a vocal part where I do a newscast. It was fun.”

Back to School Truly a down-to-earth personality, when asked to recall his favorite music making memories, Holt doesn’t reminisce about all of the famous musicians he’s had a chance to meet.

Instead, he recalls those early days of exploring his passion for music in high school, where he played in the jazz band and sang in the jazz choir.

“I have great memories in high school,” says Holt. “The high school jazz festivals and the competitions were great. We’d sit there and they would post the scores. Reno International Jazz Festival was the big one and it was always a blast. We would get on the bus and go, and play our hearts out. We were a pretty hot band in high school.”

“I even played with country and Western singer Clint Black,” says Holt. “We were doing a story on him down in Texas, and he said, ‘You play bass, I hear. Why don’t you come up and jam with us?’ So I thought we were going to play country and Western music. Instead, the band wanted to play funky soul stuff. We had a great time.”

In 2004 Holt had a chance to return to his alma mater during a TODAY show series that brought the anchors back to their high schools. “Since music was a big part of my school experience I visited the band room and rehearsed with the jazz band,” says Holt. He’s happy to report that the school has since replaced its broken upright. Holt had brought his own electric just in case.

Holt’s connection with NBC Studios even led to his firstever professional music recording session at famed Capitol

cherie yurco enjoys mee ting recreational musicians who are passionate about their hobby. www.MakingMusicMag.com

25

By Liam McCabe n A basic drum is easy to build—it’s

just a membrane stretched over a shell. Building a drum worth flaunting at a drum circle, on the other hand, requires a bit more effort, but can still be accomplished in about one day.

Here, we’ll walk through the steps to build a djembe, a goblet-shaped hand drum popular at group drumming events. There are a few ways to build one, but we’ll employ the three-ring method. It uses rope tension to secure the drumhead to the shell and reduces the chances of the head tearing during the building process.

Most of us lack the time, resources, and expertise to make the basic components—shell, head, rings, and rope—from scratch, so it’s best to leave those steps to professionals. A number of specialty retailers offer all-in-one kits, at a variety of prices.

African Rhythm Traders (www. africanrhythmtraders.com) has individual drum building supplies and the Guinea Pro Series Kit for $250.

World Wide Drums (www.wwdrums. com) has compact Djembe Drum Kits starting at $79. Other needed tools and materials are common household items.

Materials needed to make a 12” Djembe 12” Drum Shell 12” Retaining Ring 12” Large Looping Ring 7.5” Small Looping Ring 40’ Rope Goat Skin Head String/Dental Floss Heavy Sewing Needle Small Block Scissors Lighter Shallow Container

26

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009

? k r o W

w o H s t e i o D

LF E S R U O Y DO-IT-

DJEMBE

Preparation

Fill the container with warm water. Soak the drumhead for at least a half-hour to make it soft and pliable. Remove the head from the water and drape it over the block, with the playing surface facing up. This allows for some slack during the next step. Place the retaining ring on top of the head so that it leaves about two inches of “apron” beyond the ring.

Stitching

Grab the sewing needle and floss. Stitch the floss through the edges of the apron, back and forth across the head, leaving a few inches between stitches. Make it tight enough that the apron hangs inward over the ring. No need to be perfect, as this will be removed later, but it makes the next step much easier.

Setting the Head

If it’s not already there, slide the smaller looping ring up from the bottom of the shell. Center the head and retaining ring on the shell. Place the larger looping ring on top of the head. Some of the head will lie between the retaining ring and looping ring, but most of the apron will still hang inward. Use your hands to smooth out any creases in the head.

Lacing

Lightly loop the rope through the top and bottom rings.

DO NOT apply tension at this point or it will not be evenly distributed around the head. Use a lighter to melt the tip of the rope to prevent it from unravelling. Once all the loops are laced, center the head on the drum again. Work the slack out from the rope, but don’t pull it tight just yet.

Center the head again.

Trimming

Use the scissors to cut away the floss stitching. Next, cut away the excess apron, as close to the top looping ring as possible. Let the head dry overnight.

Tuning

On the following day repeat the tightening process. Pull hard on each segment of rope. Repeat the process until the drum is at the preferred pitch. Tie the ends of the rope together.

Customize

Attach a handle, slap on a sticker, or paint a pattern.

Your first attempt probably won’t be perfect. It may take a few rounds of practice before you’re totally satisfied with the sound and look of your djembe, but at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing you built it with your own hands. www.MakingMusicMag.com

27

Forte clip ‘n’ save

time for a rest

Counting Rests and Pauses n It would be exhausting to play every single beat, in every bar of a piece of music, both for the player and for the listener. Rests in musical passages are exactly what they sound like: they give players a chance to take a breather, both literally and figuratively. Wind players use rests to refill their lung capacity, while string players get to rest their bow arms and recharge their brains.

Rests also help create musical interest for an audience. Think of how boring it would be if everyone played all the notes in a score, all the time. Rests allow a composer or songwriter to vary the musical texture, changing the sound to, for example, allow a single instrument or singer to highlight a musical idea while other players in the group lay out.

A musical rest is simply a pause in your playing (or singing). Rests are easily notated in music. In common time rests are written as shown in Figure 1.

Multiple-measure rests are drawn as a single heavy horizontal line, centered on the third line of the staff and capped off by short vertical lines at both ends.

The number of measures contained in the rest is indicated above the bar by a bold numeral, centered over the line, as in Figure 2.

In a musical score, every full bar of rest is represented, but in individual parts, all rests lasting two or more measures can be consolidated into the multiplemeasure rest. Multiple-measure rests should never obscure changes of key, meter, tempo, repeat markings, or any other important musical components, as they do in the first example of Figure 3.

Remember, when counting rests, that the beat goes on. You should always be looking ahead to see what comes next.

Get your fingers ready for the next set of notes in your part—and don’t get caught with your hands in your lap!

28

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009

Figure 1 ITEM

NOTE

REST

VALUE

Whole note/rest

4

Half note/rest

2

Quarter note/rest

1

Eighth note/rest



Sixteenth note/rest

1/4

Figure 2

correct

incorrect

Figure 3

incorrect

incorrect

1/2

correct

correct

Left-handed musicians have rights,too by adam dolge

n Music, like sports, requires a high degree of coordination and dexterity. Left-

handed musicians often face an added challenge in learning on instruments designed for right-handed musicians.

About 10% of the population is lefthanded. However, most of those people have some degree of ambidexterity. Many musical instruments require this type of two-hand coordination, brass and woodwind instruments in particular. There are even some instruments designed for left-handed musicians. These may be fairly common to rare, depending on the instrument.

Ambidexterity So the vast majority of left-handed musicians learn their instruments the same way a right-handed musician would.

This is also true for string instruments like the violin. In a band or orchestra setting, the instruments must face the same direction.

Teaching a young person to play violin or fiddle can be difficult as their muscles are not fully developed. It can be even trickier if the student is left-handed and weak in their bow hand. Teachers must pay extra attention to a lefty’s bow technique, and give them exercises to strengthen their “off” arm and hand.

Some instruments are less dependent on the coordination of a specific hand. For instance, a drummer can simply reverse the drum set, placing the hi-hat and snare to the right, instead of the left. With open techniques, it doesn’t really matter which hand is more dominant.

A piano or keyboard cannot be built exclusively for left-handed people. The left hand

usually plays bass runs or chords, while the right hand plays melodies and solos.

For pianists, it’s important to be equally coordinated in both hands.

One instrument that gets a lot of attention in regards to left-handed musicians is the guitar. A standard guitar is constructed with internal reinforcement that requires strings to be applied in a specific manner. Because of this, a standard guitar must be strummed with the right hand, while the left hand plays on the frets.

However, true left-handed guitars are available.

Innovations Perhaps the most famous left-handed guitarist was Jimi Hendrix. Like Kurt Cobain years later, Hendrix restrung a right-handed guitar, flipping it over and reversing the strings. Doing this is not as simple as it sounds. You have to change the nut to accommodate the change in the strings’ width and the bridge should be altered to correct the intonation. Famous guitarists who play a left-handed guitar in this manner include Paul McCartney, Billy Ray Cyrus, and The Cars’ Elliot Easton.

Other guitarists play left-handed by simply flipping over a regular guitar without altering the strings. As a result, the strings will appear backwards. Guitarists who play in this fashion include Albert King, Otis Rush, and Seal.

A Good Start Some left-handed guitarists simply play a standard guitar like someone who is right-handed. Dr. Stephen Robinson, professor of music at Stetson University in Florida, suggests that left-handed students learning guitar for the first time should try playing in this fashion.

“It takes both hands to play every single note you play,” he explains. “Both hands are working equally.”

Depending on the style of music, the left hand may be required to do more work, especially if the guitarist is not fingerpicking. Watching a rock guitarist like Joe Satriani play, his left hand is doing most of the work, while his right hand makes small, fast movements to create his blazing solos. Watching a fingerpicker like Doc Watson play, you’ll notice his right hand picking in unison with his left.

“If I had a left-handed student, who was starting from scratch, I would not turn the guitar around,” Robinson says. “The biggest disadvantage for those students who learn to play that way is purchasing an instrument. There are so few lefthanded instruments.”

“It’s the same with all instruments,” says Robinson. “Look at the piano, you don’t see people crisscrossing their hands because they are left-handed. You can imagine the problems in an orchestra if violinists were bowing with opposite arms.” www.MakingMusicMag.com

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Transposing Tricks

When learning a new piece of music, almost nothing is more daunting than a page cluttered with ledger lines, sharps, and flats. In some instances, these musical nuisances are unavoidable. Other times, you may be able to turn music that looks overwhelming into something much more playable.

By Meredith Laing n Transposing, or changing the key that your music is writ-

ten in, is a skill that, although perhaps a little tricky at first, can eventually make your life easier and music making more enjoyable.

Each pitched instrument (or voice) has a range of notes that it is able to play or sing. It is most comfortable to play or sing notes that fall in the middle of that range. By transposing, you can make your music fall in the middle range you need.

Instruments also tend to have certain keys that they prefer to play in. These keys make fingerings more comfortable and make it easier to play in tune. String players have a preference for keys with sharps, while woodwind and brass players favor keys with flats. A key transposition is all it takes to turn a key signature loaded with flats into one with just a couple of sharps, or vice-versa.

There are charts and websites that can make transposition a no-brainer, but by learning the process, you will increase your understanding of how music works. With a little practice, you can transpose music quickly and easily, without the help of any extra tools.

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Circle of Fifths

Determine the Original Key First, determine what key the original music is written in. If you have trouble memorizing key signatures, use the “circle of fifths” above.

Major keys are on the outside of the circle of fifths and minor keys are on the inside. Start at the key of C major, or A minor, at the top. These two keys have no sharps or flats. As you move clockwise, each key has one more sharp. For example, the key of G has one sharp, the key of D has two sharps, etc. As you move counter-clockwise, each key has one more flat.

Often, the last note of the piece tells you the key signature, but this method is not fool proof and won’t work unless your part is the melody line.

Choose a New Key The new key you choose will depend on your reason for transposing. If the music you are given is written in a register that is too low to play comfortably, you will need to transpose to a higher key; if the music you are given is too high, you will transpose to a lower key. On the other hand, if you are overwhelmed by a key signature with too many sharps or flats, consult the circle of fifths to choose a new key. The closer it is to C major (or A minor), the simpler it will be. Often, you will have to take both the register and the number of sharps or flats into account when transposing. Consider the following example:

b

You play in a jazz group with a saxophonist and a soprano vocalist, and want to perform a song that was originally written in the key of A major. The soprano cannot hit the lower notes and would like the music transposed to a higher key, but the saxophonist would like the music to remain in a flat key. A good choice might be E major, which is higher than A major by an interval of a perfect fifth and has three flats in the key signature. Draw your new key signature and you are now ready to transpose.

b

b

Raise or Lower Your Notes

b

b

Determine the interval between the original key and the new key. In the example above, E major is a fifth higher than A major. We know this from counting the notes from A to E , including both the starting and ending pitches. Now, every note in the piece must be raised by a fifth. Let’s use the first measures of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” as an example.

b

b

Ab Major (Original Key)

Eb Major (New Key)

Be very careful with any accidentals in your music. When transposing, you cannot simply copy the sharp, flat, or natural sign into the new music. Instead, consider the function of the accidental. For example, a B is a B that has been lowered a half step. If you need to lower a C # by a half-step, however, the C # will become a C-natural, not a C .

b

b

Check Your Work A good way to practice transposing is to start with easy melodies that you know well. This way, when you transpose the music you can play what you have written and your ear will tell you if you have made any mistakes. Most likely, any problems can be traced back to a simple counting error.

Transposing may seem tedious at first, but keep at it. Soon, you’ll be transposing with ease and have the ability to play music that you may have never thought possible.

www.MakingMusicMag.com

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Vocal Stylings Discover techniques the pros use to sing in various vocal styles and learn to create those sounds. by jackie saunders

If you’re a singer, chances are, there is that one performer who you want to sound like. It could be anyone from Andrea Bocelli or Charlotte Church to Janis Joplin, Barbra Streisand, or Freddie Mercury.

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n Perhaps there’s a certain style you hear and love, regardless of the singer.

Some singers are drawn to classical sounds like opera, while others to boisterous Broadway belting or soulful, hoarse rock ‘n’ roll.

need to have a cavity or space to allow resonance to accommodate sound,” says Markou. “It’s not very different than a grand piano; that’s your resonator. Look at faces and accept genetically what you are given.”

Since the body is your instrument, it’s important to understand how factors like the shape of your face and body determine what your sound is. Soprano Stella Markou, director of vocal studies at the University of Missouri St. Louis, says it’s no coincidence that a lot of great Broadway singers share the same physical facial features. “Patti Lupone, who is one of the greatest belters, has this amazing resonance and a ping in her sound,” says Markou. “Look at her long, angular nose, cavernous mouth.

Yes, vocal folds have something to do with it, but look at her big high cheekbones. The sound has to resonate and get amplified somewhere.

Look at Bernadette Peters’ cheekbones, as well, there is that same broadness.”

Even though you may not be a dead ringer for your favorite singer, Markou says perfecting your singing voice has a lot more to do with practice and studying the fundamentals of vocalization, such as breathing using your diaphragm correctly, and releasing tension, than having natural talent or ability.

Markou adds that great opera singers usually share the same physical features, as well: broad face and larger body.

“Genetically, they

To get a better idea on the different vocal styles you can achieve with your instrument, check out some tips and pointers from Markou and former voice instructor and choir director, Jonathan Green of Sweet Briar, Vir-

Although different performers have sounds that vary from a soaring aria to smooth jazz, Markou says many of her students are surprised that all of these musicians share fundamental skill-sets no matter what genre they claim to sing. Using vibrato (natural voice oscillations on a sustained note) and mixing or alternating between the head, chest, and middle voice, are fundamentals that all singers use, regardless of genre.

ginia. Keep in mind that vocal health is extremely important in cultivating a nice sound. Besides staying hydrated and wellrested, make sure you breathe properly.

Excessive strain and overuse of vocal folds can severely damage them forever.

One way to get a handle on your sound is to record yourself. Since you hear your voice inside your head, it’s hard to know how it sounds to others. Try recording yourself as you experiment with these techniques and sounds.

Understanding your face and body shape goes a long way toward figuring out how to maximize your sound and get the most out of your natural voice.

Classical Many vocal teachers and choir directors believe classical is the best starting point for learning proper vocal technique. Classical (or bel canto) singing, may sound intimidating to singers who are drawn to musical theater or other styles, but it is fundamental to learning how to synchronize breathing with your body’s natural resonators.

“What scares people about classical singing is the consistency of vibrato, resonance, and sort of ideally mixing all vocal registers—head, chest, and middle voice—in a unified sound,” says Markou. “Most operatic singers have a two and a half or three octave range so to hear that voice unified with vibrato is powerful.”

To get the most out of classical singing is to train your body to rid all tension, allowing the breath to actually release and connect to your vocal articulators.

Find your center of balance, while you sing, by keeping your knees slightly bent, feet eight inches apart, and try to keep an imaginary line from your tailbone to the floor. “The vocal folds are very tiny. For a soprano, they are a diameter of a dime; for mezzo, a little bigger than a penny; for tenors, a nickel; and for baritones, the size of a quarter,” says Markou. “You don’t want to put all your weight and strength into something so tiny, so you need to find your center and use your diaphragm to support the sound and sustain it.”

Broadway Belt Perhaps the most sought after and envied of singers, the sound of a powerful Broadway belt like that of Idina Menzel, who starred in Wicked and Rent, seems more accessible to budding vocalists who sing along with the soundtracks to their favorite musicals.

With the belt it’s important to not strain the vocal chords and use appropriate support. Before attempting to belt, use your tongue to feel the roof of your mouth to find your hard and soft palate. The hard palate is the arch directly

behind your top teeth, and the soft is towards the back of the throat made up of muscles used for swallowing. When you belt, you want to shoot the sound in a tighter space (the hard palate) than the soft palate which is more for classical. “There is a higher volume of pressurized air shot in a concise space in your mouth so there is less vibrato,” says Markou. “Using the same resonance you would have in opera singing, allow more space in the mouth and be conscious of breathing. A belt is taking the chest voice much higher, where the middle and head voice belongs.”

Pop Pop and rock singers usually have the benefit of electronic amplification so there is less need for vibrato or extensive breath support. “Pop music should sound natural, not like you’re trying hard,” says Green. He recommends changing pronunciation, vowel sounds, or throat shape to achieve different results in pop music. For example, The Rolling Stones did some country songs in the early ’60s and changed their sound merely by faking an accent.

In pop singing the performer will usually speak the same way

they sing. “Opera singers don’t sound the same when they talk,” says Green.

Another difference between pop and classical singing is the amount of space in the mouth and throat. “Think of keeping a hot baked potato in your mouth that you don’t want to spit out, and don’t want to get burned by. This leads singers to open that space up,” says Green. “That’s a nice open position.

With popular singing, you eliminate that expansion, and use the same approach as when speaking. Classical singers make that arch in the throat, while pop singers basically just keep a flat space in the back.”

www.MakingMusicMag.com

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sharpsandflats ukulele n When strumming your ukulele, find as many ways as

possible to make each song sound different. Here’s a couple tricks: within each song’s rhythm, you can add strokes, subtract a few, and break up the rhythm in between verses with a little roll-strum (use more fingers on the stroke) or chord choking (slightly releasing tension in the fretting hand).

Joel Eckhaus, South Portland, Maine

drums n Place a bed pillow on top of your practice pad. You will notice that the tips of your sticks will not bounce off the surface of the pillow. Your wrists and arms will do most of the work. By doing this exercise, you will gain arm and wrist strength. You will also train your hands to better follow your brain’s commands.

Jim Hagerty, Rockford, Illinois

general n Sing, or say, the notes of a new piece of music you are trying to play. First slowly, then up to tempo. As my violin teacher, Dana Lambert, says, “If you can say it, you can play it!”

Aurora Penzo, Honolulu, Hawaii

harmonica

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009

n Stay as relaxed as you can when you play and practice. You will use your energy much more efficiently and ultimately be able to play faster and last longer. The trouble areas for tension are usually the shoulders, neck, and face, especially the eyes and mouth area. Watch yourself in the mirror.

Dave Gage, Los Angeles, California

How do you practice?

Sharps & Flats are quick and easy practice ideas for all instruments and playing levels. Do you have a tip, trick, or piece of advice (in 150 words or less) that you’d like to share with Making Music’s readers? We’d love to hear it! Send us an e-mail at afollett@MakingMusicMag.com.

by scott houston

Most people think of skydivers and bungee jumpers as “daredevils” with no fear.

To my utter amazement, a majority of people learning to play piano see those who learn to improvise in that same light.

n Life is risky—end of story. The only way to avoid risk is to stay in bed 24/7, and even then you risk your house collapsing on top of you. Risk is a reality that we all share. You simply can’t escape some level of risk.

You may consider yourself risk averse, yet it’s likely you get in a car and drive every day. Ooh! That’s a very risky endeavor, you insane thrill-seeker. Ever eat salad without personally washing all the greens first? Whoa! Have you seen what E. coli can do to you? You must really like to live life on the edge!

My point is that risk is around us all the time in varying degrees. You can’t fear risk. You need to embrace risk as part of living fully. Of course, to be rational, one needs to weigh the risk with the potential reward.

The problem is that, as humans, we don’t always do that very well.

Look at the statistics, and you’ll find flying in an airliner to be exponentially safer than getting in your car and driving to the corner store. Yet many people still have an irrational fear of flying but will drive in a car all day long. You get the picture.

Here’s why I mention fear of risk: I am in a rare and fortunate position to have a wonderful “living laboratory” comprised of tens of thousands of piano players learning to play from lead sheets for recreational enjoyment. I have recently come to the realization that fear of risk is one of the main impediments to people breaking free from sheet music and starting down the path towards improvisation.

living on the edge

Make Mistakes, Take Risks, and Have Fun

This exact same fear of risk is what keeps great classical notation readers locked in the mindset: “If it isn’t www.MakingMusicMag.com

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There are no wrong notes; some are just more right than others.

written, I can’t play it.” It’s the old, “I’d love to play for you, but I didn’t bring my music” syndrome, which is familiar to way too many of us.

So what’s the big risk? The risk of playing wrong notes and sounding bad, that’s what. Are you kidding me?

Playing a “wrong” note?

Sounding bad? Who cares?

“

—Thelonious Monk

The last time I played something “less than harmonic” (ok, just plain awful) my heart continued to beat, the sun continued to shine, my hair continued to thin, and my dog Nick continued to snore. Basically, the universe chugged right along with nary a quiver. Interestingly, one thing did change: My playing got a little better.

You see, the wonderful consequence of playing “less than optimal sounding” notes is that you are training yourself and your ear to know what does not sound good, which gets you closer to knowing what does sound good. It’s that trial by error, or “fail early, fail often” experience that is the secret to learning to improvise and being comfortable playing without reading notation verbatim. It’s ironic, but, without experiencing “wrong” notes, you’ll never get to the “right” notes.

So I encourage you to work on a mind shift: Instead of thinking of wrong notes, think of them as notes that you now know are not a good choice for that moment. You have to weed through the bad ones to find the good ones!

Maybe these quotes from some musical giants will help soothe your psyche:

“There are no wrong notes; some are just more right than others.”

—Thelonious Monk

“There’s no such thing as a wrong note.” —Art Tatum

“It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note—it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.”

—Miles Davis

Being afraid to risk sounding less than perfect is totally irrational. Yet, that silly fear is keeping many aspiring musicians from earning a life changing reward. That is—acquiring the skill set to be able to play not from what someone else has already written on a piece of sheet music, but rather, to play from your heart extemporaneously.

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”

—Joe Pierce

Now go play some wrong notes, would you please!

SCOTT HOUSTON IS HOST OF THE PBS SHOW THE PIANO GUY. LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS PIANO METHOD AT WWW. SCOTTHOUSTON.COM

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Tuned In PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

microphone ❱❱ This is the most common and affordable type of tuner. A small microphone picks up sound and shows the pitch on a LCD for finetuning. Many of these also include a ¼-inch input for electric guitars and basses. Every instrumentalist and vocalist should have one of these kicking around.

Try This: Planet Waves Universal Chromatic II Tuner

vibration ❱❱ Just as accurate as a microphone tuner, these are designed for brass, woodwind, and bowed string instruments. They clip onto the instrument and use body vibrations to detect pitch. They are invaluable for tuning in a noisy environment.

Try This: IntelliTouch Center Pitch Universal

pedal

❱❱ Rugged and accurate stompbox tuners are a solid choice for guitarists or bassists. Like any other pedal, they plug into an amplification chain or pedal board, and the signal bypasses the pedal when they’re off. Unlike other effect pedals, they cut off the signal when they’re on, sparing the audience from hearing a tune-up session.

Try This: Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Pedal Tuner

multi-feature ❱❱ Since tuners are relatively easy to make, they’re often packaged into multi-function devices.

The Boss TU-88, for example, is a metronome, headphone amp, and guitar/bass/chromatic tuner, all-in-one handheld gadget. It’s like a PDA for musicians.

Try This: Boss TU-88 Micro Monitor

Pitch Perfect A Guide to Digital Tuners n Tuners are one of the most ubiquitous music accessories out there. Almost any instrumentalist from guitarist to timpanist benefits from having one kicking around in his or her gig bag.

You can survive without a tuner, but why go through the hassle of borrowing somebody else’s? Today tuners are very affordable and even the cheapest ones are accurate within one cent—one onehundredth of the space between notes.

It’s a big step up from the time when musicians tuned only to pitch pipes, other instruments, or tuning forks. All of those methods still serve a purpose.

Tuning to another instrument, most likely a piano, works well for groups and jazz combos. If the piano is out of tune, it’s easier for the ensemble to tune to the piano than to tune the piano itself. Symphony orchestras usually tune to the principal oboe—who is very likely using a digital tuner.

Pitch pipes are still a popular tuning method used by many a cappella groups and other vocalists who need a reliable reference note. They never lose their pitch and they never run out of batteries. As for tuning forks, they are still the preferred tool for professional piano tuners.

However, the advent of digital tuners a few decades ago made tuning much easier and more consistent.

Even tone-deaf hackers can find the perfect tuning.

Dozens of varieties are on the market, and any musician can find one to suit his or her needs.

The column at left includes a few popular types.

Other more specialized products include rackmount tuners, a popular choice with touring electric guitarists and bassists; on-board tuners, installed onto the instrument itself; and software-based tuners, like iPhone Apps (see “Tiny Music,” page 40) or those included with recording programs like ProTools.

The decision ultimately comes down to what instrument you play, where you play it, and which, if any, extra features you want. They do all share one thing: they’ll get you in tune in no time. www.MakingMusicMag.com

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Tuned In

For more products visit www.MakingMusicMag.com/tunedin

Shure Thing Shure’s Super 55 Deluxe Vocal Microphone is a modernized version of an old-school favorite. It features the instantly recognizable, satin chrome-plated, die-cast casing of the classic Unidyne model, with a supercardioid polar pattern, an internal shock mount, and a bit of blue coloring for some flare. Suited for natural vocals, use this snappy-looking dynamic mike for both studio and stage. An integrated swivel-stand mount is included.

MSRP: $300

Blowin’ Up ❱❱ The Durga is the fifth model in Theo Wanne’s line of master mouthpieces for the sax. Others are described as powerful, versatile, and haunting, but this new mouthpiece is plain ol’ sexy. It features a high-powered version of Wanne’s True Large Chamber design, as well as rounded inner-side walls, drop floors, an integrated two-point liberty ligature, proprietary facing curves, user replaceable bite pads, and the option to customize the pressure plate. It will fill any room with a huge, sensual tone. It’s available in tenor and baritone models.

MSRP: $775-$850

Save the Wails ❱❱ Put the pedal to the metal with Dunlop’s KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Wah. Based on the Metallica guitarist’s DCR1SR Crybaby Rack Wah, designers recreated his EQ, volume, and tone settings to emulate the sound that has defined his shredding solos since the 1980s. Featuring exceptionally even response all the way from heel to toe positions, a thick top end, and full dynamic range, this is a high-quality stomp box for all wah-wah applications.

MSRP: $264

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The Grass Is Bluer

Take It Outside By popular demand, Grover Pro Percussion now offers concert tambourines with synthetic heads. Resistant to heat, humidity, and even water, the Remo Renaissance heads stay taut under almost any summer weather conditions. Sonically, they’re nearly identical to their natural head counterparts and come in three double-row jingle configurations: German Silver, Beryllium Copper, and Silver/Bronze combo.

Gibson’s Jam Master Series mandolins are simple yet elegant, with unbound F-holes, side-only position markers, and a Gibson logo decal on the peghead. Black binding trim and Sheraton Brown satin lacquer finish complement a spruce top and maple back and sides. The frets are bigger than those on vintage mandolins to accommodate modern playing styles. Available in A-style and F-style, these rich, resonant instruments cover the entire tonal palette.

MSRP: $1,999-$3,110

MSRP: $184-$208

Practice, Practice, Practice ❱❱ Mark-My-Time digital metronome combines a bookmark, timer, and metronome into one handy practice tool. Set the timer with the touch of a button, select a tempo, and clip it to an exercise book or music stand for a measured, productive practice session. The metronome tick mimics that of an old wooden-metronome and is less distracting than the high-pitched beeps of some modern counterparts. It’s battery powered, made of durable plastic, and is just a half-inch thick, so it’s portable to boot.

MSRP: $20

www.MakingMusicMag.com

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Tuned In

Tiny Music Handy Apps to Enhance Your Music Making

BY LIAM MCCABE

With the advent of the iTunes App Store, the iPhone and iPod Touch have become handy music-making accessories. Apps, simply put, are small, downloadable programs that range from banking software to virtual whoopee cushions. Hundreds, if not thousands, are music-oriented applications. Regardless of your musical background (or iPhone skill, for that matter), you’ll find at least a few to enhance your music making.

Can You Hear Me Now? First things first: Some Apps require microphones. iPhones are equipped with built-in mikes, but iPod Touch users will need an external microphone. Apple offers a version of their white earbuds with a built-in mike (Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic, $29). Prefer to use you own headphones? Plug them into the Griffin SmartTalk ($19.99), a compact mike that clips onto clothing or instruments for a high-quality signal.

Don’t plan on using headphones at all?

Try ThumbTacks by SwitchEasy ($12.99), an ultra-compact mike that really puts the “micro” in microphone.

Instrumental Vocab The App Store has several programs to help you brush up on scales and chords.

While most seem to be guitar-oriented, ScaleMaster ($9.99, RoGame Software) works for all musicians. Its library holds more than 100 scale types in every key, displayed on a staff in treble, bass, tenor, or alto clefs. The entries can also be shown on a virtual guitar, bass, mandolin, or piano. Scale degrees in relation to the root are shown, too.

The App Store hosts tons of other awesome music Apps.

Log on to MakingMusicMag.com/tunedin/iphone for some more Making Music favorites.

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september/october 2009

Tickling the Touch-Screen Ivories Finger Piano ($1.99, Junpei Wada) is a lot like Guitar Hero, only for piano and without scorekeeping. Pick a song and follow the scrolling guide with your finger. The 88 built-in tunes are mostly classical and traditional works, including “Jingle Bells,” “The Nutcracker,” and “Amazing Grace.” It’s a fun and easy way to pick up a few melodies and practice some ear training without reading a single note.

Also available in a free, four-song Lite version.

Block Rockin’ Beats The small screen format might have you fooled, but BeatMaker ($19.99, Intua) is high-quality sequencing software. It won’t replace a more serious sequencer or laptop in a live performance setting, but works great for on-the-go composing.

BeatMaker comes with a large, multi-genre sound bank that you can expand to your heart’s content using your own samples.

The interface is intuitive, the audio is crisp, the playback is low latency, and you can move files between your iPhone and computer with ease, using a free companion program. This App is the real deal.

Mobile Recording Inspiration is fleeting, but with iTalk Recorder (free, Griffin) you’ll never forget a great idea again. It’s best for recording speech but sensitive enough to capture ambient noise and instruments, essentially turning your iPhone into a digital recorder.

Featuring three recording-quality levels, a one-button recording interface, and easy file transfers to your computer with free syncing software, this simple program can be invaluable in a pinch. An ad-free version is available for $4.99.

Just for Fun No software megastore is complete without some fun and games. Check out Ocarina ($.99, Smule) and Leaf Trombone: World Stage ($.99, Smule) for some new-fashioned entertainment. These are two of the most downloaded programs in the App Store.

Experiment with the on-screen fingering combinations and blow into the mike to make beautiful music. Leaf Trombone is for iPhone 3.0 only and is also available in a free Lite version.

Boom-Tap Boom-Tap

DigiDrummer ($1.99, Magnick Software) features a similar interface as BeatMaker, but it’s better suited as a finger-tapping pastime than serious software. It’s not programmable, so what you play is what gets recorded and it’s difficult to tap out clean beats on an iPhone’s small screen. You can play along with your music library, however, and the 27-drum kit sound library is worth its price. It’s available as a one-drum kit Lite version for free and a 99-cent eight-drum kit Micro version.

Tuning Up

Most tuning Apps work like digital pitch pipes—they produce a reference note that you tune to. Cleartune ($2.99, bitcount) is much more versatile. It’s a microphonebased chromatic tuner, as well as a pitch pipe, and works for any pitched instrument. It allows you to calibrate notes, transpose keys, and even supports solfège notation. Advanced enough for a pro and simple enough for amateurs, this program is a best bet.

Timing Is Everything

Tempo ($.99, Frozen Ape) is probably better than your standalone digital metronome and definitely costs less. It even compares to $89 programmable metronomes. This App counts in 17 time signatures and up to six rhythmic patterns, in tempos ranging from 20 to 220 beats per minute. You can save your rhythmic configurations with the setlist function and pull them up later at a rehearsal. Pulsating lights keep the beat if the background gets too loud.

Too Real

iReal Book ($7.99, Massimo Bialcati) offers a digital version of a Real Book, the infamous home of jazz standards. While it can’t offer lyrics or melodies due to copyright restriction, it does hold chord changes for 625 tunes (and growing), all of which can be transposed to any key with the touch of a button. The big letters are visible from a few feet away, auto-lock can be disabled easily, and songs switch with a swipe of the screen.

This is a great App for accompanists and sidemen.

www.MakingMusicMag.com

41

Accents

Dixieland: zz a J n e h W n g I n i h c r a by cherie Yurco Came M Dixieland, or hot jazz, first developed in New Orleans around the beginning of the 20th century from the blending of brass band marches, French quadrilles, ragtime, and blues.

Dixieland music is often referred to as classic, traditional, or New Orleans jazz. Some historians say that the term Dixieland should only refer to music by white musicians who “copied” what black musicians were already doing. n The first jazz recordings ever,

“Darktown Strutters Ball” and “Indiana” by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917, were Dixieland tunes. But because black musicians were not recorded in those early years of jazz, the first extensive recording of black jazz musicians didn’t begin until 1923, when Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, Johnny Dodds, and Louis Armstrong, among others, were recorded.

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Though the instrumentation may vary, Dixieland bands consist of a front line of trumpet (or cornet), trombone, and clarinet, and a rhythm section of two or more of the following: tuba (or string bass), guitar (or banjo), piano, violin, (or drum). Usually a trumpet plays the melody, a trombone plays harmony, while a clarinet improvises countermelodies and fills. One of the best-known and loved songs of the genre is “When the Saints Go Marching In,” first recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1938.

Dixieland jazz offered freedom, spontaneity, and the opportunity for individual expression. During the early 1900s the genre caught on and spread to large cities, from Chicago to New York. The Dixieland in these cities gradually evolved into sub-genres. In “Chicago style” rhythm sections use string bass and guitar, and they play in more of a swing style that is faster-paced. West Coast revival style uses banjo and tuba in the rhythm section.

Dixieland style jazz gradually fell out of favor in the 1930s with the

growing popularity of swing. However, there was a revival of the genre in the late 1940s and 1950s. During that period it was combined with a bebop style rhythm in what was coined “progressive Dixieland” or “Dixie-bop.”

When we think of Dixieland music today, strolling musicians with striped jackets, suspenders, and straw hats often come to mind.

This, however, was the result of a fad during the Dixieland revival of the 1950s, and not a tradition of the earliest Dixieland or traditional jazz musicians.

Dixieland jazz can still be heard nationwide, especially in its birthplace. But the best place to hear it is Preservation Hall, which opened its doors in 1961 as a sanctuary, to protect and honor New Orleans jazz. Located in New Orleans’ French Quarter, visitors can hear jazz performed by veteran musicians, some well into their 70s and 80s, in a hall lined with portraits of the musicians who first filled the city with the beautiful sounds of traditional Dixieland jazz.

www.MakingMusicMag.com

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Covered RESOURCES

Acoustic Guitar Songs for Dummies n If you’ve ever wanted to learn to play the most popular songs from rock, pop, and folk music on acoustic guitar, this book is for you.

It includes 34 full songs from Nirvana’s “About a Girl” to James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” with standard notation, guitar tablature, and lyrics, plus performance notes detailing the wheres, whats, and hows of each song.

The book assumes some basic knowledge of the guitar, and reading notation or tablature. A handy guitar notation legend and charts of common chords found in the back of the book can be used to refresh these skills.

Acoustic Guitar Songs for Dummies, performance notes by Greg P. Herriges, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI, 2008.

Eighth-Note Rock and Beyond n Drummers need to walk

before they can run, and this book guides them through those first steps. Eighth-Note Rock and Beyond includes counting exercises, basic through intermediate rock beats, and a few pages on ghost notes and funk drumming.

The book also includes a CD with play-along MP3s of each lesson and a short appendix for further reading. Written by a teacher with 20 years of experience at public schools, educators should find all the tools they need to lead students toward more advanced rock drumming.

Eighth-Note Rock and Beyond. by Glenn Ceglia with Dom Famularo, Wizdom Media, Whippany, NJ, 2007.

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september/october 2009

Picture Yourself Playing Violin n This book plus DVD package is a step-by-step instruction for learning to play the violin. It is intended for complete beginners and guides readers through all the steps from acquiring a violin, bowing and fingering positions, understanding and reading sheet music, to learning to practice a song. Helpful pictures and diagrams demonstrate each technique and skill, using the same methods that author Bridgette Seidel uses at her music academy. By the end of the book you should be able to play 13 songs on the violin.

The accompanying DVD includes more than an hour’s worth of tutorials demonstrating posture, bowing, and fingering techniques explained in the book. It also contains a demonstration of each song performed with a metronome.

Picture Yourself Playing Violin: Step-by-Step Instruction for Proper Fingering and Bowing Techniques, Reading Sheet Music, and More, by Bridgette Seidel, Thomson Course Technology, Boston, MA, 2008.

Song Writing: A Complete Guide to the Craft n This guide to song writing is the perfect reference for all songwriters, no matter the genre. Seasoned songwriters will find a go-to reference and beginners will find a step-by-step guide. Stephen Citron blends the art and science of songwriting, breaking down a composition to its most basic elements and then analyzing and explaining it in language that even a novice will understand.

No prior knowledge of music composition and theory is needed, as he clearly and concisely guides readers from conceiving a good idea to putting down words to advanced concepts like rhythm, rhyme, meter, melody, and harmony. It also gives up-to-date information and tips for getting your song arranged, recorded, and copyrighted.

Song Writing: A Complete Guide to the Craft, by Stephen Citron, Limelight Editions, New York, NY, 2008.

Beginning Ear Training n What do pianists Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock have in common? They all learned to play by ear. Though it seems fairly logical, the reality of playing by ear is not that easy. Beginning musicians often get overwhelmed when they try to learn a solo or tune by ear.

They may give up, opting to use a fake book or written transcription.

Unfortunately, these methods do not allow them to learn the nuances and soul of the music’s language.

Beginning Ear Training book and CD set introduces the core skills of ear training in a step-by-step method, complete with time-tested exercises.

Beginning Ear Training, Ear Training: Exercises, by Gilson Schachnik, Berklee Press, Boston, MA, 2007.

The Afro-Cuban Folkloric Musical Tradition: A Practical Guide for Percussionists n Robert Fernandez first began playing bongos at age five, performing and recording music from his Cuban heritage.

After a successful career as a contemporary percussionist he abandoned that work to devote himself completely to Latin percussion, specifically the Afro-Cuban folkloric tradition. This book is a result of 20-year’s study with some of the most highly regarded Cuban musicians. It is an in-depth look at many styles of AfroCuban folkloric music, many of which are notated here for the first time. Fernandez also provides historical background to the traditions.

The Afro-Cuban Folkloric Musical Tradition: A Practical Guide for Percussionists, by Robert Fernandez, Leisure Planet Music, Sylmar, CA, 2007.

www.MakingMusicMag.com

45

inthe spotlight n As a radio show host and owner of a busy registered investment advisory firm with three offices, you might think that Paul Winkler, 45, wouldn’t have much time to play music, but that’s certainly not true. In fact, Winkler plays drums on many of the “money” songs used as bumpers for his radio show.

“It’s kind of funny that hardly any of my listeners know that they are hearing me playing every single week on the radio,” he says. “It’s my little secret.”

“I love playing my drums every chance I get,” he adds. “I find that I must play at least daily, for anywhere from 15 minutes to a half-hour minimum, to keep on top of my game. It’s strange, but anything less than that and I find myself going backwards.”

GEARGuide

Winkler, who began playing snare drum at age 12, says he’s always had a great love for music. “I never wanted to do it as a sole profession,” he adds. “I have too many other passions and I get bored easily.”

Drum Kit: Pearl Reference. “I love the concept of using different wood combinations, depending on the size of the drums. These drums are amazing!” brushes and sticks: JoJo Mayer sticks and Steve Gadd brushes by Vic Firth. “I like Vic Firth sticks because they come sonically matched and they are always true.”

PAULWINKLER

Who are your musical influences?

I’m a huge fan of the music of the ’70s, so I’m really influenced by people like Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro, Phil Ehart, and countless others of that era. I love drummers that make you want to dance when they play. As they say, what isn’t played is often more important than what is played.

Why do you continue to make music?

For some strange reason, music pushes a “happy button” in my brain. No matter what kind of mood I’m in, playing and listening to great music always makes me feel better.

It has an uncanny ability to transport me back in time and brings back great memories.

How do you continue to learn?

A great benefit of living in Nashville is access to great teachers. I’ve had the fortune of being able to take lessons with Yanni drummer Charlie Adams, percussionist Glen Caruba, and Genesis tour drummer Chester Thompson. I also own more instructional videos than most music stores.

What benefits have you found to making music?

Since I tend to be a fairly shy and reserved person, playing music has a way of forcing me to be more social. It has been a great tool to help me connect with people I wouldn’t normally get to know.

How do you make time for music in your life?

Having a supportive family is a real benefit. My wife and kids know that the hour or so before bedtime is my time to play the drums. I almost never miss a night.

What advice do you have for someone getting back into music later in life?

Winkler describes living in a suburb just north of Nashville, Tennessee, as ideal because he is surrounded by great musicians. “I get to play with some fantastic players at church every week and I get asked to record demos from time to time,” he says. “I enjoy being thrown into situations that are unrehearsed and require you to keep your ears wide open.”

Paul has recently released his first book, Above the Maddening Crowd—How to Avoid Being Destroyed by the Wall Street Marketing Machine. He says, “I just had to write a book that brought that information to the investing public. I feel a strong calling to help investors escape the traps laid by an industry gone awry.”

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The best advice that I have is to play often, never quit learning new things, and play with people better than you.

If you can’t find anyone to play with, do what I do—play to your favorite music.

What is your best memory of making music?

One day I realized that I would regret it if I never did anything of a more “professional” nature with my music. I called a friend of mine who was a signed recording artist and offered my services for free. The end result was playing a few concerts in Holland with his band and playing on a couple of his albums—no regrets now and I even got paid.

History of Banjo by cherie Yurco

The American Banjo Museum is holding a gala opening celebration at its new facility in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Originally located in Guthrie, Oklahoma, the museum was founded in 1998 by Midwest City attorney Brady Hunt and Indiana industrialist and banjo player Jack Canine as The National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame Museum. n The museum began with Canine’s do-

nation of more than 60 ornately decorated four-string tenor and plectrum banjos associated with jazz of the 1920s and 1930s. It immediately held the distinction of having the largest banjo collection on display in the world. The museum’s recent million-dollar acquisition of nearly 200 jazz-age banjos from a private German collection grew the museum’s holdings to more than 300 instruments.

The new state-of-the-art American Banjo Museum tells the complete story of the instrument’s 350-year history in the US. Two main galleries display hundreds of banjos, while the Banjo History gallery illustrates major periods in the banjo’s

evolution from the preminstrel era to the present day.

The American Banjo Museum’s Hall of Fame honors historical and contemporary banjo performers, educators, manufacturers, and promoters. The Special Exhibit gallery displays instruments and memorabilia from past and current Hall of Fame inductees.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held in April and is followed by the Bricktown Banjo Bash, featuring music performed in various venues throughout Oklahoma City’s Bricktown district.

Other museum facilities include Shakey’s Room, decorated with artifacts from the

original Shakey’s Pizza Parlors. It’s used for workshops, video presentations, and performance and seats up to 120 people.

In its mission to promote and preserve the history of the banjo, the American Banjo Museum also acts as a repository for individual contributions of videos, recordings, music, stories, recollections, and personal biographies, ultimately to be included in a living history archive.

As part of its educational program Banjo Masters classes are held at the museum and other locations and the Banjo Blast Youth Banjo Band program, for children aged eight to 12, teaches basic banjo technique and music reading fundamentals through a repertoire of nostalgic American songs. www.MakingMusicMag.com

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FAR-WEST ANNUAL CONFERENCE

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Folk Alliance-Region West (FAR-West) is the Western region affiliate of Folk Alliance International

Whether you are a performer, presenter, or a music enthusiast, the annual FAR-West Conference provides an opportunity to discover and exchange ideas for building audience and awareness for traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music and dance.

Join us for three days of networking with musicians, presenters and radio programmers, educational workshops and master classes during the day, performance showcasing through the night‌ and very little sleep.

Register for the November 2009 Conference Today at www.FAR-West.org

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september/october 2009

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My true story of Perfect Pitch

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T ALL STARTED when I was in ninth grade as a sort

of teenage rivalry . . .

I’d slave at the piano for five hours daily. Linda practiced far less.Yet somehow she always shined as the star performer at our school. It was frustrating.

What does she have that I don’t? I’d wonder.

Linda’s best friend, Sheryl, bragged on and on to me, adding more fuel to my fire.

“You could never be as good as Linda,” she would taunt. “Linda’s got Perfect Pitch.”

“What’s Perfect Pitch?” I asked.

Sheryl gloated about Linda’s uncanny abilities: how she could name exact notes and chords—all BY EAR; how she could sing any tone—from memory alone; how she could play songs—after just hearing them; the list went on and on . . .

My heart sank. Her EAR is the secret to her success I thought. How could I ever hope to compete with her?

But it bothered me. Did she really have Perfect Pitch?

How could she know notes and chords just by hearing them? It seemed impossible.

Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore. So one day I marched right up to Linda and asked her point-blank if she had Perfect Pitch.

“Yes,” she nodded aloofly.

But Perfect Pitch was too good to believe. I rudely pressed, “Can I test you sometime?”

“OK,” she replied.

Now she would eat her words . . .

My plot was ingeniously simple . . .

When Linda least suspected, I walked right up and

challenged her to name tones for me—by ear.

I made her stand so she could not see the piano keyboard. I made sure other classmates could not help her.

I set up everything perfectly so I could expose her Perfect Pitch claims as a ridiculous joke.

With silent apprehension, I selected a tone to play.

(She’ll never guess F � , I thought.)

I had barely touched the key.

“F � ,” she said. I was astonished.

I played another tone.

“C,” she announced, not stopping to think.

Frantically, I played more tones, skipping here and there all over the keyboard. But somehow she knew the pitch each time. She was AMAZING. “Sing an E �,” I demanded, determined to mess her up. She sang a tone. I checked her on the keyboard— and she was right on!

Now I started to boil.

I called out more tones, trying hard to make them increasingly difficult. But each note she sang perfectly on pitch.

I was totally boggled. “How in the world do you “How in the world do you do it?” I blurted. do it?” I blurted. I was totally “I don’t know,” she boggled. (age 14, 9th grade) sighed. And that was all I could get out of her!

The dazzle of Perfect Pitch hit me like a ton of bricks. I was dizzy with disbelief. Yet from then on, I knew that Perfect Pitch was real.

I couldn’t figure it out . . .

“How does she DO it?” I kept asking myself. On the other hand, why can’t everyone recognize and sing tones by ear?

Then it dawned on me. People call themselves musicians, yet they can’t tell a C from a C � ? Or A major from F major?! That’s as strange as a portrait painter who can’t name the colors of paint on his palette. It all seemed so odd and contradictory.

Humiliated and puzzled, I went home to work on this problem. At age 14, this was a hard nut to crack.

You can be sure I tried it out for myself. With a little sweet-talking, I got my three brothers and two sisters to play piano tones for me—so I could try to name them by ear. But it always turned into a messy guessing game I just couldn’t win.

Day after day I tried to learn those freaking tones.

I would hammer a note over and over to make it stick in my head. But hours later I would remember it a half step flat. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recognize or remember any of the tones by ear. They all sounded the same after awhile; how were you supposed to know which was which—just by listening?

I would have done anything to have an ear like Linda. But now I realized it was way beyond my reach.

So after weeks of work, I finally gave up.

Then it happened . . .

It was like a miracle . . . a twist of fate . . . like finding the lost Holy Grail . . .

Once I stopped straining my ear, I started to listen NATURALLY. Then the simple secret to Perfect Pitch jumped right into my lap.

Curiously, I began to notice faint “colors” within the tones. Not visual colors, but colors of pitch, colors of

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Oh, you must be wondering: whatever happened with sound. They had always been there. But this was the Linda? I’ll have to backtrack . . . first time I had ever really “let go”—and listened—to Flashback to my senior year of high school. I discover these subtle differences. was nearly 18. In these three-and-a-half years with Soon—to my own disbelief—I too could name the tones by ear! It was simple. I could hear how F � sounds Perfect Pitch, my piano teacher insisted I had made ten one way, while B � has a totally different sound—sort of years of progress. And I had. But my youthful ambition wasn’t satisfied. I needed one more like “hearing” red and blue! thing: to beat Linda. Now was my final chance.

The realization struck me: THIS IS PERFECT The University of Delaware hosts a performing PITCH! This is how Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart music festival each could mentally hear spring, complete with their masterpieces Join musicians around the world judges and awards. To —and know tones, chords, and keys who have already discovered the my horror, they schedme that year as —all by ear! to . uled the grand finale.

It was almost For 28 years, we’ve received letters The fated day childish—I felt sure from musicians in 120 countries: arrived. Linda gave her that anyone could � “Wow! It really worked. I feel like a new musician. I am usual sterling perforunlock their own very proud I could achieve something of this caliber.” J.M., mance. She would be Perfect Pitch with percussion � “Someone played a D major chord and I recogtough to match, let this simple secret of nized it straight away. S.C., bass � “Thanks...I developed a full alone surpass. But my “Color Hearing.”

Perfect Pitch in just two weeks! It just happened like a miracle.” turn finally came, and Bursting with B.B., guitar/piano � “It is wonderful. I can truly hear the differences in the color of the tones.” D.P., student � “I heard I went for it. excitement, I told my the differences on the initial playing, which did in fact surprise Slinking to the best friend, Ann me. It is a breakthrough.” J.H., student � “It’s so simple it’s stage, I sat down and (a flutist). ridiculous. M.P., guitar � “I’m able to play things I hear in my played my heart out She laughed at me. head. Before, I could barely do it.” J.W., keyboards � “I hear a with selections from “You have to be born song on the radio and I know what they’re doing. My improviBeethoven, Chopin, with Perfect Pitch,” sations have improved. I feel more in control.” I.B., bass guitar � “It feels like I’m singing and playing MY notes instead of and Ravel. The she asserted. “You somebody else’s—like music is more ‘my own.’ L.H., voice/ can’t develop it.” applause was overguitar � “What a boost for children’s musical education! R.P., “You don’t underwhelming. music teacher � “I can identify tones and keys just by hearing stand how Perfect Afterwards, I them and sing tones at will. When I hear music now it has Pitch works,” I counscoured the bulletin much more definition, form and substance. I don’t just tered. I sat her down board for our grades. passively listen anymore, but actively listen to detail.” M.U., bass and showed her how Linda received an A. � “Although I was skeptical at first, I am now awed.” R.H., sax � “It’s like hearing in a whole new dimension.” L.S., guitar to listen. Timidly, she This was no surprise. � “I started crying and laughing all at the same time. J.S., confessed that she Then I saw that music educator � “I wish I could have had this 30 years ago!” too could hear the I had scored an A+.

R.B., voice � “This is absolutely what I had been searching for.” pitch colors. With Sweet victory was D.F., piano � “Mr. Burge—you’ve changed my life!” T.B., this jump start, Ann music to my ears, mine student � “Learn it or be left behind.” P.S., student . . . soon realized she at last! —D.L.B. also had gained Perfect Pitch.

We became instant celebrities. Classmates loved to Now it’s YOUR turn! call out tones for us to magically sing from thin air. or 28 years now, musicians around the globe have They played chords for us to name by ear. They quizzed proven the simple methods that David-Lucas Burge us on what key a song was in. stumbled upon as a teenager (plus research at two leadEveryone was fascinated with our “supernatural” ing universities—see www.PerfectPitch.com/research). powers, yet to Ann and me, it was just normal.

Now you can hear it for yourself! It’s easy and fun— Way back then, I never dreamed I would later cause and guaranteed to work for YOU—regardless of your such a stir in the academic world. But when I entered instrument, your playing style, or your current ability. college and started to explain my discoveries, professors Order your own Perfect Pitch® Ear Training laughed at me.

SuperCourse and listen to the first CD. We promise “You must be born with Perfect Pitch,” they’d say. you will immediately hear the Perfect Pitch colors that “You can’t develop it!”

David-Lucas starts you on—or return the course for a I would listen politely. Then I’d reveal the simple full prompt refund (you’ve got our 28-year word on it). secret—so they could hear it for themselves.

You can even check out your progress at no risk. You You’d be surprised how fast they changed their tune! must notice immediate and dramatic advancements in In college, my so-called “perfect ear” allowed me to 1) your ear, 2) your playing and singing, and 3) your skip over two required music theory courses. Perfect enjoyment of music, or return your course for a full Pitch made everything easier—my ability to perform, prompt refund, no questions asked. compose, arrange, transpose, improvise, and even Imagine the talents that Perfect Pitch can open up sight-read (because—without looking at the keyin YOU to advance your playing, your singing, your own board—you know you’re playing the correct tones). creativity and confidence. Then again, how will you ever And because my ears were open, music sounded know unless you listen for yourself? There’s no risk. richer. I learned that music is truly a HEARING art.

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

What is your best way to learn? n I am a guitar player, and I play with a couple praise and worship teams. When there is a new song that I want or need to learn, I absolutely bathe myself in the song first, before I even touch my guitar.

It is the first thing in my head when I wake up in the morning and is then part of my morning routine. I listen to it in the car, if possible, and then at my desk at work, all day! I listen for all of the nuances that I can hear and imagine the chord progression. This may occur for days.

Then, I sit down with my acoustic guitar and begin learning. I’ll play the CD or MP3 of the song and try to play along.

I’ll stop it, play the guitar, rewind, play it again, until I have it down enough to teach to the rest of the team, and lead the congregation in singing it. It does not take me too long to do this because the song itself has flowed through my head so many times that it’s the next natural progression to get my hands to play it on the guitar.

Dennis H. Ricci Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania n I scan the music first and note the key

signature, time signature, tempo, etc.

Then I start playing very slowly (which I find hard to do), trying to make sure I hit all the notes correctly, simultaneously trying to work out the best fingerings for me. Then I gradually increase the speed until I’m almost at the right tempo. I don’t use the metronome as often as I should but I’m working on that. I review the music in my head when I’m not near the cello.

Josephine Reyes Mendhem, New Jersey

n When I want to learn a song on my ukulele I look for examples of the song on YouTube and iTunes. I listen until I know the melody. Then, I find the song in print, usually by Googling the name of the song + ukulele chords. Next, I look at the patterns of the chords, see what is repeated, and if I already know or use the chord patterns. If yes, then the song becomes easy.

I practice the chord changes and begin to play the song slowly and accurately.

I keep doing that, whenever I feel like it, until I find myself playing the song easily. It’s way more fun when I play the song with others.

Chuck Buchanan Santa Cruz, California n Primarily I study jazz with a private teacher, although my music of choice is classic rock, top 40, dance, etc. That is the music I play with my group. I trained on trumpet through college and learned to read music. So I mostly learn to play music by listening and making tabs over the lyrics. I wish I had devoted more time to learn theory in school, so that I wouldn’t be behind the curve learning it now. Even though it’s not critical to playing and having fun, it sure makes it nice when its time to grab the spotlight for a moment and let loose on a solo.

n First, I find a song I really want to learn! Then, I get the music somewhere.

I find it helps to have a recording to listen to. I practice just doing the chord changes. Next, I decide if I’m going to strum or fingerpick the song. Having done all this, I practice, practice, practice! Very reluctantly I use a metronome to make sure that I keep a steady rhythm.

And practice some more!

Mike Loisel Zachary, Louisiana

n The way I’ve learned music over the

Randy S. Reigel Mohnton, Pennsylvania

next to me to play it first.

years is by just sitting down with the CD and going over and over the song until I get it right.

Larry “Tubaman” Wingard Macungie, Pennsylvania

Rick Barth Budd Lake, New Jersey

n I get the smart music major playing

How did you get started making music?

Send your comments to Harmony@MakingMusicMag.com

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september/october september/october2009 2009

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Local Events FALL 2009 Semi-Finals FEBRUARY 2010 National Finals MARCH 2010 Join in the musical fun of the second annual Atelier Organ Fest and win a trip to compete in the National Finals in Los Angeles, CA.

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