In the process of learning any musical instrument, you may have come across the concept of "intervals", and wondered what they are and why they are important. The fact is that intervals are a big part of the basis needed to understand music theory and train your ear as a musician. I will explain what intervals are, why they are helpful for understanding music theory, and how you can use them to level up as a musician.
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One thing that has intrigued me as I began to learn fiddle and bluegrass music, was where it came from. It seems inevitable that while learning traditional styles of music, people tell the stories of the history of the tunes, who wrote them, and how they learned them. From there, I have pieced together some knowledge of the history of bluegrass music and how it came to be.
When you decide to delve into the world of music, and learn to play an instrument, you are immediately bombarded with a plethora of choices. What style to learn, what instrument to learn, how to learn, and more. Today I will talk about how I chose the violin, and the thought process to go through when trying to choose an instrument and how to start your journey as a musician!
As a musician, I have had the privilege of playing music with, and for, many amazing and interesting people. Along with that privilege, comes some funny and weird stories of situations that have happened upon me on my journeys. In this series, I plan to tell little anecdotes of adventures from my life as a musician.
Most of the time, when someone starts playing an instrument, they have some kind of goal in mind. It could be to enjoy playing music with other people, to enrich education, or to become professional. Since everyone learns skills and absorbs information at different rates, it can be difficult to really know if you are improving. When working towards a musical goal, one important skill to develop is being able to see your own development, because this will trigger motivation to keep learning and growing as a musician. Here are some ways to help see your own improvement over time.
When I was nine years old, I started playing the violin. I took lessons at my elementary school with a wonderful teacher, and then joined my school's orchestra. When I was fourteen, I started taking private lessons at a local music shop, and that's when my musical interests shifted from classical violin to various types of traditional music.
The Circle Of Fifths is one of the most fundamental of music theory concepts that is necessary to understand as a musician. That being said, it is infamous for being confusing and difficult to understand for beginner musicians. Here is a quick explanation to help you get a better grasp on the circle of fifths.
The Circle Of Fifths is used to help us, as musicians, understand what notes to group together into keys, and how each of those keys relate to each other. On the outside of the circle, we write major keys, and on the inside of the circle, are the relative minor keys. Many people have the opportunity to take music lessons as very young children, as young as 3 or 4 years old. The reason is usually something to do with the child's parents believing that it will make their child smarter or more talented as they grow up. There are also lots of people who grow up without any music education, and decide later in adulthood that they want to learn to play an instrument. Although people can and do pick up instruments for many reasons, in various stages of life, the question that seems to be on everyone's mind is: is there a BEST age to start playing music?
When I was fifteen years old, I went to my first bluegrass camp, Delfest Academy. Up until that point, I had never participated in a jam session, nor had I considered what it would be like. I was quickly encouraged by a nice group of really good musicians to play with them in their jam, and I was nervous to say the least. Although I had learned the melody of lots of different fiddle tunes, I had never attempted to play backup for someone, and I didn't understand the concept of chords at all.
Bluegrass music originated in the southern United States, and because of that many folks from the US find that it's a strong part of our identity. However, the music has also found it's way all over the world, and mixed and collaborated with other cultures and traditional music styles. To me, this embodies the true spirit of the music, and music in general. Today I'm going to highlight some bluegrass bands from around the world, who have either studied the music and fully embraced it, or have mixed it with other types of music and formed something totally new. Some of these bands are currently playing together, while others don't exist any more, but they all had a unique impact on bluegrass music as a genre.
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Alani SugarAlani Sugar is a young fiddle and mandolin player from Maryland. She has been involved in the region's music scene since she was 15 years old, and has the attention of musicians and music lovers alike in the area. She currently works as a professional musician and teaches fiddle and mandolin lessons online via Skype Archives
January 2024
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