Purpose Music Class Spring 2020

In music a scale is a series of notes arranged by pitch.  You can have an ascending scale going up in pitch from its lowest note to its highest or a descending scale which goes from high to low. Different scales are given different names.  Your most recognisable scale would probably be the major scale which sounds like this.... Often singers will sing a major scale using solfege words; do, re, mi, fa, sol, la ti, do. Other common scales are your minor scales and pentatonic scales. You have likely heard musicians practicing their scales and may have done your share of scale practice as well but an important question to consider is why ?  What is the purpose of learning and practicing scales? To understand why we practice scales it is crucial to recognise that most of the time, in most songs, all or most of the notes will come from a single scale.  Thus, the musician who has practiced the scale on which a song is built will more easily be able to find the correct

For this week we are tackling the song In Bloom from Seattle rockers Nirvana. I'll break it down for guitar, bass and ukulele... Guitar Bass Riff A Verse Chorus Ukulele Intro: Bb-Gm-F-Ab Repeat Twice Bb-F#-Eb-B-A Also Repeat Twice First Verse Bb F# Eb B A Sell the kids for food Bb F# Eb B A Weather changes moods Bb F# Eb B A Spring is here again Bb F# Eb Reproductive glands B A Bb He's.... #Chorus Gm Bb Gm the one who likes all our pretty songs Bb Gm And he likes to sing along Bb Gm And he likes to shoot his gun C Eb But he knows not what it means C Eb Knows not what it means When I say

All right, it's time to get down to doing some choosing.  Our current song for working on with our virtual class is the Smash Mouth classic 'All Star' but "what about next week?" you ask.  Here are a few candidates... #1.      Lump by The Presidents of the United States of America This tune fills a lot of the requirements for a solid music class number; it is fun, it possesses a few challenges and it contains lyrics which really make you think. #2        Ho Hey by The Lumineers This one has a different feel from any song we've done in the past.   There is an interesting change in rhythm from the verse to chorus and it is a powerful piece of music. #3      Creep by Radiohead A classic which uses dynamics and incisive songwriting to get maximum millage out of a single chord progression #4      Legend of Zelda/ Overworld Theme It would be tricky to play the solo guitar version from this video but we could work up an arrangeme

        Good day music people!       This is a post to get everyone in the class started on the Shrek-fueled Smash Mouth hit 'All Star'.                Yes, we may have looked at this song earlier in a very basic way but here we are going to delve into the true fabric of the tune and learn the actual guitar, bass and ukulele parts from the original recording.       We will figure out scheduling for video classes very soon but this should get you going.... Guitar Verse Chorus Bridge 4th Verse Bass Verse Chorus Bridge Ukulele Verse Chorus Bridge