More Than An Elective: Why Music Education Is Essential

With budget cuts, a changing curriculum and myriad other factors playing into the modern school day, it may come as no surprise that courses in music, art, vocational trades and more are often on the chopping block, considered as electives that are not paramount to student success.

As musicians and music lovers ourselves, we understand this to be fundamentally wrong. Rather, music education extends outside of the classroom and can positively affect lives long after the school bell rings and it’s time for dismissal. Even if your child isn’t the next Sting or has zero interest in pursuing music as a hobby or career, there are reasons why attendance in these courses should be required, considered just as vital to a well-rounded education as math, science or reading. Let’s take a look at a few top reasons why.

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How To Read Piano Notes And Keys - Visual Teaching Material For Piano Teachers

Sight reading plays a huge role in instrument learning, not just piano. 

And yes, most beginners hesitate and neglect in sight reading because it requires left brain functions: memorizing stuff and thinking logically.

That’s why I created a visual guide on how to read piano notes and keys. With friendly illustrations, it would help students acquire the information much faster, easier.

Below is the summary infographic for the guide. You can click here to learn more about the original guide with two different approaches to learn the pitch names: Left-brained and right-brained.

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Is Formal Education Important For Musicians

The issue of whether musicians should pursue formal education or remain self-taught is causing heated debate in recent days. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, therefore, as a musician, do not be pushed by what people are saying. It’s important that you do your due diligence, weigh the pros and cons of going to college then make your decision yourself.

According to some self-taught individuals in the music industry who range from singers to guitarists and producers, being self-taught gives you the opportunity to be adventurous and therefore, more creative. They are not limited by any guidelines unlike those that went to college. In music schools, people are taught the same things which just gets them set on the same ground and mostly tend to release the same kind of music. That sounds boring, doesn’t it? There is hope though, since the making of music does not only depend on one factor and formal education might be more helpful than you thought.

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Making Sense Of A Song By Richard Strauss Via Botany

Guest post by Erica Ann Sipes. This article originally appeared on Soundfly’s Flypaper

Yes, you read that correctly. In the course of this one blog post, I am going to attempt to use a brief study in botany to unravel an issue I am having in the accompaniment to a song by Richard Strauss.

Ready?

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Why Everyone Should Try An Instrument At Least Once

But I kept that old bass guitar and every once in a while, I get it out of its case. I strum my fingers across its strings and our two children cover their ears in mortification. I’ll never regret my time spent dabbling in music, primarily for what it taught me about my family, myself, and the real world.

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Master The Fundamentals Of Mixing With Top Sound Engineers

The Soundfly team is really excited to announce the arrival of our most ambitious course to date: Faders Up: Modern Mix Techniques. This course features interviews with nine of the top sound engineers working today, teaching the ins and outs of creating top-quality DIY mixes of your music — engineers who’ve worked with the likes of Beyoncé, D’Angelo, Solange, Sia, Mark Ronson, the New York Philharmonic, the Dirty Projectors, and tons more!

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How After-School Music Programs Help Keep Kids Out Of Trouble

Quality afterschool programs, particularly music programs, are on the rise. Parents and teachers who traditionally thought that academics was the most essential part of a school program now appreciate that learners need to develop emotionally and socially, just in the same way they grow academically. Different credible studies have shown that when school-going kids take part in singing or dancing after school, their chances of landing in trouble are significantly reduced. On top of that, the kids can develop positive attitudes towards academics, and as a consequence of it, their school performance relatively goes up.

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The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Guitar Terms

There are a slew of guitar terms to learn when you’re just beginning. If you want to be a successful player you need to learn chords and strumming techniques but also terminology. This is a complete list of guitar terms to get you started!

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The Definitive Guide To How Much Practice Is The Right Amount

 The music world lives by the phrase “practice makes perfect,” but what makes the perfect amount of practice?

The path to musical expertise is a bumpy one, and practice is hailed as the golden ticket to success. When you’re aspiring to become an expert musician, it’s easy to feel like Goldilocks, struggling to find the sweet spot for your practice routine.

Malcolm Gladwell popularized the “10,000-hour rule,” based on Dr. K. Anders Ericsson’s research on expert performance, asserting that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master any skill.

This claim is famous, but is it accurate? How do you define too little practice? Is there such a thing as too much practice?

Read on for how researchers, musicians, and even doctors respond to these questions.

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5 False Claims About The Music Industry That Hurt Your Music Career

Want to grow a successful career in music much more quickly? Don’t accept these false claims about the music business:

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7 Ways To Keep Yourself Interested In Practice

I’m a huge advocate for practicing your instrument. And as someone who loves practicing, I am well aware that keeping a regular practice schedule is exceedingly difficult.

It’s so easy for the business side of music to take priority over your practice, because frankly the practice always seems like it can wait and some other things simply can’t. It further complicates things when you have a job, if you’re on the road, or occasionally have to deal with, you know, life!

That being said, I am a big believer in regular practice because I think it has real benefits for your music career and your mental health.

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Music Education: Why It Is Important To The Industry

Music is a product of many factors. The more avenues an artist can draw upon, the more original their music will tend to sound. For many aspiring musicians, there exists a notion that being self-taught, often in a rather unorthodox fashion, is what being a successful musician is all about. Although it is true that some rare musicians will thrive with this philosophy, the reality is that these individuals are quite rare.

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Bad Students: Do They Make The Best Stars?

Why is it  that so many of the successful artists see to be loud, outspoken, rebellious people when it’s this same kind of attitude that gets students kicked out of school? That somehow breaking the rules leads to more success than sticking to them.

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