Why is it that there are only 12 notes used in music? Why not 13 or 14? It comes from the circle of fifths. Much of Western music is built on the relationship between the tonic and the dominant. If we are to work out the dominant of each dominant […]
The pentatonic scale is often the first scale that beginner guitar students learn. This doesn’t always happen with other instruments and also these scales aren’t necessarily more important than major scales or minor scales. In this video, we look at what makes the pentatonic scale unique, and how it is […]
How long does it take to learn the guitar? Is it too late to learn the piano? In this video, I look at a better way of thinking about our musical development. Rather than judging ourselves for where we are at the moment, I use the example of a flower […]
What do all the letters, numbers, and symbols in chord symbols mean? How do we work out which notes to play? How are chords structured? What are chord symbols? If you’re a beginner guitarist, understanding complex chords can be quite challenging, but all chords are very simple when looked at […]
Why is it that classical guitar players need long nails? And how do they shape their nails in order to get the best possible sound? In this video, I explain why the finger movement in guitar playing requires us to have long nails and the importance of shaping and having […]
Why is that even after you’ve learned all the notes to a piece of music, it still doesn’t sound like you want it to? Music is made up of many different elements such as rhythm, dynamics, phrasing and tempo, but most of the time we only focus on one of […]
Does it matter which direction note stems are pointing? There are reasons why notes might point either up or down, and in this music theory lesson, we’ll explore the idea behind note stem direction. We will look at both single-line melodies and also polyphonic music with multiple voices or parts. […]
How can musicians use expressive markings such as tempo, dynamics and articulation to make the playing more expressive? Playing with feel and expression is one of the most important things for musicians. However, it can be very difficult to do when there are so many things to think about. What […]
