5 Reasons to Choose a Good Music School over Private Tutoring

Dr. Robert Pace who was the leader of one of the most prestigious music teacher’s college during his time had done experiments to understand the advantages of ensemble learning for beginner students. Interestingly, he was a staunch believer in private format but he noticed an essential dynamic in the group format during his experiments which was absent from the private classes. After various observations, he finally concluded in a keyboard journal in 1978 that ensemble learning created better results for young learners.

Let us understand why beginners should avoid private music classes for better progress.

1. Expensive : Private lessons are expensive as most of tutors charge you per session. It can cost you around Rs.500 - 1000 per hour which can add to Rs 4000 -Rs 8000 a month. As beginners take longer time to grasp the basics, it eventually will burn a hole in your pocket. You might not be able to afford that every month.

2. Repertoire of Teacher : You are basically depending on the knowledge of one individual which may just be his/her perspective. In a good institution, a teacher goes through various training and builds a wider perspective of learning and teaching music. A private tutor, although a great musician may not be a good teacher whereas in institutions, they are trained to handle a class and different kind of students.

3. Limited Time Resources : A private tutor can find it hard to be flexible with timings and students may miss out on gradual progressive learning which is very important to build on their basics as initial training requires a lot of dedicated and structured practice sessions. If the private tutor is charging you monthly, they may be very hesitant to extend the month or take an extra session if you miss a class.

4. Unstructured Lessons : Although private classes can be tailored according to the want of a student, for instance a focus on playing songs instead of learning the techniques and concepts before learning a song by heart. It will also lead to unstructured relaying of information. There should always be a planned, structured and gradual progress to every lesson, otherwise students tend to not understand the complex information later on in their learning process. Without learning the techniques, concepts and theory behind a song, students will be unable to progress beyond a point.

5. No Class-Engagement : One on one sessions can be pretty daunting, sometimes too monotonous and the student end up feeling bored in the class which is a very bad sign when learning music. Music should be fun, interactive and engaging. Students learning through private tutor can end up shy and reluctant to play in front of others as they get no exposure to the social and interactive dynamics of a group class. Social interaction when learning encourages more practice, positive competition among peers and actual understanding of what playing music stands for. For instance, you can compare this to sending a child to school vs home tutoring - social interaction and learning from peers is a key factor.

Good Music Schools have dedicated teams who is focused on providing the best quality music education to young and new learners with a professional, well-planned and a structured curriculum that ensures that the student enjoy the process of learning their music while learning all the essential elements of music. With the right guidance and an intelligently designed curriculum, a generation of young musicians can be inspired to connect with music and understand music in most meaningful, engaging and enjoying ways.

BlueTimbre is a Music Company with Music Education spaces, Jam Room and Recording studio located in Whitefield, Bangalore, India. BlueTimbre provides complete end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running structured businesses, music curriculum development, music education and performance.

References:

1. https://blog.tutorhub.com/2013/11/22/private-tutoring-the-pros-and-cons-of-getting-extra-help/amp-on/
2. http://www.onestopenglish.com/business/teaching-approaches/teaching-one-to-one/methodology/one-to-one-methodology-advantages-and-disadvantages-for-students/144655.article
3. https://www.merriammusic.com/teachers/private/private-vs-group/

6 Tips for Effective Drum Practice

As teachers, we often find that although students say that they are practicing regularly, it doesn't reflect in class. It is because sadly most people do not know how to practice. 

Some of reason lies in the fact that there is too much information online and that can confuse students. So in this article, we want to share with you our top 6 tips for practicing the drums:

1. Always Go Into A Practice Routine With A Plan

Before you sit down at your drums, plan out exactly what you are going to do. If you want to just play around for a bit, then at least plan that (not what you’re going to do, but the fact that you’re just going to experiment for awhile). The point of this isn’t to make your practice routine ultra rigid, and you can still be spontaneous if you’re feeling inspired, but you need to be more intentional with what you want to accomplish with your time spent behind the kit.

2. Pay attention to posture 

Good posture is critical when practicing drums. That’s because posture plays an essential role in building physical habits, which can make or break your ability to play by affecting your speed, control, power, and overall technique. Since the body posture you adopt when practicing will become  like second nature over time, you need to pay attention to your posture from the very beginning. In addition, specialists advise drummers to warm up their muscles before a drum practice session if they want to gain speed and endurance.

3. Use a metronome

Since a metronome emphasizes rhythm problems, using this tool may be discouraging, especially in the beginning. However, it’s the only way to improve your timing and help you stay in control of your playing. If you continue to practice with a metronome, you’ll be able to develop a solid groove and play the drums like a pro.

4. Have A Balance Of Technique And Musicality Practicing technique won’t make you a better musician. Playing music will make you a better musician. Technique is easy and fun to practice because it’s quantifiable, but it’s not the end all be all with drumming. No musical director cares how fast you can play, or how good your medium full stroke roll is. So try to balance your practice between technique and musicality.

5. Practice Drums Every Day

Whether you are active listening to music, tapping on your legs, or just playing on the practice pad – do something every day. Even if it’s just 10 minutes each time, it’s better than nothing. There are no excuses for not practicing. Don’t get into the mindset that the ‘stars have to be aligned’ for you to practice on the kit. Just do something.

6. Have Fun

Practicing with attention is very important, but don’t forget to have fun while you’re at it! Play what you love to play and practice exactly what you want to practice. This way, you’ll learn new techniques, develop excellent drumming skills, and become a pro without even realizing it.

Drums is a fantastic instrument and is a great way to express yourself. We hope these tips will help you play your music, your way and help you get the best out of your practice sessions.

BlueTimbre is a Music Company with Music Education spaces, Jam Room and Recording studio located in India. BlueTimbre provides complete end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running structured businesses, music curriculum development, music education and performance.

Source: 

http://www.drumeo.com/blog/5-tips-to-practice-drums/
http://takelessons.com/blog/8-tips-for-drum-practice

How Children Benefit from Music Education in Schools

Research tells us children who play music do better in school and in life. Yet, there is so much debate about whether arts should be included in schools. The arts in education campaign has been ongoing for some years now and will always be a controversial topic for many. Should we or should we not provide our students with an opportunity to explore the arts in school? Should we include the arts in the school day or make them extracurricular? Should we incorporate arts education lessons and activities in the general classroom? Will the arts have a great effect on academic excellence? 

These are all questions that have crossed several great minds in the past, but the real question I have is, "why the controversy?" After all of the scientific research that has been collected, is it not proof enough that the arts and music in the classroom has a tremendous effect on world-wide academic achievement and cultural value?

Here is a list of the 5 most important reasons why music education is so beneficial to our students:

1. A Music Education program provides an aesthetic experience for its students. Often times, students will utilize music as an outlet for expression that is sometimes unavailable to them in other academic areas.
2. Musical experiences will provide the students with opportunities for emotional response, which often encourages the cognitive processes.
3. Music Education instills “life values" in students. Some of these include; discipline, cooperation, social skills, and building good character. Knowledge of music technology, music history, music theory, and music culture will reinforce knowledge in other academic subjects as well.
4. Music will often create a sense of school spirit, which will in turn provide the students with a sense of self-worth which will almost always reflect a positive attitude.
5. A good Music program will aid any school district in the direction to obtain the highest level of achievement and excellence deemed possible.

So don't compromise, ensure your child has access to quality Music Education in school. Ensure you child is learning music correctly - learning the language of music, reading and writing music, techniques of the instrument chosen and finally the ability to perform using the skills learnt in the music class.

BlueTimbre is a Music Company with Music Education spaces, Jam Room and Recording studio located in India. BlueTimbre provides complete end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running structured businesses, music curriculum development, music education and performance.

Sources:

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-elementary-school/11235-importance-of-music-education/?platform=hootsuite

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2017/04/arts_education_research.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news3

https://www.nammfoundation.org/articles/2014-06-09/how-children-benefit-music-education-schools

Why it is Important to Exercise your Voice before Singing

Exercises Help Maintain Your Voice

Do you check the oil and water in your car before taking a long journey? The oil and water help to cool the engine and keeps it in good working order. Singing vocal exercises are as important as the performance itself, if not more so, as the preparation will determine the outcome of the show.

Exercises Help Recover From Sleep

After sleep our voice has not been used for hours.  All kind of mucus builds inside our mouths and nasal when we are asleep, and this reduces the quality of our vocal chords considerably.  Singing exercises make your lungs stronger while building stamina so that you can sing for longer periods without feeling exhausted. 

 

Exercises Help Reduce Vocal Damage

You don’t want to put a strain on your vocal chords because you failed to loosen up the muscles.  Exercise requires oxygen intake, which in turn stimulates the production of the body’s own mood-lifting endorphin's. So ultimately, singing these exercises should benefit you mentally as well as vocally.

Conclusion

So overall make sure that the voice is maintained regularly and drink plenty of fluid while trying to avoid sugary drinks.  Never go on stage without going through a proper vocal warm up routine and by following these advice your voice will not only get stronger but perform well.

BlueTimbre is a Music hub with Music Education spaces, Jam Room and Recording studio located in India. BlueTimbre provides complete end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. BlueTimbre management team comes with a decades of cumulative experience in running structured businesses, music curriculum development, music education and performance.

Sources:

http://borntosingmusic.com/singing-vocal-exercises/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F15-PVberTs 

Top 5 Most Important Scales for Guitar players

As an aspiring guitarist, you often hear about the importance of scales and why you need to practice them. However, not everyone knows which scales are the most important scales and why they are so.

Scales are the foundation of riffs, melodies, chords, solos, improvisation and much much more. Although playing the rhythm guitar can be fun, if you want to try something different with your music, incorporating scales is a great variant.

In this article, we attempt to explain the importance of 5 scales on the guitar and why we think they are important.

1.    The Major Scale - The major scale is heavily used in a number of ways. The chords formed from the major scale are commonly used to form chord progressions, and there is also a lot of theory on how to form harmonies with this scale. Additionally, this scale is used to form modes which are also commonly used. If you have ever learnt solfège, you will know “Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do” – this is a major scale.

2.    The Minor Scale – The minor scale is another diatonic scale. While the major scale sounds happy and it resolves. The minor scale is kind of the opposite – it sounds, sad, dark and sort of incomplete.

3.    The Major Pentatonic Scale – “Penta” means five and hence, the pentatonic scale is made up of five notes. In other words : it is a major scale without the 4th and the 7th note. This eliminates the two semitones present in the major scale. (In the C scale between E and F, and between B and C.)

4.    The Minor Pentatonic Scale – A minor pentatonic scale consists of 5 different notes. They are the same 5 notes as the major pentatonic scale, but the tonic of the scale is a different note. The tonic of the minor pentatonic scale is the note (3 semitones) below the tonic of the major pentatonic scale.

5.    The Blues Scale - Once you learn the minor pentatonic scale, it should be relatively easy to learn the blues scale as it is essentially the same with one additional note (a flattened 5th). As the name suggests, the scale is used heavily in blues but is also used in rock and jazz based styles a lot too. Soloing over the blues using this scale is relatively easy to get the basics of, but you could spend a life time honing the subtle nuances of the style, such as the feel of the bends, the vibratos and the timing of your phrases.

One you understand these scales, you need to practice regularly in order to master them. You need to learn to play the scales in both ascending and descending order – this will help ingrain the position as well as the sound of the scale in your memory.

You should then begin spending time experimenting with the scales to try and come up with phrases and melodies using the notes of the various scales. You can then move onto experimenting with scales over backing tracks that you can find online. Choose the pitch and tempo and then jam away! As you do this regularly, you will become familiar with the scales and playing the scales will become a very natural process.

BlueTimbre is a Music hub with Music Education spaces, Jam Room and Recording studio located in India. BlueTimbre provides complete end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. BlueTimbre works with schools providing complete Music Education solutions on campus. BlueTimbre management team comes with a decades of cumulative experience in running structured businesses, music curriculum development, music education and performance.

Sources:

https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/5-important-guitar-scales-youll-definitely-want-to-learn/

http://www.guitarhabits.com/top-10-most-important-scales-for-guitar/

http://www.guitarorb.com/guitar-scales/

www.jazclass.aust.com/scales/scablu.htm