Blog

iSM

Tuesday:
Afternoon - Motueka

Wednesday:
School Hours - NCMA/My house in Stoke
After school - 3:30pm My house in Stoke

Thursday:
School Hours - NCMA/My house in Stoke
After school - 3:30pm My house in Stoke

Friday:
School Hours - NCMA/My house in Stoke

iSM

Hi all,

I will be returning to teaching next February! I am available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons.

I anticipate being in Motueka on Tuesdays, and Nelson/Richmond on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

As ever, please email katie@iscottmusic.nz with any questions.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Katie

iSM

Hi there, and thanks for your interest.

I am taking the first six months (at least) of 2021 off for maternity leave.

If you are interested in music lessons after that, please do get in touch and I'll let you know when I'm returning to teaching.

Happy Holidays!

Theory

Continuing in our vein of transcribing pitch, we move on to scales.

The major scale is a set of notes that sounds pleasing to our ears. It can be described as a series of tones and semitones (these are the gaps between the notes). To write this starting on C, we use the lines and spaces on the great staff.

To write it starting on other notes, we have to use sharps (#) and flats (b).

You Are What You Listen to

Listening to music is as important as practising it. As well as entertaining us, it inspires and relaxes us.

Here is a youtube clip of Valentina Lisitsa playing all 3 movements of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. It is quite long, so if you're pushed for time, listen to a bit then skip ahead to the faster parts.

Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash

Theory

Did you know that the white keys used to be black, and the black ones white?

Anyway, today, all the lines and spaces on The Great Staff correspond to a particular white key on a piano. To indicate a black key should be used, we us the sharp (#) (yes it looks very much like a hashtag, although is drawn with straight vertical lines and slanted horizontal ones) and flat (b), which is a squished little B.

Learn more over at pianonet.com.

You Are What You Listen to

Listening to music is as important as practising it. As well as entertaining us, it inspires and relaxes us.

Here is a youtube clip of Alison Balsom playing Hummel's Trumpet Concerto in E Major. If you have time, watch some of the recommended videos afterwards!

Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash

Theory

Did you know that music was originally written using only lines? Each note had its own line. Then they decided to use the spaces between them too.

Then they went a little further... check out the great staff here. 11 lines in total! So, to make it easier to read, we use five at a time.

The symbol on the left, or clef, tells us where on the great staff we are.

Happy Thursday!