Відео

Voters are us and we have ALL the responsibility for making the future livable. Including participating in and creating musical expression. That's our birthright. As much as talking. Yes, everyone should vote. I also think it's the very least we should do. We (in the U.S., anyway) don't really have a functioning democracy now, anyway. It is complicated. For sure, public education has been systematically dismantled. That is very bad. At the same time, culture has changed. We barely have a shared vocabulary of folk songs now. Lots of people never sing or move to music. Pop songs have generally become less harmonically sophisticated. At the same time, public music education tends to continue to teach the same kinds of things that *might've* worked 75 years ago, but only because people were hearing richer harmonies and singing more. There's some decent research on how to most effectively help people learn music. But it's a paradigm shift. Many teachers don't even know Music Learning Theory exists, let alone have the means to get themselves trained on it. Anyway, for my part, if you're interested in diving into the world of Tonal Pattern vocabulary and improvisation, my Genesis Course sample is here: mymusicgenesis.com/genesis-sample I wouldn't want to just complain about it without actually having something to offer...so there it is! Thanks for your comment.

That last sentence is exactly it. And maybe YOU are the creative medium. The piano is just a tool. A paintbrush. I've got some ideas and activities to make this work in my Genesis Sample course which is free, here: mymusicgenesis.com/genesis-sample Music lessons don't work when they're based on the structure and the rules. Those should come late in the process, if ever. Music lessons should be: Here are tools, create what only you can create. Thanks for your comment and for sharing your experience.

It really is! And why, in a multimillion dollar industry, should that be the case? (I think the answer is in my Piano lessons are doomed video)

Well, to whatever degree I can eliminate the "taken to task" feeling and nudge you completely to the "inspired" column, I would like to do that! Yeah, I know 40/40/20 has become a pretty popular approach in the last few years. But honestly I feel like it's just another way to NOT pay attention to the needs of the student in front of us. And it's a given that students aren't musically well-rounded. We are there to help them with that! Students learn what they're ready to learn, at their own pace. We provide a framework that invites them in to learn more, and to express themselves and create. Thanks for your comment. I will say that studying and implementing Music Learning Theory over the last 8 years has clarified these issues for me. It's a big set of ideas and I know it can be scary to dive in. It scared me for sure. But students are worth it. And what's even scarier to me is, what's preventing MLT ideas from spreading in the mainstream? (I think the answer to that is in the last couple of minutes in this video.) Good luck in your journey, and have fun! (As much as possible)

Thanks for that comment! Yes, these bite-sized chunks of lessons that talk about how easy and fun these little skills are really miss the point. It devalues music, and learning, and teaching. It's counterproductive. And yeah, knowing how to play is *barely* a beginning of knowing how to teach. Teaching skills require as much study as instrumental skills do in the first place. I think the question most teachers are asking is "What do I have to teach them?" When what they should be asking is "What are they ready to learn? And what do they have to know in order to be able to learn the next thing?" The way content is rewarded for instructing minutia of how to technically perform music is not what students need in order to continue on a path that works for a lifetime of musical growth and skilled expression.

Well my general message here is that something like that is not gonna help you make music. There IS a one-page "cheat sheet" in my Genesis Sample course. And a few Reference Guides in the full Genesis Course. But the idea there is that you're audiating those things. And it's only after you're audiating that something like that is going to be meaningful. There are great musicians who don't do a dedicated study of the theory. My thought is that if someone is ready to know the theory stuff, they won't need a cheat sheet. If they're not, the best thing they can do is play, and improvise with Rhythm and Tonal Patterns. The free Genesis Sample and the full Genesis Course include Tonal Patterns to audiate and improvise with. They're both available at mymusicgenesis.com

Eh people routinely graduate from conservatories absolutely clueless about really useful skills like improvisation. So I think conservatories should absolutely be teaching audiation. (Or even better, let's do better with training everyone in audiation skills long before conservatory.) It would be a lot more useful than all those recorder classes. As far as natural talent, aptitude is a more useful way to look at it. Everybody has music aptitudes. And there's no such thing as tone deafness. Only people with impoverished listening experience. (As audiation expert Ron Malanga put it.) Everyone can make music, in pretty much the same sense that everyone can talk. Not everyone is going to be James Earl Jones. But people learn to express themselves with language, and everyone can do the same with music.

Well, no kidding. Capitalism creates and exacerbates those.

Capitalism is a value.

@@Mashtag26 Why’d ya stop

HELL. YES. You had me at "this souring is a symptom of teaching people to accept a heavy amount of affliction from a very young age." Thank you for your comment. You worded this a lot more succinctly and pointedly than I did so I appreciate you taking the time to write and post. Incidentally I have a video half-written about the bragging rights v. artistry/fluency (and I would add flexibility) issue. I don't know if you've heard anything about Whole Beat Metronome Practice. But conservatory students are literally being taught that faithful adherence to a score means learning to play at speeds that are *literally* impossible. Listeners are taught to say "that's amazing" to performances that are not only too fast to understand, they're up to twice as fast as composers intended. Anyway, I hope to have that posted within a few weeks. As to everything else you said...I agree.

@@MyMusicGenesis I'm sorta on the outskirts of music, so when I saw the view count on your video I was a little surprised it got to me at all in the first place, but I'll check out WBMP. To me it sounds like yet another case of a worthwhile skill-building exercise taken to the freakish extreme and glorified since it's clear that it cannot be done without unfathomable grindy practice. A more widespread example is the spelling bee, which is cute and worthwhile competition at the school and county level, but is a clear waste of time at the national level, especially when far more enlightening academic competitions exist.

@@AppleheadIsCool I hereby pronounce you to be officially on the skirts of music. You're not the first to express surprise at my view count. I'm constantly dumbfounded at what gets views and what doesn't. It seems like any idea that should be a public good (audiation) is drowned out by content that makes somebody some money. It's a strange culture. I would have to intentionally teach worse to court views. And that's something I'm not constitutionally able to do. Although I can't really fault any other teachers for doing what they gotta do to make money, 'cause money's kind of necessary here. I guess there's no ethical consumption under capitalism, as they say. Well I'm glad the almighty algo connected us. Thanks!

The Hanon Trap is this: If you know how to play Hanon, you don't need to practice Hanon. If you don't know how to play Hanon, then practicing Hanon won't be helpful. It's not what's played, it's how you play it. That's why understanding the concepts in this video will help you with your technique more than Hanon will. Understanding audiation is the foundation for technical instruction that sticks. So make sure you watch the Audiation Lesson (Music Essentials 1). Technique is a means, not an end. One great way around the Hanon Trap is my Music Genesis Course which is available here: mymusicgenesis.com/genesis-course

That's a really interesting question! My hypothesis would be that singing is a little better! But actual research would be interesting. I whistle, too. What you say about your voice being awful really resonates with me. I feel that way too, sometimes. Really, this culture tends to be pretty ashamed of singing. And that's why I think it's so powerful and useful. It takes a lot of courage to love one's voice where it is *right now.* And I think finding that courage has unlimited side benefits to personal growth including in the realm of audiation. So this is not THE answer. It's just my thoughts. And I haven't heard you sing but I'd still like to say: your voice is frikkin awesome. Your voice is important, and powerful. Keep whistling too, though. I love whistling and hearing other people whistle!

@@MyMusicGenesis Thank you for reply. Guess I gotta try both for the best results. I can whistle high pitches but my voice is bassy, can't really get high enough. Guess Ill try to incorporate the voice for lower pitch melodies and whistle for the higher ones and make the synthesis of both. 2 birds with one stone. Thanks again, peace.

What about humming? Is that considered a type of singing and could that be used in place of singing?

@@dianegesik7456 As far as I know this is something that would have to be researched. My thought is: do more of what you like doing. If you like humming, by all means hum! I also think there are benefits to actually singing. I think it requires a certain amount of affirming and asserting oneself. Which can clarify music.

Thank you so much. Glad you're finding them useful! It's a real shame that many of the concepts presented here are reserved for "advanced" players and only heard in very expensive lessons. These are the tools that beginners need in order to be able to advance. I hope this video will put these ideas out there, empowering more students to look for this kind of understanding whether they're beginners or intermediate or advanced or whatever.

Thanks for the comment. It does make sense, and I appreciate it. I've got a lot of things I want to accomplish here. And when I figure out how to package it all, then I think more views will follow. But it's complex, so I'm giving myself time and grace. For one thing, I don't like capitalism. But it's what we have so I'm working with it. In that context, the teaching should be paid for. So most of the show don't tell content is in my paid course. The free stuff is what EVERY PIANO TEACHER on earth should know and be practicing. But that ain't the case. So as you've found, teaching a student *a piece* of music doesn't work. It's only from learning *music* that students can then gain the skills to play a particular piece or song or whatever. So teaching a song isn't my goal. My goal is teaching students to think music. I absolutely want to help individuals. But at this point, individuals are hopelessly screwed without a change in the *culture*. My in-person students experience this culture change in their lessons every week. So it easily becomes part of who they are over time. It's more difficult to translate in the popular online formats. But I do the best I can. I'm glad you had fun with Big Yellow Taxi. Thanks again for the comment! Robert

Please watch the Music Essentials playlist and your answer will be clear. ua-cam.com/play/PL5aMMt9jpeTxgaBVm5n0UawSz5t0v_U5U.html

@@luukschouten8293 you’re very welcome. Glad this helped!

@@daleburke1956 Except for the curling and diminished sensitivity on the tippy tips, I’d agree with you

Make sure you subscribe and ring the notification bell. That will make it easier to find my stuff. And I've got a few big video releases planned for the next few weeks...

I'm not sure! Sounds like that could be a personal preference. But one thing audiation can do is provide lots of pathways for you to further explore the question. Context is going to be the same for most Classical and most jazz. Is it Major, Minor, or something else? Is it Duple, Triple, or something else? I think there will be a lot of Tonal Pattern function similarities, too. ii V I progressions are certainly common in either. I've actually found that audiation supports noticing commonalities in these two genres. Where for a long time, prior to about 10 years ago, I had decided that they were just too different to compare.

It's not. It's 11 notes with a few that repeat. It just reminded me of my 12-tone piece.

@@camara1194 Andy’s a pretty swell dude!

As long as you understand that music has tonal content and rhythm content, and meaning of words is outside of that. You can sign up here to watch the rest of the lesson which would help: mymusicgenesis.com/music-essentials

Turns out they do make piano keyboards with smaller scale keys! Unfortunately they're cost prohibitive for individuals. But it would really be great if they were widely available! Normal pianos are kind of made for the biggest man-hands (which lots of people including me don't have).

Ehhhh there is the microkorg that’s fairly cheap but it has action/response/bounce from the unweighted keys feels…. Meh

Well, I think the emotional feelings are always going to be subjective. But when it comes to "feel" as in groove, or flow, in time, then yes that is something you can audiate.

Well, that gets you SO-LA and LA-SO, but there are 11 other sets!

​​@@MyMusicGenesisYes, true, but I would think that one would be able to identify the distance regardless of the context of scale position.

@@larryrapshaw8405 Which is fine for people who already know how to do it. But identifying theoretical concepts outside of musical context isn't an effective way for learners to learn. I'm not sure what you said is correct, either. Intervals sound/feel different depending on how they function in context. So I wouldn't be surprised if someone might easily recognize SO-LA as a Major 2nd, but might not have the same ease or accuracy with FI-SI (for example). Or even with SO-LA in Minor.

@@MyMusicGenesis I have students and other fellow musician friends. I will ask around. To me, a Major 2nd is easily recognizable no matter where it is. I could also think of interval in context as tho I am reading words and how the letters function within each word.

@@larryrapshaw8405 No, a Major 2nd is not easily recognizable no matter where it is. If it was, everybody who had intervals in class and lessons would know them. They do not. Students have to learn audiation skills before theoretical labels will stick.

Nice! Good to hear about such a useful concept being taught (and learned) more and more. Thanks!

Oh wow that’s amazing

My pleasure! Glad it resonated with you.

It's hard to condense into one comment. But I do have a video where I go into some more detail. Check it out: ua-cam.com/video/M-pgerOXEog/v-deo.html

Thank you, yes! It's the exhilarating aspect of active musicing with understanding. Which doesn't really carry over into the method books.

Not to get conspiratorial about it, but that's a great point. I graduated from one of the best music schools in the country (Eastman) and it wasn't until 20 years later that I learned about this. And it was a struggle to find the resources and pursue it. Something about this culture is inhibiting progress in the art of teaching (and in turn, learning), and I'm working on changing that pronto.

It IS weird! In that movement is vital for expression, including movement to produce tones with an instrument. And we live in a culture that is somewhat hostile to expression. So this is VERY weird! Expert music teachers to compose music to facilitate movement and rhythm learning. Generally speaking, though, it's the reverse. Movement *informs* the way we hear and respond to music. So it's the movement that precedes the composition. Maybe by many years. Some people learn rhythm at a very early age, and internalize that movement so it might not be apparent to others. But that shouldn't stop anyone at any age from using movement to learn rhythm. It's really the only way! I suspect Beethoven would just be happy for people to accurately play the rhythms he wrote. That's where teachers can strategically use movement activities to help students understand (audiate) Beethoven's rhythm vocabulary. And to help students make that vocabulary their own.

@@MyMusicGenesis , Robert, do you give private on-line lessons/consultations?

@@alexeykulikov2739 It's very difficult at this time. Between my in-person students in North Carolina, and managing the website and online course offerings, there's not a lot more of me left! But I'm happy to answer questions here. When/if the website starts taking care of itself, hopefully I'll have more time. Looking for that to happen hopefully in the new year. Thank you!

Your listening experience will serve you well! I'm not familiar with Terzian. I enjoy Rick's channel...not so sure about his theory teaching approach. I'm not familiar with Kent's book either. Yeah, the Real Book kind of requires a lot of hearing and playing skills to already be in place! Like audiation and keyboard geography skills. Luckily that's what my Genesis Course offers. You can check it out here: mymusicgenesis.com/genesis-course And happy birthday this month!

I appreciate that! I don't fully understand the cultural forces pushing against this idea. This works! But I was a teacher for 15 years before I learned about audiation myself. It shouldn't be so hard for teachers who want to teach well to learn the tools to do so. But this goes against the last 100 years of teaching tradition so I guess the algorithm doesn't know what to do with it. But that's changing. Too slow for my personal taste, but it's changing. Thanks again!

My pleasure!

Not to be pessimistic but it's even worse than that. There are plenty of *music teachers* that also need to learn this! We'll get there.

As far as I know lack of audiation is a big gap in Suzuki. Lots of imitation, which is great. But audiation doesn't stop there. Audiation means understanding patterns which facilitates creating with them. Which is why muscle memory is fairly useless! For one thing, I think it's good to remember the literal truth that muscles don't remember. Yes we might habituate to some movement patterns, but that's inimical to dynamically creating music. I'm not saying there's not a time and place to learn scales. I am saying that without audiation, that technical training isn't likely to stick. I also don't think it's helpful to think of sight singing as essentially audiation. A lot of different things going on there. I've got a whole lesson on Audiation in my (free) Music Essentials course here, check it out: mymusicgenesis.com/music-essentials I'm glad you stopped the lessons that weren't working and made your own path figuring stuff out and playing guitar! Since you're learning piano, you might also be interested in my Genesis Course available here: mymusicgenesis.com/genesis-course Thanks for your comment!