Tag Archives: teacher

Opening up an orchestra

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Last Sunday we had loads of fun at the first of the Auckland Philharmonia open days for 2012.

We were at the Bruce Mason Centre in Auckland and you would have found me in the “meet the composer” room. Loads of people came through and some came back three or four times as they had a new idea to add to our “Open Day” composition.

We talked about what composers do and how our ideas make it to the orchestra’s music stands. Many people had a go on Sibelius and were blown away at what it can do and what we could do with their musical ideas.

THIS SUNDAY we do it all again:

“Meet the APO and hear all the instruments, in a fun family day. Hear us rehearse and perform excerpts from Beethoven’s famous Fifth Symphony, join in activities to make simple percussion instruments, listen up close to individual players and hear the 200 strong chorus taking part in Sing with the APO. The orchestra and ensembles of APO musicians perform throughout the afternoon.”

TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, Manukau, free admission. Click here to find out more details.

Come down and say hi, I look forward to seeing you!

Working on workshops

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It has been an enjoyable start to the year presenting some workshops around Auckland.

“Sibelius in education” – professional development day

On Friday 24th February I had the first session at a professional development day for secondary music teachers. We looked at how to use Sibelius effectively in education and checked out all of the features that are going to help both them and students use the program to its potential. The next two sessions were by Philip Norman, looking at the life and music of Douglas Lilburn and a session on composition titled “Composition can’t be taught… but techniques to help it on its way can”.

“What’s new in Sibelius 7 and education feature supercharge” – Faculty of Education

On Wednesday 15th March I worked with the new music teacher graduates at Auckland University’s Faculty of Education. They had learnt Sibelius on version 6 so before they headed out in to the schools we looked at what was new and different in version 7 and also checked out a number of the fantastic education features that makes Sibelius a joy to use in the classroom.

The next composers… – secondary schools

I have also been working at two secondary schools with composition students. Developing their own compositions as well as workshops on string writing and developing an idea through a composition.

“Meet the composer!” - APO Open Day

On a related note, coming up this Sunday is the Auckland Philharmonia Open Day and you’ll find me in the “meet the composer” room. Find out what composers do and how our ideas make it to the orchestra’s music stands; try out the Sibelius notation software and add your ideas to our “Open Day” composition – see you there!

Photo courtesy of www.apo.co.nz.

iOS apps for music professionals

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iOS (iPad and iPhone) apps. They are often enough to quite simply blow your socks off! There is one for pretty much anything, especially with music. In June and September 2010 I wrote two posts titled “iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad apps for the music professional” – be sure to check out those posts here and here. Eighteen months on I think we should see what apps have stood the test of time and what the new ones are on the block.

As with the two posts from 2010, these are apps that (I hope) are genuinely useful to musicians, music teachers and other music professionals. Buckle yourself in, here we go!

RECORDING

FiRe 2 - the industry-leading field recorder was fantastic first time around, and now it is even better. It is not waiting for you to record your first album, but for basically everything else it has you sorted. It now has super easy editing tools, EQ, dynamic effects, dropbox integration and much more. I use it to record ideas, music lessons, workshops with performers, performances – a very fine app.

GarageBand - covers two bases. Firstly, you can record music either by playing on the device or recording from an external source, then even take it to GarageBand or Logic Pro to continue work if you wish. Secondly, you can perform on a variety of instruments (including strings now!) and even jam with your friends via bluetooth. Gone are the days when you would need an app for every instrument.

GENERAL TOOLS

Dr. Betotte TC - one of the few metronomes powered up for the music professional. Packed with features, including rhythmic divisions that have their own volume sliders, one click halftime feel, options for swing tempo, you can import your own audio samples and it can gradually step up and down. This is one of my absolute favourites.

Stay In Tune - is a wonderfully clean and versatile tuner – fantastic for all general tuning. It has a good range of instrument presets for noisy environments or unfamiliar instruments. I should also mention Cleartune which is incredibly precise – ideal for string or other orchestral instruments.

NumPad - if you only have a laptop or bluetooth keyboard, with this app you can add the keypad on to it. It took me a while to start using it, but it is actually really helpful. There are several keypad view options (to match your main keyboard) and there is no delay when in use. A lifesaver for those who usually use the keypad in Sibelius but then find themselves without it.

REFERENCE

Backline Calc - is a musical calculator and in my original post I said it was “perhaps the last app you would think about looking for, but once you have it you’ll realise how handy it is”. Perhaps I use it more for fascination rather than actual need but a very clever and interesting app.

Oxford Dictionary of Music - this well respected resource is a very nice app, essential for those who regularly reference terms and definitions. You may also be interested in the Oxford Companion to Music.

Guitar Toolkit - a very popular app for guitarists with some great tools. I want to specifically mention its incredible library of chords, scales and arpeggios (and with alternate tunings) for not just the guitar but also the 7-string and 12-string guitar, 4-string, 5-string and 6-string bass, banjo, mandolin, and ukulele. For someone who is far from being a natural guitarist but who has one, plus a mandolin and ukelele, it’s a very well used app.

TEACHING

Karajan® - a very helpful music and ear trainer from beginner to advanced levels. You can learn, practice and test intervals, chords, scales, pitch, tempo (bpm) and key signatures. Audio can be piano, guitar (nylon and steel string), bass and organ, so users can be in their comfort zone. Great for students developing their ear, and I am even partial to an exercise now and then!

Nota for iPhone (Nota for iPad) – where Karajan is for developing the ear, Nota is for developing the mind (theory, musical knowledge…). Explore notes, chords and scales on the piano or the extensive reference library covering articulation, accidentals, breaks, chords, clefs, dynamics, key signatures, lines, notes, note relationships, note durations and rests, repetition and codas and time signatures. I often set the quiz up for students if they are early for a lesson!

MSO Learn - many young musicians are curious about orchestras – what instruments play in them, how they work… MSO (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) Learn is a beautiful app which lets you explore the orchestra – the different instruments, where everybody sits and the specific music each section and instrument plays. For example, it plays a full orchestral piece and shows the full orchestra, click on the woodwind section and you’ll get a layout of woodwind instruments and just they will continue playing, then click on a specific instrument and just hear that instrument and an explanation of it. Such a wonderful resource.

BONUS

Avid Scorch (iPad only) – no longer do you need to take huge amounts of music around with you, store and read it all on your iPad. Even transpose it or view the score or different parts if you wish. If you’re interested in this, check out my recent blog on this topic.

SoundCloud - of course SoundCloud is a dream come true for many of us musicians, with the ability to safely store and share your music online. The latest version of their iOS app is quite special – with excellent functionality and beautiful interface. Have all of your music available for sharing while on the road or use it to push your music out elsewhere on the web.

There we have it – some of my most used and most helpful iOS music apps. Who knows what is coming next!

2011 through the eyes of a blog

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And just like that, another year is gone! Here is a look at my posts for the year.

The blogging year started in March with my favourite book arriving, “Behind Bars”, which I preordered in 2010. It is definitely the most used book on my shelf! I then talked about two approaching projects:

In April I introduced my new work, “blimp”, and reviewed two projects – a song I helped a friend create and my work at the BOP music school:

May was a busy month, so in June I talked about what I had been up to – writing 31 microscores and the premiere of “blimp”:

In July I posted the video I worked on with Sideways Productions:

In August and September I covered my involvement in the KBB Music Festival and some composition tutorials that I held in Kerikeri:

October was the kick off of the Rugby World Cup here in New Zealand, I talked about my involvement in the opening ceremony and also made a post about what exactly I do when “preparing music” and why you would need someone like me to do it:

December means Christmas and I posted some Christmas carols that I prepared for my students. I also composed a new “holiday” piece for my Christmas post:

Happy New Year everyone, bring on 2012!

Composition tutorials in Kerikeri

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I had the pleasure of going up to Kerikeri High School on the 22nd to 23rd of August to work with my good old mate (also the Head of Music) on some professional development and with the students – providing some composition tutorials.

DAY ONE
This was a teachers’ only day and the perfect opportunity to talk through the music equipment and classroom setup – focusing on how new technologies can be implemented in the department. We also spent some time working with Sibelius and seeing how effective it can be in education… one of my favorite things!

Kerikeri visit - photo 2

DAY TWO
Heralded the return of the students! I gave two one-hour talks on composition and another session where I went through many of the students’ compositions with them.

Kerikeri visit - photo 5

The focus of these talks was “back to basics” – how do you go about starting a composition and developing your ideas during it. We had fun looking at many different variation techniques and how they are used in different pieces of music. Most of the examples were from the 31 microscores I wrote during May this year.

It was a fantastic few days. Please contact me if you would like me to come to your school!

2010 through the eyes of a blog

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It is December 31 and I just wondered “what exactly has happened this year?”

So through the eyes of this blog, let’s have a look. We’ll start with January and the tail end of our South America trip, along with the workshopping and recording of my music in Brazil.

January 4th Leg Four – Argentina to Paraguay to Brazil
January 11th Leg Five – Rio de Janeiro to Paraty to Auckland
January 12th A day with Sphaera

After spending too many hours hunting down good repertoire for my school orchestras, in February I explored the efforts of conducting. I also set up my newsletter with MailChimp.

February 20th Conducting – 90% perspiration, 10% exhilaration
February 26th Automating the monthly issue

It was a plentiful month of posts in March, many on great discoveries I recently made but also highlighted a new piece, Picture for Emily, for my niece.

March 14th Sibelius First – if you’re so inclined
March 15th Moana Ataahua programme launched
March 16th Picture for Emily – aiming for the small market
March 16th Scoring Avatar
March 18th My indispensables
March 19th If Lake Taupo was a piece of music, what would it sound like?

In April it was all about preparing Moana Ataahua for its massive premiere at the ERUPT Lake Taupo Festival.

April 24th Moana Ataahua set to ERUPT in May (article from SOUNZ)
April 28th Moana Ataahua, the rehearsals begin

I explored digital music stands in May, how they compare and how I wanted one. Do I still want one now? That is another post!

May 15th Digital music stands, hook me up – Music Pad, Music Reader, eStand

I summed up the Moana Ataahua premiere in June and did a very popular post on music apps for your iOS devices.

June 1st Moana Ataahua, the premiere
June 2nd iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad apps for the music professional

It was great to see plenty of music getting performed through July.

July 12th Wild Daisies premiere
July 18th Breathe In, Breathe Out – a concert of overtures and finales
July 27th SoundCloud, move your music
July 29th Three pieces performed by Brazil’s Sphaera Ensemble

The Auckland schools orchestra festival happened in August, so did some pondering on music theory.

August 27th Sounds great! I want it, I want it now
August 30th KBB Music Festival 2010, thumbs up
August 31st Music theory, do we need it or not?

Spent a fantastic few days in Wellington in September recording Rakaia with the NZSO. Also, Rhian Sheehan’s amazing score for The Cult, which I helped out with, won best score!

September 9th More iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad apps for the music professional
September 20th The Cult wins at Qantas Film and Television Awards
September 23rd NZSO/SOUNZ Readings 2010

In November I did a three part post looking at music printing, engravers, copyists and how things are changing. I also hooked up Sibelius users with some great resources!

November 29th So, you’re a Sibelius user?
November 30th Music printing, a journey for engravers (part 1 of 3)
November 30th Music copying and confusion (part 2 of 3)
November 30th Changing times for music preparers (part 3 of 3)

As you would expect, I got festive in December but also looked at a new feature for sounz.org.nz.

December 7th A Christmas wish list for composer-musicians
December 24th SOUNZ moves forward, again
December 24th Merry Christmas and very best wishes for the New Year

Happy New Year everyone!!

So, you’re a Sibelius user?

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If you know what Sibelius is, then I’m sure you are a user and a lover. There are so many fantastic resources available – here is a checklist to make sure you are aware of each and every one of them.

Essential resources:

Ways to connect:

Ways to shop:

  • Avid store – purchase all versions of Sibelius and all other sibelius products
  • Computer Music NZ – New Zealand’s distributor of sibelius

A way to learn:

  • Whether you use Sibelius at home, school, university or in the studio, getting the most out of it is a never-ending journey. Whether you are just starting out or need to refine the skills you have already learnt, I can help. Find out more information here and then feel free to contact me at any time.

What have I missed? Got other resources to share? Leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list.

Music theory, do we need it or not?

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I have been thinking about music theory after working with some amazing instrumentalists, whose knowledge on the basics was very low. Of course, as a composer and copyist, I have music theory constantly shooting around my head, but it got me wondering, is it actually needed by a good musician?

Of course there are amazing professional musicians out there who can not read a note of music. There is also a whole new generation of producers and composers – who have been traditionally the theory superstars –  who do not need knowledge of the finer elements of music to put notes on paper. I’m not saying theory needs to be a foundation – unbounded creativity and following the ear in creating music should be paramount.

We learn to speak by ear as a child, then we go to school and we learn how to read and write. Then in later years we develop these skills further and it only increases our level of understanding and ability to communicate. The same goes for music, and with this in mind, the thought some have that knowledge of theory can restrict musical creativity is crazy.

Is being an absolute wizard of music theory going to make you a better musician? Put it this way, there are amazing musicians who severely lack good knowledge in music theory, but can get by just playing note after note. Little do they know what they’re missing! Similarly in creating a masterwork of your own at the piano, you can make something sound good but once you know what is happening musically, it suddenly comes alive and makes sense. To communicate effectively in music, whether it be via performing or writing, you need to have a good vocabulary in music. It is like English or any other language – speaking it is one thing, but once you are literate, it opens a whole new world of possibilities, allows you to actually understand what is happening, and allows you to express your musical ideas, and this, in turn, will dramatically accelerate your musical development.

So, instead of letting your students slip by, or being held back yourself, get up to play with music theory. You’ll be far better off for it. If you want to learn from me, here are the details.