Here we can all be heard for a little while. Part 3

jobbingmusician

Pyxis wrote: »

Recently I've had to notate the music for a duet, for which I only had the parts recorded, and I found it difficult deciding whether to make accidentals be sharps or flats. I decided on sharps, as the key was A major, but some of them look a bit odd.
Well, it's done now and photocopied and I'm not doing it again! It took ages!

Actually I've just read what you wrote again and don't think you need chromatic notation for this. Easiest way is to work backwards from the cadences - decide what key the cadence is in, and either change the key sig (esp if you have several cadences in the [implied] new key) or decide this is your key at that time so the music should be notated to lead people to this key. This is actually the musically correct way as I'm sure you already know that in just intonation the leading note is always sharper than usual, for example.

tea_lover

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Can't you learn pieces of music to help you with intervals? I used to use 'Z cars' (REALLY dates me!) for 1,3 5. But singing up an arpeggio works just as well. A perfect 4th is Away in a Manger......

Ah yes, but then this becomes the issue.....

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Yes, this is the reason I would criticise aural exams - controlling one's voice to produce the pitch needed is a separate skill and one some quite good musicians can't do.

:rotfl::rotfl:

whitewing

We peeled woodchip off the ceiling recently and ended up having to replace 2 ceilings. (Which was good in a way as the job has been done properly). So ensure that you allow extra time for as-yet-unknown issues.

I don't know anything about music so I have my fingers in my ears and am going La la la la.

onomatopoeia99

I'm definitely not planning to take any exams! Me attempting to sing anything would be a disaster, I know I'm a variable number of semitones flat, but can't hear it. Variable, as in if I try to sing along to something, I'm always out of tune but not always by the same amount :rotfl: Though strangely, if I whistle that is in tune apparently.


Having removed woodchip from three rooms in my house (two if which had it on the ceiling as well), I really need to work myself up to tackling more, which is why I'm not even attempting it this time.

Wellyboots6

Wow music theory seems a lot harder than I remember it!! I used to hate the singing at the examiner bit, and conveniently got tonsillitis before each exam!
I sight read now quite well, but play more by 'feel' than fact.

Couch to 10k is not going too well. Seem to be focusing too much on the couch element!

Pyxis

jobbingmusician wrote: »

T

G#, A (no natural sign needed), A#, B B#, C#, Cx (double sharp), D#, E, E#, F#, Fx, G#.

Sometimes this results in a scale with mixed sharps and flats.

So, why is it B# and not C, and why Cx and not D?


I know one thing I could ask you that I'd forgotten how to do in my song notation. If you have a double sharp accidental and then want the note to revert to a single sharp within the same bar, how do you write it?
Is it a natural next to a sharp?
And if so, is it still a natural next to a sharp even if that note is a already a sharp due to the key signature?

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Can't you learn pieces of music to help you with intervals? I used to use 'Z cars' (REALLY dates me!) for 1,3 5. But singing up an arpeggio works just as well. A perfect 4th is Away in a Manger.....

And if you have to descend a fourth, as oppose to going up a fourth, it's "Born Free!"

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Not sure how to advise you to listen for period, except to recommend that you try to focus on harmonic structure, but I can see that isn't that helpful a recommendation :rotfl:

Never had to do that!

whitewing wrote: »

.

I don't know anything about music so I have my fingers in my ears and am going La la la la.

Ah, but are you la-la-ing in tune? :rotfl:

Pyxis

tea_lover wrote: »

The aural parts of the practical are much more advanced than when I last did an exam. One of the scariest parts is being given a line of music to look at, they play the first note then you have to sight-sing the intervals to them. Just awful! I don't think I've managed to get an interval right !

Just downloaded this free app from the ABRSM site ....it's an interval trainer, and is for practising between lessons, not to replace lessons.

I must admit, I really need to brush up on intervals, to help my sight reading skills for singing, so I'm going to find it useful!

They have other apps for other aspects of the aural exams too, so go have a look!


http://gb.abrsm.org/en/exam-support/practice-tools-and-applications/aural-trainer/

tea_lover

Thanks Pyxis, I'll have another look. I'm not sure there's an android abrsm version, but there must be something similar.

Pyxis

tea_lover wrote: »

Thanks Pyxis, I'll have another look. I'm not sure there's an android abrsm version, but there must be something similar.

This is what they say......


"Is there a version available for Android devices?

We cannot, at this stage, confirm for definite when an Android release might be available or provide any further information about potential compatibility for specific devices."

It might be worth just going to the link and seeing if you can download it.

Pyxis

Lambyr wrote: »

I really have nothing to contribute to a music discussion but I am always super amazed, awed and ever so slightly jealous of Sharon den Adel from Within Temptation being able to sing the way she does without having any vocal training to do so. She's amazing.

That's ok! I'm super-amazed at your techie abilities!