Alan Coady’s Musical Blog

This simple, interactive tiredness test might be an interesting thing for staff and pupils alike - courtesy of one of my favourite places to visit - The Wellcome Collection

When does school life end? Last formal lesson? Last exam? Last signature on leaving form? For many S6 pupils at North Berwick High School the leaving process began to register at the Spring Concert on Thursday 24^th April. This would be the last of many performances on the school stage and it was clearly an emotional experience for some. A tradition has become established in the school for the outgoing S6 to sing a song of thanks to the Music staff – having already showered us generously with gifts – and this year’s offering ensure us that they’d “always love music.” The following mp3 sketch will give you some idea of the variety on offer that evening – a variety all the more impressive when you consider that at least one S6 pupil took part in every item in this clip: NBHS Spring highlights

Many thanks to the makers of the open source program Audacity with which this clip was edited.

Today’s lunchtime Guitar Group rehearsal featured a short, slow introduction followed by a longer and much more upbeat section. Pupils had been encouraged to relax in the holidays and to refrain from practice in the hope of returning refreshed. So I wasn’t too disappointed to hear that the intro was a little rough round the edges (and in the middle to be honest). However, when the more rhythmic section kicked in, it sounded as though the group had tripled in size, confidence and joie de vivre. Put simply, teenagers appear not to be fond of slow music. The gaps make them uneasy and the reduced tempo, rather than relaxing them, can put them on edge. What to do? Should one, through increased hands-on exposure to slower tempi, cultivate their ability to rely on an internal, as opposed to audible, beat? Or, realising that they are giving up half of their lunch break*, choose items to which they will respond more readily – thereby increasing the chances of a spirited, successful concert item? Answers on a First Class postcard……

* for multi-instrumentalists, not the only time this will happen in the course of a week

Ewan has come up with an interesting invitaion to cite examples of inspirational talks, lectures etc on video. The background to the idea is an initiative at LTS to watch, reflect upon and discuss the content. Among others, Ewan cited Ken Robinson’s outstanding 2006 TED talk, “Do schools kill creativity?”

My own suggestion is Professor Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture” at Carnegie Mellon University in Sept 2007. The title of the lecture is, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” At 76 mins, brevity is not its forte, but I’d defy anyone to remain uninspired or unaffected by this. Like Ken Robinson’s talk, the subject matter is serious but the tone is extremely humorous.

It’s not really news, I know, but it’s always good to see reaffirmation of the benefits of exercise on learning and the brain - like the article in today’s Independent. One aspect I hadn’t seen articulated quite so directly concerns the role exercise plays in reducing aggression. Perhaps that explains why, almost without exception, martial artists seem to be amongst the least aggessive people around. Much of the article concerns the work of Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, John Ratey, author of a book entitled Spark and a related blog.

Of the three elements in music (melody, rhythm & harmony), the one which most colleagues confess they wish they understood better is harmony. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that they don’t understand the language but there’s a difference between knowing the language and being a poet. Analysing harmony is one thing, writing it is tougher and the ability to improvise it fetchingly (in any key) is relatively rare. What are the features that people would like effortlessly to include?

• Added notes - those outside the standard triad - and perhaps something a little more exciting than 7ths (0:42 and also at 1:02 - 1:20)
• well placed inversions -where the naming note of the chord is not always the lowest note - as this can sound a little lead-footed - (0:36 & 0:51)
• suspensions - where notes from the previous chord are allowed to stay on so that they clash with the notes of the following chord - (0:39)
• chords built over pedals - unchanging note - usually in the bass - which don’t sound simply lost or unimaginative (2:28 - 2:34)
• in short anything which adds colour to what might otherwise be a merely functional harmonisation

This clip demonstrates that kind of harmonic language. It’s of Chopin’s Etude Op 10 No 1. There are more professional performances of this on YouTube but many are so fast that the detail is lost. This one, although not entirely error-free, does have a certain tenderness about it.

The other thing many music-teaching colleagues confess is that they wish they could access YouTube in class for illustrative purposes such as this.

By the way, did you know that Chopin had a connection with Mid Calder?

One of the more interesting features to emerge from the New Scientist (NS) special The Roots of Music was an article on amusia. Like many people, I had imagined this simply to mean the inability to carry a tune or to perceive changes in pitch and rhythm. However, researching further in a listen again edition of BBC Radio 4’s Frontiers I began to appreciate how annoying the omnipresence of music in our society might be for sufferers. What, to the majority, must seem like easily filterable background music in pubs, shops etc. must constitute little more than an irritating clatter - perhaps something like trying to think or have a conversation in a noisy hotel kitchen.

It is thought that around 4% of the population are amusic. This could amount to more than 50 people in a large school - perhaps some on the staff - perhaps some in the Music Department

At the bottom of the NS article was an invitation to take part in an online test. Why not log on and try for yourself? It consists of listening to two playings of short tunes and deciding if they were the same or different. I was interested in taking part see whether it might be possible to simulate what it must be like for the P5 pupils who undergo an aural test at the start of each session.*

However, I quickly found my lengthy experience of processing music made it impossible for me to hear the tests in the same way that a beginner or an amusic person might. I realised that just a few notes into the first playing of each test I was unconsciously encoding the sounds - specifically the tonality (key) and metre (pulse and rhythmic groupings). This gave me something more concrete with which to compare the second playing. However, there were a couple of examples which were sufficiently up-tempo, irregular and lengthy to feel quite challenging.

I’ve often been struck by this educational paradox - the more proficient you become in your chosen field, the more difficult it becomes truly to appreciate what those who struggle with it really feel.

* In August of 2006 I wrote 5 posts on the testing process for instrumental instruction: 1   2   3   4   5

One of the pieces the East Lothian Guitar Ensemble is preparing for the Showcase Concert (7.30 on Fri 7 March in Musselburgh Grammar School) is a mambo tune called Ran Kan Kán. Rhythmically, the piece should be a nightmare, but the pupils have taken to the piece very well. I was looking for a performance on YouTube to give them more of an idea of the feel of the music, when I came upon this extraordinary performance. Many in the group are dancers and should enjoy this:

Midi files of Air (for Showcase Concert) have been replaced by ones without a click-track - to encourage you to feel the pulse by focussing on the other parts. You can access them here

One of the original intentions when beginning this blog was to upload resources which might be useful to others. As time went by I became engrossed in other aspects e.g. Guitar Group Midis or Pupil Performance mp3s and, to be honest, forgot about this intention. So I’ve attached a couple of pdf variations on some right hand exercises for finger-style guitar. The intention of both is the same - to measure the distance between strings by feeling the distance between thumb and fingers. The important thing is to use feeling rather than looking. What one is feeling for is, as far as I know, called radial abduction. 

Right Hand Exercises - No. 1          Right Hand Exercises - No. 2

N.B. the descriptions of Moving Bass Note - Stationary Top Note etc. apply within the confines of one bar.