Category: Music Composition

beginner tutorial, Entrepreneur, learning environment, Music Composition, Music Lessons, music production, piano practice, piano teacher, singing lessons, Singing teacher, Uncategorized

Exploring music with Google.

lizteachespiano

As a musician and teacher, you’re always looking for new ways of exploring music. Looking for fun innovative tools to expand your musical lessons? Then Chrome Music Lab and experiment with google are for you!

What are they? 

Chrome Music Lab and Experiment with google are web-based platforms created by Google that provide a variety of experiments so you try exploring music in a visual and intuitive way.

They are very simple, visually engaging, and offer a range of features that appeal to both beginners and experienced musicians.

Here’s why I enjoy using Google experiments in my music lessons:

Easy to Use: The interface is user-friendly for both beginners and experienced musicians. Chrome Music Lab allows you to explore sound and rhythm without needing much music knowledge, making it ideal for young learners. While Experiment with Google is more experimental and less structured, I prefer the visuals and ideas, and it’s not significantly more complicated.

Fun and Creative: They encourage you to experiment and play with sound. Create melodies with “Song Maker” and explore the synthesizers in “Synthesizer AR”

Exploring Sound and Rhythm: The ability to experiment with rhythm, tempo, and pitch in real time helps develop an understanding of how music works. It’s like a virtual playground for musical creativity.

Accessible and Free: It’s  completely free and accessible through any web browser. You don’t need to download anything or set up an account to start creating. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to try making music on the go. I think it is particularly good if you demonstrate and discuss with your student whilst using it. My younger students need different activities in their workshop style lessons, and this is great for that. There is also a function to share your creation with most of the experiments. This means they can continue working on it at home, or share with friends and family what they did in music class!

Educational: Whether you’re just getting started with music or are an advanced learner, Chrome Music Lab and Expeiremtn with google offer great educational tools that can help explain musical concepts.

Some experiments to Explore:

  1. Song Maker: Create your own melodies by drawing and clicking on a grid. It’s a great tool to experiment with rhythm, pitch, and scale. You can even share your creations with others!
  2. Rhythm: This tool lets you experiment with rhythmic patterns. It’s a fantastic way for young musicians to develop their sense of rhythm and groove.
  3. blokdust – Build a visually engaging synthesizer.
  4. Yume- you alter the music in the world. Really pretty and great for students who like computer games

By diving into these experiments, you can gain fresh insights into music production, music theory or simply have fun discovering new musical concepts. And since it’s all web-based, you can use these tools anywhere, anytime, with just a browser.

Why Should Musicians, teachers and students Experiment?

It’s easy to get stuck in your creative process. Using tools like Chrome Music Lab and exploring other experiments with Google can help you think outside the box- For your own professional growth and for planning lessons. Keep in mind that they are activities, not lessons– it’s up to you to incorporate them into your lesson and work out how they will demonstrate aspects of music you want learnt. If incorporated creatively, you’ll be exposed to new methods of music that might inspire your next big project!

beginner tutorial, Music Composition, Music Lessons, music performance, music production, piano lessons, piano performance, piano practice, piano teacher, Uncategorized

Simple music composition: 4 useful chords for creativity!

lizteachespiano

When it comes to making music, sometimes all you need to begin for simple music composition are 4 chords to spark creativity and build something memorable. Here are four versatile chords, and the simple formula they follow.

A chord is a group of notes- to build a chord I would recommend starting with the Root (first), Third (3rd note) and Fifth (Dominant/ 5th note) in a scale. Music theory can seem very complicated, but once you know some building blocks, the more complex steps also follow the same logic.

C major piano scale

The starting scale. I call it this, because it is the first scale students will learn. The reason for this is :

a) It establishes middle C as the anchor for students to look for and recognise notes using C as a guide.

b) It is 12 o clock on the circle of 5ths- the Major scale with no sharps or flats.

For more on the Circle of 5ths , or more complex music theory, you can of course research. I’ve added a link to a website explaining in more detail, but there are many!

It is also extremely useful to find a music teacher who can guide you on what theory is useful to learn to begin with, and help you build up slowly. They can demonstrate the theory in practice.

The formula for 4 useful chords to know, using the scale of C major as the guide:

  1. C Major (I) The “Root” chord. C Major is often the starting point for many pieces and offers a sense of stability. Its bright sound makes it ideal for both happy and reflective moments in a song.
  2. A Minor (vi) A Minor is the relative minor of C Major, meaning it shares the same notes but has a more melancholic tone. The Minor Harmonic is more frequently used for popular music- the harmonic scale raises the 7th note- but we are getting a little too complicated for simple music composition! This chord brings emotional depth to your progressions and creates contrast.
  3. G Major (V) Known as the dominant chord. G Major has a strong, energetic pull towards resolving back to C Major. It provides a sense of tension that begs to be resolved, making it a perfect choice for building musical anticipation.
  4. F Major (IV) F Major gives your progression a smooth, uplifting feel. As the subdominant chord, it has a soft tension that leads naturally back to the tonic (C Major) or moves to the dominant (G Major), making it a staple in many iconic progressions.

Together, these four chords (C, Am, G, F) create a I-vi-V-IV progression, which is the foundation of countless hit songs.

In classical music this does not follow the rule of Cadences (Cadences don’t end on IV in classical music). However, in modern music it does happen. Think of ending on the IV as an interrupted cadence- the feeling of moving on going somewhere. More the end of a phrase than an official cadence.

Although I was classically trained, it is wise to learn different styles of music to help a variety of students achieve what they want to achieve. Some of my students want to learn music composition and popular music, so learning chord progressions such as these is useful for a well rounded music education. You can play around with these chords in a different order for more options as well.

They’re easy to play, but give endless ideas for crafting melodies, lyrics, and harmonies. Whether you’re writing pop, rock, or even more experimental genres, or looking for more classically structured lessons, please take a look at my music packages. If you’re local maybe try a trial lesson. Thanks for reading!