Welcome to the Musicnotes Blog
Online Music lessons with an Instructor…effective?
Music lessons on Zoom with an instructor can be a highly effective way to learn and improve musical skills. With the rise of online learning platforms, many teachers have begun offering virtual lessons to students and the results have been overwhelmingly positive. One...
In person piano lessons vs On-line tutorials
Learning to play the piano is a rewarding and enjoyable experience, but the approach you take can make a big difference in the outcome. Learning with in-person lessons with a tutor or online tutorials such as those found on YouTube, both have their advantages but it's...
COUNT on knowing your INTERVALS
COUNT on knowing your INTERVALS Download for FREE. Students tend to have problems understanding how to identify the interval question on The Basic theory questions. The RCM Syllabus has renamed the theory exams to Levels, i.e. level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Only at...
You CAN Sight Read
A Time Limited FREE PDF! Why, you ask? I believe that anyone learning an instrument should KNOW how to read notes on a staff. At least the Treble Clef. If you understand some simple tricks then sight reading any piece WILL be that much simpler. Knowing how the...
Cool Rules to understanding Key Signatures.
COOL RULES...RULE FREE PDF Download this FREE PDF to understand Key Signatures. It's all about the power of 7. A key signature can only have a total of 7 sharps or 7 flats. So what are the opposites? We need to understand that C Major has NO sharps and NO flats in...
FREE PDF Jingle Bells
Are You Ready to Play a Christmas Song? Learn to play Jingle Bells with visual aids. This easy to read Christmas piece is a favourite amongst all students. Has it been overdone? Well, considering it was written in the autumn of 1857 under the title "One Horse Open...
How to READ the Bass clef easily
Isn't it easier to READ the Treble Clef? No. It's exactly the same thing. For piano players they HAVE to know the Bass clef, but learning it is actually EASIER. A full size piano is made up of 7 octaves, from C to B...(set of 2 and 3 black keys.) The 4th octave is...
CHURCH MODES with a FREE PDF
How do you FEEL about Church Modes. The time is here again...students preparing for a theory exam. One of the questions for Advanced (known as RCM Level 7) will be about identifying Church modes. The PDF is a quick glance on remembering the 7 modes. Ionian,...
Reading Treble Line Notes on a Staff
Did you know that a STAFF is the set of 5 horizontal lines and 4 spaces and represent a different pitch in music? Try this; lift up your right hand and angle it to the side so that your thumb is lower than your little finger. Your fingers now represent the 5 lines of...
Free Friday, Colouring Therapy
Colour Me PDF It's Friday, or maybe when you're reading this it's not. That's okay. Sometimes it doesn't matter what day it is, it's just ONE of those days. There has been a lot of talk about colouring (coloring...if you haven't booted the u) and the peace it...
How to read Music Notes
How Do I Read notes on a staff? Is this a familiar question? If it's just the treble clef, then that should be easy enough. BUT, when writing a theory exam you are required to know how to read BOTH the treble AND the bass clef. How about learning with a rhyme?...
How to Read the Bass Clef
Are you a guitar student, or a violin student? Are you a student that doesn't need to learn how to read the Bass clef because your instrument doesn't require it? Well that's great, but if you are writing a RCM theory exam then guess what...you have to know how to...
Level 4 B Minor Scales
Are you a visual learner? Visual learners use pictures, colour and maps to organize information. You can easily visualize objects and plans and can anticipate how an event may turn out with your mind's eye. Visual learning is one of the techniques in learning....
Mapping to Sight Read
EVERY note has a home. Some students have a hard time playing a new piece on sight. Many focus on the note they are playing and fail to look ahead. Students also keep their fingers closed up instead of opening up to hover over the keyboard. How do we learn to read?...
I Can Chord Hallelujah
I can Chord with 'What Are Keyboard Tabs.' This 27 page method has students chording like a guitarist. In keyboard style the piano tab is shown as a piano player would see it. Most students want to learn to chord but can't seem to figure out what position to hold...
How to Draw The Treble Clef
Free 2 worksheets, excerpt from Preparatory Rudiments It's no trouble to draw the Treble. Many students tend to have trouble drawing this clef correctly. That's because it needs a little practice. The downloadable worksheets will help with that. A clef is a sign...
The Staff and the Musical Alphabet
One of the first things that may be taught in a lesson is the musical alphabet. A B C D E F G. That's it! Music uses Staff paper for their written word. So how do you teach that? This teaching resource explains the keyboard and the 5 lines of the Staff for the...
Basic Theory Exam #1 Naming Notes
Basic Theory Exam #1 Naming Notes Working on a basic theory exam? Every question as it is usually presented in the exam will be explained with tips and what to look for. Being able to see a note and name it is the first step in writing any exam. ...