Have you ever seen a theremin played outside Bill Bailleyesque comedy? Let me recommend this short video featuring Pamelia Kurstin.
Lest you fear that the timbre is going to be a little samey throughout, try to hang on until at least 2:45 when the sound changes dramatically. At 14:15 there is a lovely arrangement of Billy […]

In an attempt to refresh mind and body between school and a twilight Parents’ Evening, I recently spent an hour in the pool and health suite of North Berwick Sports Centre. In the steam room I found myself, inexplicably whistling*. Apart from the fantastic acoustic and the apparent contribution of the steam to the quality […]

In 1994 I went on a trip to Sweden with the Lothian Regional Orchestra and Jazz Band. Our host, a man with the resoundingly Nordic name of Gerry Morrisey, took us out for a tour in his car and and pointed out a patch of spare ground covered in oil where learner drivers would practise […]

Of all the SQA Listening Concepts, the one* which arises most frequently is sequence. This is one which pupils understand and can spot but find difficult to put into words. In the end, we often agree that a the following conditions have to be met:

that there is a pattern which can be spotted (seen and/or […]

It’s not often you get a glimpse into - far less a listen to - pre-history. Michael Wood’s The Story of India (BBC4 last night - sadly not available on iPlayer) visited Brahmin priests in Kerala taking young trainees through vocal preparations for a 12-day celebration of Agni - the god of fire.
The prayers being […]

Thanks to Ewan McIntosh for a link to a Times Online article I’d otherwise have missed concerning Leonard Sax’s book Boys Adrift: The Five Factors* Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men
This is a massive field and one upon which I do not feel qualified authoritatively to comment. However, one claim […]

How can we make music on a computer slow down so that we can practise better?
Many students across the country use the commendable repertoire from Rock School’s graded books for the performing components of Standard Grade, Higher and Advanced Higher Music. One of the advantages of the CD which comes with each book is that […]

Thanks to Terry Brown for drawing my attention to Tasmin Little’s latest album of solo violin music entitled The Naked Violin, which she has made available as a free download. In addition to music there are also suggestions for classroom activities, information on each piece and an overview explaining what’s on offer. What I like […]

It’s always nice to have your intuitions nudged in the general direction of scientific fact by reputable specialists. That’s why I was delighted to read on Simon Ager’s excellent blog Omniglot about a new book by Oliver Sacks called Musicophilia.
I’ve long been persuaded by the parallels between music and language so I’ll be very interested […]

Either young people’s sight reading is much better than mine at a similar age, or the blue, moving cursor in Sibelius transports them into a free-style, space-time kind of reading similar to Guitar Hero. It could be that they’re not really sure which beat any given note (and especially syncopation) occupies and, in the context […]