Learn – Page 4 – Liberty Park Music

An Introduction to Latin Music: Cumbia History

One of the most popular dances in Latin America, cumbia has come a long way since its early development among African communities along the pacific coast of Colombia. It is now played and danced in various guises in clubs, on bandstands and on the streets as far north as Mexico and as far south as Argentina, as well as being popular among Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. While cumbia was traditionally played by percussion, vocals and gaita flutes, modern cumbia is played by a full rhythm section of bass and piano, with a full complement of percussion instruments as … Read more

Reading Chord Symbols: A Pianist’s Guide

by West TroianoClassical Music Music in General Music Practice Piano Theory

The piano is a “harmony” instrument, meaning that we can play many notes at once. Certain combinations of notes give us harmonies that we call chords, and the ability to play chords is an important skill, no matter what style of music you’re playing. One of the most efficient routes to knowing which chords to play is by having the ability to read chord symbols. In this article, we’re going to teach you how to read chart-style chord symbols. Along the way we’re going to reinforce our understanding of what chords are and how they’re built. As a bonus, we … Read more

Practicing to Sound like John Mayer

by Rowan PattisonGuitar

John Mayer is arguably one of the most influential guitarists of our time and has shown this through his technical ability, songwriting skills, and paying homage to the great blues players of previous generations. Recreating his sound is something that millions of guitarists like us try endlessly to perfect. I am sure you can now see how having the right guitar and amp may not get you sounding exactly like John Mayer, it’s all about paying equal attention to technique, sound, stylistic approach, and then of course–plugging this all into the right amp! Now that we’ve covered John Mayer’s influences, … Read more

Classic Female Blues and Race Records

by ZeGuitar

At the end of our previous article of this Blues series, we saw the beginning of the adoption of the term “blues” within the sheet music industry. The increased use of the term and popularity of songs such as “I Got The Blues” and “Dallas Blues” led to a rise in the popularity of the genre. Along with the increased use of the term “blues” in song titles, classic black female blues singers were also gaining fame which prompted the then budding recording industry to introduce a category of records known as “race records.” These race records were blues, R&B, … Read more

The Birth of the Blues

by ZeGuitar

Without a doubt, modern music has come a long way since the first musical recordings made in the late 19th century, but certain forms of music from that time period still greatly influence modern compositions. One genre that has influenced nearly every genre of Western music since the 19th century is simply known as “the blues.” The blues has become an integral part of jazz, R&B, rock, soul, country music, and of course, modern day pop music. It is widely regarded as the foundation for nearly all American popular music that came after 1900. The fact that the blues has … Read more

How to Memorize Music: A Pianist’s Guide

by West TroianoClassical Music Music Practice Piano Theory

Introduction Have you ever watched a great pianist perform a complicated piece from memory? Impressive, isn’t it? All those notes and details, perfectly remembered and then fantastically re-created in the moment. There’s something about a performance of memorized music that makes it feel somehow more authentic, more intimate and honest. To be sure, this is a subjective perception, as many of the greatest performers used sheet music when playing, but the appeal of a memorized performance certainly exists. The practice of memorizing music is different from the more standard modes of practice to learn music off the page. In some … Read more

6 Excellent Practicing Strategies Commonly Missed by Pianists

by West TroianoClassical Music Music Practice Piano Theory

Introduction Why do we practice music? Your answer may be something to the effect of, “well, we practice so that we can play the music,” which is pretty much correct, but can be stated a little more succinctly: whether you’re planning to play in front of a blowout crowd at Carnegie Hall, a modest gathering of friends and family at a holiday gathering, or simply for yourself in the privacy of your own home, the goal is the same, we practice to perform. Ok, but what exactly is practicing? Or, more importantly, how do we practice? What are we supposed … Read more

10 Tips for Guitar Players with Small Hands

by ZeGuitar Music Practice

Large hands with long fingers are common physical traits found amongst some of the best guitar players. Just do a quick Google search and look at the hands of Paul Gilbert, Buckethead, John Mayer, Guthri Govan, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and Wes Montgomery. Having bigger hands definitely gives you an advantage when it comes to playing complex chord voicings, reaching for large interval jumps, and playing fast licks. However, many guitar legends like Angus Young and Prince didn’t have massive digits, and just look at how they’ve transformed how we play the guitar forever. You can also … Read more

An Introduction to Cha-cha-chá Drumming: Rhythms and Applications

by Brendan BacheDrums

Now that we have a basic understanding of the history of cha-cha-chá music we will take a more practical approach to how it is played. We will assess the percussion instruments present in a cha-cha-chá ensemble before analysing exactly what rhythm each instrument plays. We’ll then consider how we can approximate these sounds on the drum kit before thinking about which grooves will be useful for varying musical situations. The Charanga Percussion Section Before we discuss the details of cha-cha-chá music let’s remind ourselves of the instruments present in a typical charanga ensemble: 1. Guiro A scraper traditionally made from … Read more

ONLINE MUSIC COURSES