Music lessons perfectly pitched for you

It’s great if you want to learn a specific song and you can learn how to do that.  But that may be the only thing you can do…you’ll...

Learning an instrument (at any age) is a wonderful gift and experience. However, there are times it can be incredibly frustrating. ...

General Christmas Music Knowledge: In the song "Jingle Bells," what is it that is fun to ride in a one-horse open sleigh? Who sang the...

The race for the Christmas number 1 spot on the UK singles chart has been a long-standing and culturally significant tradition. Here's a...

Over the last several months (in fact most of this year) I’ve posted a revision blog covering a wide range of topics.  From the history...

Many schools do mock exams in January…I mean whoo needs to rest at Christmas right?! Preparing for your music exams involves a...

I know for a fact that when I did my GCSE and A-Level music, having to write an essay or two under exam conditions really scuppered me! ...

Continuing on from our previous blog going over DRSMITH, in more detail, for appraising. Instrumentation What is playing the music....

We’ve covered DRSMITH in previous blogs (one for each of the main periods). In this blog I’ll go into more detail about the things you...

Being able to analyse music is a key part to any exam. In this blog I’ll give some tips on how to analyse music when you’re listening to...

In part of the appraising exam you may be expected to compare two pieces of music. Whilst I cannot go into specifics as each board has...

Finishing our glossary of musical terms Unison - All musicians/singers play/sing the same notes at the same time. Upbeat - Another way of...

SATB - Short form of Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass Scalic - Another word for conjunct. Scherzando - Play in a joking or playful manner....

Quartet - A group of four players/singers. A piece in four parts. Quintet - A group of five players/singers. A piece in five parts....

Continuing our glossary… Madrigal - A song from the Renaissance period for multiple singers. Often unaccompanied. Maestoso - Tempo...

Continuing this short series of musical terms (and the list is by no means exhaustive!). Idée Fixe - A recurring theme or figure...

Continuing our glossary of musical terms and the occasional “don’t say that”. Embouchure - The application of a mouthpiece to a brass or...

Over the next seven blogs I’ll give you a glossary of words to use when describing music and things that happen in music. There’ll be...

In this blog I’ll give you some tips on how to answer certain questions in the appraising exam. Time Signatures Listen to the music...

The appraising exam will likely be split into two sections. One being unfamiliar music and the other being music you’ve studied...