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Five Must Read Successful Music Student Posts

The Successful Music Student Blog

Estimated reading time 3 minutes

What are your goals?

  • Are you looking for general music tips?
  • Do you want to read music?
  • Do you want to sight sing better?
  • Are you frustrated that you can’t sing in tune?
  • Do you teach students who struggle with reading music?
  • Do you want to write good songs?

Take a deep breath and relax. The Successful Music Student blog has you covered.

New Successful Music Student articles post on Mondays and Thursdays at 7:00 am.

New Successful Music Student Posts

What Exactly Is Attenuation for Home Recording Studios - Sound Studio

What Exactly Is Attenuation for Home Recording Studios

Do you want to know what the word attenuation means? Do you need to know what the attenuation control on your soundboard does? If you want the songs and demos you produce in your home recording studio to sound good, you need to understand how your gear works. This includes volume-related equipment such as limiters, compressors, and your soundboard’s various gain and attenuation controls. Keep reading “What Exactly Is Attenuation for Home Recording Studios” to find out what attenuation is and how it works in sound recording. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.

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Why Do Crazy Chromatic Notes and Chords Work - Sheet Music

Why Do Crazy Chromatic Notes and Chords Work?

Have you ever seen a crazy chromatic scale or chord and wondered why it works? Do you want to understand how to write them? Chromatic notes and harmonies are effective because they take bad sounding dissonance and resolve it to good sounding consonance. Keep reading “Why Do Crazy Chromatic Notes and Chords Work?” to learn how chromatic harmony functions. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

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Hot Tube Amps Versus Cool Recording Studio Modelers - Marshall Amp

Hot Tube Amps Versus Cool Recording Studio Modelers

Have you been looking at gear and want to know whether tube amps or amp modelers are the better option for your guitar sound? Tube amps are old school and amp modelers are state of the art. However, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Keep reading “Hot Tube Amps Versus Cool Recording Studio Modelers” to learn the benefits of each. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

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Understanding Basic Diction in Modern Singing - Girl Singing and Playing Guitar

Understanding Basic Diction in Modern Singing

Do you want to know what diction in singing is? In any vocal style, diction is central to a good performance, at least if you want your audience to understand you. However, if you’re not careful, you can overdo it and make your performance sound stiff and artificial. Keep reading “Understanding Basic Diction in Modern Singing” to learn what it is and how it works. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

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How Easy (or Difficult) Is it to Play Accordion - Piano Accordion

How Easy (or Difficult) Is it to Play Accordion?

Do you want to know how easy it is to play accordion? The accordion is a versatile instrument that’s a dominant force in folk and ethnic music around the world. However, the playing difficulty depends on which type of instrument you’re talking about. Keep reading “How Easy (or Difficult) Is it to Play Accordion?” to learn more. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

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What Precisely Is the Purpose of a Clef - Clef Cookies

What Precisely Is the Purpose of a Clef?

What precisely is the purpose of a clef? It’s the symbol to the left side of the staff that helps you know how to play the sheet music’s notes. The three most common are: treble, alto, and bass. Keep reading to learn what they are and how they work. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.

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What’s a Groove? (Including How to Write Hot Songs)

Do you need to know what a groove is? Do you want to learn how to write incredibly cool songs? The groove is the part of your song that makes you want to move to the beat. However, writing successful songs isn’t magic - it’s a skill that can be learned. Keep reading “What’s a Groove? (Including How to Write Hot Songs)” to learn how to write a killer groove. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.

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What Does Dissonance Mean for Basic Seventh Chords - Sheet Music

What Does Dissonance Mean for Basic Seventh Chords?

Are you confused about how dissonant seventh chords work? Do you want to know how to make them sound incredibly good? Have you ever looked in a chord dictionary, seen a diagram of a crazy seventh chord, played it, and then wondered: "How am I going to use that thing?" That’s because dissonant harmony sounds tense and unstable. Keep reading “What Does Dissonance Mean for Basic Seventh Chords?” to learn how to make them sound smooth and satisfying. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

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What’re the Basics of an Accompaniment in a Song - Keyboard Player

What’re the Basics of an Accompaniment in a Song?

Do you want to know what a song accompaniment is? Do you want to know the basics for writing them? An accompaniment is an arrangement for the backing instruments that support your song’s principal melody. Keep reading “What’re the Basics of an Accompaniment in a Song?” to learn more about what it is and how it works. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

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Simple Instructions for Pythagorean Tuning - Monochord

Simple Instructions for Pythagorean Tuning

Do you need simple instructions for adjusting your synth to play Pythagorean tuning? The Pythagorean scale is based on the Pythagorean tuning ratios that are credited to (you guessed it) Pythagoras (same guy that invented the hypotenuse formula). However, it has since become popular with microtonal composers. Keep reading “Simple Instructions for Pythagorean Tuning” to learn the deep, dark secret of this scale. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

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The Successful Music Student Blog Categories

  • Would you like general music tips? All-Purpose Music Tips and Topics: for this category I’ve been scouring social media to find the topics that people ask about most and then offer solutions.
  • Struggling with reading music? Color Coding & More: deals with a lot more than just color coding notes for LD and special needs students.
  • Frustrated that your instrument’s chords sound out of tune? Intonation & More: has special tunings for guitars and keyboards to make them sound great.
  • Want to know how to sing in tune? Singing in Tune & More: has sing-along sound tracks to make learning how to harmonize easy. They work like the singing equivalent of a flight simulator, distilling the essential elements you need to work on to improve. (Click here for The Intonation Flight Simulator posts.) Instrumentalists also benefit from the specialized ear training.
  • Want to be able to sight sing sheet music? Shape Notes and Solfege: helps you to get sight singing. It also has sing-along song tracks.
  • Do you like writing songs, but get stuck when inspiration dries up? Do you enjoy the songs you’ve made, but feel they could be better? The Craft of Songwriting: helps you learn how to write well-crafted songs.

The posts have colorful images, music examples, videos, and sound tracks.

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