The Successful Music Student

Do you want to know how to play the open D minor guitar chord? Do you want to know why it sounds sad? Minor chords have a sweet, haunting sound. Open D minor has medium difficulty, but with the right fingering strategies, it’s not that hard to play. Keep reading “How to Play the Sad Sounding D Minor Chord” to find out how to best play open D minor. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

Do you want to enjoy the bold song “Battle Hymn of the Republic?” In this article, you’ll get three essentials: 1) a video of the song, 2) the complete words to the song, and 3) free easy-to-read lead sheet style sheet music using shape notes, including a sing along soundtrack. Keep reading to learn more. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.

Have you heard about MIDI and need to know what it is? Do you want to know how it can help you create music? MIDI is short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It’s an industry-wide open-source keyboard design protocol proposed by Sequential Circuits in the 1980s, and it’s still relevant today. Keep reading “Powerful Popular MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)” to find out what it is, and what it can do for you. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.

Do you need to know how to accurately sing consonants? Do you want people to be able to understand your song lyrics as you sing? Diction is the study of how to accurately sing lyrics. Vowels are critical for your tone and your tuning. However, you need to also pay attention to your consonants, or no one will understand what you’re singing. Keep reading “Learn the Secret of How to Sing Consonants” to find out what they are and how to sing them. Estimated reading time 5 minutes.

Do you want to know what cliches are and how to avoid them? Cliches are phrases that have been used so often that they lose their impact on your audience. Writers, poets, and songwriters need to be aware of them, because they can drain emotional energy from your work. Keep reading “How to Avoid Writing Annoying Cliches” to learn what they are and how to stay away from them. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

Are you a teacher with neurodiverse students? Do you need suggestions for how to best teach them? Neurodivergent and neurodiverse are non-medical terms that refer to people with non-traditional ways of thinking and learning (e.g., ADHD, ASD, dyslexia, etc.). It attempts to give dignity to individuals by looking at the whole person and avoids looking at them as a problem that needs to be fixed. Having said that, neurodiverse students will often need special teaching methods to have success in music. Keep reading “How to Teach Music to Neurodivergent Students” to learn more. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.

Do you want to know what the word modulation means in music? Do you want to know how to make key changes in your songwriting? Modulation is when you use chromatic harmony to switch the tonal center of the music you’re writing. Doing this can make for dramatic, ear catching changes to the sound of your composition. Keep reading “How to Unlock Music Key Changes with Modulation” to learn what it is and how it works. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

Are you interested in guitar alternate tunings? Do you want to know the difference between Drop C and Drop D? In many ways Drop D and Drop C are very similar. However, there are a couple of important differences. Keep reading “What’s the Basic Difference Between Drop C and Drop D Tunings?” to learn what the differences are and how they impact your playing. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

Are you a new guitar player? Do you want to know how to play the E minor chord on guitar? E minor is one of the simpler guitar chords to play, especially if you use the easy version. Keep reading “How to Play the Beautiful E Minor Guitar Chord” to learn the “easy” and “full” versions of the open chord. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.

Do you want to enjoy the elegant hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing?” In this article, you’ll get these three essentials: 1) a sing along video of the hymn, 2) the complete hymn lyrics, and 3) free easy-to-read lead sheet style sheet music using shape notes, including a sing along soundtrack. Keep reading to learn more. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.