I'M BACK !!!

 

 

I've been away for about a year -- trying to decide which of my many talents I want to focus on.  Well, I'm here to tell you . . . I still don't know.  While I was away, I've been playing steel drums and trumpet.  (odd combo, right?), but not at the same time.  LOL ! ! !

 

But --- here's what's REALLY NEW!  I am now creating a show on BLOGTALKRADIO.com!

 

It's called Cest La V Da Neesa Monk.

(I had to leave out all my apostrophies and periods)

The call in number is (646) 200-0571

 

The web address is http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vdaneesamonk

You can log in and chat, or call in and talk OR just listen online.

 

The focus of the show is: SETTING GOALS, CREATING MATERIAL, and ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF INCOME for the artist; through our artforms.

 

I will post here when a show is about to air and if you subscribe, you can also get notifications. PLUS blogtalkradio.com archives. So, you can hear what you missed.

 

Please feel free to comment and share!..

 

See you there!



WANT TO PLAY MUSIC – CAN’T DECIDE ON AN INSTRUMENT

Want to learn music
                              -  Can't decide on an instrument?

This is not as big a problem as you might think.  Many musicians that you know and love started on a different instrument from the one you know them for.  In addition to that, many musicians learn to play other instrument even after they find the instrument they love for many reasons. 

I remember having a conversation with a bass player who was originally a guitar player.  He was in a band that had two guitarists and no bassist.  So, he filled that spot and stayed because he loved it.  Marcus Miller started out on the clarinet.  Teddy Pendergrass was a drummer before he became a famous RnB singer.  As for me, I was given the choice, at age 8, between a violin and a triangle.  So, there you have it.  I played it all the way through high school, really wanting to play something else (flute to be exact).   I bought myself a flute in my sophomore year with money saved from a summer job.  I used what I knew from reading violin music, and began to teach myself flute.  I asked one of the music teachers in my school which books I should buy and I was on my way.  That was the second step in what has turned out to be a lifelong quest.

Somewhere along my childhood (through teens) I found out I had a voice people liked.  I did that for a while and decided to keep that.  But, I still wanted to play instruments.  So, I switched to bass since it was very similar to violin.  Same thing; get books learn the layout of the instrument, start playing.  I took a few lessons, asked a few questions.  But something told me I would learn more by joining a band and seeing what they wanted me to do.  Most people don’t take that route.  I understand why, in hindsight.  I ran into the wall of my limitations.  What was missing?  More understanding of music theory the tools of playing music was needed.

Don’t get me wrong.  There are many, many famous and excellent musicians who play amazingly but don’t write or read music.  I found myself learning the music verbatim without totally understanding what it was, so I found myself doing a lot of hit and miss attempts at improvisation.  I don’t doubt that, eventually, I would have landed on and remembered lines to play.  But, I wanted to be able to think about it another, more deliberate way.  I eventually returned to taking music classes (with more regularity this time).  I made a commitment to paying more attention, asking more questions and repetition until I understood it.  I have to say I am pleased with the results.

I am saying all of this to say one thing.  Learning music has its own merit.  Once you know it you can apply it to any instrument.  Music theory is the alphabet and the toolbox of the musician.  And just for the record, learning music and learning to play an instrument is a lifelong journey.  You never GET IT DONE.  You're always in the process of getting it.

V. Da'NEESA MONK - MUSIC SCHOOL ( BCAT-TV) AYERAYE'S PIANO LESSON

Here's a live music lesson given to an 11 year old student on my show.  She learns quickly and she has a good memory.  I wish she had a piano.  She really likes this.

If you have a piano or a keyboard, you can follow along. This lesson.will be aired in it's entirety on Wednesday, November 30th 2011.- 7:30 pm BCAT  TV channel 68
You can watch it online @  www.bricartsmedia.org/bcattvnetwork
select channel 68
Feel free to ask questions in the COMMENTS section

ALSO:
Maybe you, or someone you know, would like to be my guest student.
CONTACT ME @
v.daneesamonk@gmail.com

TERMINOLOGY / VOCABULARY:
Octave
Major Scale
Key
Metronome
Muscle memory
Half steps / Whole steps

LOOK AT THE VIDEO AGAIN TO SEE HOW THESE TERMS ARE USED.
Define them in your own words OR ask for the definitions in the comment section...OR ask.com.

NOT A TOTAL BEGINNER?

Ok...
You can read music and maybe you even play something else besides the piano.  You have all sorts of music books; song books, studies and etudes, fakebooks etc.  But they don't have that one song that keeps playing over and over in your head.  You want to play THAT song.

Well, there's always YOUTUBE.  You can play it over and over...and over or you can use wikifonia.  It's a site that has down loadable sheet music.  You can print it out transposed to the key you choose.

www.wikifonia.org

This can help greatly when you are trying to assemble an performance unit.  You don't need a musical director to write out all of your parts.  You can print them out in the key you need and make your own changes after that.  It is still a bit of work, but it takes some of the load off.

For vocalists, it's pretty much all you need, unless you are creating a special arrangement on the tune.

 BUT...

For those creative people who don't play any instrument, but have great ideas they want to share.  You no longer have to buy loads of expensive equipment.  You can use your computer, any online music source, a DVD/CD burner function on your computer and some blank DVD's or CD's.  The software is WONDERSHARE VIDEO CONVERTER.

I'm about to give it a try. You can try it out too and we can compare notes. I'm going to use one of my YouTube videos and put it on DVD.  Then I'll try a few other ideas to share with you.

TIME TO PRACTICE ! ! !

Put it into your schedule.

Sit in a chair that has the keyboard about elbow height when you sit.  If you have to reach up, It won't be comfortable.  There are adjustable keyboard benches on the market, as well as adjustable keyboard stands.  Some of them have storage space for your music.

Happy practicing.

THE THEORY OF 100 REPETITIONS - (Practicing the fingerings for the 12 major keys)

It is said that if you repeat a thing 100 times you will not forget it.

I believe this to be true.  I also believe it to be true for 30 repetitions. It is an easy way for your muscles to get comfortable with a movement.  It is also the best way to gain speed and accuracy.  You can do it while you think you have nothing to do.  5 times here 10 times there, it all adds up.  In the video lessons displayed in earlier posts the fingering for the C major scale scale is are demonstrated.  Learning that fingering will also be learning the fingering for the G major scale.  When you apply the formula W-W-H-W-W-W-H, you will find that there is only 1 black key played (F#).  The fingering is just like the C major scale.

So here you have 2 things to help you understand the piano.  You can use the FORMULA to find which white keys and which black keys (sharps and flats) to play.  BTW- the symbol for SHARP is "#" and the symbol for FLAT is "b".  AND you have fingerings to help you play them more comfortably. Additionally, this FINGERING GUIDE will also help you double check your findings when you use the formula.  Use these tools, go slowly and repeat it until you are sure.


Now that you know the C major scale fingerings, here are the fingerings for the remaining 11 scales:
(these fingerings are for 2 octaves)

FINGERING CHART - (RH means RIGHT HAND and LH means LEFT HAND)

G major has an F# in its key signature
so don’t forget to hit an F# instead of an F natural (When the note is neither # nor b it is natural)
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 54321 321 4321 321

D major has two sharps in its key signature and they are F# and C#
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 54321 321 4321 321

A major has three sharps and they are F#, C#, and G#
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 54321 321 4321 321

E major has four sharps and they are F#, C#, G#, and D#
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 54321 321 4321 321

B major has five sharps and they are F#, C#, G#, D#, A#,
RH 123 1234 123 12345
LH 4321 4321 321 4321

NOTE:
There are 2 additional sharp keys that are used. They are E# and B#. Don't look for them right now. (well you can if you want to) The key signature that uses the E# is the key of F# major. The key that uses the B# is the key of C# major

AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER THE SHARPS AND THEIR ORDER:

Fried Chicken Gives Dinner An Extra Boost ! ! !

So you have F C G D A E B

Those are the keys with sharps (#)

F major has a B flat in its key signature
so make sure you hit a Bb instead of a B natural
RH 1234 123 1234 1234
LH 54321 321 4321 321

Bb major has two flats and they are Bb and Eb
RH 2123 1234 123 1234
LH 321 4321 321 43212

Eb major has three flats and they are Bb, Eb, Ab
RH 2 1234 123 1234 123
LH 321 4321 321 4321 2

Ab major has four flats and they are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
RH 23 123 1234 123 123
LH 321 4321 321 4321 2

Db major has five flats and they are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
RH 23 1234 123 1234 12
LH 321 4321 321 4321 2

Gb major has six flats and they are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
RH 234 123 1234 123 12
LH 4321 321 4321 321 2

AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER THE FLATS: Just remember it’s the word BEAD followed by G and C. So you have B E A D G C

MUSIC NOTATION FOR THE BEGINNER

Please leave any questions you may have in the comments section for this post.

THIS IS FOR THE TOTAL BEGINNER

Here is a quick start for those who want to begin to understand the piano.

Here is PART 1

Here is the continuation (part 2)

The terms you need to remember are:
KEYS = the mechanisms you press on the piano/keyboard to produce sound
KEYS also = the tonality of the musical piece.  The resting place, The Key you are playing in.
HALF STEP = the distance between one note and the very next note on the keyboard
WHOLE STEP = the distance between one note and the note two keys over from it. (2 half steps
INTERVALS =  The distance between one note and another.
UNISON =  The smallest interval. One note and that very same note.
OCTAVE = The distance between a note and the next occurrence of that note going either up or down the keyboard.
FORMULA FOR BUILDING A MAJOR SCALE
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
*w = whole step, h = half step

I hope this helps a bit.  You'll need a keyboard to practice on.
GLAD YOU'RE GETTING STARTED!

REMEMBER ANGELA BOFILL ? ? ?

My high school is having an online reunion. I was just thinking of Angie, so I looked around the net to see what she's up to. It turns out that she went to my high school, H.S. of Music and Art. It seems that somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that.  I looked at some of the youtubes they have of her performances. I think it is against the rules to post them here.  Just know they are there for you to see.

She has a new album. She's been touring this year. She has something coming up in November in Cali.
Here is a link to an interview with her.


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CEkQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.soulmusic.com%2Fanbo20in.html&ei=9ESvTvCiNYWP0QG0rPicAQ&usg=AFQjCNGRQ5G48gLI_cXzEiycMMxOpZI7BA&sig2=dsW84MQWqHrtIQyXX9bAtA

And there are youtubes of her tour. There is a link at the bottom of this blog to her album too. I really love when she sang things with spiritual undertones (which was most of the time, I think).  I am so glad to see she's back in the mix and people are showing her love.  Her show has an interesting twist to it.  She has guest artists singing her songs.  So, you get a double treat.

Thank you, Angie for staying in the game.

I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ! ! !

I'd really like to tailor this blog to the needs of the reader.  So, go down to the comments section and ask questions.  Does music theory confuse you? Are you looking for a teacher?  Do you think you have talent and want to know how to find out for sure?  Did something happen on a gig that you want to share?  Let's dialog.

There are so many people online, there's bound to be someone with the same or similar questions.

Do you need a source for your favorite recordings on CD?  I would like to find more jazz (bebop, straight ahead) on CD.  Maybe this is a solution.





I guess we'll find out...

In the meantime...I'll think of something to get you started.

More from the Monk family Fundraiser at Yale University - Jazz Solos

Here are some solos from the T.S. Monk Sextet. At Yale University

Amazing musicianship!

Farewell to our Beloved Suleiman Hakim

He was a long-standing, consistent, active and supportive member of his family, community and the music community and he will live in our hearts, always . . .

Till we meet again, Suleiman. . .

Open Mic at PARIS BLUES - hosted by Atiba Kwabena

In Harlem, on the corner of 121st St. and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., the PARIS BLUES heats up every Tuesday night around 8pm.  The host, Atiba Kwabena is an internationally known flautist in the jazz, blues, afro and world music genres.  His energetic and charming style makes his open mic a really enjoyable place to visit on a Tuesday night.

Open mics are good places to enjoy fellow musicians and to try out new arrangements you are working on.

(Carolyn E. Smith Walker)

We had a lot of fun!  I hope to see you come by soon!

CHECKING OUT T.S. MONK AT YALE UNIVERSITY !

Marcellla Monk-Flake, my cousin, launched a fundraiser against cancer at Yale University on May 7th, 2011.  It was attended by locals, civic entities, music professionals, students and clergy.  The headline was T.S. MONK. He was amazing and entertaining.  The T.S. Monk Sextet was preceded by an ensemble comprised of  High School students who attend a jazz program in New Haven.  They  were phenomenal.

Now, how does this fit into this blog?...

When I go out to enjoy music, I ask myself "how does this tune make me feel".  If I'm tapping my feet already, I don't even have to ask.  I might feel like dancing or swaying.  If there's no reaction, something is not right.  I look for the reason I'm feeling what I'm feeling.  Do I want my music to feel like that?  How can I get that reaction to my music (if it's not already there).

This way, I find new favorite artists and genres.  I wholeheartedly advocate going out to listen to live music.  You meet other musicians, you get inspired to play and write . . . and most of all, practice!  Some local  students from, COOPERATIVE HIGH SCHOOL, played with T.S. Monk at the fund raiser and RAISED THE ROOF!

Here, they are playing IN WALKS BUD. Taking solos and trading 4's.

They were absolutely amazing!  They opened and closed the evening.

This was an important event for me to attend.  The Civic Community cited T.S. Monk for his contribution to the world of jazz from the high administration of Yale University to the Mayor of Connecticut.  Hearing the young, new jazz artists who are coming up now makes it clear that Connecticut is doing it's part to make sure jazz stays alive and thrives.  Youth everywhere should be inspired and you guys at COOPERATIVE H.S. should be proud of yourselves!

Chime in! Comment and pat yourselves on the back.

Been away for a while

I haven't blogged in months.  I was in the beginnings of mapping out the bare bones basics for the newbies. I'll be back with that very shortly.

If anybody wishes to come hang and hear some music, I am singing at a club on the L.E.S. (lower east side), Manhattan. It's called 5C. On Avenue C at  5th Street.  The event will be on March 10th at 8pm.  There is no cover charge, but we will pass the bucket!

In the mean time, there is a jam on Saturday nights at a place called THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STREEETS.  Ave. A at 7th Street in the East Village.  It starts a little late like 9 or 10pm and goes to around 2am. So, if you're looking to jam after an early hit or before a late one, that's your spot.  It's Run by bass player Rob Anderson.

When do I go out and play?

I've heard so many different opinions on this subject.  Do I wait until I can play 20 songs?  Do I need to start a band first?  What kind of open mic venues can/should I go to?  Am I good enough?

Well. . . here goes. . .

When I first started playing the trumpet, there was nobody to discourage me, put fear in my heart. . .tell me what other people would think (with their psychic selves).  I had books.  It wasn't my first instrument.  So, I taught myself the fingerings from the book, taught myself 2 songs by ear and went to an open mic.  I had been playing all of 4 weeks.

Since I am a singer, I was very conscious of tone and sound.  So, I developed a vibrato similar to my singing vibrato and kept it moving.  It was a success.  I did my two songs and they loved it.  It helped that the audience had a number of personal friends there and the session was hosted by a friend.  But, the bottom line for me was that I knew how to make an appealing sound and I had practiced the songs.  So, I wasn't scared.  In addition to that, I knew that they were not allowed to throw chairs and they didn't serve food.

I would not advise going to a jam with seasoned players.  You might get away with that 1 maybe 2 times.  Then they will not let you on the stage.  If the second time they see a great improvement, you might become some one's pet project or find a teacher/advisor.

What I will say is:
1)  Only play what you already know you can play.
2)  Make sure it sounds good to you.  None of us are so unique that we are the only person in all the world who likes a thing.  If you like it, there is someone else that does too.
3)  Be choosy about who you share with as you work on this.  Make sure you are opening yourself up to truly supportive listening.
4)  The worse that can happen is, you sound bad.  You WILL improve and they can't eat you alive.
5)  If you truly suck the first time, people will notice the improvement and probably say so.  (How will you know you sucked?  They will say you're brave.) LOL
6)  Playing with other musicians is always helpful.
7)  Beware of snobs and cynics.  They can take the wind out of your sails.  (run!)
8)  Find a good teacher, even if you can only go once a month.  This is so valuable.
9)  Play, play, play!  Play for your friends and family.  If you suck, they'll tell you in their own way. Then run it by your teacher and find out what she/he says.
10) Criticism is criticism.  Advice is advice.  Help is help.

I am hard headed and tenacious. Unnecessary criticism got to me.  Stopped me dead in my tracks.  But, I cannot be kept down.  Neither should you!

BROWSE THE LESSONS AND SCHOOLS IN THE MARGIN TO THE RIGHT!!  You never know what you might find just in passing!

Practice, practice, practice. . . even if you don't want to get to Carnegie Hall

There are several reasons to practice on a daily and consistent basis.  The most prominent purpose of  practicing is to create and reinforce muscle memory. Muscle memory creates familiarity.  The more familiarity you gain with the movements, the more comfort you have with learning new material. Practicing should be a process, not a chore.  You gain more from enjoying what you play while you practice.  The people I encountered as adults who "used to play" were largely people who were forced to practice as children and quit, the first chance they got. I'd like to add, they were not largely among those who were returning to music.

So, that being said, practice slowly and make it sound like music.  When you get tired, do something else for a little while and come back to it.  Just make sure you come back. 

Learning music online is a convenient and low pressure way to take music up as a hobby.  But, what if you want to reach a goal?  Well, there are schools listed in the margin to the right of the blog posts.  Click through them to see if any of the programs fit your needs.  This blog is going to go step-by-step, slowly so as not to loose the beginner on the basics.  Have a look now and come back.

BEGIN LEARNING MUSIC AT ANY AGE!

My name is Veronica aka, V. Da'Neesa Monk. I am a singer and multi-instrumentalist. I have studied, performed and toured over the years and this BLOG represents some of what I have to say to other musicians.

Begin learning music now and it's never too late!  I believe this whole heartedly. You can begin from the womb or with one foot in the grave. You just have to put your attention there. In this blog, I will prove to you that anybody can learn music. MASTERY of music or an instrument is another thing, but that is also within your capability once you choose and begin to play.

In this blog, you will find lessons, survival tips, ideas for inspiration and anything else I can think of to help you on your musical quest. Let's converse, share and have fun with music.

I invite you to have a look at the lesson clips I have in this blog series.  They are youtube based, primarily, and  will link you to other lesson clips put up by other people.  I encourage you to learn from as many sources as possible.  I f you have questions or comments, please feel free to put them in the comment section.

I am also a music teacher to children and beginners.  You can contact me about online lessons or lessons in person (group or private).  If you find any of the lessons in this BLOG beneficial, there is a tip jar on the right. Please try the "TIP JAR",  It's fun to surprise someone with a little "Thank You" gift.  I will be gleefully appreciative.

For your convenience, there are online music schools and teachers in the margin on the right.  Have a look at them to get an idea about what your options in music study.

I also invite you to subscirbe to my youtube channel, by clicking YOUTUBE on any of the video clips then clicking subscribe at the top to the youtube page when the clip finishes.

I look forward to our blogs!