It’s thinking time in MUS654! We should be working on Session 7, but you know what? People needed a bit of stepping back and thinking, so I added a page and we have delayed that session for a week. Photo byIan Foss CC BY-NC-ND In this class, MUS654, through these pages, the goal (if you do …
Five weeks in… already?! So how is it going? Are you finding your way? What are you getting from MUS654? My university students are drawing together a curriculum for a year’s musical tuition for a someone – the age, the level, the instrument is all up to them. You may be doing that too, or …
Yes, it’s nearly Wednesday again, and that means it’s time to look forward to a Google Hangout for #MUS654 at 6pm BST. This is when I invite a guest to discuss aspects of the week’s topic with me, my students, and you. This week we’re thinking about study material. What is it we use to …
This is in response to Steve Wheeler’s challenge to use a ‘twisted pair’ that has somehow impacted your teaching. My pair is the music lesson and the walnut tree. Photo CC-BY by Steve Slater In my Open Music class #MUS654 we have been exploring the different aspects of music learning and how these map on to …
This week is all about connection, and starting to engage with joined up thinking. The topic of Week 4 in #MUS654 is ‘Studies and Connecting Material’. As usual, there will be by-the-book thinking and perhaps some personal experience to use as a basis for thinking about what makes a study or étude. My goal is …
(2 min read) As a student I was a latecomers to seriously studying music, and as we know it takes a lot of practice to be excellent at any instrument (yes, voice is an instrument). As a first year undergraduate I had a great friend who gave me a present to help with my practising. It …
This week in the open music course #MUS654 we think about ‘Scales and the relationships of notes’ – there is content to spark your thought and imagination and you are invited to join in with the various tasks. These are intended to get you thinking differently – beyond your own experience or practising habits, and …
It’s a Week 2 update and today I did the task of playing a melody on a new instrument. (It’s not fair if I ask people to do tasks if I’m not prepared to do them myself, right?) So here we go… Last night I decided to play the beginning solo from Black Magic Woman …
Time flies – must be having fun! It’s time for Week 2 of #MUS654 and this week is all about melodies. Tunes. Songs. Have a look, listen, and explore the tasks. Share and let’s get some comments going! Last night’s webinar via google hangouts was fun (you can catch up and watch it here) and at …
Announcing the first Google Hangout for #MUS654! Happening today, 16 September at 6:00 pm BST. If you would like to join us, please contact me and I’ll send you the link to participate in the hangout. Feel free to watch and contribute via Twitter using the hashtag #MUS654 We’ll be talking about the first week …