Do not be intimidated by "improvisation". This author says, and I tend to agree, that sheet music, terminology, like "Csharp diminished" or "augmented D" only get in the way of you relating to the music you already know and love. And know how to hum the tune, if not sing out loud, even in the shower.
If you want to talk about it let me know. There is a bit of work involved, actually more self-knowledge and self discovery than ingesting external information. Try some of the YT videos.
Do not be disappointed or unhappy if you find you have been playing your uke "off key", as long as they are in tune relative to each other; that is, if you play a chord on all four strings and it sounds good, it is resonant, and you like the sound. It's nice when playing with other people at the same time to be tuned so everyone is producing the same C chord, but many of us no longer have the luxury to do more than zoom, and playing together (both people hearing each other) is hard on zoom (today).
Some famous songs were recorded "between keys". There is a term called "cent" - there are 100 cents between each semitone: C and C#, or between B and C (on the piano each mechanical key is 100 cents from the next, regardless of black or white key, and there is no black key between B and C). 50 cents above C would make it halfway to C# - most of us won't hear it without a tuner, and if all the strings were "detuned" 50 cents below their Concert tuning it would only make those with perfect pitch suffer (sorry John). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cent_(music)
The video is a tribute to sticky tape and a diagonal cut with a razor blade on magnetic tape. Combined with varispeed and the time they had (55 hours !) to do many re-takes, professional editors, produced a brilliant and beautiful frankensong.
You can also tune by ear using your own strings as reference notes for one another. For instance, you can tune your open E string to match the pitch of the C string at the fourth fret. You can tune the open A string (1st string) to match the pitch of the G string (2nd string) at the second fret.
If you want more details send me a note or give me a call and I'll do this with you on your uke.
By the way, some performers tune their instruments in alternate ways, as you can see in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_guitar_tunings - but one famous singer / guitarist was Joni Mitchell https://www.grunge.com/235862/inside-joni-mitchells-tragic-story/ whose bout with polio resulted in some amazing innovations:
Ironically, Mitchell's bout with the crippling illness would influence her music in unforeseen ways. Unable to form conventional guitar chords because of weakness in her left hand, the singer experimented with alternate tunings that have since become part of her signature sound. Mitchell, cited by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 best guitarists of all time, has used up to 50 nonstandard tunings, allowing her to explore rhythm, harmony, and melody in unique and innovative ways.
What this means to us ukulele players is: if you have a really favorite song you want to play and sing, but the chords are "too hard", you can change to another key so the diminished chord is only two strings instead of four (example: C#dim is 1010, but Cdim is four fingers on four strings. If the change is key doesn't help enough (or makes it hard to sing), be adventurous and try tuning one of the strings so it's easier to play! Of course the other chords will have to adjust too. What else do you have to do when locked in? Use your time inside. Suggestion: use your notebook and pencil, and write down where you start, what changes you make, and sketch out your "chords" and to what note each string is tuned.
-----from the article----(I replaced the embedded videos with links to YouTube)-----
What is your happy song? According to one Dutch neuroscientist, most happy songs have some distinctive traits in common. Several years ago, Dr. Jacob Jolij—at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands—was asked to examine a list of favorite songs compiled by the UK-based electronica band Alba. Although not a peer reviewed study, his investigation discovered several trends among the given examples of perky music. “Happy” or “feel good” songs have significantly faster tempos than average pop music, they tend to have cheerful lyrics, and are more often in a major key.
When Jolij was first approached to examine the data set of happy songs, he had to take a qualitative method to analyze trends within the set. As a researcher, he emphasized on his website that what makes a happy song is “highly personal and strongly depends on social context and personal associations.” Each song in the data set was chosen by the surveyed person for personal reasons, but analysis of musical technicalities provided some hard data. The songs averaged 140 to 150 beats per minute, a tempo that’s about 20 or more beats higher than the average pop tune. This upbeat rhythm probably subliminally reenergizes listeners. The surveyed songs were also much more likely to be in a major key rather than a minor key. Jolij commented that a major third key, specifically, is recieved as a happy, confident sound.
Jolij also examined the lyrics. He described most happy songs as having either cheery, nonsensical lyrics or lyrics which described happy events and positive, fun emotions. Parties, love, dancing—all are good fodder for a happy tune. Jolij then took all his findings and combined them into a mathematic formula. Not a rigorous predictor of happy songs, the formula mostly served to test his theories on tempo and tones. Tested on songs designated as happy by Dutch listeners, the algorithm continued to support the trends Jolij discovered.
While most scholarly research ends in journal article, this project culminates in a playlist by Jolij of 10 of the happiest songs from past decades. This list is sure to brighten your day with some throw-back tunes. Neuroscientist Dr. Jacob Jolij has found the happiest songs on earth…according to careful scientific research. Take a listen and be the judge for yourself.
locally, work goes on, not only at Tufts but also NorthEastern and BIDMC on neuro imaging. The dancing to rhythmic music in therapy for Parkinson's is dramatic!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxJXMcscpdk -- Join Dance Artist Kate Hartley-Stevens for a special online edition of English National Ballet's regular Dance for Parkinson's class. This class is also suitable for anyone for whom gentle dance technique and movement would be beneficial to health and wellbeing. Part #2 can be viewed here ► https://youtu.be/aRcaakAdMDA Part #3 can be viewed here ► https://youtu.be/rJ3OPYZEViw
Ableton, Apple, Moog, Fender and more step up to the plate
(Image credit: Steinberg)
As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, music software and gear companies have been quick to step up to the plate, offering a slew of freebies to maintain the morale and productivity of confined musicians and producers across the globe.
Here, we've rounded up all of the best giveaways, and we'll keep this hub updated. Grab 'em while you can.
Fender Play for 3 months
Fender Play centres around easy-to-follow, instructor-guided videos to help new musicians get underway and to develop players who are a little further along on their journey. You can track your progress as you move through the lessons, too.
Learning songs is a fundamental part of musical development and, in addition to the lessons, the Fender Play library is rammed with jam tracks by everyone from Led Zeppelin, Green Day and Oasis, to Sia and Shawn Mendes.
Apple has confirmed that, in light of current events, it’s offering free 90-day access to its Logic Pro X DAW so that everyone can make music with it. It’s also offering the same deal to anyone who wants to use Final Cut Pro X.
First Apple offered Mac users the chance to use Logic Pro X free for 90 days, and now Ableton is doing the same with Live 10 Suite, its flagship DAW package.
Featuring not just Live, but also a wealth of plugins and soundware, the Suite bundle also includes Max for Live, which enables you to customise and build your own devices.
Drum Channel - the online drum school founded by DW’s Don Lombardi - is offering some relief for drummers stuck inside during the lockdown period by giving away 1000 free 30-day trial subscriptions.
Free versions of Steinberg Cubase, WaveLab and more in its #StayHome Elements bundle
Comprising Cubase Elements, Dorico Elements, WaveLab Elements and the Absolute Collection of plugins, this is available until 15 May and can be used for free for 60 days.
Sonible and Focusrite’s Balancer plugin free until 13 April
In a bid to get you to ‘stay@home and create’, Sonible and Focusrite have made their Balancer plugin available as a free download until 13 April. This promises to balance your audio tracks automatically in a matter of seconds.
Zenbeats is a cross-platform production app that promises to “make music creation easy”. It features drum sounds from Roland’s TR range of drum machines, and offers sampling, instruments and effects.
Unlock Roland’s Zenbeats music-making app for free on iOS and AndroidYou can grab Zenbeats now on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Arturia iSpark app and Pigments 2 free trial
Arturia is the latest company to encourage you to stay home and make music, and it’s giving you some free music software to do it with. The biggest news is that iSpark, the company’s iPad drum machine app, is free until 30 April, but Arturia is also showing some love to PC/Mac users, who can road-test the Pigments 2 plugin synth for free between 2 April and 3 July.
Free Pigments 2 trial Available for PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats and can be downloaded from the Arturia website.
Get KV331’s SynthMaster One free for iPhone and iPad
Not just a great iOS synth, but a great synth full-stop, KV331’s SynthMaster One has gone free for iPhone and iPad until 15 April. The regular price is $19.99.
This is a powerful and creative multi-effects plugin that enables you to create processing chains using 14 classic Soundtoys effects; the likes of EchoBoy and PrimalTap for delay, Decapitator and Radiator for analogue-style saturation, and Tremolator and FilterFreak for powerful rhythmic modulation and filtering.
Normally yours for $40, the AS-16 Reason rack extension is an advanced 16 channel analog CV sequencer with MIDI and audio features. At the heart of AS-16 is a user controlled sequence that can be modified in real time using the jump, skip and pad buttons.
In addition, it includes several note scales that allow you to quickly create bass lines and then tweak via MIDI, or use the built-in audio modifiers as an advanced envelope generator.
Two notes Torpedo Wall of Sound - free lifetime license
Two notes Audio Engineering is giving away free lifetime licenses for its Torpedo Wall of Sound speaker and miking simulation plugin until April 30th.
Torpedo Wall of Sound comes with two free virtual cabinets - 4x12” modeled on the Slash signature Marshall® and a 2x12” modeled on a HiWatt® with Fane® speakers -and 8 virtual power amp emulators, powerful on-board EQ, ‘overload’ (speaker cone distortion) emulator and 8 reverb/room emulations.
Positive Grid Bias FX Mobile free for 90 days, until 8 April
Positive Grid is giving you the Bias FX guitar amp and effects mobile app - plus all of the available features and expansion packs - for nothing. You have until 8 April to download it on your iOS device, and it’ll run for 90 days.
Based on the same technology as Positive Grid’s excellent Bias FX desktop software, the app contains a wide array of realistic-sounding guitar and bass amps, effect pedals and studio racks for your iPhone or iPad. Signing up a ToneCloud account will unlock all of the additional content and enable you to to share and download thousands of custom presets.
If you’re in urgent need of a DAW to work with while you’re on lockdown, Cockos has stepped into the breach by offering free temporary licences for Reaper, its fully-featured music production software, which are valid until the end of June.
Avid is stepping up to support professional Pro Tools users who’ve been asked to work from home during the COVID-19 crisis. It’s announced that it’ll make a limited number of 90-day licenses for its creative products available for free to qualified media enterprise and educational institutions.
As you might have deduced, this doesn’t mean that anyone and everyone can have a Pro Tools license - companies need to submit the request for licenses on behalf of their employees, whether they be full-time, contracted or freelance. Similarly, educational institutions need to make bulk requests on behalf of their students.
How to apply for a free 90-day Pro Tools license Licenses are available for Media Composer | Ultimate, Pro Tools, Pro Tools | Ultimate or Sibelius | Ultimate, subject to restrictions. You can find out what these restrictions are - and how to apply - on the Avid website.VIEW DEAL
Minimoog Model D iOS app
In a bid to spread “positivity, creativity and expressivity” in these difficult times, Moog Music has announced that it’s giving away its Minimoog Model D iOS app for free. An official emulation of the most famous synthesizer of all time, this runs on both iPhone and iPad, and usually costs $14.99/£14.99.
Writing on Facebook, Moog says that it hopes that the app will offer: “A moment to slow down, appreciate our innate strength, and experience the uplifting power of sound. A chance to share the way we hear the world around us…”
Serato Studio free version now available
Launched in 2019, Serato Studio is a simplified PC and Mac DAW that’s designed for beginners and DJs who want to move into music production. Now it’s been updated to version 1.4.4 which, as well as adding new features, also introduces a free version.
Free version of Serato Studio The full version of Serato Studio costs $199, or you can subscribe for $9.99 a month (there’s also a 14-day trial). You can find out more and download the free version from the Serato website.
Recognising that a lot of people are going to be stuck at home with not much to do for the next few weeks and months, Korg says it wants to “help you with a musical way to occupy your mind”.
iKaossilator can certainly do that: it’s a fun and addictive loop-based app that enables you to make music simply by swiping on the screen. You can work across multiple tracks and in a wide range of genres, and a decent amount of drum, bass, lead, chord and other sounds come included. You can adjust the tempo and lock everything to a specific key so you’ll never go out of tune.
You can grab iKaossilator for iOS on the Apple App Store (free until 31 March).
Free Soundation Premium until the end of June for students (via teacher application)
“We’ve received many requests from schools around the world who would like to use Soundation for remote music education due to COVID-19,” , says Adam Hasslert, CEO of Soundation. “We realized that there is a huge need for online music education solutions right now, so we’ve decided to offer it for free in order to support and encourage young music makers to stay creative during this challenging time.”
As of now, teachers and educators can sign up for a free Soundation Premium subscription and set up accounts for their students. These accounts will go live from 31 March. Teachers will also be able to create group pages in Soundation’s online community to facilitate their teaching.
Cherry Audio's Voltage Modular Nucleus: “stay at home and learn to master modular synthesis”
Cherry Audio is giving away Voltage Modular Nucleus, a complete modular synth package that features 22 modules and more than 130 presets. As of now - and for the foreseeable future - anyone can download it for free for Mac and Windows.
This is great news for anyone who’s likely to have plenty of time on their hands over the next few months. Modular synthesis is something that you can really immerse yourself in, and Voltage Modular is a great platform to start on.
Thanks to its scale-locked diatonic playing surface, Wizdom Music’s GeoShred Play iOS app enables pretty much anyone to play shred lead parts without ever hitting a wrong note, and right now, company supremo Jordan Rudess is letting you download it for free.
Save 40% on all Waves bundles and plugins Plus, get a free plugin when you spend over $50! Boost your creativity at home and finish those tracks with money off the latest software from Waves. Apply the code CREATIVE40 at checkout.VIEW DEAL
Save on guitars, drums and recording gear at Sweetwater Sweetwater is open and accepting online orders on some fantastic deals. Shipping is slower than normal due to running at reduced capacity for the safety of their warehouse team, but they hope to be back to normal shipping by mid-April.VIEW DEAL
Save up to 20% off select keys and controllers If you're looking for a new digital piano, MIDI controller or synth, now could be the time, with money to be saved on Yamaha, Akai, Native Instruments and more at Guitar Center.VIEW DEAL
Musician's Friend $99 Taylor deal Purchase a Taylor acoustic guitar from the 100, 200 or 300 Series and get your hands on another eligible guitar for just $99.VIEW DEAL
Reverb Many local music shops and gear makers are still shipping and open for business through Reverb. The Reverb team is hard at work uncovering the best deals on used and new gear from sellers all over the world. Aside from minor reported shipping delays, the vast majority of items are arriving on-time.VIEW DEAL
ProAudioStar PAS proudly states “We are open. There are no delays in shipping” at the top of their homepage. Reassuring indeed. They are currently running specific deals on Pioneer DJ gear, plus a storewide sale offering 18% off select new gear, and 5% off already discounted gear.VIEW DEAL
Thomann Thomann remains open and offers free shipping Europe-wide on orders over a certain amount – the minimum spends vary based on the country you’re in.VIEW DEAL
Andertons The Andertons Guildford store is currently closed, but the online store is fully operational (and currently offering massive discounts in their Spring sale). Andertons says that currently “responses to email enquiries and dispatches of orders are being delayed by up to 3 days.”VI
