![]() It has also led to changes in musical education for children across Europe and beyond, with many schools and private music teachers incorporating elements of the Solfeggio Tradition into their teaching. "Using my research I can teach anyone, even a non-musician, how to create a pleasing melody in a matter of minutes" ![]() One lady even said she burst into tears when, because of my research, she finally achieved her lifelong dream of understanding the music of Bach. I regularly receive unsolicited emails from musicians telling me how my insights have changed their entire view of music. This has a transformative effect on all who have come across it. I can also explain how famous melodies were put together. The result? Using my research I can teach anyone, even a non-musician, how to create a pleasing melody in a matter of minutes. It explains, for the first time, several fundamental aspects of music practice, including how musicians learned to read seven clefs and 12 key signatures with just two staff layouts, how they used simple syllabic frameworks as bases for complex melodic improvisation and composition, and how they learned to ‘speak’ music like a language. It involved interpreting over 12,000 unstudied manuscript sources, and led me to publish the first major study of the fundamentals of music education in the 18th century. My work looks back at the Italian traditions, reconstructing forgotten theories and practices. It was this desire to learn from the greats that led me to uncover the Solfeggio Tradition.įrom 1680 to 1830, the so-called ‘golden age’ of composers like Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, professional music-making in Europe was dominated by Italian traditions of composition, performance, and teaching.īy the middle of the nineteenth century, these traditions had been overshadowed by a new classical music culture, to the extent that they were eventually forgotten in English and German-speaking regions. I uncover real historical practices and ask how they might inform and enhance music tuition and performance today. The answer was always no, because no-one knew how Bach or Mozart learned their skills or conceived their music. ![]() When I was taught music as a child, I would always ask my teacher if the theory and methods I had to learn were the same as those used by, say, Bach or Mozart. Musicians then could conjure up music instantaneously, without the need for scores. My research seeks ways to make learning music more creative, fun, and personally fulfilling by discovering forgotten practices of the past. If successful, they will produce millions of near-identical renditions of the same pieces. Learners train their minds and bodies to be able to play or sing the same printed scores as flawlessly as possible. It’s a museum culture, which seeks to preserve rather than develop. Modern ‘classical’ music practice focuses on learning a notated score and encourages standardisation – leaving little room for creativity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |