With the prolonged shutdown of most of the UK entertainment industry, performers have been using their free time not only to rest and practise self-care, but to catch up on actor admin or branch out into new online niches.
But what about improving your musicianship skills? Especially for musical theatre performers, improving your music education and understanding can put you ahead of the curve, yet it’s often neglected.
With the number of free resources at your disposal, improving your musicianship has never been easier. So, whether you’re a notation novice or a musical maestro, here are five things you can do to level up your musical skill set during lockdown.
Even if you can’t read music, having a grasp of music theory gives you a broad understanding of musical concepts and language, as well as helping you to follow scores.
One place you can start is by learning the Circle of Fifths. This visual tool is an excellent way to learn how to recognise different key signatures, which will come in handy next time you want a song transposed.
Another useful place to begin is learning the symbols that indicate the structure of the music. Repeat, dal segno and coda markings can catch you off-guard when you don’t recognise them, so doing your homework now will put you top of the class in your next music rehearsal.
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Even if you can’t read music, having a grasp of music theory gives you a broad understanding of musical concepts and language, as well as helping you to follow scores.
One place you can start is by learning the Circle of Fifths. This visual tool is an excellent way to learn how to recognise different key signatures, which will come in handy next time you want a song transposed.
Another useful place to begin is learning the symbols that indicate the structure of the music. Repeat, dal segno and coda markings can catch you off-guard when you don’t recognise them, so doing your homework now will put you top of the class in your next music rehearsal.
6 Musical Theatre Agencies UK Actors Should Know Musical theatre contains a wide range of styles, especially as popular music genres increase in influence. And the best way to internalise a genre is to listen to it.
Don’t just listen to show tunes or what’s in the charts at the moment. Take a deep dive into Spotify and see what you find.
Remember that very different styles may still be connected – Death Metal can trace its roots back to early Rhythm and Blues. So, whether you love or hate what you find, it all helps in broadening your understanding of the music you enjoy and perform.
You may already do this, but if you don’t then now is the time to start. Put on a song and try to make up a harmony line on the fly, either with the lyrics or on an “oo” or “ahh.”
Not only is this fun to do (even if your housemates disagree), but it also trains your aural skills.
Even if it’s subconscious, this exercise involves listening to the chords and melody of the song to pick out the notes that fit best. And because you’re singing along to a recording, you can’t overthink the process.
Listening is a key part of musicianship. So, the more you practice it, the better musician and performer you will be.
If you can read music, sight-singing is a fantastic skill to start learning if you haven’t already. While it’s by no means essential, it’s incredibly helpful for being able to learn songs quickly.
If you’re a complete beginner, Do Re Mi Studios has a selection of short sight-singing exercises to get you started.
If you have vocal selections with unfamiliar songs, or old music that you’ve forgotten, pull it out, give yourself the starting note on a keyboard app, and try singing the melody without playing it. You’ll probably be surprised by how close you are.
If you don’t have unfamiliar music at home, you can Google Image-search “sheet music” to find melodies to practice with. It doesn’t have to be a song – as long as the melody is clear and not above your reading level, you can sing it on an “oo” or “ahh.”
You can also use the preview page on sheet music sites like musicnotes.com to practice. Search through their directory to find songs you don’t know and try to sight-sing the first page.
2020 has been a tough year for all of us in the performing arts industry. With most rehearsals and classes postponed for now, it can be hard to know what positive steps you can take. But whether you try one or all of these tips, you’ll be taking a stride towards levelling up your musical skill set and furthering your performing career.
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