Learning music is about playing music that was or is. Taking those chords, notes, shapes, melodies, rhythms and harmonies that every musician must and does and applying them in all of their mundane expressions. There is nothing new about a C chord, or a crotchet or a...

Music can be of service. Think music in a shopping centre, music in a film, music at a boxing match or a musician playing in the background. Whilst music can be listened to and enjoyed as its own thing, it certainly serves to complement and enhance other things too. I...

It’s interesting to see the role of expectation and the breach expectation in the experience of music. There is this way in which an audience will expect a degree of musicianship or style or outcome from a musician and a way in which the musician can play to this or...

A garden is a place where we take what is wild and free and plant it within a confine, space or limitation. A plant or tree that would otherwise fight for survival in a wild setting is now growing with aid and support of the gardener. The gardener nourishes, protects,...

Being a musician is no simple thing. It’s one of those titles that isn’t exactly clear when one becomes or is made into a musician but we do certainly when someone is one. It’s also confused when it comes to who is doing the labeling. Perhaps to some we are a...

I remember studying the idea of “art for art’s sake” at university. It’s the idea that art has an inherent value independent of its subject-matter. It’s really interesting to think about music in this way. Is there a use for music other than its outcomes? Is it worth...

When I speak with those around me there seems to be this understanding that one “is musical” or one is “not musical”, as though there is an innate difference between one to another as it relates to something we all have access to.  I think what someone means when they...

There is a sense from many that music must be performative. It must be on a stage or recorded and broadcast somewhere. The idea being that music requires an audience, or at least an ear to hear to confirm it happened. Like the old adage “If a tree falls in a forest...

Music is more than just something we listen to. It plays a special and essential role in many of our lives. Think of a film or show running without music. Think of an advertisement or a sports event or a concert (of any discipline) or a meet-and-greet or a restaurant...

MUSIC DOES NOT NEED A STAGE Music on a stage or a recording is a relatively recent thing, yet it's become the primary way we experience it. When was the last time you experienced music in another way? Musicians of course have the opportunity to engage directly in this...