Vocal lessons in Palmerston North

Learning music in Palmerston North 

Palmerston North is the birthplace of a great number of musicians, artists and bands in a great number of styles. In the world of Classical Music, the names of Nigel Keay - composer -, Anna Leese - operatic soprano -, Alan Loveday - violinist -, Gary Brain - conductor - and Michael Houstoun - pianist - are great exponents of famous successful artist that had their beginnings in Palmerston North. 

In Rock and Alternative Music there are a great number of bands and solo artists: Billy TK, Alan Gregg and the Band The Mutton Birds, Oscar Severinsen and the Band The Sound Lemon are musicians and bands who have made their mark.  Solo artists such as Benny Tipene, Matt Penman and Rob Thorne have reached a great audience in New Zealand and in the world. 

Palmerston North has been the place for the beginning of musicians and bands and the number of exponents that have come out of the city is just extraordinary.

Why learn music with a teacher? 

The benefits of learning music with a teacher or private instructor are several, but the two principal ones are consistency and specificity. Learning with a teacher means learning with someone who will see your improvements and your shortcomings. This person will meet with you at a consistent scheduled time and that schedule will organise your time more efficiently. The teacher will also address the challenges and difficulties that are specific to your  progress and relationship with the instrument or any other aspect of music in general. The teacher will guide you then through what he or she will consider to be the better path for your improvement, and he or she will pinpoint the improvements for you to continue engaging in your practice while feeling motivated. The teacher will make you realise your errors in order for you to correct them. Learning with a teacher will give you another reason to be consistent in your instrument practice and it will give you the chance to interact and to get to know someone who will guide you patiently through your journey of learning music.

Improve your musicianship by learning music notation

Learning to read music can open the door to a great repertoire of music, but one thing that you may not realise is how learning these symbols and signs and applying them in your playing will improve your musicianship and your expression. First is rhythm and tempo. Tempo is simply the speed to which the piece of music should be played at, and throughout any piece it can change from normal to faster or slower. You could find the word Accelerando, which translates as speeding up or increasing speed. Other examples of this are Rallentando (slowing down), Ad Libitum (play freely), Animato (animated), Più Mosso (more quickly) or Senza Tempo (no tempo or no strict tempo). Other indications such as Maestoso (majestic), Cantabile (easy to sing), or Con Anima (with soul) can be found at the beginning of the piece and they are meant to point out the spirit and attitude meant for the piece. Dynamics is another great aspect of music. The softest you can play a note is called Pianissimo and it is usually abbreviated with a double P (pp). A soft sound is called Piano (p), a not so soft volume or Mezzo-piano (mp). Mezzo-forte (mf), Forte (f) or loud, and finally very loud or Fortissimo (ff) are three levels of loudness for any note or passage. These are just a few examples of how elastic and expressive your interpretation can become by following the different indications of a particular piece of music. Then thee goal is to find your unique expression, your unique way of playing the different indications and making the piece your own.