http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/index/ Anything and everything to do with the happiest music school in the UK - and a lot else besides! en derrick.baughan@btinternet.com Copyright 2009 2009-01-01T07:58:34+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/welcome1/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/welcome1/#When:19:00:13Z Welcome to the Huntingdonshire Music School and Huntingdonshire Music School Association (HUMSA) - one of the Internet’s best kept secrets! Whilst we may not brag very much, the school is very much a place of musical excellence where adults and children can learn an instrument and play with others in a relaxed and friendly setting. We have an ‘open door’ policy so why not come in to see us on a Saturday morning and see what a few hundred people get up to in the name of music. We can’t promise that it will make you more attractive to the opposite sex or provide superhuman powers. We can, however, promise you fun and the ability to take up something that might very well change your life. Sit back, relax and explore… Instruments Taught Groups, Ensembles & Orchestras A Typical Saturday Morning Travel with us and have fun Activity, Enrol, Learn, Organisation, HUMS, People, Public, Qualities, Help 2008-05-25T19:00:13+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/more_seasons_greeting/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/more_seasons_greeting/#When:07:58:34Z A Happy new year to you all, a year full of renewed efforts to do daily scales, long low tones for wind and brass players, bow practice for string players, scales in 3rds for pianists, independence for percussionists and breathing for singers.  Whether you bang, blow, scrape or pluck, enjoy it.  2009-01-01T07:58:34+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/you_tube_symphony_orchestra/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/you_tube_symphony_orchestra/#When:22:44:54Z I have mixed feelings about you tube; however, I have found it really useful for one thing.  I look on there for performances of the songs that I am thinking of doing for my next exam.  You would be surprised at what I have found!!  Anyway whilst logging on the other day I came across this and was intrigued by the title.  It is worth looking at.  A challenge to any musician and the chance to win a place in a performance at Carnegie Hall The idea of the YouTube symphony orchestra is to to get lots of people performing and use YouTube to find the performers. As it says on the YouTube site Play your part in music history. Interested in joining the first-ever collaborative online orchestra? Professionals and amateur musicians of all ages, locations and instruments are welcome to audition for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra by submitting a video performance of a new piece written for the occasion by the renowned Chinese composer Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). We have tools to help you learn the music, rehearse with the conductor, and upload your part for the collaborative video. And how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice and upload. Send us your talent video performance from a list of recommended pieces. Finalists will be chosen by a judging panel and YouTube users to travel to New York in April 2009, to participate in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit, and play at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. The deadline for all video submissions is January 28, 2009. Website: http://www.youtube.com/symphony So why not give it a go? You might even want to get together to do it.  See what you think and the Music School may be able to help you with it. Perform, HUMS, Public, News 2008-12-03T22:44:54+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/marketing_skills_needed/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/marketing_skills_needed/#When:13:33:18Z All of us who go there agree that the Music School is a great place to go to.  However, not a lot of people know about us and what our unique points are.  These include theory and aural lessons as part of the package, as well as your individual tuition; ensembles to play in; etc. We now need some help with getting the message out there.  The committee have formed a sub-group to look at this and have lots of ideas but are in need of a bit of specialist guidance.  So if you have these skills and could spare a bit of time that would be great.  You will not be asked to do all the work but to tell us what would work.  Also you would be welcome to join in the group to help in a number of ways.  We are currently putting together terms of reference for the group so that you can see what would be involved. HUMS, HUMSA, Public, Help 2008-11-25T13:33:18+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/abrsm_2009_syllabus_podcast/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/abrsm_2009_syllabus_podcast/#When:20:21:26Z The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal School of Music) have changed the syllabi (see Wikipedia!) for:-Classical GuitarSingingPianofor 2009 onwards. They have released a series of 3 podcasts covering the syllabus for each including interviews and musical demonstrations. The links for the each episode are:-Piano podcast episodeSinging podcast episodeClassical Guitar podcast episode or you can subscribe to the podcast series via RSSiTunes Learn, Student 2008-11-04T20:21:26+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/take_a_short_free_course_with_the_open_university_learning_space/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/take_a_short_free_course_with_the_open_university_learning_space/#When:09:24:17Z The Open University (OU) was started in 1969 as a distance learning university with an open-access policy. Something around 180,000 students are enrolled. Over the years it has developed in many ways and makes use of all the modern electrickery, string and technology in order to deliver education courses and content to anyone anywhere in the world. A lot of the courses are paid-for but recently some free to learn options have been developed, including OpenLearn. What is OpenLearn-ing? OpenLearn is online learning that is open to anyone, anywhere in the world using materials taken from Open University courses. And it is completely free to use! Instead of attending classes, you study online in the LearningSpace, using materials that have been specially designed for distance learning. OpenLearn does not: require you to be or become an Open University student grant degrees or award credits provide access to the services available to students registered on Open University courses, such as tutorial support If you are interested in becoming an Open University student you might want to visit New to the OU. OpenLearn is an opportunity for informal study – in your own time access materials in areas familiar or new to you, without the pressure of keeping to a timetable or sitting exams. Instead, assess your own progress by keeping an online learning journal, discussing the topics with other online learners in forums and completing self assessment exercises where you control when the answer is revealed. While OpenLearn isn’t exactly the same as studying at University, it gives real learning experiences taken from degree courses – and for free! The sorts of courses relating to music include:- Creating Musical Sounds How do different instruments produce the sounds we classify as music? How do we decide whether something – a piano, a vacuum cleaner – is actually a musical instrument?Sound for Music Technology - An Introduction Whether you’re a professional musician, play music with your friends on the weekends or just like to listen to CDs, music technology affects your life. In this unit, you will learn some of the basics of music technology, starting with what sound ...Voice-Leading Analysis of Music 1: the foreground This unit introduces 'voice-leading' or 'Schenkerian' analysis, perhaps the most widely-used and discussed method of analysing tonal music. In this unit, this method is explained through the analysis of piano sonatas by Mozart. The unit ... If anyone has any experience of these courses we’d be interested to know what they’re like - interesting? Useful? Any particular ones to be recommended? Reference Open University - Wikipedia History of the OU - Open University Activity, Learn, People, Student, Qualities, Reference 2008-10-12T09:24:17+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/musescore_free_open_source_music_composition_notation_software/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/musescore_free_open_source_music_composition_notation_software/#When:21:11:22Z MuseScore | Free music composition & notation software: “Download Free - Now Version 0.9.3 MuseScore Free music composition & notation software MuseScore is a free cross platform WYSIWYG music notation program, licenced under GNU GPL. Some highlights: WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), notes are entered on a ‘virtual note sheet’ Unlimited number of staves Up to four voices per staff Easy and fast note entry with mouse, keyboard or MIDI Integrated sequencer and FluidSynth software synthesizer Import and export of MusicXml and Standard MIDI Files (SMF) - standards-based ways of exchanging music notation between applications Platform independent code, binaries available for Linux and Windows GNU GPL licenced ... MuseScore 0.9.3 released By werner - Posted on September 21st, 2008 The new MuseScore release 0.9.3 is out and ready for download! MuseScore 0.9.3 implements a new compressed file format (*.mscz), adds a lot of other new features, fixes some bugs and tries to speedup/optimize layout. The script plugin interface has now bindings to the whole qt library. New score elements are glissando and tremolo symbols between notes. Tuplet ty” Musescore Site If anyone knows of any more good free notation or other good software for music students please let us know. People, Student, Qualities, News, Reference 2008-10-10T21:11:22+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/choosing_between_long_and_short_nails_for_playing_classical_guitar_classica/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/choosing_between_long_and_short_nails_for_playing_classical_guitar_classica/#When:18:26:15Z Choosing between long and short nails for playing Classical Guitar | Classical Guitar Home: Classical Guitar Home • The Blog • Sheet Music • Videos • Contact The debate over long or short nails has raged since the dawn of the classical guitar and the right answer to this question is ‘It doesn’t matter’. But there are differences between the two styles and some things you should know before you decide which is right for you. Some classical guitarists prefer to pluck the strings with the nails of their right hand while other guitarists prefer to keep their nails trimmed and to pluck the strings with the tips of their fingers. If you are a beginner classical guitarist you might be wondering which way you should play. You can start with no nails at all playing like that for one year or so.In that way you will find the right attack of the fingers. Only after that you could let them to grow. Here are some insights about each way so you can make a decision as to which style is right for you… Reference Extract taken from article on CreativeGuitar.org blog Activity, Learn, People, Student, Qualities, Reference 2008-10-03T18:26:15+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/huntingdon_community_radio/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/huntingdon_community_radio/#When:10:22:54Z Huntingdon Community Radio has been broadcasting for short periods of time under temporary licenses for 13 years now. In fact during the run up to the Big 4-0 (the 40th anniversary of the Huntingdonshire Music School) two of us were interviewed on air about the music school and the musical daftness we get up to. They will be applying for full-time license from OFCOM - the last time a full-time license will be advertised for this area for some time. They need support to be able to apply for this additional capability for Huntingdonshire. There’s a public meeting on Wednesday 1st October 2008 at 7pm at the George Hotel in Huntingdon to try and get support. Please turn up and show support as this benefits not only us in the music school but everyone else in the area covered (St. Neots, St. Ives, Godmanchester and Ramsey). If you can’t attend then you can listen live online through your browser if you point it at the home page for the radio station (below). See the Huntingdon Community Radio website. People, Public, Qualities, Help, News 2008-09-28T10:22:54+00:00 http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/norfolk_2009_tour_planning/ http://www.humsa.org.uk/index.php/site/norfolk_2009_tour_planning/#When:13:02:09Z For the last few summers we’ve organised trips at the beginning of the summer holidays. These are always lively and consist of a mixture of performance, sight-seeing and plain old social relaxation. To date we’ve been to Wertheim (Germany)/Paris [2006], Kirchheim (Austria) [2007] and this summer we travelled to the Isle of Man [2008]. The planning is now well under way for the 2009 trip to Norfolk and is open to anyone at the school. Not everyone who goes on these trips plays - they tend to be very much family affairs. As Norfolk is relatively close to home it will enable some to join us for a short time and return home. This hasn’t been possible for the longer trips overseas and as a result some folks have missed out. The likely locations are:- Forum (Norwich library) St Stephen"s Church, Norwich Aylsham Church - joint performance with The Ipswich & Norwich Brass Band Mannington Hall & Gardens Activity, Travel, Organisation, HUMSA, People, Student, Qualities, News 2008-09-27T13:02:09+00:00