Recently, I have been overseeing and taking part in a few online courses (both paid for and free), as well of course as my own online youtube videos and lesson content. I am surprised by a number of students reaction to the teaching and more importantly, their expectation of what they are supposed to get from a class, tutorial, workshop or lecture. The notes below are a reflection on the criticism towards the Hans Zimmer Masterclass series.As a university lecturer this notion of 'not getting much' from tuition is becoming a regular occurrence in the education sphere. I put it down to a younger generation learning with newer pedagogical methodologies where learning is instant and targeted to what you need to know NOW and very much a how to do what you need right now, rather than a more holistic approach to learning and understanding your area of specialism.I also find a slight misunderstanding by students in the terminology used traditionally, such as tutorial, workshop, lecture and masterclass. I think that many students (or people who signed up for the HZ Masterclass) were expecting a workshop or tutorial on ‘How to score a oscar winning soundtrack' with accompanying step-by-step guide on the 10 steps you need to take from switching on your DAW.Further Learning (i.e not school) is about asking questions, the learning is about being given ideas or concept which you can then study further and investigate yourself with the assistance of your tutor. I guess (and I could go on about this for ever), in the corpora-education results focused world we now live, education is about making sure stats look good to ensure the steady flow of cash.In a masterclass class (!), the student should (I feel) expect to listen and be inspired by the PROCESS that the Masterclass expert has This should not be a tutorial in techqniue but an overview, with room for case studies, tips and tricks as well as experiences (which I feel HZ did). I think many were expecting him to fire up Cubase and show them how to write a melody, orchestrate it and receive an Oscar.I do feel that perhaps it might have been nice to have seen him approach an unseen cue and talk about that but I feel for the money that there have been enough suggestions and comment from Hans to help develop my work, inspire me to work more and some useful tips on how to be more effective.What are your thoughts on this? What do you expect from a class, lecture, or masterclass?PeaceNeil
Spitfire Audio Albion V Tundra Review - First Impressions.
I have just downloaded Spitfire Audio's amazing Albion V Tundra library and thought I would do a very quick first impressions video!! The thing that got me hooked was how it was recorded (as they put it) "on the edge of silence". The orchestra all playing a soft and as quiet as they can using the inspiration of Scandinavian composers such as Arvo Pärt, Sibelius and Gorecki, the sounds I have heard on my first few hours with the instrument do really conjure up and evoke the cold, mystical tundra.I am so excited to have been able to get this library and it is very, very useful for the kind of music I write. I will be putting together a proper composed demo soon, but it in the meantime it is safe to say, I totally love it so far!EnjoyPeaceNeil
There is another way : Making life work as a creative - My New Podcast
Create, live, breath and be free
I am so proud to say that my first podcast has been broadcast and is now available online and in iTunes. This is something which has been in the planning for sometime now and I have an exciting information and interviews to share with everyone in the near future.SO what is it about?"Create, live, breath and be free" : There is another way!The goal of the 'There is another way' podcast is to help and empower those on a journey to break away from the 9 to 5, captive working environment and live the life they truly want to. To explore life, the world and creativity.There is another way podcast is all about the journey of being a creativity, a no holes barred account of the ups and downs of being a creative. Neil aims to give listeners the whole truth about the journey and the inspiration to know that they can make it work, no matter their circumstances. With advice, interviews and live talks, this podcasts aims to assist you in making the right choices about your future.Please subscribe on iTunes to get the next Episodes, we will be realising a next Episode every Sunday!Enjoy and thanks for your support.PeaceNeil
Improve your finger independence for guitar - try chord voicings
Facing the finger
Improving finger independence is one of the biggest challenges facing beginner (and more advanced!) players, there are a whole host of finger exercises out there (including student's favourite...the spider). I have found that another way you can tackle this area and work on building your finger independence is to use chord voicings and switch between them.
Video Lesson
So I posted this video lesson which uses some more 'complex' chord shapes and then spend your time switching between them. This is also a great 'musical' method to improve finger independence over the more traditional spider exercises.Download PDF of chord shapes here For more in-depth information on maximising your practice time and finding your own voice on the instrument, check out my book Guitar Creativity - A new way of thinking Follow me onTwitterFacebookInstragramLinkedInEnjoy!PeaceNeil
Brucie's Extreme Guitar | Opinionated lessons and thoughts on guitar playing
Along with my Guitar Creativity videos on Youtube, I have now started a new series of videos. These videos are entitled 'Brucie's extreme guitar' and I am offering opinionated lessons and thoughts on guitar playing.The idea of these videos is to think through and play devil's advocate on some ideas and opinions relating to guitar playing and the whole guitar world. I really want to suggest some things which might get you thinking or maybe even get you all fired up.Here is the play list of the videos so far and the first is any introduction to the series.I hope you enjoy and would love to hear your thoughts!EnjoyPeaceNeil
Guitar Creativity - Finger independence? Chords are your friends!!
Finger indepence is one of the most important techniques to master when playing the guitar, of course you want your fingers to go where you want them to, when you want them to and work independently. Usually when starting off (or even when you reach performing level), you learn a whole series or finger independence exercises and the continue to practise and work on these for years to come. Not only do they help with stamina, coordination and strength but also provide a great warm up too.
So what's the problem?
Well there is no problem!! Except that these exercises can be a bit dull and boring and your mind can wander when doing them (in front of the TV perhaps??) and crucially as they are chromatic, well you can't really use them in playing and well they just aren't very musical are they!! SO, step forward the humble chord. Chord shapes actually require a great deal of independence of your fingers especially when switching between them! So this Guitar Creative Video, suggests that you try using chord shapes are you finger exercise as well. This lesson is using complex chord shapes and switching between them as a 'musical' method to improve finger independence over the more traditional spider exercises.
Chords are your friends!!
You can download a PDF of the chord shapes used in this video here.The amazing chord swap finger exercises PDFFor more in-depth information on maximising your practice time and finding your own voice on the instrument, check out my book Guitar Creativity - A new way of thinking Enjoy!PeaceNeil
Top Ten Gigging Tips to avoid gigging disaster! FREE PDF Download
We have all had those gigs where everything goes wrong, where the unexpected becomes expected, where you think you are in Spinal Tap. So after years gigging I thought I would put together my my top ten list of tips to help you all be prepared for when gigging, hopefully so you can avoid some of the pitfalls!!! I decided to put all of these tips in a helpful PDF so you can download it an take it with you to gigs! In fact here is a bonus tip for you.
Bonus Tip
So the bonus tip is about using some of the amazing free apps that are out there such as Evernote or Dropbox to store your equipment manuals as PDFs, you can of course also store setlist, chords, charts, PL insurance documents, PAT testing documents, everything in one handy place which you can access on your Smart phone. Of course you can now add the top ten gigging tips as well.
Top Ten Gigging Tips
The gigging tips were to be a bonus chapter in my book, Guitar Creativity | A new way of thinking, but I thought it was slight of topic from the focus of the book, so I have decided to give it to you here as a FREE download, you don't have to sign up for anything, just download it and use it to your hearts content.FREE PDF Download Top ten gigging tips - Spencer Bruce MusicLove to hear your feedback!EnjoyPeaceNeil