The Easy Way to Play Modes
Learn how to transpose the modes from one key to another with a simple method that relies only on your knowing your major scales.
SMT Blog
Update & ‘Freedom Day’
Little changes to Covid precautions Despite Boris Johnson’s so-called ‘Freedom Day’ relaxing of the Covid rules across England, my students and I will remain cautious about the spread of Covid to protect one another and…
Update & some excellent advice
Philippa Perry is The Observer’s new agony aunt, and in last Sunday’s edition she imparted some excellent advice to a person who is struggling to find motivation and enjoyment in life. I think her words…
Update & Breathing Exercises
Sing to Relax Like exercise, music can be a powerful way of calming the mind, easing symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. A lovely way to help this process along is to start your day…
Some lovely student feedback this morning
Here’s what my new student, Keri, sent me in an email over the weekend: Hi Damian, I had to message you to say my Mind. Is. Blown. What a massive difference it makes taking an…
Update: A temporary return to Zoom
Because of plans of a trip that my family has coming up, I’ve made the decision to offer Zoom only lessons from 1st to 16th July, this with a view to minimising contact with others…
Primary School Teacher Resource: Classic Assembly Songs
I’ve recorded a whole load of ‘classic’ assembly songs from the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, in the traditional style with piano accompaniment and posted them as a YouTube playlist. There are also lyrics on screen…
Update & Developing ‘Unitasking’
This week I’ve been reading Sherry Turkle’s Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. In it she makes a strong case for what she calls ‘unitasking’ – the rejection of the idea…
Slots Update w/c 14th June
First just play for fun, and achievement will follow. Slots for the coming week: All the available slots this week are after school, so if you have a child who would like to book into…
Student Collaboration: ‘In C’
This summer, amateur and student musicians will be coming together to create a unique virtual performance of Terry Riley’s iconic minimalist composition ‘In C’. This is a piece made up of a series of very…