About Ear Orchestra
The Ear Orchestra is a Choir for instruments. Everyone will be singing on their instruments. Parts will be taught by ear. Recording devices are encouraged to facilitate learning.
You can just drop in & be part of Ear Orchestra now & again or come every week. We'll be working towards regular concerts but you are not required to play if you feel you don't wish to. The atmosphere is relaxed & the hang ups we all have about playing music will be gently demolished. |
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Standard
If you can play 3 chords on guitar / keyboard or a scale (chromatic particularly useful), on your instrument, you're perfect. This class is about musical development. If you're already a great player, you're probably too good for us! But if you're a great player, but you're lost without you're 'dots', please come along. Complete beginners are discouraged but not banned. One to one beginners tuition is not available at Ear Orchestra so if you don't know which end of your instrument to blow in yet, be prepared to do lots of listening & observing & little or no playing.
Remember though that a few hours instruction is all that's required to bring you to a level at which you can effectively contribute. There will be very simple lines & more demanding parts to be played. There should be a line for pretty much everyone. |
Instrument:
If you can get your instrument in the building, we can use you. If you only play in one key (mouth organs, certain concertinas, pipes etc), you'll be restricted in what you can join in with so please mitigate this if you can with a second instrument. There may be certain instruments that are too loud for the mix so If you're very loud, we may have to quieten you down somehow! Bagpipes are the most obvious example. But we're determined to exclude instruments as a last resort, so whatever you play, please come & we'll see…!
If your instrument happens to be your voice, that's fine too! Drums are instruments too!... & we'll be needing drummers... |
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Choice of music:
The music we play will be determined democratically by the participants. We'll listen to recordings, work out parts & reproduce our version. Your tutor will guide you into working out your own parts. Listening properly is at the centre of everything we do. It'll come easier to some than others, but it's a skill we're all born to do. Most of us just never develop it.
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The most suitable music is simple & repetitive. Good examples:
- The Mavericks Dance the Night Away – a fantastic groovin' 2 chord wonder..
- The James Bond theme, more complex but still having very simple repetitive lines weaving in & out of each other. V satisfying.
- Michael Jackson: Billy Jean, how simple yet how powerful is that drum beat? And that bass line, pretty much goes though the whole song
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Tuning:
You'll be encouraged & guided in tuning your own instruments at the start of each class. Electronic Tuners are handy but do use your ears too. |
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The less one uses 'the dots', the better one gets at playing by ear. One doesn't help the other. If you never read, or can't read, you have the best potential to be superb at playing by ear. |
