Western Melbourne Men's Chorus

Western Melbourne Men's Chorus
Type of post: Club news
Sub-type: No sub-type
Posted By: Dick Bushell
Status: Current
Date Posted: Tue, 16 Aug 2016
Accelerated Learning at Western Melbourne Men's Chorus
 
The Western Melbourne Men's Chorus uses creative learning techniques to bring newbies up to speed quickly and promote music notation literacy, even for total beginners.
 
While I understand the basics of music notation, I can't sight-read and find learning new parts difficult.   I started thinking that what I needed was a karaoke video, but instead of a bouncing ball over the lyrics in front of pointless picturesque background, I wanted to see the sheet music, as it was being played.  This is how I do it:
 
Step (1) Enter the music into MuseScore
MuseScore is a free to download & use music notation software.  MuseScore is to sheet music what a word-processor is to text.  Chris (our musical director) uses Sibelius (commercial equivalent).  If Chris has the music in Sibelius already, it's easy.  Later versions of Sibelius support MusicXML which is to music what pdf is to documents – vendor independent.  I split the music so there's a staff for each part – for two reasons.  Firstly for newbies to music, it's easier to focus on your own notes.  Secondly, MuseScore will play the staffs separately, but not parts. 
 
Step (2)  Export the played sounds (x4)
Not only does MuseScore allow you to enter music notation, but it will also play it for you.  I make four audio tracks.  In each track, one part balanced fully to the right speaker and the rest are directed to the left. 
 
Step (3) Make a video of the music playing.
I use a screen capture program. (There are dozens available)  I use one called 'easyScreenRecorder'.  You have to fiddle a bit with page layout to get the best look. 
 
Step (4) Mix the video and audio tracks (x4)
I use the 'OpenShot' video editor.  You load the video track and one of the audio tracks, use the timeline and the preview to synchronise the audio with the video.  Repeat step (4) for each part and you're done!
 
It works because you get to hear the exact pitch and duration of each of your own notes, still in the context of the others and you learn to read sheet music in the same way a child learns a new language, not out of a text book but on the fly!  We’ve found this vastly speeds the learning of repertoire and helps to engage new & potential members with minimal music reading skills.
 
Demos:
Leads:   https://youtu.be/oN9EYzwuG88     Baritones:   https://youtu.be/A3nZT7rOgcM
 
Robin Vysma (WMMC - Membership and Audience Development Director)