How has music been a big part of my life?

Hey guys!

Today’s blog post will be a short story about my life and how music has been a big part of it.

Let’s go way back, to when I was about 6 years old.   

I remember walking into my first piano lesson, with not a care in the world. A girl of 16 came up to my parents asking if she could teach me some piano so she could earn a little bit of money. I started learning step by step. I never thought that this random decision would change my life. I kept visiting her, lesson by lesson. I remember that sometimes she would make me a hot chocolate, and she would give me stickers at the end of the lesson.

When we moved away, I decided not to stop with piano, but continue on. Now that I was a bit older I could understand how much I actually liked music. Soon, I did my first piano exam and happily came back with an A. I soon discovered how I could sing, and I started singing lessons. I can’t believe that without that single act of luck, maybe now I would not like music at all!  Now I am a piano player, a singer and have a love for music. 

Music has helped me a lot through life. Music has always been a sort of 'backup' plan for me. I can always come home and play the piano, or plug in my headphones to listen to the music that I am into. It always gives me happiness. 

Tell me if you feel the same way about music! I hope you enjoyed this blog post, I am soooo sorry that I have not uploaded for a little while, I have had a lot of assignments due. But, don't worry, I will be uploading more now that they are mostly done. Please look out for my next blog post, it doesn't have anything to do with music, it is to do with my sister's photography! 

Comment below what you would like to see on my blog, and I will try to do it. 

That's it for now, talk to you guys in the next blog post!

Music4life xx 

My tips for warming up :)

Hey guys!

It is obvious because of the name of the blog, that I love to sing! But a lot of people know that before you sing, you have to warm up! Here are some warm ups that I always do before I sing my heart out! Remember, everyone is different, so you should always decide for yourself the warm up that works for you :)

1. Bubbles

If you know me, you know I love the word bubble, but that isn't the reason that this is the first warm up. Bubbles is when you vibrate your lips sort of like brrrrrrr. You go up in thirds on the piano – C, D, E, D, C and so on.

2. 12345678

If you sing then you probably know this one. You basically sing in tones up the octave and back down. This is the order of the numbers,

1

121

12321

1234321

123454321

I think you get the gist of it.

3. aeiou

Basically, the way you do this scale, is you start on one note, and go down 5 tones. For example, if you were at G, you would go G F E D C.

4. EEEE

Sing E up and down five notes. Helpful hint: try smiling when singing this vowel.

5. Humming

Another very good way to warm up is to hum. Don’t have an H at the beginning of each note. Try humming in thirds with this pattern:

1323132313231

Or..

CEDECEDECEDEC

6. Ma

Do the same as the EEE scale, but with ma. Hold ‘a’ as in ‘are’ the whole way, starting with m.

7. Bumblebee

For this scale, you have to sing bumblebee (like bu-mble-be-ee) in this pattern up tones in the major scale:

1 3 2 4 3 5 4 6 5 7 6 8 7 9 8 10 8 9 7 8 6 7 5 6 4 5 3 4 2 1

Or…

C E D F E G F A G B A C B D C E D E C D B C A B G A F G E F D C

8. Tay eee Tay ohh

For this warm up, you have to sing slowly up a major octave. You have to hold each ‘Tay’ or ‘eee’ and so on for at least two seconds.

9. Moo

Do the same as the ‘ma’ and the ‘eee’ scale, but sing moo, rounding your lips.

10. Shhh

Now, to practice using your diaphragm, breathe in deeply and while you are breathing out, say shhhh, just like are telling someone to be quiet. This will help you breathe later while singing.

So, I hope you have enjoyed this blog post, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below, because I know that some of you new musicians out there won’t know some of the terminology. Thanks for reading!

Happy singing,

Music4life xx

P.S. Thanks to Sing, Dance, Create on YouTube ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoAeq5ZRpNU4cywg6ECFu2g ) for recommending this idea to me, go subscribe to her!

10 awesome tips to writing a song! x

Hi Guys!

Recently, I have been in the mood to write songs, and today, I decided to share my top ten tips to writing songs!

#10- Take the time

When you are doing homework, you put away time to do it right? It is the same with writing songs, you have to take the time to sit down and think.

#9- Think about your mood

What mood are you in? Sit down and think about what your mood is and write about it. 

#8- Listen to good songs

Let’s face it, iTunes has so many songs that will inspire you to write your own. But, do not copy the words of the songs because that could turn out for the worst.

#7- Work out the Music before the words

For me, it works better to write the melody, so I can align the words with the beat of the song. That way, you have a choice in where you put your words.

#6 – Listen to all different genres of music

I know that I don’t have a passion for all types of music, but there is a reason some people like various types of music. Find the reason why they like that music. Listen to the music that you don’t normally listen to.

#5- Try learn an instrument

It always helps to learn an instrument, because then you have the musical theory in you. Ever wondered how your friend can sight read or easily read the notes in the lines or spaces? Ask them, they probably learn an instrument and learn new songs all the time, making it easier to read the notes.

#4- Always be ready for inspiration

Don’t you hate it when you sit down, and you cannot think of a single word to write? Well unfortunately, this happens a lot, not just to me, but to everyone, including famous songwriters and authors. So, the way to make it easier for yourself is to always carry pen and paper around, so it doesn't matter if you are sitting in the middle of a fast food restaurant and a strike of creativity hits you, just write it down!

#3- Get someone else involved

Can’t think of anything? There is a high chance that someone else out there has something, but are too scared to show it to the world, find that someone and work with them to write the song.

#2- Find Inspiration

Take a break from your hard work at your desk, and step outside into your garden. Bring a notepad and pen and try to describe your surroundings and how you feel in your surroundings. This may help to write some lines of your song.

#1- Don’t pressure yourself!

All songwriters take different time periods to write songs! If you cannot think of anything at that moment, take a break and relax! Writing a song is a very special thing to do, and rushing it never works.

So, I hope you have enjoyed this little blog post, and I hope you are now inspired to write music!

Love from,

Music4life xx

About Me & My Blog x

Hi!

This is my blog about music and showing how I sing!

        
I will be uploading clips of me singing various songs and also tips on music. This blog is not only about music though, for those of you who like beauty, fashion and other girly things like that than this is the blog for you!

Hope you enjoy!

Music4life xx