Find your neutral tone to sing without tension

Neutral tone is a counter-intuitive way to give the singing voice power and fullness. This soft, muddy tone can be shaped into all kinds of vocal styles.

Playing rhythm from the body and soul

The ability to play rhythmically comes from a natural inner feeling in our body and soul. It feels good and we know when we’re engaged with it. Letting go to play and express ourselves from that place of rhythmic freedom takes practice.

The revoiced grand pianos in Pianoteq v.7.5 are amazing!

Here I highlight the things I’m most excited about in the latest incarnation of Modartt’s physical modelling software, Pianoteq.

The Prelude & Fugue in F minor from Bk 2 of the 48 by Bach

The sweet tones of a Bechstein bring out the luminous intricacy of this gorgeous Prelude and Fugue by Bach so well.

At its source, rhythm is a MARRIAGE of two parts…

When we strip away all the techniques and analyses about what rhythm is and how it works, what do we find at the very source?

They Just Don’t Know – a jazz soul song questioning FAKE confidence

If we’re honest, we rarely feel certain about much? Confidence enables people to win in the game of status and power, but if it’s just a ruse, where does that leave us?

2 non-boring improvisation drills for developing comprehensive fluent tonal sense

When we practise scales and learn the theory of chords and voicing, the process is laborious and often dull. So I found a way to bypass this boring work by practising drills that get around the keys using lots of intricate harmonies.

The 2nd movement of Sonata K310 on this instrument from Mozart’s time

The 2nd movement of Mozart’s Sonata in A minor K310 contrasts intricate lyrical music with a dark dramatic development section. Hear how this late 18th Century fortepiano handles these contrasts in a very different way from the modern piano.