COMPOSER SABRINA PENA YOUNG | MUSIC TECHNOLOGY | FILM | CLASSICAL | OPERA

Money for Musicians - How to get a Grant Financial assistance from Government Grants can be career changing, but the application process can be gruelling. Anthea Palmer provides Tips on Grant Applications.

Many people mistakenly think that musical ability is something you’re either born with or not. While we can agree your genetics may play a small role in determining your musicianship, your musical skill is something that can be trained and learned with practice like anything else. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/impro... Even the greatest artists in the world have to go through a strenuous amount of practice, spending countless hours perfecting their craft. Music is a universal language that helps us connect with others and communicate with our inner selves. Thus, there’s always a good reason to nurture your musical soul. Whether you want to be the next YouTube sensation or just want to impress your significant other with a beautiful song, here are 3 simple non-music activities that can take your musical ability to the next level. There are many ways to enhance your music ability, even in situations where you don’t have access to music. We hope you’ve found these tips he...

However, we’ve come across many aspiring musicians who are frustrated because they feel that regardless of how much time they spend on “practising”, nothing has really changed. The root of this common problem is our understanding about what practising really is – many musicians mistake playing for practising. While playing is purely for fun, practising requires discipline, repetition, systematic performance, and perseverance, all combined with the goal of reaching the next level of competency and mastering an instrument. Practice isn’t always pleasant. It’s real, hard work. How can you make the most of your practice time and take your musical skills to the next level? Try out these 4 practice techniques.

Studying music is exciting, but can also seem daunting. There’s so much to learn and master, and sometimes it may feel like you’re not making any progress. It can be easy to get frustrated and lose sight of your goal. Instead of getting discouraged, consider following a few rules to get the most out of your practicing. These will help you keep your goals in the front of your mind and see where you can make changes. Don’t have a clear musical goal yet? Rules will definitely help you, but you have to know where you’re going before you can make true progress. You can read more about setting goals and creating a practice strategy here. Now that you know what you want to work toward, here’s a list of 5 rules which the Musical U team has compiled to help you study music effectively: Another way to get external accountability is to join a community. Find a musical community where musicians support each other by sharing their struggles, achievements, and ideas. Not sure where to fin...

“I can’t live… If lividi-bada-dooo…” I bet you have done this once or twice! You got on stage and then suddenly in the middle of the verse you went zazuum shashimi with your lyrics because you forgot the words. It is funny and embarrassing at the same time but the show must go on. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/10-to... This happens to almost everyone at some point. Even actors and professional singers like One Direction are not safe. Of course, there’s the lyric stand, the prompter, and the song book. But what if you were not allowed to bring those onto the stage? Or if you need to prepare for a competition or a performance outside the karaoke hall? Don’t fret. We are here to the rescue! We have compiled the top 10 tips for memorising songs. So you don’t have to sing “lividi-bada-dooo” ever again.

A lot of discussion can be had over whether the guitar should be tuned by ear or with the help of an electronic device. As we’re about to see, tuning by ear has multiple benefits over the “easier” path of using a tuner. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/how-t... Guitars go out of tune for all sorts of different reasons, and you won’t always have an electronic tuner around to help you out. For quick, on-the-fly tuning, tuning by ear reigns supreme. By the end of this guide on how to tune a guitar for beginners, you’ll know how to tune your guitar with just your hands and ears, popular alternate tunings, and how to check that you’ve tuned correctly by using a piano. The first few times you tune a guitar by ear, it can be frustrating – sometimes you just can’t track down that strange-sounding string. It may be tempting to reach for that electronic tuner, but don’t give up! Your ear will steadily get better and better at recognizing those “off” notes, and tweaking them to the righ...

Let's learn more about what Kodály can do for you! https://www.musical-u.com/learn/what-... There are almost as many approaches to learning music as there are musicians. Every teaching style has a philosophy behind it, and this philosophy influences what is taught and how it is taught. The interactive, collaborative, and highly kinesthetic Kodály method of learning music was developed by Hungarian composer and educator Zoltán Kodály in the early 20th century. It combines several powerful techniques for developing the core skills of musicianship. Because it focuses on the expressive and creative skills of musicianship (rather than the theory or instrument skills) the Kodály approach is very closely related to the world of musical ear training. In fact, it could arguably be seen as an approach to ear training, since it is primarily your musical ear which Kodály develops. https://www.musical-u.com/learn/what-... Though originally designed with young children in mind, ...

Does music strengthen your brain? Find out how here: https://www.musical-u.com/learn/9-way... Growing up, your mom told you to practice the piano. When you asked why, she would either say, “Because it’s good for you!” or, “Because I said so!” Perhaps this led to you feeling frustrated and eventually giving up the instrument. It’s a common occurrence. Now that you’re older, you know that playing an instrument might be fun, but you can’t come up with a compelling reason why it should take away time from other important things. Or maybe you want to get started but your significant other thinks it might be a waste of time. Mom knew it was good, but she probably wasn’t aware of the details. Fortunately, today’s scientific research on the brain reveals many amazing and surprising benefits to learning music at any age. Here are nine very good reasons to start playing an instrument, all related to your brain. Once you’ve read them, you’ll have to come up with reasons not to play...

How to make a career in music: 6 Tips for Freelance Musicians - Emily Davidson, baroque  cello After music school, becoming a freelance classical musician can be daunting. Hope these tips help demystify what it takes to have a music career!

Why So Many Talented Musicians Never Make It Hunter S. Thompson's observation: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”

Some Things I've Learned about Songwriting in 25 Years | Cliff Goldmacher | TEDxMemphis Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, session musician, producer, engineer and author. In his talk, he covers a few things he’s learned about songwriting in the twenty-five years he’s been doing it and plays snippets of a few of his songs to illustrate his points. In the music business for over twenty-five years, Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, engineer, author and educator. His songwriting collaborators include Grammy award-winning and multi-platinum selling artists Keb’ Mo’, Ke$ha, Lisa Loeb, Grateful Dead drummer, Mickey Hart, and Chris Barron (Lead singer of the Spin Doctors). Cliff’s songs have been cut by major label artists in genres ranging from country, pop and jazz to classical crossover. His music has also been used on NPR’s “This American Life” and in national advertising campaigns. Cliff’s song, "Till You Come To Me,” went to #1 on the jazz charts. This ...

Advanced Audio for Filmmakers Logic Tutorial Learn about pitch shift and equalization in this advanced audio techniques for films by award-winning composer Sabrina Pena Young. Part of a presentation and FREE Film Workshop Oct. 16 @7pm at the Screening Room in Amherst New York. Hosted by the Buffalo Movie and Video

ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop | Antoni M. March

Witness the magic of the 2017 Film Scoring Workshop with Richard Bellis recording session. For more info on this year's Workshop visit

Find a Film Composer: ASCAP Composer Spotlight & Columbia University Film Scoring Workshop