Feb 27 2011

Understanding Music

In Ancient Greece, all children were expected to have mastered two instruments by the age of 12.

Duncan Lorien is a music teacher who says that, like the Greeks on antiquity, we  can all learn to play music competently. My long suffering piano teacher Mrs Chalmers would no doubt beg to disagree.

What’s more, he can have us playing a Bach Concerto is just 3 days! (hands together and proper like).

The ‘Understanding Music Seminar‘ teaches a basic understanding of the intervals and relationships between notes, allowing participants to learn to play scales and chords without the usual relentless repetition.

A basic guide to his approach is available on his US website.

Mr Lorien was interviewed on Life Matters this week.

He has just completed a current seminar series in Australia, but if you missed out, his Australian website says that he will be visiting again in September, when he will run his 3 day workshop in Sydney and Byron Bay. That’s pretty handy.

(He also runs a singing workshop. I think that if I attended it would drive poor Mr Lorien to retirement)

Caution: I’m a bit of a sucker for these things. While at University, I attended an Eveyln Woods Reading Dynamics Course, which teaches speed reading, It went over a number of weeks. As it turns out, the secret to speed reading is to read really quickly.

If you’ve attended an Understanding Music Seminar, please let us know how you found it in the comments.