Guitar Syllabus Level I

Hello Student! Welcome to DoweMusic & Arts. We are so happy to welcome you to this vast family. Our hope is that by the end of your stay with us, you'll have gotten what you really need or even more. To get the syllabus, click Guitar Syllabus Level I  It contains such vital information as:

• Objectives
• Course Requirements
• Examination Guidelines
• Songlist

If you would wish to get the lesson guide please contact us through the mail provided in the syllabus.

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Ode To Joy

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Success Never Stoops

Success never stoops,
She always stands,
You must arise,
She sets standards
There are choices,
Ending with consequences,
I hope you'll embrace
Life without shortcuts

Looking beyond looks,
There are opportunities,
Benchmarked with goals
Success never stoops
C'mon boys girls
Power's within us
See beyond boundaries
Grab them fortunes

There're coming days
 You want sunrise?
Then hard-working​ pays
Success never stoops
#NewagePoetry
#dowemusic&arts
#knlsnakuru

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Songwriting I

What is a song?
What comes to your mind when you hear the word Song? How do you normally come to a conclusion that what you are hearing is not just a speech but a song? In this post, we are going to talk about essential elements of a song. Well, we won’t really get scholarly about it as such to scare you. The information shared is to make it easier for young composer to get basics of songwriting.
A song could be words flowing with a sweet melody dictated by rhythm. Where there are no words, I prefer calling that a tune. From my simple description, you can easily tell there are three things: Words, melody & rhythm. Today, allow me to focus on the first aspect.
Lyrics
It almost sounds like an offense to musicians to say a song has words instead of the word lyrics. Yet there are a bunch of folks who get a little confused when you mention the term.  But since you are reading this, and we are musical here, let’s use the tools of trade.
Depending on individuals, composing a song can start from anywhere. So what’s in the lyrics? There are a few questions you need to ask yourself:
Who’s the song for?
Who’s singing?
What am I telling them?
When am I telling them?
Why am I telling them?
How am I telling them?
Let’s look at the questions one by one:
Who’s the song for?
One must have a target audience. The audience is determined by the following:
Age
This question will help you choose your language wisely. Songs meant for kids should be easy to understand in terms of vocabulary. The kids should not struggle to find action points because they don’t have much time to analyze theories and imaginations.
Youths want something that is real life. Language needs to be moderately difficult and popular at the same time. Songs for youths need to call for exercise of energy. The song should feel like we’ve got the whole world watching us.  If you want to reach out to this category, you’ve got to familiarize with their day to day communication skills and/or style. Again, your lines need to be easily understood. Remember this is a “switch off if it doesn’t make sense” stage.
The elderly want to trace their lives in your music. Can they see how foolish they were but are now aging with wisdom? Can they see a narration of how merciful God has been to them all these years? Your language dare not be light. Share a story, use imagery, season your song with adages and you’ll get fans.
Faith
What/whom you believe in influences your writing whether or not you know it. If you are a Christian, it’s imperative to understand your bible well. This not only helps you write songs for God’s glory, but also to avoid misleading His people. We’ve heard songs which elicit a lot of questions and even name calling from the first day they land on social media platforms. Much of this is because there are people who don’t have clue of what they are singing about. Music is not just beats and melody. The theme is very important.
Current Affairs
Politics, sports, tragedies or ceremonial functions can influence our writing. The only challenge with such song is that they are short lived. However, my advise usually is for one to analyse the situation and come up with lines that will live beyond the occurrence. Songs like Happy Birthday were definitely composed for individuals. However, we still sing today because there are birthdays always and we can customize them with names of interest.
Mood
The theme you intend to put across is easily understood when the right mood is set. Is it somber, happy, nostalgic or melancholic? Music in memory of a loved one needs to be soothing, bringing out the good times you shared well. If we want to praise God the lyrics need to tell us to get out of our chairs and dance ourselves out.

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Stagnant Musically?

Ever been at that point where you feel like there's nothing more to learn in Music? Ironically, when you hear someone else play say guitar or Piano for you sure can tell that they are playing notes you've never played. So you have to keep watching or listening and copy them. Well, you're not alone. I have been there. Yes, until i decided that music has to flow! Today's post focuses on reasons for stagnation and dropout cases among the would be musicians.

#1 Ignoring the basics
When you enter a music class for the first time, everything seems childish and very easy to master. As an adult learner, one is always tempted to tell the teacher to move to real stuff. In my teaching, I have had such cases. At first  I'd  really feel intimidated and allow the student get what he wants. After sometime, I realized the very student was making a lot of mistakes in the advanced classes. I almost concluded that my teaching was bad. Upon reflection, I realized one thing, this student had ignored the basics. Things as little as "What is a tone, what is a diatonic major scale? How do we create a diatonic minor scale are seemingly simple but if not grasped well, mistakes are inevitable.

If you never learn which major chords are needed in a normal major scale, there's a likely-hood of you placing them in the wrong position thereby missing out on sound chord progression. Also, failing to grasp the concept of rhythm at the beginning results in one messing with the beat in music.

#2 Attitude
For most people (at least the ones I have taught), music is not a career. It is a hobby, "...something to do while am free..." They say. Being an educationist, here's my simple advise, Music can be a hobby, but learning should never be taken as one. Music is an intricate skill, a language of its own. One needs to dedicate time, get focused if at all one needs to master a thing or two, be it music theory, instrument or vocal perfection. If, after registering for a class one discovers s/he can't get at least half an hour for music practice, my honest opinion would be just drop it. Taking a music class today and dropping the books behind the shelves for a month before dusting them for lesson two is being unfair to yourself and your instrument. Besides, you will never grow, since each time your mind will always want to restart.

#3 Who's your Teacher?
At DoweMusic, we say that music is a language. In this case, your teacher needs to own the language. Well, s/he might not need to be a professor but then how much does s/he know of the little s/he claims to know. I do not know about your environment but I grew up in an environment where learning was just by observation. One is just told to master positions of chords and that's it. It somehow works but then the learner becomes handicapped. It takes a good musical ear to progress to more complex chords and/or scales. My advise at this point is that you shouldn't just see the position, know the name and why that chord or note is being used. This way, you will be able to apply it in another key or scenario when called upon. Here's what I think makes a good music mentor/teacher:

• Available
• Willing to teach
• Lover of Music
• Has a mastery of the instrument
• Approachable

N/B: Hard truth is that not all well versed musicians can teach. The talent is good but teaching skill is required for the learning to be effective.

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Harp of the Soul

There was a time a song could make me cry, could make me sleep, could make me laugh, get me inspired but I always yearned for all of them in one package. The want became the need until when I sang that all felt right and that’s the beauty of good music. “Your body is the harp of your soul. And it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it or confused sounds.”- Khalil  Gibran. Every music instrument produces its own sound melody but with the same progression it's swift, sound and liberating, and with a touch of passion, practice and                                                                                 purpose it gave meaning because practice isn’t the                                                                                   thing that you do once you are good.

The writer of this article is an alumni of DoweMusic & Arts, Guitar class. 

Join her once every month to get inspirational thoughts in the Music world. 

Her frame of reflection is just amazing. 

Checkout her thoughts about life in general

@ https://charlottekirui.wordpress.com

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Music Production

    

It is with great joy that we announce a fully operational studio that started late 2016. Thanks the almighty God for providence as well as your constant support. So far we've had a number of artistes coming over, some recording their first singles, others testing mics, vocals e.t.c. Well this means that this year will be full of activities ranging from production, album launching, concerts and many more. Allow me to mention what just happened in the few days of 2017.
Song Recording 
Artist: Wario K.
Song : Mizizi
Status: Complete

Artist: Wario K
Song: Maria
Status: In Progress

Artist:Douglas Ogutu ft Angela Lavenda
Songs: Wings, Orio Mno
Status: Complete

Artist: Douglas Ogutu
Song: Wema
Status: In progress
Covers and Renditions
Artist: Lynda Seiyan ft Douglas Ogutu
Song title: Highest Praise
Original Composer: TIMA
Status:Complete 
 Music Lessons
Continuing and Beginner class in session; Piano, Guitar, Violin and Vocal Training. 
Below are photos of some of the artistes

To order any of the above follow the links above on either twitter, facebook, instagram and send a message indicating your need. You can as well comment below with your email address and we shall get in touch. Enjoy your weekend pal.

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So What's in the guitar case?

If you are just getting interested in guitar playing or you've been playing a borrowed/hire one and now want to purchase one, here is what to check out for.

1       The bag or case

Just like other musical instruments, the guitar is a fragile instrument that needs to be taken care of. The first place to start is to ensure that it is always in its case whenever not in use. This means that when you buy it the first day it should be enclosed!

Why is the case so important anyway?

It protects the strings from snapping anything and thereby breaking.

Exposure to too much heat could result in expansion thus messing up with the tune. In the long run, you might notice you guitar taking a bow shape. This often times results in  of the fingerboard. 

People love music even though they may not know how to create or play. Keeping your guitar exposed makes it vulnerable to touch by any onlooker (children and adults alike). They might never have had any bad intentions but if they don’t know how it works, you’ll find someone experimenting with the tuning pegs, trying to strum like a pro. You and I know where that can lead! As much as possible and as a Dowe’s music rule, “Keep all instruments away from the reach of non-instrumentalists until they learn a thing.”

Your guitar will last longer if the exposure to scratches is minimized. A case does this fine enough.

Inside the case

Of course the content will have the guitar. 

Let’s look at the accessories of the instrument.

Tuning pegs: 

Shouldn’t be touched if you haven’t learn't how to tune.Depending on where you buy, they could be metallic or plastic headed. I prefer metallic.

Strings: 

Depending on the type of guitar, the strings should be enough for the guitar. Except for the bass guitar, most usually require 6 strings which differ in width.

Capo: 

A gadget used to transpose. Just a reminder that it’s not wise to use this a short-cut of playing the barre-chords. I personally use Capo to achieve a particular tone in music that may not come out clearly with barre- chords. I repeat, use capo only as a preference.

Plectrum: 

This will help you big-time in strumming and picking. Always check the right width before buying. I'm a bit hard on guitar so my preference will always be thicker stuff. If you are soft, do just the opposite of me.

Cable/code: 

For connecting to the amplifier for performance where P.A is needed.

Pickup: 

Necessary for acoustic guitars especially when you are playing before a large crowd.

Strap: 

Well, we can play guitar while seated on a chair but in many cases we want to move around, psyche up the audience or dance to the tune. In that case, the strap saves the day.

Tuner: 

You need this all the time just to ensure you are playing the songs in the right key. The sound you get when one string is off the tune is really ugly. I detest the feeling. Let me hope you do too. Thanks to technology, modern guitars have tuners fitted on the sides of the resonator.

 Thanks for reading through. More to come. 

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Goodbye 2016

Last year ended well with some of the former and current DoweMusic & Arts students get together. It was awesome reconnecting with some who have been away for studies.

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