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Thursday 14 December 2017
Guitar Syllabus Level I
Friday 3 November 2017
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
Wednesday 11 October 2017
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.
Tuesday 14 March 2017
Stagnant Musically?
#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
Saturday 11 February 2017
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.
Friday 13 January 2017
Music Production
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.