Lessons

Lessons can be undertaken across a variety of different media including Skype, telephone calls, and email.  We will decide upon the best options for you when you have contacted me. We will also negotiate a fair rate for lessons, appropriate for your needs.

Music Theory

The study of music theory not only leads to an enhanced understanding and appreciation of the language of music, it also vastly improves one’s ability to write, produce, and even perform music.

There are two approaches to music theory that we can take. Firstly, there is the traditional approach suited to those who have a particular interest in classical music. If you choose this approach I will teach you how to read and write music so that you can easily negotiate your way around a music score.

A second, equally valid approach is often taken by the producers of electronic music, for whom the computer counts as the central hub of their music production. A part of this approach uses the piano roll, rather than a score, as our tool of learning. I pioneered this approach in my best-selling book ‘Music Theory for Computer Musicians’ and therefore I can equally teach you musical theory using this particular approach or even an inclusive combination of the two.

Music Theory (ABRSM)

If you are studying for a music theory exam, I can teach you ABRSM Music Theory from Grade 1 through to Grade 8. I can take you from the very beginning of a given grade right through the entire syllabus, or if a particular aspect of the syllabus is troubling you, I will focus upon that and help you through your difficulties. Having properly prepared you, we will then get you through that tricky exam.

Electronic music production

If you are a producer of electronic music, I can guide you using your preferred software program.  I specialise in the use of Reason, Ableton Live, Logic and Sonar. Having taught this subject for the last fifteen years I can offer you a great deal of vital knowledge about production techniques that will lift your musical production skills to altogether new levels.

Composition

Composition is a wonderful art and a delight to both learn and teach. Composition is all about your own personal musical expression. It is you putting your musical ideas into a coherent form that your listener can then enjoy and appreciate. An important part of this is the psychology of listening.

When we listen to a piece of music we use three basic abilities, apprehension to listen to the music unfolding through time; memory to retain a sense of what has already unfolded and anticipation, based on a certain expectancy of how the music might then unfold.

A lot of the composer’s skill lies in using this knowledge to create a piece of music that unfolds in a logical and coherent way. And this is why, if you are interested in pursuing composition, it is necessary to study it as a subject in its own right.

Harmony

An important part of the composer’s art is harmony, which concerns the way in which sounds are combined to create effective and logical chord progressions. This is an art with a great history behind it and one that every composer or music producer will benefit from studying. I can take you from the preliminary levels of traditional harmony right up to the most advanced levels of contemporary harmony, if that is your wish.

Counterpoint

Formerly the study of counterpoint was considered essential for the all round development of the composer’s art. These days however, it tends to be neglected. This is a shame because counterpoint is a wonderful art. It can teach you how to compose masses in the style of the Italian Renaissance composer Palestrina; how to compose a fugue in the style of Bach, or how to compose intricate modal counterpoint that was a strong feature of the music of the last century.

Whether for your own enjoyment, study purposes or to increase your range as a composer of production music, this is a wonderful subject to learn and I will happily take you through all of the different levels that it encompasses.

Study from texts

If you have purchased one of my books and you seek guidance on the content please contact me. I will be glad to tutor you through the content of the book — chapter by chapter, ensuring that you have grasped the essential knowledge within it and have fully mastered the skills referred to in its pages.

Study skills

As a long term university and college tutor I also teach academic study skills such as logic — how to think and reason for yourself, rhetoric — the effective art of communication, essay composition and dissertation writing, skills which are vital if you are undertaking a music course at college or university.

So, whatever subjects interest you, please contact me and we will discuss the best possible route for you.