Strollers Music School – Edinburgh

learn how to make music, not just how to play it…

How to rehearse at home

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You don’t need to go to an expensive rehearsal space to rehearse music with a full band anymore. You can now do it in the comfort of your own home without bothering anybody. Below is a list of everything that you will need to get started.

  • Electric guitar/bass amp modeller
  • Digital drum kit
  • Vocal microphone
  • Jamhub silent rehearsal system

Electric guitar/bass

Playing through your Marshall amp feels and sounds amazing. However, your neighbours might not agree with you! Instead, you can get what is known as an amp modeller to plug your guitar into and listen to with headphones.

Here are some examples

Digital drum kit

Get a digital drum kit so that you can practice silently. Here are some of our recommendations;

– Roland TD-1  if you are on a tight budget

– Roland TD-30 if money is no object!

Vocal microphone

You will need a microphone and XLR lead. I recommend getting a Shure SM 58 microphone.

Jamhub rehearsal system

Finally the exciting bit. The rehearsal system. You plug all of the electric instruments and microphones into this. Each musician then gets their own headphones mix so they can decide how much of every other musician they hear, as well as how much of themselves they hear. This means you don’t have to hear as much of the singer as the singer would normally want you to hear! You can also take the output from the system and record it so that you have demos to work on.

More info at Jamhub.com

Come and try our system

If you want to come and try out our system just give us a shout to arrange a rehearsal!

How to practice more efficiently

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As a music teacher, time and time again, I get asked by the students “I’m not sure if I’m really making any progress,how am I doing?”

A few years ago, I started recording students once in awhile to track their progress and the results have been amazing.

Now, when I get asked that question all I need to do is play it back to them and they can instantly hear the improvement.

Recording as a practice tool

Part of the benefit of going to a music teacher is that they can give you instant feedback on whether you are doing something correctly or not. However, you don’t need a teacher for this. If you get into the habit of recording yourself during a practice session you can then listen to yourself afterwards.

This is beneficial because it is very difficult to actively listen at the same time as playing. So, once you put your instrument down and attentively listen to your own playing, warts and all, you can start to make a list of things that you need to work on as well things that you are good at.

The horror of hearing yourself

The first time you hear yourself talking on a recording it is cringeworthy. This is the same for everyone. However, the more you do it and incorporate it into your regular practice routine then the more comfortable you will be with the situation and can start benefiting from giving yourself critical feedback.

What equipment do you need

You don’t need to get studio quality recording equipment for this exercise. I quite often record on my iPhone using the voice memos app. However, you can get really nice quality stereo audio recorders if you want something a little better.

I regularly use my Zoom H5nto record practice as well as high-quality demos. I even use it for video lessons.

Good luck!

What kind of drum kit should you get to learn on?

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Getting an acoustic drum kit can be too impractical for people living in the city, so we tend to recommend that people start with an electric drum kit. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the electric kit.

Advantages

  •  can practice in silence using earphones plugged into the drum kit
  • They are easier to play as the drumheads have more bounce
  •  They are easy to record which makes it good for tracking your progress on the instrument
  • They don’t need to be tuned (yes, acoustic drums need to be tuned just like any other instrument)
  • They quite often have been built timing exercises and metronomes which make practice much easier
  • You don’t need to replace your drumsticks as regularly as you would if you were hitting them off the metal rims on acoustic drum

Disadvantages

  • They don’t have the same feel as an acoustic drum kit
  • They are not entirely silent; you are still hitting something with sticks. However, they are much quieter than an acoustic kit.
  • They are not always as responsive.sometimes, hitting with different strengths doesn’t result in different volume or tone as it would on an acoustic kit.

What should I be looking for?

Roland have a great selection of electric drum kits. They have something available at all price points, and most importantly they are bomb proof (we’ve put this to the test!)

Don’t hesitate to post any questions about buying a drum kit in Edinburgh!