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!

Do you need a piano or a keyboard?

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Digital pianos are versatile

Buying an acoustic piano is quite expensive and complicated. And if you get a cheap secondhand one, you still need to transport it and will probably need to get it tuned once you have it at home. They also take up quite a lot of space!

Fear not! Although classical musicians can be quite snobby about having an electric piano, they are actually quite a good place to start especially if you’re not sure what style of music you want to learn to play. Indeed, they can be more versatile than acoustic pianos, as they have more sounds available – you can play everything from classical music to eighties pop!

Make sure you get good quality

  • Properly weighted keys
  • 88 key range
  • Don’t get a lightweight portable keyboard

You still need to make sure your electric piano has the right feel like an acoustic piano. This means making sure that the keys are weighted not sprung. You need to look for a keyboard with ‘hammer action’.

Roland and Yamaha are good brands to look for

Roland and Yamaha both have a good range of pianos for you to look at. They are both also reliable brands so if you find something secondhand don’t be put off. This is especially good to bear in mind if you’re still not entirely sure if piano is the instrument for you, as new keyboards and pianos can be very expensive.

Finally if you really still want an acoustic piano

Acoustic pianos require more maintenance including regular tuning and good placement in a room. In particular, you need to make sure that they are kept away from heat sources.

Try to find an iron framed piano and not a wooden frames piano as they will stay in tune better.

Click here for more info about piano/keyboard lessons