As you may or may not know, SCMT’s Composer/Musician of the Month for April is the brilliant Duke Ellington. Duke Ellington was a composer, pianist and bandleader. He is most famous for his work with his own big band (jazz band) for which he composed most of the music. He lead a band made up of trumpeters, trombonists, saxophonists, pianists, drummers, bassists and singers. Together they helped to shape and influence big band music over the decades. The music they played was often complex and they worked together to create a sound that brought this style of music to the forefront of American music.
So why don’t we make April the month we join together with other musicians and make music together. There are many ways we can do this, playing duets with your music teacher, getting a band together with friends or singing together as a family, to name a few. Playing music in an ensemble really does have its’ benefits for any musician. It helps with timing (you can’t play out of time with other musicians as you sometimes can when practising alone). It improves your musical ear as you have to listen to the musicians you are playing with in order to play in tune. It’s also great for sight-reading as there’s no stopping or you’ll hold the ensemble up! Finally, playing music with other people is a great way to make new friends and be creative together.
Here at SCMT we are always encouraging our students to play duets or join bands, if you are stuck for ideas on which ensemble would be best for you don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Or you can always talk to your teacher during your music lesson they will also be able to help!
