Check out our electrifying August playlist....
Our monthly playlist is back! Courtesy of AMS Glasgow.
We got some mixed vibes and all-round great tunes on our sunny August Scotland playlist, curated by our staff at AMS Scotland (Glasgow division). It features a whole host of great tracks, perfect to soundtrack these hot sunny days! There’s some brand new songs from the likes of Zoe Graham (Know By Now), Atlas Run (Abstain), Layaway (Until Then), static union (Can I Be Loved?) and The Black Denims (You Weren’t There)!
Enjoy the complete playlist in the player below!
We're the new sponsor of 'Artist of the Week in The Scotsman!
Our latest Artist of the Week in The Scotsman newspaper on Sunday is the classically trained pianist Kate E Lake!
We’re very pleased to announce that our Scotland division (made up of our Edinburgh and Glasgow teams) will be taking over and sponsoring the ‘Artist of the Week’ column in The Scotsman newspaper. The Scotsman is a renowned publication reporting on news since 1817, with a special focus on the arts and culture scene in Scotland. We’re thrilled to be supporting a column which puts front and centre young Scottish talent and emerging artists.
The latest feature, dubbed ‘Under the Radar’, focused on the incredible Kate E Lake. Kate is a professional pianist based in Scotland and will soon be releasing her debut EP ‘ROAMS’ of which she has worked with Royal Conservatoire alumus Gus Stirrat.
“Kate E Lake has had an interesting musical journey which has taken her from wanting to be Elastica’s frontwoman Justine Frischmann, to travelling to Dublin and Paris to study classical piano and then a stint singing jazz standards upon her return to Glasgow.
However, it was when she discovered a love for singing folk songs at parties, that she decided to strike out as a recording artist in her own right. Citing influences including Agnes Obel, Nils Frahm, Julia Houlter, Eric Whitacre and Debussy her quality compositions have a strong cinematic appeal, but could also slot seamlessly into a Celtic Connections bill.”
You can read the full article on The Scotsman here.
AMS Online team up with Ariane Cap
AMS online – the online university partner of Academy of Music & Sound – are now working with international educator, bestselling author and online teaching personality Ariane Cap. We are looking for bass players that might like to study with Ariane from September 2020.
AMSonline
At the start of 2019, AMSonline had a suite of undergraduate and postgraduate music qualifications validated for supported distance-learning with the London College of Music (University of West London). This meant that courses could be accessed worldwide with no need for conventional college lectures. The courses are delivered 100% online, so anywhere with an internet connection is now a workspace.
Ariane will be working with AMS Online from September 2020 on our online Foundation Degree in Music and Sound, where she will be taking the lead on her particular area of expertise – bass!
A Word from Ariane
“I am so happy to announce my collaboration with AMSOnline under the validation of the London College of Music/University of West London. Receive your Foundation Degree after two years studying at AMS Online with me as one of your teachers. On the Foundation degree students can choose to specialise in a certain instrument, and are entitled to an amount of support for that study by way of online video sessions. The curriculum is well rounded and practical.”
We are delighted that Ariane is joining AMSonline, and that we are able to offer her support for students that specialise in bass guitar and wish to study our Foundation Degree Music pathway.
A bit more about the Foundation in Music & Sound
The AMS online Foundation Degree is a combined academic and vocational qualification, equivalent to two thirds of an honours degree. It is anticipated that those who complete the Foundation Degree in Music & Sound will progress to the BA (Hons) top-up Music & Sound. The course is developed to mirror the modern music industry allowing students to gain the skills to be an independent multi-skilled music practitioner, fluent with various forms of multi-media.
The programme is validated by the University of West London and is equivalent to the first 2 years of a BA(hons). Throughout the course, students will:
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Learn skills to work in different industries, including music, advertising and gaming
- Gain practical skills while building a portfolio of music, contacts and experience
- Develop the ability to work freelance with several income streams
- Time, space and the opportunity to develop your own sound and work on your material
FAQ’s
How long is it?
This is a full time pathway (4×12 week semesters studied over 2 years).
Who is it for?
The AMS online Foundation Degree in Music & Sound is ideal if you wish to progress your studies from a BTEC Level 3 Diploma/Extended Diploma in Music or Music Technology and/or A level studies in a performing arts or related subjects.
Entry requirements?
Minimum of a 48 UCAS points plus a successful audition and interview. Experienced musicians without formal qualifications may be considered. FAST TRACK entry into the second year of the FD or the AMS online BA (Hons) programme is possible. Please contact our team for further information.
How do I find out more?
Applications are being taken now for the next start point, which is September 2020.
If you would like to find out more about your chance to learn with Ariane, please complete the form by clicking the link below.
An update on Bearded Theory 2020
In case you missed the recent news from Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering, the festival announced recently, after several postponements for 2020’s event due to coronavirus which has virtually cancelled every festival and live music event since March, that Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering would be postponed until the May Bank Holiday 2021.
The event is now set to take place on May 27th to 30th 2021 which is their usual weekend, and they have already secured much of the original 2020 lineup and more, including Patti Smith, Toots and the Maytals, The Mission, Wilko Johnson, Peter Hook & the Light, Perocious Dog, Neville Staple Band, Bad Manners, Dub Pistols, Lucy Spraggan, Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club and 3 Daft Monkeys. Loads more will be announced across the festival’s 8 stages in the coming months.
In a statement the festival said, “Thank you for your patience while we have been getting our house in order. We have been consulting with various industry bodies, Emergency Services and our own contractors prior to issuing this newsletter and we are pleased to confirm we will be rescheduling the festival to May 2021 on our usual bank holiday weekend, May 27th to 30th.”
“Tickets will be automatically rolled over if you still want to join us but if you want a refund please do so by requesting one. To request a refund from Eventbrite please go to our website ticket page and click on the appropriate refund links. If you purchased via Gigantic please email [email protected] with your original booking confirmation. Refunds will be available until August 30th, 2020, please allow 28 days from request for the refund to hit your bank account from the ticket agent.”
As you may know, every year we at AMS host our One Big Showcase stage at the festival. We didn’t announce our 2020 lineup already this year, and we be rolling over our stage competition winners from 2020 to 2021, and will be going out with our One Big Showcase lineup in the near future! Check this space.
Read the full statement from Bearded Theory here.
AMSonline team up with Ariane Cap
AMSonline are now working with international educator, bestselling author and online teaching personality Ariane Cap. We are looking for bass players that might like to study with Ariane from September 2020.
AMSonline
At the start of 2019, AMSonline had a suite of undergraduate and postgraduate music qualifications validated for supported distance-learning with the London College of Music (University of West London). This meant that courses could be accessed worldwide with no need for conventional college lectures. The courses are delivered 100% online, so anywhere with an internet connection is now a workspace.
Ariane Cap
Ariane Cap is a passionate educator, self-published bestselling author, eclectic performer (electric bassist), a busy blogger and habit coach. She is a prolific and eclectic educator with a large online following.
She taught at the Berkeley Jazz Workshop, the Golden Gate Bass Camp, was 10 years artist-in-residence teacher at the Wyoming Rock Camp Experience in Jackson Hole, taught at the California Jazz Conservatory’s Women’s and Girl’s Jazz and Blues Camps for 10+ years, co-taught masterclasses with Paul Hanson at the University of the Redlands, Colorado State, Montana State University and others.
A Word from Ariane
I am happy to announce my collaboration with AMSOnline under the validation of the London College of Music/University of West London. Receive your Foundation Degree after two years studying at AMS Online with me as one of your teachers.
On the Foundation degree students can choose to specialise in a certain instrument, and are entitled to an amount of support for that study by way of online video sessions. The curriculum is well rounded and practical.
We are delighted that Ariane is joining AMSonline, and that we are able to offer her support for students that specialise in bass guitar and wish to study our Foundation Degree Music pathway.
How do I find out more?
Applications are being taken now for the next start point, which is September 2020.
If you would like to find out more about your chance to learn with Ariane, please complete the form by clicking the link below.
#LetTheMusicPlay is the campaign fighting for the music industry
The pandemic has caused a terrible ripple effect across the economy, and the music industry is under serious threat.
Music events and live entertainment is not going to be back for some time, and it's an incredibly worrying period for those who work in the sector.
In response to this, artists and organisations from across the UK music sector have united today in a campaign drawing attention to the urgent situation performers and venues find themselves in.
#LetTheMusicPlay was launched by UK Music, and calls on the government to offer: 'A clear conditional timeline for reopening venues without social distancing', and 'an immediate comprehensive business and employment support package', which should include 'a Government-backed insurance scheme to allow shows to go ahead; an extension of the furlough scheme and help for the self-employed and sole traders to prevent mass redundancies; [and] rent breaks for venues to allow them to reopen.'
A report published last month by Oxford Economics and commissioned by the Creative Industries Federation, which was supported by UK Music, has suggested that without help, the music industry 'is projected to lose at least £3 billion in GVA (50 per cent) and 60 per cent of jobs (114,000)'.
Many social media users have taken to platforms sharing their photos, videos and memories of the final concert they attended using the #LetTheMusicPlay hashtag. Those who perform or simply enjoy all genres – including classical – are getting involved in.
So far, an open letter has been signed by 560 major artists from the pop and rock world and beyond in support of the campaign. It says, 'Like every part of the entertainment industry, live music has been proud to play our part in the national effort to reduce the spread of Coronavirus and keep people safe. But, with no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed, the future for concerts and festivals and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them looks bleak.' The campaign has also been backed by a number of high profile artists including Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Skepta, and Paul McCartney.
'This sector doesn’t want to ask for government help. The venues, promoters, festival organisers, and other employers want to be self-sufficient, as they were before lockdown. But, until these businesses can operate again, which is likely to be 2021 at the earliest, government support will be crucial to prevent mass insolvencies, and the end of this great world-leading industry.'
A £160m emergency financial package from Arts Council England was given to the arts sector in March, but with no end currently in sight for restrictions on performance more money is desperately needed to support musicians in the meantime.
The government last week published a roadmap listing the order of steps that will be taken to return the performing arts to its pre-pandemic state, though it did not contain a timeline, or an announcement of additional funding. In a Tweet yesterday the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden said 'I understand the deep anxiety of those working in music & the desire to see fixed dates for reopening. I am pushing hard for those dates & to give you a clear roadmap back. These involve v[ery] difficult decisions about the future of social distancing, which we know has saved lives'.
To find out more about the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign, visit UK Music’s website.
Part of this article was originally published on Gramophone.co.uk.
Lockdown learning: Staff and students' share their music
Lockdown learning: Since the start of lockdown we’ve been encouraging our students (and staff for that matter!) to share with us their clips of their musical jammin’ sessions at home. We’ve be sent some great clips, and shared them to our social media weekly since the start of lockdown. Students from our Exeter centre, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Gateshead and even AMSonline have been busy producing and creating during lockdown. More than lockdown learning, this is lockdown jamming!
Here’s a round up of some of the videos we’ve been enjoying these past few months…
Chloe Noel covers Childish Gambino’s Redbone
Edinburgh alumni Cameron Brown joins Brian May in the ‘Hammer to Fall’ challenge
Calder Houston jams along to Harry Styles
Ella Crossland’s uplifting cover of a Disney classic….
Exeter student Olive Whitmore covers Adele’s ‘Skyfall’
Exeter tutor and 1/3 of Pattern Pusher Alex Johnstone covers an Oasis track…
Jake Holt does Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were here’
Glasgow’s Marina Rolink performs her original track ‘In Turmoil’
Craig Leeper, an AMS Exeter student, shares his great piano cover of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
Exeter based student band Shake the Geek shake it up with this feel-good ABBA cover…
Last but not least, this great cover of Eric Johnson’s ‘Cliffs of Dover’ from our AMS Online tutor James Gordon!
Introducing a new Hip Hop and Rap pathway for our HND in Music
We’re adding a hip-hop and rap specific pathway to our popular HND course in Scotland, with acclaimed rapper Steg G joining the team to lead on the module.
We’re so excited to announce a brand-new instrument specific specialism to our widely-popular HND Music course. Hip-hop and Rap will launch for the upcoming academic year for 2020/21, and will be led by industry professionals.
The course will involve the same care and attention we apply to our contemporary instrument specific classes in songwriting, drums, guitar and more. Uniquely, it will also offer students weekly classes covering songwriting techniques, style analysis and live performance workshops to improve technical aptitude and theoretical understanding.
Our Scotland team have been working diligently with leading industry professionals over the past year to finally provide this course in an area typically overlooked in music education and we hope that we can continue to not only help prospective students reach their own goals but also provide expert industry experience and advice to prepare them for work as a full-time musician and artist.
Joining the AMS team in the near year to help deliver the module is Steven Gilfoyle (otherwise known as Steg G). Steg needs little introduction; he has performed with such acts such as 50 Cent and Kayne West over the years and is widely known in Scotland, having won the SAMA award for best hip-hop artist in 2019.
Steven also works alongside Sunny Govan, a community based radio station based in Glasgow, and has a strong background in community development and education. AMS are so excited for him to be part of the team and look forward to developing and expanding the course alongside him in the years to come.
The Hip-hop and Rap pathway promises:
- Develop and refine your lyric and writing skills
- Improve your live performance and production skills
- Gain experience as a hip-hop artist
Find out more about the HND in Music on the AMS course page.
Why hip hop and rap?
Hip-hop is an under taught and under-acknowledged topic in music education, and indeed other kinds of education. No other mainstream music college or further education centre has a course or pathway dedicated to it specifically, and it’s a gap we really want to fill.
Hip-hop originated in the Bronx in New York City in the 70’s and 80’s in marginalised communities of African Americans and Latinto’s predominantly. The culture has since grown into a global phenomenon and arguably the most commercially successful music genre currently. It has influences in street culture, various other music genres, clothes and fashion, dance, and even hairstyles – this all stems from its cultural origins. Critically, while hip hop must be understood first and foremost as an Afircan American/black genre and culture, the music has taken various forms across the world.
It began as a way for the marginalised to express their condition and experience, it later became more of a commodified global entity. However the power of the forms of hip hop, and rap specifically, as a means of expression is huge – rap involves powerful lyrical play, fascinating linguistic technique; parody, self-reflection,
Emerging recently have been academic fields focusing on hip hop itself, and specifically the role of a “hip hop pedagogy” (teaching). Hip hop pedagogy argues for the use of hip-hop and rap texts (songs, music video, lyrics) in the teaching of other traditional subjects such as literature or history. While this isn’t quite how we will teach it – focusing on more practical aspects of making your own hip-hop music – we hope this critical understanding of the subject will underpin the work we do.
We think it’s an under-valued topic all-round, and we hope we can shine some much needed attention on the benefits and cultural impact of this music form, and help students with other aspects of their music practice.
As we lead up to the start of the HND in September, we plan to bring you much more content surrounding the huge impact of hip hop and rap in the world. Stay tuned!
About the HND in Music
Our unique selling point has always been supporting students with their chosen pathway – the HND, available at AMS centres in Glasgow or Edinburgh, is a perfect example of this.
Accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the HND is written in partnership with education professionals and industry experts, reflecting the current music industry and allows for further progression onto higher levels of study, expanding career opportunities and personal development.
All our tutors and staff are working in music, and our courses are both delivered by and written by musicians. With that comes a great community, common goals and an immediate industry focus that you won’t get at your run of the mill college.
- Pathway-specific tuition with professional musicians, now including Hip-Hop & Rap
- Gain a working, comprehensive knowledge of the music industry
- Perform and organise your own gig in collaboration with other musicians
- Compose, arrange and record your own music using industry standard software
- Exclusive access to our Higher Education enrichment programme
- HNC and HND Units
Find out more on the course page.
Free Guitar Masterclass with Kris Barras
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing
The Academy of Music & Sound have teamed up with world-renowned guitar player Kris Barras and musicmasterclass.com to bring you a 10 part free lesson series on blues rock soloing.
Part 1
Kris will take you through the pentatonic scale shapes most commonly used in this style, but makes a point of trying to help get you out of the tried and tested shapes to introduce new licks and vocabulary that will open up your playing to help you find your own voice.
High quality guitar TABS accompany the lessons, and are downloadable from this page.
What better way to spend your isolation than sprucing up your guitar playing with a top blues rock artist guiding you along the way?
Stay Tuned
We will be releasing lessons in the series each Wednesday exclusively for users of this website: so look out each week.
Let us know what you think through our socials!
Thanks to musicmasterclass.com and Kris Barras for collaborating to offer these lessons.
Download the TAB PDF for this lesson here
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 2
Kris will show you how to fluently move through the shapes of the minor pentatonic scale that were covered last week. There’s a cool exercise on learning to play on just one string using the same harmonic ideas and some new lick ideas that combine pentatonic shapes, and also introduce syncopation for the pick up of a lick.
High quality guitar TABs accompany this lesson, downloadable on this page .
Stay Tuned
We will be releasing lessons in the series each Wednesday exclusively for users of this website: so look out each week.
Let us know what you think through our socials!
Thanks to musicmasterclass.com and Kris Barras for collaborating to offer these lessons.
Download the TAB PDF files for this lesson here
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 3
This week it’s onto the blues. Kris will guide you through knowing which chord you are playing over in a typical 12 bar blues. You will learn about what chord numbers mean, and how they relate to a 12 bar sequence.
Then there’s a 12 bar study solo, making use of chord tones from the chords used in the backing track, in addition to the minor pentatonic and blues scales studied in parts 1 & 2.
High quality guitar TABs and backing track MP3 accompany this lesson, downloadable on this page .
Download the lesson PDF and backing track MP3 here:
Blues:Rock Soloing – Lesson 3 – 12 Bar Blues Pattern
Blues:Rock Soloing – Lesson 3 – Example Solo
Backing Track MP3:
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 4
So far the scale we’ve been using is a minor pentatonic scale, this week it’s onto more chordal awareness using dominant 7th chords and the mixolydian blues scale.
Kris helps to introduce the new concepts using the minor pentatonic framework taught in the first 3 sessions.
The mixolydian blues scale introduces a sweet major tonality to the new licks that are studied this week whilst keeping things well grounded in the blues.
High quality guitar TABs and backing track MP3 accompany this lesson, downloadable on this page .
Download the lesson PDFs here:
Stay Tuned
We will be releasing lessons in the series each Wednesday exclusively for users of this website: so look out each week.
Let us know what you think through our socials!
Thanks to musicmasterclass.com and Kris Barras for collaborating to offer these lessons.
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 5
This week it’s straight into licks.
Kris will guide you through licks that incorporate the mixolydian blues scale studied last week, but this time we’re in different positions on the fretboard. The focus this week is targeting particular chord tones from the chords of a dominant blues progression.
High quality guitar TABs accompany this lesson, downloadable on this page .
Download the PDF from this lesson here:
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 6
This week we’re into arpeggios.
Kris will guide you through the arpeggios that relate to each of the chords found within a dominant blues progression and teaches licks that use arpeggios.
This lesson is focusing on helping soloists find notes that are within the chords of a blues using an example solo as the basis.
We really hope you are enjoying this free lesson series! Let us know by commenting in our socials.
High quality guitar TABs accompany this lesson, downloadable on this page .
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 7
This week our arpeggios are developed into a cool example solo.
Kris play the solo first, along with the backing track that you can download on this page. After a full 12 bar demonstration it’s a note for note walk-through of the solo.
We really hope you are enjoying this free lesson series! Let us know by commenting in our socials.
High quality guitar TABs accompany this lesson, and the backing track, downloadable on this page .
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 8
This week we’re mixing it up by changing to a minor blues.
This time chords I and IV are both minor, with the turn around using a major 7 chord for chord vi and a dominant 7 chord for the V chord.
Kris has written an example solo to help you change up to the new tonality which incorporates the natural minor, or Aeolian mode, and also some pentatonic minor licks that now change dependant on which chord we are on in addition to chord tones from the progression.
Kris will walk you through the solo bit by bit and high quality PDF transcriptions and backing track accompany this lesson.
We really hope you are enjoying this free lesson series! Let us know by commenting in our socials.
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 9
This week we’re adding some arpeggios to our minor blues.
Kris has written out the arpeggios that come from the chords covered in last week’s lesson, and runs through them first note by note, the TAB is downloadable on this page.
Kris has written another example solo over the same backing track as last week, this time though it’s incorporating the arpeggios that have just been demonstrated.
Kris will walk you through the solo bit by bit and high quality PDF transcriptions and backing track accompany this lesson.
We really hope you are enjoying this free lesson series! Let us know by commenting in our socials.
Kris Barras Blues Rock Soloing Part 10
This week we’re adding some speed!
This final lesson is all about how blues players and blues rock players incorporate speed to add some variation to their soloing.
Kris guides you through some example licks, including repetition of a phrase using both double stops and scale ideas from major and minor pentatonic scales.
Next it’s onto sequencing, Kris uses ascending and descending sequences of pentatonic scales to create rising sequences that build in intensity.
Next it’s chromatic runs and how they can inject some creative injections of speed and fluency into your soling, and finally incorporating chromatic runs to link dominant 7 arpeggios.
TAB PDFs are available to download from this page.
We really hope you have enjoyed this free lesson series! Let us know by commenting in our socials.
Downloadable lesson materials: