+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. Memorizing music is invaluable in the eternal quest of learning and growth. From strengthening your ears to widening your understanding of compositional structure and recognizing patterns, there…
History and Context of the CD The Compact Disc (CD) was introduced into commercial ubiquity on October 1, 1982, alongside the world’s first-ever CD player, the SONY CDP-101. Billy Joel’s sixth studio album, 52nd Street, was selected to be the first recording issued on this new digital audio format, which is hilarious considering that particular…
By Marihiko Hara I love how time flows in Kyoto, not too rapidly and not too slowly. A five minute walk will lead me through streets, temples, and gardens, where I can feel that I am in ancient spaces. To know where I stand, all I have to do is find out which direction points north.…
By Matt O’ Donnell and Steve Paix Creativity is an important part of mental health and well-being. Having a way to process thoughts and feelings through music is useful because it allows you to be comfortable with a level of abstraction: you don’t have to spell everything out. In this way, writing music becomes an…
The most confusing part of reading a handwritten score is the fact that music spacing and phrasing are not always considered when writing.
Playing in a new town can be intimidating, particularly for those of us who have yet to become household names. Luckily, Jeremy Young sat down with a host of great bands to find out how they go about attracting audiences for our (free!) course, Touring on a Shoestring. Here are some of the things they…
What follows is a personal selection of some of the most influential and revolutionary Italian songwriters: a mix of politics, poetry, sentiment and history. This is Part II of a two part series. Read “Part I: 1958-1978” here. DISCLAIMER: This is just an introduction. It is nearly impossible to sum up a vast and prolific repertoire like…
By Stef Fiorendi What follows is a personal selection of some of the most influential and revolutionary Italian songwriters: a mix of politics, poetry, sentiment and history. This is Part I of a two part series. Read “Part II: 1980-2013” here. DISCLAIMER: This is just an introduction. It is nearly impossible to sum up a vast and…
By Steph Colbourn When I was 13 I made a cassette tape for my crush. It was the summer before I was going into grade 9 and, like any preteen and probably any artist, I was too overwhelmed to be able to put feelings into words. Instead I recorded 10 of my favorite songs onto a tape,…
Last December, our friends in Brooklyn band Madam West recognized an opportunity: Because so many bands are busy making the pilgrimage to Austin for SXSW this time of year, if you happen to be a band staying put in New York in March, there are loads of amazing venues with big chunks of their normally-swamped booking calendar wide open.…
