Music Lessons by University of Brighton Tutor: Production, Mixing, Theory

Thom and David analyzed Sam Ryder's Eurovision performance to understand staging techniques, focusing on posture, movement, and audience engagement. David practiced incorporating these performance techniques into his own act, receiving feedback from Thom. They agreed to continue working on the song next week, aiming for a full performance with a backing track.

Thom and Max focused on guitar chord transitions and vocal techniques, including false vocal fold distortion, vocal registers (chest, head, whistle), and vocal fry. Max received homework to practice B7 chord transitions on the guitar. Thom shared videos demonstrating advanced vocal techniques and discussed the mechanics behind them.

Thom and David began their vocal lesson by discussing Eurovision submissions and the competition's complexities. They then moved into practical vocal warm-ups, concentrating on scales and register control. The lesson concluded with an in-depth analysis of Sam Ryder's "Space Man," where they explored vocal techniques such as distortion and delved into the anatomy of the vocal folds, deepening their understanding of vocal mechanics.

Thom and Max worked on ear training, focusing on intervals and scale degrees to improve Max's melodic dictation skills. They used numerical scale degree exercises and melodic dictation tools to practice interval recognition. Thom recommended practicing scale degree exercises away from the piano to reinforce interval awareness, and they discussed revisiting Max's exam performance closer to the exam date.

Thom guided David through songwriting strategies, specifically for David's Eurovision submissions. They analyzed the structure and lyrical content of David's Luxembourg entry, "Lionheart," paying close attention to syllable count, rhythm, and thematic consistency. Thom provided feedback and introduced RhymeZone as a resource for lyric refinement, and David will continue to edit the song based on the feedback from this lesson.

Thom taught Reid about alternate guitar tunings, specifically open D tuning, and its applications in various music genres. Reid practiced a fingerpicking pattern in open D tuning, focusing on isolating thumb movements and coordinating fingerpicking techniques. Reid was encouraged to listen to Adrianne Lenker's album 'Songs' for further inspiration.