The Written Language of Music
Taught by Emma Sky
The daughter of a New England singer-songwriter and a New York jazz musician, Emma Sky has been immersed in music since birth. Emma fell in love with the violin at age 9, and continued to study music performance on classical violin at the University of Vermont, where she earned her degree in 2008. This led her to teach and play violin professionally.
Currently residing in Brooklyn, NY, Emma performs at various venues all over NYC. She creates magical sounds as a member of the new group, The Eggs (www.facebook.com/eggsmusic); think psychedelic rock meets blues meets Bach. She is excited to be playing hip-hop with the group Freight Train Hoboes, and other various hip-hop artists, sometimes at the Brooklyn College rap cypher and Freestyle Mondays in the East Village. She rocks out regularly at the Secondary Sound Jam night in her neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn; jamming on blues, soul, and rock. Often traveling back to her home state of Vermont, Emma collaborates with rapper Checkmate, and many singer-songwriters such as Joshua Glass, Rebecca Padula, Linda Bassick, Tommy Alexander, and more. And she continues to express her love of classical music when she performs at weddings and other events.
Clearly, variety is what drives Emma Sky as a musician, and she is open to performing with and teaching anyone, in most any genre. She shares her love of all music by teaching through the website Brooklyn Music Lessons, working with children at Little Prince Daycare and the International School of Brooklyn, and in a course she created called The Heart of Music at the Brooklyn Brainery. She also uses her music as a healing tool through the organization CancerCare. Emma loves to share and explore the stylistic boundaries of electric and acoustic violin.
Do you sing or play an instrument, record music or work with
sound, but are mystified when you see notes on a page? Gain the knowledge and tools to begin to
understand the written language of music, through listening, writing, and discussion. We will explore the world of written music,
how chords and melodies are built, and the physics behind some basic music
theory. We will also compare sheet music
to visual art and digital representations of sound.
We will practice writing music by hand, and understanding
the structural foundation that makes up written music. Understanding the terminology and visual
representations of sound will help any musician or nonmusician better
understand the musical world around them!