EZskills Library

Mark's EZbeats Groove Machine

Here's a new little toy for you guys to play with if you have a computer that's quick enough to handle it. I developed it with Flash Studio Professional 8 and wrote the functional code in Actionscript. You will need the latest Flash 8 player for it to work (it should prompt you automatically to install it).

Simply choose a beat from the drop-down list or select 'My Pattern', choose a grouping grid (ones, twos, threes or fours) and click the instrument boxes to create your own pattern. If you want to save your pattern, copy the pattern string in the yellow text field at the top and paste it into a text file, Word doc etc. You can then paste it back at a later stage and the player will play the pattern.

The main purpose of this little toy is to help you understand the basics of:

a) how rhythm works

b) how drum beats are made

How about using it to help compose a song or a rap?

ENJOY!

Test your knowledge, stretch your knowledge and earn PACE credits with EZquiz

Use the visuals & utilities on the right and search the web to help you find the correct answers to the multiple choice questions covering a variety of musical topics relating to our term objectives.

If you pass any quiz with a PACE prefix in the title you will be prompted at the end of the quiz to register your score. Once you have done so we will send you an email acknowledging your achievement and will issue you with 30 PACE credits.

Questions from EZquiz will be asked from time to time at Synergy meetings. Get familiar with these answers and you could earn yourself a pile of PACE credits. If you're still confused after using the methods suggested, ask a session tutor. We will be more than delighted to help you.

What is EZtones and how do I use it?

EZtones is a little utility to help you:

a) understand the formulas for the most commonly used chords by letting you select and play chord voicings from a list or by entering the notes yourself for EZtones to recognize.

b) understand the interval patterns for the most commonly used scales.

c) develop your 'ear' for harmony by exposing yourself to many different chord colours. A good ear is essential for improvising, composing and arranging music.

Simply key in a pattern on the keyboard or select a pattern from the list and press 'play'. You should select the Arpeggio option before pressing play for any selected pattern that doesn't say 'arpeggio' in it's name. In other words, if your selection isn't an arpeggio (in this case indicating a chord pattern), it's a scale and should be heard playing independent notes in ascending / descending order by selecting the Arpeggio option.

Please be aware that EZtones currently does not recognise inversions and attempts to decode chords assuming that the root is played either on '1' or '8'.

ENJOY! HAPPY LEARNING!!!