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Arts Council England
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As easy as A, B(flat), C(sharp)
Arts Council gives budding musicians a helping hand with online tutorials
Ever wanted to learn to play songs by your favourite artists, but struggled to work out the chords? Forget air guitar and hair-brush microphones, today is the day to start learning to play for real…
For all those frustrated budding musicians out there, Arts Council England’s Take it away scheme has commissioned five exclusive online tutorials of hit songs including Take That’s ‘Back for Good’, Motown classic ‘Heard it Through The Grapevine’, Snow Patrol’s hit single ‘Run’ or, for the rockers, Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’ (arguably featuring the greatest guitar riff of all time) and legendary Oasis hit ‘Wonderwall.’
Mary-Alice Stack of Arts Council England said:
“More than 30,000 people have already used the Take it away scheme to buy a musical instrument, but we know that access to affordable tuition can also be a problem. The tutorials are designed to give beginner and intermediate level players of all kinds the tools they need to learn a song that they love, at their own pace and without expense.”
The tracks have been produced by Show Me How To Play using their unique ‘Multiplayer’ software which helps you learn your part, while playing along with the rest of the band. The tutorials provide a unique and simple approach to learning and, better still, participants can play as part of a group to get the full effect.
Mark Flannery of Show Me How To Play said:
“We are delighted to be involved with Take it Away and to have delivered the 5 tutorials. The Multiplayer lets you learn an instrument as part of a band making the whole experience very engaging and therefore rewarding. You can use it as an individual or form a band with your friends. It’s very simple to use just follow the links to download the software and the songs you want to learn.”
Users can see a demo of the Multiplayer and preview all 5 tutorials here
All five songs have been cleverly arranged to strip down separate parts for a variety of instruments and are suitable for musicians and vocalists of all abilities.
To download the Multiplayer software and tutorials, users need to register at www.showmehowtoplay.com .
The tracks have been commissioned by Arts Council England as part of a unique partnership with children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent. Users are invited to make a donation of 50p for each tutorial which goes directly to CLIC Sargent as part of their ‘Practice-a-thon Music’ campaign. Users wanting to get more involved are encouraged to put their musical talents to good use by organising a sponsored practise or even put on a fundraising gig in aid of CLIC Sargent. See www.clicsargent.og.uk/music for more details.
Notes to Editors:
Take it away
Take it away is an Arts Council England initiative that offers an interest free loan (0% APR) of between £100 and £2000 for people to buy musical instruments, supporting musical equipment and tuition, through a network of 265 participating retailers across England.
The loan is repayable in 10 parts, made up of a minimum 10 per cent deposit and nine monthly instalments. The scheme is open to all UK residents over the age of 18 (subject to status).
Take it away was launched in July 2007, and to date over 30,000 customers have used the scheme for the purchase of over £18million worth of musical instruments and associated equipment.
The scheme is operated by ArtCo Trading Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary company of Arts Council England. For more information visit www.takeitaway.org.uk
Show Me How To Play
The tracks have been produced by Show Me How To Play, a company that specialises in online music tuition with the use of their unique ‘multiplayer’ software. This teaches individual instruments in four windows on a screen, allowing you to solo/mute particular instruments and plays along with a whole band. It is also a great tool for large group teaching. Players will also be able to download the tab/score for the music as well as learning by watching the tracks played online. The tracks cover a wide range of musical styles and instruments (as well as voice), and are accessible to beginners as well as more advanced musician.
For more information visit www.showmehowtoplay.com
Arts Council England
Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people's lives.
As the national development agency for the arts, we support a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts.
Great art inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves, and the world around us. In short, it makes life better.
Between 2008 and 2011, the Arts Council will invest £1.3 billion of public money from government, and a further £0.3 billion from the National Lottery, to create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. For more information visit www.artscouncil.org.uk
CLIC Sargent
CLIC Sargent is the children’s cancer charity. Every day 10 families are told that their child has cancer. Diagnosis often comes as a shock. Treatment usually starts straightaway and can last up to three years. As the children cancer’s charity, CLIC Sargent is there… with clinical, practical and emotional support, every step of the way.
CLIC Sargent was formed in 2005 after a successful merger between Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood (CLIC) and Sargent Cancer Care for Children. Sargent Cancer Care for Children was founded in 1968 in memory of the famous composer, organist and conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent, who died a year earlier from pancreatic cancer.
For more information visit www.clicsargent.org.uk
Practice-a-thon Music
Practice-a-thon Music is a fundraising initiative established in 2002 by Sargent Cancer Care for Children with the aim of raising money through music. The initiative has so far raised over half a million pounds for the charity (now known as CLIC Sargent).
Note to Sub Editors: Please note that the name ‘CLIC Sargent’ should not be abbreviated to CLIC, and that the word ‘CLIC’ should always appear in capitals, as above. For more information visti www.clicsargent.org.uk.music
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