Hello everyone, I'm Leonardo Caminati, and I'd like to warmly welcome you all to our vibrant and 'experimental' community. As the mind behind "Use Your Ear", I have always strived to reshape the way we approach ear training, aiming for an intuitive, science-based, and effective method. This community is an extension of that vision. Here, we'll be working on songwriting and music production skills and integrate ear training in the process. But I want to make something clear - this space is not just about learning from me. It's about learning from each other. Our goal here is multi-faceted. Firstly, we'll be sharing and discussing our experiences, insights, and creative endeavors in the world of music. This will be a place where we can push each other to level up our skills, whether it's in songwriting, music production, or ear training. Secondly, the community is inherently experimental in nature. The approach may evolve as we go along, based on what we find works best for us collectively. And I am excited to see how our collective wisdom can enhance our musical journey. Remember, we're here not just to learn the how-to's, but also to truly tune into our music. Our aim is to carve out our unique artistic identities, guiding our progress in songwriting and production skills from the fundamentals upwards. While a keen musical ear does enhance everything we do in music—and is a central tenet of the 'Use Your Ear' method—the primary focus of this community extends beyond ear training. We're here to explore, learn, and grow holistically as musicians and find innovative ways to elevate our craft to a whole new level. Welcome to this exciting journey. I'm thrilled to have you on board and can't wait to see where our shared passion for music takes us. Cheers, Leonardo

USE YOUR EAR SKOOL INTRO QUESTIONS 1. Could you please introduce yourself and tell us where you're from? David Calderisi, Canadian, 83 yrs old, retired actor. 2. How long have you been involved in songwriting or music production? Been “around” music throughout professional life which included singing and dancing. Wrote some undistinguished songs played with elementary guitar skills fifty years ago (pretty much all 3-chord stuff) . 3. What inspired you to pursue songwriting/music production? a) a desire to learn more about the “nature of music”; b) a desire to acquire the necessary skills to be able to play simple classical pieces and feel comfortable improvising for personal pleasure. 4. How have you been developing your ear training skills so far? Apart from UYE, I’ve gathered study/practice materials from a variety of sources both online and from books. I try to spend at least one hour a day working on development. 5. What is one artist that has greatly influenced your work? Why? Unable to name one in particular. There are so many, especially in the fields of classics and jazz 6. What genres of music do you typically work within? (see #5) 7. What specific challenges are you currently facing in songwriting, music production, or ear training? a) sight reading still far from competent; b) two-hand keyboard co-ordination still a major challenge; c) muscle memory to be able to play simple chords without looking; d) making sufficient time each day to maintain sustained development. 8. What's one accomplishment in your musical journey that you're particularly proud of? a) Able (almost!) to play all twelve major scales without looking, as well as a number of Hanon exercises. 9. What are you hoping to gain from this community? Stimulation & Inspiration 10. Do you play any musical instruments? If so, which ones? (see above) 11. Do you have any experience with the UseYourEar method? Yes. Joined years ago. But must confess to not having given it the consistent attention it merits.