The Understanding of Reading & Playing Music Seminar™

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The Understanding of Reading & Playing Music Seminar™ is delivered online live with supervised audience drilling and interaction and has the following schedule:

Friday       10:00 am – 6:30 pm (1:00 pm – 2:00 pm lunch break)
Saturday  10:00 am – 6:30 pm (1:00 pm – 2:00 pm lunch break)
Sunday     10:00 am – 6:30 pm (1:00 pm – 2:00 pm lunch break)

  • See Seminar Schedule for details of Seminar dates.
  • The cost of the seminar is $595 plus sales tax (if required) including all materials.
  • There are 110 daily lessons that accompany The Understanding of Reading & Playing Music Seminar™ and seminar attendees can select EITHER the 110 lessons for the keyboard or 110 lessons for the guitar. If an attendee would like to purchase both 110 lessons for the keyboard AND 110 lessons for the guitar they may do so for an EXTRA fee.

What is contained in The Understanding of Reading and Playing Music Seminar™?

  • Learning all the note names on the keyboard and guitar from memory and how to work out the note names on other types of Western musical instruments.
  • How to start reading music for keyboard and guitar in minutes not hours (this revolutionary new system amazes even professional musicians).
  • To understand everything that is often confusing for musicians who try to read music such as reading the notes that are very high or low on a page of music, how to read music on both staffs and tablature, key signatures, the circle of fifths, beat, measure and meter, how different rhythmic styles are created, how to count rhythm correctly and how to read and play with both hands at the same time.
  • How to start getting your fingers under your control and develop coordination.
  • To be able to start reading and playing a section of music from a piece of J.S. Bach, hands together on the keyboard by the end of the Seminar.
  • How to do a simple 10 minute daily practice schedule that really works.
  • A course of 110 lessons designed for a daily practice schedule which on completion ensures each graduate maximizes the full potential of the seminar.
  • No claim is made that graduates are playing fluently in only one weekend as muscle control needs time to develop but beginners really do understand how to read and play music by the end of the weekend and professional musicians are able to reach creative heights they have only dreamt about.

How can all this happen in just one weekend? 

Duncan Lorien developed an advanced system of easy steps that ensures everyone in each Seminar fully understands and is able to apply each step before the next step is started. All Seminar information is included in an easy to read manual with simple diagrams. The attendee interacts with the Seminar manual while following easy to understand diagrams on a power point presentation, observing the keyboard from an overhead camera and watching close-ups of those same concepts on guitar. Each concept is fully drilled before the next concept is introduced. The seminar graduate continues at home with the daily practice schedule for a further 110 days. The Seminar manual, daily practice manual and all other materials are included in the cost of the Seminar.

What is the graduation rate? 

100 %. This graduation rate explains the huge expansion of this “grass-roots” movement around the world as graduates tell family, friends and colleagues about their success from doing the Seminars.

What instruments are required?

Duncan Lorien recommends the keyboard as the fastest instrument to learn music on and it is ideal if you have your own portable keyboard in front of you and access to a guitar. If you do not yet possess or cannot borrow both of these instruments then an actual to scale paper keyboard diagram and guitar fretboards can be provided for download which will enable each drill to be practiced throughout the seminar. Although the information is fully applicable to other instruments such as strings, brass and woodwind, only keyboards and acoustic guitars are focused on during the Seminar owing to time restraints.

Who should come to these Seminars?

Absolute beginners in music, professionals in all styles of music, college graduates with music degrees, music teachers and even music college instructors have all attended and testified to the incredible success they have experienced with the Seminars. The youngest graduate was only 6 years old and the oldest was 91. However, the youngest recommended age is 13 years old (depending on study ability). Younger children may be considered on written application to the Seminar Organizer.

Seminar Rules

There are some basic rules you are asked to adhere to while attending a Seminar delivered by Duncan Lorien in order for you to gain the maximum out of the seminar.

  • No drugs or alcohol may be consumed during the days on which the Seminar is being held (attendees receiving prescription drugs under medical supervision are requested to advise the Seminar Organizer what drugs are being prescribed).
  • Any attendee with a reading or hearing problem or who is physically challenged is requested to advise the Seminar Organizer so the best efforts can be made to accommodate that attendee.
  • No smoking will be allowed during the Seminar but sufficient meal and rest breaks should ensure this is not a problem.
  • Any attendee who is unable to adhere to the full schedule and maintain punctuality creates a disruption to the rest of the attendees and will be refunded and asked to leave the Seminar.
  • Recording is not permitted as it creates a distraction and all materials are internationally copyrighted. Taking notes are welcomed but not essential as all information is in the Seminar materials provided.
  • Each attendee undertakes to make the Seminar Presenter immediately aware of any confusion or difficulty so that it can be fully handled at that time.
Seminar Price

The Understanding of Reading and Playing Music Seminar™ 

$595 plus sales tax (if required). There are no discounted rates. The full deposit of 200 Euros secures the place of a student on either Seminar and due to the demand for strictly limited places the earlier this deposit is made the greater the chance someone has of being awarded a place at a Seminar.

The fee includes the Seminar manual, 110 lessons for either the keyboard or guitar and the opportunity to do the same Seminar again for an administrative fee. Repeating the seminar is strongly encouraged. Those who have attended again, agree that the concepts and actions are mastered to an even higher level. It also includes an option to consult by letter, e-mail, fax or phone with the Understanding of Music Company™ on any aspect of the information contained in the Seminars at no extra charge.

Seminar Success

Here is a sample of success stories from the Understanding of Reading & Playing Music Seminar:

  • “A tsunami of information. Every time I take one of Duncan’s seminars I learn more and more, and have a greater understanding of music. And, if more people could understand the words and symbols, they would be able to enjoy communication via music and enjoy playing music. Thank you, Duncan!” – Jeanne D.
  • “You cleared up so much misunderstanding and wrong thinking. The history you provided ties it all together and the simplicity and eureka moments of your methods are invaluable. I can now understand how to read music on any western instrument. Amazing! Truly privileged to experience your life’s work. Thank you so much.” – Leon K.
  • “After doing the seminar I feel a lot more confident reading music. It helped to understand why music seems so complicated and why people who teach it seem to make you feel stupid all the time. I now see it’s just the way those old Christian monks decided to write in a difficult to understand code. Thank you Duncan for all of this wisdom!” – Mauricio M.
  • “It’s unbelievable to have the experience of doing the seminar at home. The new format is amazing with all the cameras and stunning presentation slides. I enjoyed that the concepts were laser-focused on the problems we face reading music without overloading or overwhelming us when sharing the information. My reading of pitch is so much faster now as is my fretboard knowledge and my sense of rhythm. My reading skills will go through the roof! The amount of content was ideal for the online setting. I am extremely motivated :)” – Ricardo S.
  • “Thank you again for an amazing Understanding of Reading and Playing Music Seminar! The presentation slides and close-up cameras really help the level of understanding. This seminar opened me up to realizing I can reach a whole new level of confidence and ability as a musician than I I’d ever thought possible. The new online format is great and I was happy I could join all the way from South Africa. I am excited to continue my progress with your practice lessons. I had always thought that music was something for “other people”. Thanks to Duncan’s vital seminars, I now know it is something I can make a part of my life. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!” – Benjamin M.
  • “I am looking forward to the daily practice lessons and for sure I will be at the next online seminar with Duncan. It is so convenient to be doing this at home beside my piano and guitar with a cup of coffee in hand. I learned how to read and play music with the true data on the subject of music. I thoroughly understood everything! Thank you very much Duncan for teaching me.” – Kay B.
  • “Just imagine if you could understand music fully? How much more it would bring to your life? Duncan delivers this seminar in a fun and entertaining way and gets down to the roots of the subject. I quit at 16 after 5 years of Russian music school, thinking that I didn’t have a “musical ear” even though I really tried and actually played 2 instruments using just memorization. Now I know more than I learned in those 5 years and I understand what I am doing. Duncan is the best teacher I ever had. See you soon, Duncan! Very very grateful for all your seminars!” – Oksana P.
  • “I had despaired over ever being able to understand how Western music actually works; it had to be something deficient in me. Duncan Lorien debunks popular but incorrect explanations and approaches while bringing to the surface the underlying simplicity. With the accurate and helpful presentation slides and overhead cameras it was all understandable; even by little old me. The seminar plus the extensive daily lessons give a precise, step-by-step method for developing my new understanding into proficient playing, exactly what I was looking for. How could I ask for more? What a great contribution Duncan Lorien has made to our beautiful and sad little world.” – Jerome P.
  • “This was an amazing seminar! In the school system in Denmark we were just given music and told to play it without even being told what notes were, why you used symbols for them or even why music was written in this form. I got totally lost and gave up the cello and music. In this seminar you not only learn WHY, but HOW to use the symbols, and suddenly I could ACTUALLY READ MUSIC!” – Victoria M.