OrchMate Guide
For people who play, teach,
and run things together
The OrchMate Guide covers running amateur orchestras and choirs (attendance, seating charts, preparing regular concerts), private lessons and practice (lesson schedules, starting an instrument as an adult), and music knowledge (the alto clef).
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blog.naver.com/orchmate →Browse music knowledge
Lessons · Practice
How to use a tuner and just intonation: from tuning strings to tuning chords
The difference between A=440Hz and 442Hz, the order for tuning string instruments in fifths from the open strings, how to read a tuner's cents, and just intonation, where thirds are tuned low and fifths slightly high in chords, all summarized to use in practice.
· 6 min readHow to practice with a metronome: 4 steps from a slow tempo to your target tempo
How to raise tempo with a metronome when a fast passage isn't working. Four steps to use in the practice room, finding a tempo where you don't make mistakes, raising it in small steps, listening in subdivisions, and clicking only on beats 2 and 4, plus common mistakes.
· 4 min readLesson scheduling: how teachers and students sync up without KakaoTalk
Scheduling principles that cut down on "Are you free this Thursday at 7?". How private lesson teachers and students can use shared available times, propose and confirm, change deadlines, fee-session numbering, and homework records.
· 5 min readStarting an instrument as an adult: violin, cello, flute, horn… costs and the first year
How much does it cost for an adult to start an orchestra instrument as a hobby, and how long until the first piece? We compared startup costs, lesson fee ranges, and time to the first piece for 8 instruments (4 strings, woodwinds, and brass) in one table.
· 7 min readRunning a group
How to manage club dues: monthly dues, concert fees, and exemptions without the confusion
A guide to managing dues for treasurers of amateur orchestras and choirs: types of dues like monthly dues, annual dues, concert fees, and camp fees; what to decide at the start of a season; deposit-name rules; unpaid reminders; and sharing the ledger.
· 5 min readManaging section scores: 5 principles to end 'Which one is the latest?'
Score PDFs piling up in the group chat, and everyone copying down bowings and breath marks by hand. How an amateur orchestra can keep the latest section scores in one place and share conductor markings, plus things to watch for on score copyright.
· 5 min readRegular concert checklist: from D-90 to concert day
If you're in charge of a regular concert for an amateur orchestra or choir for the first time. We've laid it out by timing, from booking the venue and finalizing the program (D-90), through sharing information (D-14), the dress rehearsal and day-of timetable, to settling accounts after the concert.
· 7 min readAmateur orchestra attendance: a better way than group-chat polls
Still counting 'Who's coming this week?' polls every week? We cover how to cut the organizers' workload with principles like an attendance deadline, a 'late' response, counts by section, and reminders only for people who haven't responded.
· 5 min readMusic knowledge
Orchestra seating basics: American and German string layouts, and where winds and percussion sit
The difference between the American layout, where second violins sit next to the first violins, and the German layout, where they face each other (antiphonal); the usual places for winds, brass, and percussion; and tips for amateur groups arranging by headcount.
· 6 min readHow to read the alto clef (C clef): learn viola music fast
In the alto clef, the middle line of the staff is middle C (C4). We've laid out the note names of lines and spaces, tips for switching from treble clef, and the positions of the viola's open strings (C, G, D, A) so you can memorize them without a diagram.
· 4 min read