The Collaborative Piano Blog started 31 days to better practicing on October 1st. I'm only just finding it but so far it looks like some really good advice. It would probably go well with my schedule to turbocharge your practicing. A couple tips … [Read more...]
Ear Training or Listening Practice?
You can make ear training something you do once in a while or you can make it part of who you are. That's the difference between ear training and a listening practice. Ear training has often been half-jokingly, half-seriously referred to as "ear … [Read more...]
Hacking Your Musical Strategies Day 2: Motivation Strategies
Elicit your motivational strategy for dong something that's not necessarily fun, like practicing scales. Next, elicit your motivational strategy for doing something you love, like jamming with your friends. Are these strategies the same or different? … [Read more...]
Hacking Your Musical Strategies Day 1: Decision Strategies
While practicing your instrument today, notice your decision strategy for choosing what you are going to practice. Slow the decision process way down and write down each step of your strategy. Identify the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic components … [Read more...]
Advice To Beginning Musicians
If you're new to the world of playing music or even if you're just now thinking about playing your very first note, here's my 7-step plan for beginning musicians: Get a cheap instrument. You probably have an idea of what instrument you want to play … [Read more...]
Music from 12-14-05b
[tag]Practicing[/tag] [tag]walking bass[/tag] and soloing over [tag]Bb[/tag] [tag]rhythm changes[/tag] on the [tag]Hammond[/tag] [tag]organ[/tag] at [tag]195bpm[/tag]. [tag]jazz[/tag] [tag]Perdido[/tag] [tag]bebop[/tag] [tag]organ … [Read more...]
Noise Can Make You Smarter
From Noise can make you smarter: Wired Magazine interviews Bart Kosko, author of Noise, a book that argues that adding noise to our signals can actually make them clearer. Can background music make you smarter? The more you can concentrate … [Read more...]
Turbocharge Your Practicing
A practice schedule is an important part of your musical development. My sax teacher, Nathan Davis, used to tell me, "Go without practicing one day, and you know. Go without practicing two days, your friends will know. Go without three days, and … [Read more...]
Music from 12-16-05e
0:00 - [tag]iPod[/tag] recording. [tag]Hammond[/tag] organ and [tag]Trinity[/tag] [tag]synth bass[/tag] [tag]Ebmin7[/tag] | Ab7 [tag]100bpm[/tag] [tag]funk[/tag]. 1:08 - [tag]wah wah clav[/tag]. 1:30 - Hammond [tag]organ solo[/tag]. 4:49 - … [Read more...]
Music from 12-16-05c
[tag]PRACTICING[/tag] [tag]Bb[/tag] [tag]rhythm changes[/tag] on the [tag]Hammond[/tag] organ at [tag]130bpm[/tag]. 0:00 - [tag]Walking bass[/tag]. 1:30 - Right hand comps. 2:30 - [tag]Perdido[/tag]. 3:40 - [tag]Organ solo[/tag]. 7:15 … [Read more...]