This month, I’m going to bring you some of the most interesting, informative and musical videos I can find.

 

This one by Stefon Harris features his quartet followed by a short talk and demonstration of the title.

 

I really like this video because it supports everything I have been writing to you about including the importance of being able to:

 

Improvise freely (or try this article for more detail)

 

Listen and respond

 

The Beauty of Jazz

 

Being Present

 

Possessing a musical mindset

 

Here is the video, with a band performance for the first 6.10 minutes followed by his short but very interesting talk.

Ok, it’s that time of year again, when things get a little bit crazy and all routine seems to fly out the window.

 

But what’s going to happen with your music?

 

While some of you will be looking forward to a break, others will be looking forward to having more time to practice.

 

This Article is for all of you and contains links and suggestions suited to your practice ideals for this holiday season.

 

 

Taking A Break?

 

Of course that’s fine and for some those of you who have been working very hard on your music it could be the best thing for your progress.

 

However, for others, the decision to take a break may be forced by circumstances – either you are going away and won’t have your instrument or space to practice and/or you have to meet many social engagements and just won’t have the time.

 

It’s always a good idea to acknowledge your reasons or circumstances for not being able to practice and to be honest and real about it.  (Reflective writing is always good for this.)

 

If you won’t be practicing but want to stay in touch with your music, I suggest you read this article which is full of recommendations for inspiring music reading, dvd’s and listening.

 

If you can’t take your instrument with you but still desire to keep your music learning going, this article has suggestions of how you can accomplish that.

 

 

Keeping The Routine Going?

 

If keeping your regular practice routine during the holidays is what you wish to do, the only advice I would give you is to cut yourself a bit of slack.

 

Sometimes things don’t go as planned, especially if you are out of your ordinary work or day-to-day routine.

 

I am sure there will be at least one or two social engagements and you just may feel different as those around you begin to wind down.

 

Use your Practice Diary to keep track of your learning and perhaps set yourself some achievable goals for this short period and if you’re having trouble keeping up the routine, this article is sure to help you.

 

 

Practicing Like Mad?

 

Some of you may have a lot of music work commitments to meet and will have to put in some extra hours of rehearsal and practice.

 

Others of you will just want to take this opportunity of having more time, to practice more.

 

Again, don’t be disappointed if you don’t meet your expectations of learning.  We can only learn as fast as our brains and bodies allow us to.

 

Also, (and this may seem obvious) try not to get sucked into any excessive partying.

 

You’ll have to be strict on yourself and that means making sure you are in the best possible health and getting enough sleep as well, so that you can gain the most from this period of practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRANSPOSING

 

Today, take a piece of music you know very well and play it in a different key.

 

For example, if you know how to play a blues very well in C, try playing it in G.

 

If you are a singer, take a song up a couple of semitones so you work the transition area of your voice.

 

Remember, this is just an exercise.  It doesn’t have to be perfect but it pushes you out of your comfort zone.

Sometimes there just seems like there’s so much to learn and so little time to do it.

 

That can be a stressful situation.

 

Whether you have an impending music exam or performance, there are times when there is a lot of pressure to learn.

 

So, how are you going to deal with that?

 

Even if you have whole days in which to practice, you can only learn as fast as your brain and muscle processes allow you to learn.

 

So here’s a few tips which can help you get through (and hopefully succeed) in those times of high pressure.

 

 

1.            Prioritise

 

My situation at the moment is that I have about five new songs to learn for the Band (rehearsing tonight) and a gig on Saturday night which I need to be in top shape for.

 

I therefore, have to prioritise the learning for the gig because it’s important to me that every public performance I do, I do my best.  However, there is an impending gig for the Band and there’s a lot of learning to do there as well!

 

Your priorities may be different to mine in the same situation.  What is important is that you are honest about what is most important to you (not anybody else) and focus on preparing your work in accordance with that.

 

Sometimes it will be a close call but the work you do for one performance will invariably benefit the other performances too.

 

 

2.            Practice Other Skills

 

Yes, you need to practice the pieces you will be playing but it’s also very wise to keep up the technical work, even if you are pressed for time.

 

This article outlines all the other exercises that are good to practice in order to support a successful performance.

 

 

3.            Break It Down

 

When you look at all the activities you have to accomplish in a week, it can seem daunting.  You may even feel like you don’t even know where to start, or have the feeling that all those tasks will be impossible to get through.

 

But when you look at what you have to do day by day, and just try to accomplish those tasks, those tasks seem much more manageable.

 

The same is true for a stressful music workload.

 

If you can, look at what you need to accomplish by the end of the week and plan out, day-by-day, using your Practice Diary, what you are going to do to meet those tasks.

 

Think about how much practice time you will have and plan what you will do in those practice sessions to get the maximum benefit.

 

A lot of time can be wasted with unplanned and unfocused practice.  However, with knowledge and planning on how to practice, you have much more of a chance of meeting your goals.

 

This article on time management has a great tip in the last video which I use all the time now and it works!

 

 

4.            Simplify

 

If there is really too much on your plate, there are several ways you can handle it:

 

1. Have a complete meltdown (not recommended!), but if you feel that is going to happen then….

 

 

2. Be honest, get someone else to do the gig, or shorten the repertoire, or cancel the date.

 

In other words, try to avoid getting yourself into a situation where you are going to let yourself and/or others down.  It’s just much simpler and better to be honest and let others know where you are at.

 

3. Sometimes you may be able to simplify the music and repertoire.

 

For example, shortening the form, or taking out some movements, or playing songs you already know.

 

In performance, always take the options you are most confident with.

 

 

Ok, well now I’m going to take my own advice and it’s off to the practice room!

I have been thinking about writing an article on transcribing for quite some time now but whenever I have come to do it, it has proven almost as hard as transcribing itself!!

 

Transcribing is the act of writing down music that you hear.

 

Many musicians use this technique in order to learn songs, improve their ears and theoretical knowledge, find out how other musicians interpret music and a lot more.

 

Learning to transcribe and the act of transcribing can take a lot of time and patience but is worth every ounce of this for what it can deliver to your musicianship.

Finally, I am biting-the-bullet, so to speak – which is also the same way I feel when I set out on a transcription project – but it was an incident which brought me to this point.

 

Myself and another band member had to transcribe a song for the Band to perform, however, when we got together for rehearsal the results we came up with were completely different.

 

How could this be?  We both had ears, surely there was only one definitive answer to what was going on in this song.

 

I was perplexed until I got together with this person and realised we had heard the same thing but our approaches to transcribing were different.

 

He was right and I was right, we just had to put our work together to get a good chart.

 

Let me explain….

 

When I learned to transcribe the first thing I was taught to listen to was the bass line.

 

This is the most important part of working out what the harmony is doing because it provides you with the root note on which the rest of the chord is built.

 

In this blog, I have written about basic harmony, however, this is only the beginning of where chords can go and there are a myriad of different sounds and flavours you can add to them.

 

Also, as spoken about in this article, there are also some very common and repetitive harmonic progressions, so hearing the bass line also provides you with a clue to what the chords are going to be.

 

I am good at hearing bass lines, so my basic chords were correct.

 

The guitarist, who also transcribed, only transcribed his part, which was obviously based on the chords, but which didn’t necessarily give the correct root notes and chord names, therefore chordal notation for the other instruments (bass and piano) was incorrect.

 

What his transcription did provide me with, however, was the missing “flavours” of the chords, e.g. flat 9’s, sharp 11’s etc.

 

When we got together, I was able to improve upon the basic harmony of my chart by figuring his chords into mine.

 

When I explained to him what I had done and what he had done, he realised that it was important to notate chords based on the root notes and would do so from now on.

 

But because he had trained his ears, always to pick up on the “added” notes, he was quite easily able to get them, whereas I had more difficulty.

 

It was therefore a pleasure to work together to get the right answers.

 

So, the moral to this story is…. Well, there is a few morals:

 

• When transcribing, first listen to the bass line to gain the big picture of the harmonic structure of a song.

 

• When you have discrepancies with other musicians (such as the one described above), don’t jump to conclusions about the other’s musical ability.  Instead, find out their approach to transcribing and work it out together.

 

• Recognise your strengths and weaknesses and be open to sharing them.

 

• The more transcribing you do, the better you will get at it.

 

There are several ways you can go about transcribing music (as illustrated above).

 

Here are a few tips:

 

If you are a beginner at transcribing

 

Start by doing some ear training.  This means learning to hear a pitch and sing it or play it on your instrument.

 

There are a few programs out there to help you do this that you can research.  Meanwhile here are a couple to get you started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auralia

 

If your ears are happening

 

The next step is learning how to transcribe.

 

As I said, I always start out by working out:

 

1. The form of the song
2. The harmonic progressions (bass line!)
3. Then focus on the different instruments.

 

Start by choosing relatively easy songs.  You will get to know what these are as you experiment.

 

This website also has some good suggestions.

 

If you want more detailed transcriptions, i.e. written on the stave, you will need to learn how to notate music, and especially rhythm dictation.

 

This should really start with learning to read music, just the same way we learn to read and write our language.

 

Again, you will have to be patient with this process but the key is just to enjoy it.

 

Please refer to this article if you are a beginner and learning read music.

 

If you don’t want to learn to read and write music, you could always choose from a number of notation programs where you can play the music into the computer and it will notate it for you.

 

However, sometimes this notation isn’t as clear and simple as it could be so I would recommend you take it to someone who knows music and who can help you to edit it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am sitting in the airport lounge filling in time, which is by no way any concession for the fact that I have amazing news to share.

 

I have been away for one week now in Sydney attending the teachers training for Theta Healing.

 

The founder, Vianna, is out here from the states and what an amazing opportunity to meet and be taught by her.

 

She is funny and real and so practical with her experience and her desire to heal the souls of others’ is truly inspiring!

 

Whilst I was very anxious on my arrival, I leave with a renewed confidence that I do have both the knowledge and tools to create what I truly want in life, and that is exactly what I intend to do.

 

Of course music has played a key part this week in my learning.

 

In the Theta class we were played a rap, inspired by the healing.

 

My gorgeous girlfriend, Lucy, invited me to David Hykes harmonic choir, a group that uses overtoning, drums and Tibetan chants.

 

 

Wow! What a new dimension I experienced.

 

I realized that sound is energy, vibration is energy and the atmosphere of the church hall was so pure and uplifting I am sure that I met the Creator himself!

 

I could feel every cell of my body resonating, all my chakras opening and I began to fully comprehend the enormous potential there is in sound.

 

This raises the stakes a little, which is great because I am really at a point that I want to affect change and to do that, it is important to be participating in the energetic shifts that are occurring on this planet.

 

So what is arising is the enquiry “what is my reality?”

 

I now have the potential to create anything I truly want, including the highest evolution of myself on this Plane.

 

This may sound like ramblings, but I have come to realize that it is time to stretch the boundaries of my current reality.

 

So I am swimming with ideas about a song reflecting these realizations.  Well, in fact two distinct songs, so I am off to create them with ease, grace, and fun!

 

Blessings to you all!

 

Angel.

 

 

Lisa’s Reply

 

Hi Joanna

 

Good to hear from you and after reading this, I am really looking forward to our next lesson on Friday.

 

I’m very happy you enjoyed your Course and it sounds exactly like what you needed and very exciting too!

 

I would loved to have attended the choir as I think it is a rare thing to experience sound purely as energy and perhaps this is something we could go into a little deeper in this blog.  Especially this month as we are focussing on health and well-being.

 

It will be great to start working on your original material from this angle as well.

 

I think this diary of yours has already shown the evolution of a musician and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next!

 

 

 

I first noticed my interest in the drums when I was around 13 years of age though looking back now, I realise that my interest in percussion and rhythm started years before.

 

As a boy I was constantly tapping with my legs, fingers and hands, listening for the different rhythms and sounds that I could make.

 

Pots, pans, bottles, bins were all too often played with pencils and chop-sticks.

 

However, it wasn’t until I was 13 that I realised drumming was something that I could do and not just something that only other people did.

 

So, if you or your child are developing an interest like mine, and you are thinking there is a drummer growing up in your house, then here a few pointers on getting started.

 

Step 1

 

Get your drummer onto a drum kit and if not a kit, then at least a drum with some sticks in their hands.

 

YOu will know straight away if it is something you like not.  However, I can say that a lot of children (and adults) will want to learn the drums after their first try.  They love it!

 

There are several ways you can go about organising the opportunity to have a turn on the drums.

 

• see if you can find a friend, relative, neighbour, or anyone you know who would be willing to give you a go. This is the cheapest option!

 

• Failing this, your next step would be to check at your child’s school, as a large number of schools will have drum kits as part of the music department. Also, check to see if there is a tutor or a teacher who can introduce your child to the drum kit.

 

• If you are not of school age and it’s you that wants to learn drums, be a little cheeky, and ask in your local music shop if you can have a go.  Note: the response to this can vary!

 

Step 2

 

Find a teacher and pay for a lesson.

 

When looking for a teacher, the first thing to do is ask around.

 

Chances are somebody will know somebody who knows somebody that is a drummer or, better still, a drum teacher.

 

If you are interested to know what makes a good teacher, please read this article.

 

Another avenue would be to try the school as they often have drum teachers and if they do not have a drum teacher specifically, they will more than likely have a music teacher who can hold the sticks and play a few beats, which is fine to get up and running.

 

You could also go for a walk through your nearest University.

 

The notice boards will often have contacts for studying music students who are teaching while at University.

 

Also, try calling the University and ask to speak to the Music Department or School of Music and ask them if they could help you.

 

You could also ask at your nearest music shop. They will normally have a resident tutor they are using.

 

And… failing these options, look in the local paper, you just might find what you are looking for there.

 

Step 3

 

“My child is learning the Drums,” (OH S#@T!!)

 

I’m sure that by now you have given thought to the fact that once you or your child starts learning drums, you now have a some new sounds in the house!

 

The drums are definitely one instrument that you can’t hide from, however, don’t despair, there are ways to negotiate around this (to an extent).

 

I would almost always choose an acoustic drum kit over an electronic kit, though the obvious problem here is the noise.

 

Learning to play an instrument takes time, and children who are in the beginning stages will often play loud, hard and fast which can result in a lot of bashing and crashing.

 

If an electric kit is chosen, the volume can be turned down or played wearing headphones.

 

When it comes to silencing or muffling a drum kit, then as you muffle the sound the quality of the sound the drums make will diminish.

 

If this is the option you choose, you can cover the entire kit including the cymbals, with a thin bed sheet.

 

This doesn’t need to be done all the time, just when it is necessary.

 

It will give the neighbours a break as well!

 

Small plastic rings, foam rings or complete rubber mats that lay on top of the drums can be purchased online or at a music shop that muffle any high pitched overtones that the drum is making.

 

You can check these out here.

 

Basically, however, if noise is going to be a problem an electric drum kit may be your best option.

 

Stay tuned for more articles about learning drums.

 

Kieron White

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I began writing this blog, it seems that my music career has become a lot busier and I’m really happy about that (though a little tired).

 

I’ll be honest with you.. I did start this Project with the idea that, with some work, I could possibly make some extra money to pay that extra bill but that hasn’t happened yet.

 

Maintaining this blog is a lot of work, and there is still so much more I could be doing to make it bigger and better but alas, like many of you I’m a little time-poor and practicing has got it’s priority, along with my family and my teaching business.

 

Often I ask myself, why am I doing this?  Why put on that extra pressure with no monetary reward?  And the answer is loud and clear.

 

Writing this blog for you is propelling me further into my music and that’s exactly what I want.

 

It is, in fact, exactly what this blog is about – inspiring music.

 

Since starting this project I have picked up more students, started gigging both in a band and solo, practiced more and made new music contacts both over the internet and in the real world.

 

I also love the fact that I can share my teaching and learning experience with you and hope that you are learning to love the music you are making too.

 

Every time I think about stopping, I simply can’t because there is some intuition inside me that tells me there is a lot more to come of this new experience (blogging) than I can ever imagine at the moment.

 

It has the same feeling for me as music always has.

 

I have often wanted to give up music, telling myself it’s a waste of time, I’m not good enough and nothing will ever come of it.   However, it turns out that music has ended up providing a great life and a living for me.  Who can complain about that?

 

It’s all been worthwhile but I could never have guessed when I first started in what direction music would take me.

 

I think that this is something to remember in your darkest musical moments.  Just stop and imagine giving it up.  What would you do instead?  Play computer games?

 

No, for me, it’s really important to trust that inner voice that tells you to keep going even when you are tired and fed up.  In fact, that’s a really good sign that things are actually happening.

 

So, this blog will keep going and I’ll do my best to bring you useful and entertaining articles.

 

I always love to hear your comments and ideas and you can post them right here!

 

 

It’s been a couple of weeks since Joanna has posted a reflection, but for those of you who are following, that will happen soon.

 

I thought this would therefore be a great opportunity to look back at Joanna’s recordings and listen to how far she has come since May, this year.

 

As her teacher, I feel Joanna is starting to get a much clearer vision of where she is going with her singing and a few things in her life are now lining up to meet that vision.  It’s all very exciting but I will let her tell you about that.

 

In the meantime, here are her recordings revisited:

 

 

First recording of Joanna (13 May 2011)

 

Second recording of Joanna (21 May, 2011)

 

 

Cry Me A River

 

Just Like A Star (recorded 11 June 2011)

 

 

Just Like A Star (recorded 18 June 2011)

 

 

Here’s the recording of Joanna’s “Back On Down Blues”

 

 

Just Like A Star (16 July 2011)

 

 

Joyful Joyful (recorded 30 July 2011)

 

“Have a Talk With God”, Stevie Wonder (recorded 18 August 2011)

 

 

Joanna’s original track inspired by Burning Man festival

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music practice can be so much more than the ‘normal’ routines you go through in your practice session.

 

In fact, the following suggestions for practice away from your instrument can definitely enhance your learning and progress if you use them regularly.

 

These techniques are fun, help you to approach learning from different angles and support all the other exercises you work on as well.

 

Here’s what you can do if you can’t get to your instrument for practice:

 

 

Visualisation

 

As you may or may not know from reading this blog, I had my first gig with a newly formed band last weekend.

 

I had planned to practice, particularly on one song which needed work, during the day (the gig was that evening), however, my little one would not sleep unless I was lying down with her.

 

That cancelled out my practice session.

 

Recently I wrote an article on creative visualisation and I decided this was the perfect situation to put “practice what I preach”.

 

It is quite a well-known fact that sportspeople use creative visualisation to improve their performance and musicians can use it too!

 

So as I was lying down next to my daughter I closed my eyes, relaxed and visualised myself playing the chords on the piano, hearing them, feeling my hand positions etc.  and I imagined everything in as much detail as possible.

 

While doing this, I made the mistakes I was making before so just did my imagined practice in order to iron them out, exactly as I would do in ‘real life’ and in real time (by breaking parts of the song down and working on them) until I could play the song through without incident. The verdict?

 

It worked, doing the practice in my head was just as good, and in some ways better, than if I had physically done it on the piano.

 

It was better because I found I really had to concentrate hard to get the results and this meant that the learning was deep.

 

We had a great gig and I’m looking forward to the next one.

 

I will also be using this technique more because it is great exercise for the imagination and adds another dimension to learning, making it a deeper process.

 

 

Reading Rhythms

 

Learning to read music should be part of any instrumental or vocal training.

 

If you focus on learning to read rhythms well, you are also learning to subdivide a beat and this is one of the most important skills any musician could focus on, since developing good rhythms is perhaps 90% of the work in music.

 

Reading rhythms is one thing my students and I always enjoy practicing and again, you can do it anywhere.

 

All you need is a metronome and a resource book.

 

The book you get should be in graded exercises (meaning they get harder as you go along) and remember always to set your metronome tempo at a slow speed to start with and just speed up as the exercise gets easier.

 

I have a book called “The Rhythm Method for Safe Music” by N. Peterson, an absolutely fantastic resource that I have been using for years now.

 

Unfortunately, it has been difficult to find this book on the internet and I will look into how I may be able to get my hands on it and sell on my site.

 

It teaches rhythms using French time names, something I was sceptical of at first but have found really works and it has improved my sight reading enormously.

 

I am much more confident in reading music than I have ever been because I do this exercise as part of my practice routine, however, I don’t have to be in front of the piano to do it.

 

 

Computer Resources and Games

 

Every month I post a list of useful resources that you can access on your computer.

 

This month (October 2011), I have included some websites that provide free resources you can use online so that you can practice reading, note identification, song writing and much more.

 

Using online computer resources to help you gain other musical skills is a stimulating and fun experience.

 

Just try not to get sidetracked when looking for them and perhaps check out my site for previous months’ recommended resources, which include free programmes to help improve aural skills.  (Just go to the sidebar and in the search area type in “this month’s 10 most useful music programs”) which will bring up loads of options for you.

 

 

Listening

 

Although listening to music seems like such an obvious activity for musicians, many don’t do it nearly as much as they could.

 

Sometimes we just get too busy, or have too much of our own music to write or learn that listening comes down our priority list.

 

However, there is always something to gain from it such as;

 

• Pleasure
• Inspiration
• Understanding of how music works and much more

 

When you actively listen to music.  Just lie down or sit with your eyes closed.  Don’t do anything else but listen and choose carefully what you wish to listen to.

 

In this act, just let the music take you where it will and reconnect with the experience of enjoying music for what it is and not thinking too much about it.

 

Being able to let go and get in touch with our initial feelings towards music, the pure enjoyment, the reason we wanted to participate in it, is important to reconnect with, especially if we have been practicing hard.

 

 

Reflecting

 

I’ve talked about the importance of reflecting upon our learning experience in this blog and you will see me do my reflections from time to time as well and post them here.

 

By reflecting on where you are in your learning and where you want to go, what important lessons you have learned etc. you are carving your path of learning, taking charge a little bit more and cementing what you have gained.

 

I make reflective learning a regular part of my practice by writing a paragraph in my Practice Diary every week.

 

This really helps to solidify learning and gives  a clearer picture of what is happening for you on many levels.

 

The experience of doing reflective work always makes me feel better and appreciate the time I have spent doing music.

 

All you have to do is sit quietly and write for about ten minutes.

 

I hope you have found this article helpful and also have some ideas of how to vary your practice.

 

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!