This infographic below from The Practice of Practice is making the rounds. It’s one of the more powerful ideas from the book. The way we think about ability shapes how we approach learning anything. Check it out. Want to print it? No problem! Find the free, high-resolution, printable PDF (11×15) on the book’s extras page, under Chapter…
Music Practice for Babies and Littles? Yes! With These Precautions…
Learn more about the benefits of music for babies and kids at Mom Loves Best.com
The Practice of Practice: Now in Chinese!練習之道 | Pubu 電子書城
It’s official! The Practice of Practice is now available in Chinese! Super excited! It’s also out in English (of course), Spanish, and Italian. Source: 練習之道 | Pubu 電子書城
Free Practice Books (en Espanol tambien)
Two free books on practice, free for the rest of February!
Interview with Jonathan Harnum
An interview on practice with yours truly over at The Aspiring Guitarist from a few months back. You can also get it via podcast. Check it out! It’s always fun to chat about practice, and I always learn something, but it’s never a long enough convo to get all the good stuff out there. If you…
How to Become Great at Just About Anything
Listen to this greata Freakonomics podcast. Listen now. And these. Or listen to the same ideas in the audiobook version of The Practice of Practice. Better yet, do it all!
Why Do Beginners Quit?
Angela Duckworth has spoken out about Grit, an essential element for achieving success. But early on, no matter what you’re doing, there are lots of hurdles to overcome. Here are some musical hurdles to avoid altogether, if you can. Every little bit helps. <snip> But the real reasons that students quit is often beyond their own…
Improve with Improv: Card Game to Facilitate Musical Creativity
In The Practice of Practice is a chapter that covers how world-class musicians (yes, even classical musicians) use improvisation to improve their playing. You should do it, too. Trouble with improvising or composing? Here’s a tool for you: http://www.tonicgame.com/
If You Practice…
Andrew Hitz is a former Boston Brass tuba-ist. His blog is worth subscribing to. This quote is from Doug Yeo, the former bass trombonist for the Boston Symphony. Thing is, it works for ANY music and any musician. Great advice. If you practice, you get better. If you get better, you play with better players….
The Case For Learning By Ear: Mario Brothers Theme on the Sheng
Learn by ear. Play what you know. Have fun. Exhibit #748:
Loopy Masters: Get Better Using Loops
Some of the best practice I’ve ever had, and some of the most fun, has come from using loops. Here are two example: Joe St. George of Owleater kills it on percussion: Bonus points for Leah’s keyboard percussion and the Paul McCartney-style bass. The BOSS loop station (one pedal, two pedals, three pedals) is…
Songwriter Resources
In The Practice of Practice, Erin McKeown talks about how she used songwriting as her practice. Not only did songwriting with ap 4-track recorder give her some serious feedback, resulting in serious chops, her process resulted in some excellent albums, too. There are lots of resources online to learn songwriting. Here’s one:
