There are more ways to practice than this video documents. It’s one of the blind spots in academia: all of the research on practice is focused on Western Classical Music. It’s like other styles and other approaches don’t even exist. Weird, right? It’s why I did the research I did on practice (and wrote a…
Category: How
Evidence keeps rolling in: Early childhood music training can lead to better music and language skills.
Weird how one thing leads to another. Either that or Google is watching me closer than I thought. Could be. Anyway, after posting Victor Wooten’s talk about how learning language and learning music can be the same, here’s the first year of data from a longitudinal study from Sean Hutchins at the Royal Conservatory of…
Learning Music Like Learning Language: Victor Wooten
ABSOLUTELY! Victor Wooten speaks wisdom. Our approach to teaching music (often sight before sound) is backwards. Listen to Victor! Wooten’s book, The Music Lesson is pretty good, too. Like if Carlos Casteneda learned music from Don Juan instead of magic.
Polyphonic overtone singing explained visually.
Wonderful stuff from Anna-Maria Hefele. More tutorials here.
Brains of jazz and classical musicians work differently, study reveals. Which is Better?
The brain activity of jazz musicians is substantially different from that of classical musicians, even when they’re playing the same piece of music. Source: Brains of jazz and classical musicians work differently, study reveals – Classic FM Stoked to learn of this study and so glad we’re beginning to learn more about improvisation in music….
Born This Way? Nope. Do this instead.
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) HERE, or on the book’s extras page,…
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
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?
It’s a huge question with no clear answers, but there are hints. Sosniak (1985)–as part of Bloom’s massive “Developing Talent in Young Peole” project–discovered that musicians who went on to become top-notch professionals had particular kinds of teachers as beginners: kind, caring, enthusiastic, teachers who gave praise for accomplishments, no matter how small. Angela Duckworth…
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: GET IT ON AMAZON HERE
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 Practice of Practice 