Check out the odd meter tunes. Was just digging some of Sting’s odd-meter tunes on 10 Summoner’s Tales. Hard to pull off a great odd-meter groove without a rock-solid rhythm section. Good stuff. Thanks “Odd Meter Mix!” Found this article by Oliver Curry entitled “Bored of 4/4: Other Time Signatures In Dance Music”, about odd…
Category: How
What’s Better: Practice or Performance?
Something I learned when researching The Practice of Practice is that many of the best musicians don’t make a distinction between “practice” and “performance,” and if they do, most strive to have more performance in their playing. This was driven home most by…
How to Listen When You Practice: Ted Nash
One of many JLCO’s Jazz Academy videos that I’ll be posting here over the coming months. Great stuff from modern masters. Here, Ted Nash talks about using the piano as a practice tool. Super advice. What Mr. Nash is talking about is covered in The Practice of Practice, in the chapter titled: Drone Power, all about using your ears…
Going Mental (Mental Practice, that is)
A nice primer on mental practice from The Open Score, a new, useful YouTube channel. Check out her other material. There’s a whole chapter on mental practice in The Practice of Practice with more information, but this is a great way to get started.
Free Kindle Book: Practice Like This
Thursday, 10/13 through Saturday, 10/15
Free Kindle Edition of “Practice Like This: 35 Effective Ways to Get Better Faster”
Work On Your Rhythm: Learn to Play Guiro
In The Practice of Practice, I recommend learning the tumbao and clave patterns on conga, or learning any rhythm instrument. Here’s a lesson on playing the guiro, from Bobby Sanabria. He teaches not only how to play it, but where the patterns go in the clave pattern.
A Lick a Day: Soundslice Serves it Up!
Learning licks from someone on an instrument different from yours is a great idea, because is exposes limitations of your instrument, but also exposes patterns on your instrument that can be changed or broken, in a good way. Say, learn Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday melodies on your instrument, or check out these short licks…
How to Use the Piano to Explore Harmony
Ted Nash of the JLCO gives some superb advice on using the piano to explore harmony.
“Part of practicing is putting yourself in a position where you’re going to discover something new.” – Ted Nash
Check it out.
Top 7 Practice Tips for Absolute Beginners (and everyone else, too)
We all want to get better, which means we’re all on the same path. When you see someone whose music blows you away, the tips below are part of what they did to get there. No matter how impossible it seems, you can do it, too. Follow these 7 guidelines:
How to Practice Trumpet: Trumpet How-To 4th Edition Is #1 New Release on Amazon (+free video lessons)
I’m super excited to announce a new edition of Sound the Trumpet: How to Blow Your Own Horn. The book is frequently a #1 best-seller in its category, and 2 days after publication it’s the #1 New Release in Trumpets and Cornets on Amazon. Check the link to free video lessons.
Lady Gaga Channels Bach by way of Fibonacci
Lady Gaga is a consummate performer and a smart composer. She’s a Julliard-trained pianist, after all. Gaga has pulled a neat compositional trick out of the bag for the video below, the title song from her new album, Perfect Illusion. It’s likely she learned about it at Julliard when she studied the work of JS Bach, Beethoven, and other…
What Each Musician Needs
Pretty funny Musicians’ Hierarchy of Needs, goofing on Maslow’s idea. Click to see ’em all.
The Practice of Practice 