… long tones are super-important for wind players. Long tones allow us to hyper-focus on the quality of sound, and since there are no note changes or any other duties, we can also pay more attention to other details like air movement, posture, and other important details we often ignore.
First Video of A Thought in the Brain
I often post about brain-related issues and music practice. This video is more general than usual, but I present it to you because of its interesting uniqueness. The first video footage of a thought sparking through neurons (the video says it’s 3x normal speed). Details about the process here.
This made me think about a few things: How were those neurons and the connections “built” or grown? Is a firing of neurons really a thought? What is a thought?
The Night I Met Einstein – by Jerome Weidman
It’s got nothing to do with practice, but everything to do with listening, music, and life and is well worth reading, especially if you think you’re “tone deaf” (nobody is). Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. This story is from playwright and novelist Jerome Weidman. Thanks to Akshar Smriti for posting it, and thanks to Derek…
Your Brain on Music (fMRI)
Music doesn’t make you smarter, at least not generally smarter, but playing music does make you musically smarter. In fact, there have been many recent studies showing profound differences in the brains of people who have studied music. One is that the corpus callosum, the “conduit” between the left and right sides of the brain, is…
Landfillharmonic: Instruments from Trash
Those with love and passion and curiosity will see everything as useful in some way. Some call it the “enchantment with everyday objects.”
The next time you think you have to have an expensive instrument to make music, remember this video. I got all choked up. Brilliant!
Why There is No Trumpet Christmas
Hilariously hair-raising.
Understand Music: Sweet Animated Vid
Here‘s a beautifully animated vid that was shared by Xeni on BoingBoing: a creative studio based in Mainz, Germany, produced this beautiful animated video exploring what music is: Music is a good thing. But what we did not know until we started with the research for this piece: Music is also a pretty damn complex thing. This…
7 Great Books for Musicians
Here are 8 great books for musicians on your gift list. Want to learn more about the best ways to practice? Get an e-mail with a discount code when The Practice of Practice is published (June, 2014). To learn more about the book, check out a sample from The Practice of Practice. ___________________________________________________ How Music Works, by…
The Importance of Play in Practice
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. –Plato _________________________________________ One of the most productive practice times in my life happened on a surf beach in Baja, Los Cerritos, while on a 2-year road trip with my two best friends (one of whom I had…
Take Your Listening Skills to the Next Level
Listening skills for a musician are crucial. A lot of training to be found online involves simple interval identification and chord-type identification. This is great, but the musical contexts in which these musical events happen are also (perhaps even more) important. Want to learn more about the best ways to practice? Get an e-mail with a…
Basic Practice Skills
It can be hard to know where to start with your practice, so here are a few quick, easy tips to keep it simple. Want to learn more about the best ways to practice? Get an e-mail with a discount code when The Practice of Practice is published (June, 2014). To learn more about the…
Practice for Beginners
Beginning any instrument can be a challenge and a joy. At times, it can also get frustrating. Here are a couple quick tips to get you started on the right foot: short bursts of practice (5-10 minutes) throughout the day are better than 1 long session short practice every day is much, much, much better…
The Practice of Practice 