music practice – Page 4 – The Practice of Practice

Create (and Understand) Polyrhythms

One way to understand polyrhythms is to mess around with the Polyrhythm Beat Generator. Or check out these amazing videos.

How Sleep Will Boost Your Abilities (Yes, all of them)

Nearly every world-class musician I interviewed for the book took naps regularly, usually after the main practice session of the day. It works, and Mednick explains why.

What Miles Meant By “Do Not Fear Mistakes. There are None.”

How Miles Davis lived the words attributed to him: Do not fear mistakes. There are none.

Take a Sonic Trip with Genadi Tkachenko

Check out Ukranian vocalist Genadi Tkachenko. His practice has resulted in an amazing range, both pitch-wise (high to low), but timbre-wise, too. Wow!

How to Play A Wooden Plank Like a Boss

To practice is human, to play, devine. We all practice something. The focus of this blog is music practice. In the coming months, I’ll be posting interesting videos of people making music, showing the fruits of long hours of practice. Little (or no) commentary from me. The music will, I hope, speak for itself. That’s what music does…

What if Feels Like to Learn a New Instrument

Destin over at Smarter Every Day creates such fun, informative videos. This one has nothing to do with music, but everything to do with learning (and unlearning) a complex motor neuron task, like playing an instrument. Think you could ride this bike? I bet you can’t.

No Instrument? No Excuse.

Instruments are expensive, especially the good ones. A bow for an upright bass or a violin can easily be found for $40,000 or more. A freaking bow.

Still, not having an instrument shouldn’t stop you from making music. Check out these guys playing on a broom guitar, and shovel bass.

Finding Flow in Practice: Glenn Gould

There’s a lot to like about the video of pianist Glenn Gould below. Three things happen in the video that show Gould’s flow state in practice (see clips below).

Great Introduction to the Pipe Organ

A little more basic than the usual fare here, but it’s a nice performance, with rhyme, music, and knowledge. What’s not to like?

Wynton Marsalis: 12 Rules of Practice

Wynton Marsalis knows how to practice. As a younger man, he was equally at home in front of a symphony orchestra playing the Haydn concerto, or laying down some serious jazz with Art Blakey. Check out his 12 Rules of Practice after the video.

When Do You Get to STOP Practicing?

And the thing is, no matter how good you get, you can continue to improve and deepen your understanding. Embrace the struggle, enjoy the process. The obstacle is the path.

Here’s what that unending practice sounds like from Pat Metheny.

TODAY ONLY: 2 Free Kindle Books on Practice (11-2-15)

Happy November! For today only (11-2-15), get the free Kindle edition of The Practice of Practice (a longer-form read on music practice) and Practice Like This (all killer, no filler version on practice in general).