Practicing on other instruments can be a nice break from always struggling with the same sound-making device day after day, and I find that making sound with a variety of instruments gives me a more well-rounded understanding of music in general. The Dan Bau is a good example. Want to learn more about the best…
Tag: music
5 Great Books for Musicians
Here are 5 great books for musicians on your gift list.
Colin Oldberg: Principal Trumpet, Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra
Colin Oldberg is a stellar musician. He plays principal trumpet for the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra and is a founding member of Axiom Brass, a brass quintet out of Chicago. Colin has toured with the Chicago Symphony and earned a spot in the first YouTube Orchestra. He was gracious to talk about his own experience with practice for over an hour. Thanks, Colin!
Opening excerpt: The Axiom Brass Quintet: Colin Oldberg, trumpet; Dorival Puccini, Jr., trumpet; Matthew Oliphant, horn; Kevin Harrison, tuba; Brett Johnson, trombone.
here’s the mp3 of Wapango, one third of Pacquito D’Rivera’s Three Pieces for Brass Quintet, courtesy of Axiom Brass Quintet. If you like it, support these fantastic artists and buy the whole CD or mp3. It’s great stuff! Go see Axiom Brass live, too, for an even better musical experience.
The Fruits of Practice Sound Like This: Peterson, Brown & Thigpen
The swingingest version of Duke Ellington’s tune C Jam Blues with Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. These are masters at work.
Time, Practice, and Parker
I can’t see where there’s anything fantastic about it at all. I put quite a bit of study into the horn, that’s true…. I used to put in at least from 11 to 15 hours a day…over three or four years. –Charlie Parker Stay tuned for more frequent blog posts. Interviews have been and…
Jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins
Jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins talking with Tavis Smiley about practice and striving for betterment. This attitude is why the man’s still a genius and still one of the most highly regarded jazz musicians of all time. Beautiful words of wisdom on practice, music, life, and getting right with yourself despite what anyone else says. Talks about…
Goals FTW!
Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow A journey of one thousand miles begins with a single footstep. ~Confucius _________________ A few days ago I realized that posts for the last few months have been interviews, with little writing, and I miss writing, because…
Erin McKeown: Singer-Songwriter on Practice
Music is unique. The more I know about how it works, the deeper it gets; the better it becomes.
~ Erin McKeown, from the Interview
Check out what the excellent singer-songwriter Erin McKeown has to say about music practice. I’ve been a fan of Erin’s since hearing Distillation in 2000. Erin plays guitar, piano, drums, and bass and has recorded albums. I learned of her through one of many interviews with Erin on NPR, this one on The World Cafe, a most excellent show hosted on WXPN in Philadelphia and hosted by David Dye. Great stuff! Erin’s got 12 albums out, and they’re all worth owning. My favorite 3 albums are Distillation, Grand, and Hundreds of Lions.
Chad McCullough: Jazz Trumpeter on Practice
Check out the interview with Seattle-based jazz and classical trumpeterChad McCullough. Last year at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival, Chad and I met and after a quick chat he agreed to talk with me about practice. Not only is Chad an excellent trumpet player, he’s also got piano chops, and this influences his trumpet playing. Listen to the podcast to learn his thoughts about trumpet playing and practice. McCullough just returned to Seattle after a tour of Belgium and release party for his latest album, Imaginary Sketches (out 2-15-11), from Origin Records in the states, and De Werf in Europe. He’s a busy guy and has some other great stuff out, too, including an excellent album from The Kora Band, and he was generous enough to let me use a tune from their latest album to open the podcast. The clip that opens the interview is Over-caffeinated and Under-fed. The Kora is a West-African stringed instrument that has a great sound. It sounds a bit like a Celtic harp, but with a different attitude and more rhythm. Oh, and a giant gourd. Here’s a video clip of Kora master Toumani Diabaté in action. Chad has interesting things to share about practice and how he thinks about music that I found both interesting and useful. Hope you enjoy the interview. Have fun and good luck with your practice.
Nicholas Barron: Chicago Singer-Songwriter on Practice
A talk with Chicago singer-songwriter Nicholas Barron who has an interesting take on practice. Check out the site for a free mp3 of Nicholas’s music.
In the course of the interview Nicholas said, “That’s what a lot of people do; they practice in a room and they don’t get anywhere. It’s really about practice being life, and life being practice.” Check out the whole interview if you want to understand what he means.
Lessons from a VW
Last Saturday at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, I went to listen to Victor Wooten give a clinic. A while ago I posted a review of Victor’s book The Music Lesson, which is up for an audiobook award. For the clinic, Victor Wooten played with the fantastic and funny bass player (yes, there is another bass player in his band) Anthony Wellington; legendary jazz bassist John Clayton showed up for an improvised tune or two. The clinic was a fantastic example of playing, teaching and telling it straight. It was so good and inspirational, I knew it would be worth sharing.
A Pentastic Practice Tool
This is the most awesome lesson tool. Truly. With it you can record exactly what your teacher says and demonstrates as you go through your lesson so that if you’re stuck or need a review mid-week, it’s just a click away. But it’s even cooler than that. You can post these notes online and share them with whoever you want, or make them totally private so only you can see or hear them! There is a piano function for which, if you draw a piano, you’ll hear the notes plink away when you touch the piano key. It can translate simple phrases in several languages, too.
The Practice of Practice 