Old Town School of Folk Music – The Practice of Practice

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.

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.

Cross-Training

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color. ~Maya Angelou ——————- Want to learn more about the best ways to practice? Get an e-mail with a discount code when The Practice of Practice…