My life is full of technique exercises. Books full of them are piled on shelves and tabletops in my office. I have filled notebooks with them. I am a believer in using technique drills for warming up prior to practicing… Continue Reading
I follow Music Clout on Twitter, and often see posts that suggest they view their target audience as aspiring pop stars, not musicians for hire. So when I caught the title Why Bands Need to Stop Bitching, and upon skimming the… Continue Reading
“I Didn’t Get to Practice Much” I hear this phrase before a lesson at least a couple of times a week. What does it tell me? When you say “I didn’t get a chance to practice,” here are the two… Continue Reading
My father was a basketball coach, and one thing he used to say that has remained with me is “Practice like you play.” When he said it, he usually meant that one should work as hard during a practice as… Continue Reading
Here’s a recent interview with one of my favorite guitarists, Paul Gilbert (formerly of Racer X and Mr. Big). As both a performer and teacher, I’m inspired by Paul’s energetic personality. He’s got skills and brains, but never loses sight… Continue Reading
One of the mantras my students hear is, “Music is a language. It’s not like a language. It is a language.” It’s easy to consider the idea of music as a language as metaphorical, but I contend that it is quite literal.… Continue Reading
Let me begin by stating that I love tablature. I use it a lot, both in practice and in my lessons. When I have an idea for a lick, I often write it down on tablature paper. Sometimes I compose… Continue Reading
Eric at jazzadvice.com has written a pretty solid article on why jazz musicians shouldn’t rely too heavily on the Real Book. Read it here. I’ll follow up with some of my own thoughts: Real Book Origins and Use The Real… Continue Reading
2016 has been brutal for music fans. Today, we add the artist usually known as Prince to the list of recently departed pop music greats. Prince’s impact was certainly felt by all fans of rock and pop music: Not only… Continue Reading
Today, we lost a Beatle. As brilliant as the four official members were, we hold their work in such high regard largely because of George Martin’s contributions. He involved himself with their creative process, introducing them to new sounds and helping… Continue Reading