Just a heads that in the next little while I may not be making a daily post (or 5-6 week like I often try to do). Instead I'm going to be focusing on working on the bigger and more important posts that I've been meaning to do for the blog.
This means that you won't see posts as often, but their content will likely be more useful. I'll probably go back to more of the shorter daily posts when I've completed some of the more important, lengthier ones (like ones for my poster).
Have a great day!
Wednesday, 31 May 2017
Tuesday, 30 May 2017
Double-check Your Music
I've had no shortage of lessons where students think they've been practicing correctly. The emphasis in that last sentence should definitely be on the word think. Often, something is wrong. Maybe it's the rhythm, or one of the notes is played on the wrong fret, whatever. The moral of the story is this: if you double-check your music, this kind of thing doesn't happen.
When to double-check your music
My general philosophy for practice is as follows:
1) Look at the music once either right before playing it the first time, or (if possible) while playing.
2) Play without the music (work towards memorization) as much as you can.
3) Look at the music again at the end of your practice session (either on your last run through the song, or right after, to check that you're playing it correctly).
This process solves a lot of problems. First of all, by checking your music every time you practice, you make sure that you've remembered everything. We all like to think our memories are bullet-proof, but in fact they rarely are, and sometimes a few notes or a particular rhythm falls through the cracks. Then, by playing without the music you work on committing the music to memory (I write about how to do that in the link above on memorization). Finally, by running through the song once more with the music in front of you, you make sure the music is still how you remember it, and you can feel confident you've properly committed at least some part of the music to memory.
Once you feel you've got the song memorized, try playing from memory before looking at the music. If you can do that successfully for the next three practice sessions, it's safe to say that you've got the song memorized. Awesome!
Better to be careful then to be wrong
Always double-check your music using the steps outlined above, until you can confidently play it from memory. Better to be extra certain you've got things right, than to practice something incorrectly!
Double check that music!
When to double-check your music
My general philosophy for practice is as follows:
1) Look at the music once either right before playing it the first time, or (if possible) while playing.
2) Play without the music (work towards memorization) as much as you can.
3) Look at the music again at the end of your practice session (either on your last run through the song, or right after, to check that you're playing it correctly).
This process solves a lot of problems. First of all, by checking your music every time you practice, you make sure that you've remembered everything. We all like to think our memories are bullet-proof, but in fact they rarely are, and sometimes a few notes or a particular rhythm falls through the cracks. Then, by playing without the music you work on committing the music to memory (I write about how to do that in the link above on memorization). Finally, by running through the song once more with the music in front of you, you make sure the music is still how you remember it, and you can feel confident you've properly committed at least some part of the music to memory.
Once you feel you've got the song memorized, try playing from memory before looking at the music. If you can do that successfully for the next three practice sessions, it's safe to say that you've got the song memorized. Awesome!
Better to be careful then to be wrong
Always double-check your music using the steps outlined above, until you can confidently play it from memory. Better to be extra certain you've got things right, than to practice something incorrectly!
Double check that music!
Sunday, 28 May 2017
I hate the recording process
Okay, I confess. I hate recording. I hate mixing. I hate editing songs. All of it.
I LOVE writing songs. The creative process fills me with joy, and purpose. I love doing it. But I don't like any of the work involved with the actual recording process.
I wanted to be done this album in March and now it's almost June. There have been many reasons for the setbacks, which I won't go into detail about today (perhaps that will be the subject matter for a third album, if I live that long).
I'm writing this to confess, and be honest. And to tell you the truth, I really want to quit this project, again for many reasons. But in the interest of following through on my commitment, and acting like an adult, and setting a good example, I am soldiering forward. I know I will enjoy the end product. But the process is not fun.
Yeah, I'm whining a bit here. Nobody likes a whiner. I'm just trying to be honest. And yes, I am aware that it's true that whining about the project won't get it done! Perhaps I'm writing this to show my students that you don't have to love everything you do in music to work through it. Sometimes things suck, and that's okay (this doesn't actually suck that much).
Anyway, back to work I go! Have a great day.
I LOVE writing songs. The creative process fills me with joy, and purpose. I love doing it. But I don't like any of the work involved with the actual recording process.
I wanted to be done this album in March and now it's almost June. There have been many reasons for the setbacks, which I won't go into detail about today (perhaps that will be the subject matter for a third album, if I live that long).
I'm writing this to confess, and be honest. And to tell you the truth, I really want to quit this project, again for many reasons. But in the interest of following through on my commitment, and acting like an adult, and setting a good example, I am soldiering forward. I know I will enjoy the end product. But the process is not fun.
Yeah, I'm whining a bit here. Nobody likes a whiner. I'm just trying to be honest. And yes, I am aware that it's true that whining about the project won't get it done! Perhaps I'm writing this to show my students that you don't have to love everything you do in music to work through it. Sometimes things suck, and that's okay (this doesn't actually suck that much).
Anyway, back to work I go! Have a great day.
Saturday, 27 May 2017
Songwriting Sessions: Communication is Everything
If you're going to write a song, I'm assuming you want someone to hear it (or possibly, "someones" i.e. an audience of multiple people).
If so, you probably want them to understand the song. If that's the case, it's important that your song communicates that understanding as well as possible.
Do they lyrics (if there are any) communicate to the audience effectively?
Does the music give off the right mood throughout the song?
Does the song contain the right instruments for what you're trying to say?
What about the melody? Dynamics? Structure of the song?
These are all things worth considering. Granted, some of this may work itself out naturally while you're writing the song. But if you get stuck or want to make sure your song is a good one, remember that your audience needs to be able to understand what you're trying to say.
Make sure you communicate effectively!
If so, you probably want them to understand the song. If that's the case, it's important that your song communicates that understanding as well as possible.
Do they lyrics (if there are any) communicate to the audience effectively?
Does the music give off the right mood throughout the song?
Does the song contain the right instruments for what you're trying to say?
What about the melody? Dynamics? Structure of the song?
These are all things worth considering. Granted, some of this may work itself out naturally while you're writing the song. But if you get stuck or want to make sure your song is a good one, remember that your audience needs to be able to understand what you're trying to say.
Make sure you communicate effectively!
Friday, 26 May 2017
What Makes a Song Fun?
Every week I attempt to make a post on Friday that's:
1) music-related (obviously, it's a music blog); and
2) somehow fun
Oddly enough, I find this really hard to do, much harder than any other blog post. Perhaps that says something about what I find fun (studying languages and math are counted amongst my hobbies). At any rate...
I was asking myself, "What makes a song fun?", and this was one of the first songs that came to mind:
Then Youtube's autoplay led me to this song, which I definitely think falls under the "fun" category...
1) music-related (obviously, it's a music blog); and
2) somehow fun
Oddly enough, I find this really hard to do, much harder than any other blog post. Perhaps that says something about what I find fun (studying languages and math are counted amongst my hobbies). At any rate...
I was asking myself, "What makes a song fun?", and this was one of the first songs that came to mind:
Then Youtube's autoplay led me to this song, which I definitely think falls under the "fun" category...
I'm a sucker for a good pop song, and I think these two songs are fantastic examples of fun songs (although in different ways - the first is more quirky, the second more straightforward). I have been known to dance around the dining room with my daughter to "Good Time."
Perhaps you don't find pop music fun. Well, even punk rockers like a good pop song! Check out my post on "retooling" (here) and you'll see what I'm talking about (spoiler: there are two fun songs I link to in this post).
Hope you're having a good time and a great day!
Thursday, 25 May 2017
Growth Occurs Faster Than Decay
Your growth on guitar tends to be faster than your decay. The better you get at a song (and at playing in general), the longer you can go without practicing something.
Let me give an example to make my point.
I have been playing guitar for about 20 years. I have found that most simple strumming songs require no practice for me to be able to play them well. Compare that to a new student, who would need to practice the song on a fairly regular basis to see improvement.
From this we can also observe that the harder something is for you to play, the more often it needs to be practiced.
And so, of course, the better player you are, the easier songs will tend to be, and the less practice will be required. I don't mean to discourage practice, of course... you should be consistent with practice, and be sure to practice enough. I've written in more detail how much you should practice here.
Keep practicing and keep growing!
Let me give an example to make my point.
I have been playing guitar for about 20 years. I have found that most simple strumming songs require no practice for me to be able to play them well. Compare that to a new student, who would need to practice the song on a fairly regular basis to see improvement.
From this we can also observe that the harder something is for you to play, the more often it needs to be practiced.
And so, of course, the better player you are, the easier songs will tend to be, and the less practice will be required. I don't mean to discourage practice, of course... you should be consistent with practice, and be sure to practice enough. I've written in more detail how much you should practice here.
Keep practicing and keep growing!
Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Wednesday Weekly Progress - May 24
Things are moving forward. Here's what's been going on for me this week:
2) Songs For Ghosts (my 2nd album):
Mixing did not happen as often as I'd like, but progress was made. I know now exactly what needs to be recorded again and I've made some small dents in the mixing process.
1) Blog - ongoing:
This was a decent week for the blog. Here's what I wrote about:
Test Your Limits and Your Beliefs: Your beliefs may be limiting your ability to learn your instrument. Find out how and why, and how to eliminate any negative beliefs you may have about your ability to play music.
Songwriting Sessions: Retooling: Learn what retooling is and how to use it to improve your songwriting.
God Save the Queen!: It was Victoria Day here in Canada, so it only seemed appropriate to pay homage to our monarch.
When to Practice Slowly: Sometimes practicing slowly is your best bet to... believe it or not.. play faster! Learn more about this and when and why you should practice slowly.
Progress so far: 16.2% (these percentages are just a guess, but probably close enough)
This was a decent week for the blog. Here's what I wrote about:
Test Your Limits and Your Beliefs: Your beliefs may be limiting your ability to learn your instrument. Find out how and why, and how to eliminate any negative beliefs you may have about your ability to play music.
Songwriting Sessions: Retooling: Learn what retooling is and how to use it to improve your songwriting.
God Save the Queen!: It was Victoria Day here in Canada, so it only seemed appropriate to pay homage to our monarch.
When to Practice Slowly: Sometimes practicing slowly is your best bet to... believe it or not.. play faster! Learn more about this and when and why you should practice slowly.
Progress so far: 16.2% (these percentages are just a guess, but probably close enough)
2) Songs For Ghosts (my 2nd album):
Mixing did not happen as often as I'd like, but progress was made. I know now exactly what needs to be recorded again and I've made some small dents in the mixing process.
Progress so far: 95.3% - mixing in action
3) Poster for my office:
I wrote two posts about my eventual wall poster, Test Your Limits and Your Beliefs, and When to Practice Slowly. I put a small dent in my work towards the page I'm working on for how to read guitar tab, too (but it's not done yet).
Progress so far: 57.8%
4) Other repertoire - ongoing:
This was the best week of practice I've had in recent months. I'd like a bit more this week, but we'll see how things go.
Keep on being awesome!
3) Poster for my office:
I wrote two posts about my eventual wall poster, Test Your Limits and Your Beliefs, and When to Practice Slowly. I put a small dent in my work towards the page I'm working on for how to read guitar tab, too (but it's not done yet).
Progress so far: 57.8%
4) Other repertoire - ongoing:
This was the best week of practice I've had in recent months. I'd like a bit more this week, but we'll see how things go.
Keep on being awesome!
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