![]() "The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So, write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can." Neil Gaiman So many aspiring musical artists are desperately trying to sound like someone else. Furthermore, it takes great courage to sing your own song in public. The other problem is that sometimes the story we sing is not interesting. However, you never know until you give it a go. But remember that musicians we admire really do know what they are doing. So, keep up the music lessons. Cheers, David Story
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Here is a short piece of boogie woogie fun. Performance notes:
David Revised October 2022
Technique is the ability to play what we hear in our head. Technique is the ability to play what we hear in our head. Scales with help us get there.
Here is an exercise to get you started. Please note the rhythms, articulations, and dynamics.
David Revised October 2022 ![]() At some point in our music study we reach a crossroads. A decision has to be made. Do we go deep or stay in the shallow end of the pool? Deep means:
And, we know what they are. So we make our decision. cheers, David Story ![]() Niagara Falls Workshop What a fun day for twelve young musicians, ages 7 to 13, in Niagara Falls Ontario. At the studio of Alessandra Dicienzo we learned how to play in a band. Using iPhones, iPads, Keyboards, Pianos, Cajon, Alesis Drum Pad, Drum set, and shakers we rocked up a storm. We started by learning a Rock-a-Billy version of Abigail’s Boogie for multiple keyboards and finished with a rousing reading of Katy Perry’s Part of Me. Then we performed the two pieces for their families.
I was really impressed at the intensity of the effort and the wonderful music that resulted. Thank you, kids. David Revised 2024 How to play in a band as a adult 2024 UpdateThere are steps you will need to take to be able to play in a band.
1. Learn the core repertoire of the style of music you wish to play. 2. Listen to this music until you can talk about it with authority and insight. This will really impress the other musicians. 3. Practice with a metronome. 4. Have your gear ready: instrument, amplifier, music stand, light, ear plugs. 5. Hang out where the musicians you want to play with, play. Dress appropriately for the occasion. 6. Make some YouTube videos of your skills in action. Keep them short. A musician who knows the tunes, is easy to get along with, is set up and ready to go on time without excuses, dresses the part, can play in time, and looks happy when they play will be busy, ![]() Music lessons at the piano verses piano lessons An important distinction 1. Some children bring little experience with music to their first lesson. They will start with music lessons at the piano where they can explore the concepts of time, rhythm, metre, pitch, dynamics and improvisation. 2. Children with experience with music can proceed directly to piano lessons because they understand the basic concepts, if only intuitively. How does a parent help prepare their toddler for lessons? I understand children like what they know. So… if you want them to play classical music play classical music in the home and make it part of their normal everyday experience. Ditto for country, jazz, or pop. Cheers, David Revised 2024 ![]() "Do I have enough years left to reach my goals?" This is a good question coming from a retirement age student. I said, “Maybe”. I practice the drums about 6+ hours a week. Studies say it takes 10,000 hours to reach mastery. I have already put in about 1200 hours, give or take. So, I‘ll be 82 years old. Will I make it? Maybe. If I do, I will be the swinging hard and grinning ear to ear. If I do not make it, at least I will die in the saddle somewhere along the trail to my dreams. You will notice some real progress about every 300 hours of practice. You can do your own math on the mastery bit. Here is to practice. Now go saddle up. David ![]() For music students this means attending class, seeking out creative solutions to practice problems, watching and learning on YouTube, going to concerts, attending workshops, hanging out with musicians, talking up a storm with other students, asking questions of your teachers, setting practice goals which challenge, learning new styles of music, reading biographies of musicians you admire, reading biographies of musicians you hate, going to music festivals, and as Wynton says, “addressing your short comings”. Every experience you have adds to your store of knowledge and, over time, increases your ability to respond successfully in the moment. “Every time you expose yourself to another situation, it will give you another key of experience for your key ring” Source: Life is Tremendous, by Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, page 36 Have a great week. David ![]() I was thinking...
Hilariously absurd. Yet millions apparently attempt to teach themselves piano on-line. And, there are lots of folks willing to sell you a miracle DVD, book, subscription in your quest. No teacher needed they proclaim. Some people spend a lifetime looking for shortcuts and online freebies, when a few short years of focused effort and disciplined practice with a professional teacher would lead to the results they seek. My favorite is the "Play what you want promise" A common desire. But in order to play the latest chart topper a few basics need to be addressed i.e. how to get the dots off the page and into your fingers? No shortcuts here. A competent teacher can guide you through that little roadblock in short order. A competent teacher will want you to play the music you love. They also know the quickest way to get there: professional instruction, a willing student, lots of focused effort. Focused effort is practice, bench time, rehearsal, wood-shedding, what ever you call it, result=input, cause=effect, karma, you get the point. The miracle is practice. The shortcut is work. Cheers, David Story ![]() Preparing for a piano exam is not for the faint of heart. Here are my observations from years of teaching and examining. 1. The student has to like the music. 2. Parental supervision and encouragement is required. Child prodigies do not practice alone. So it is unrealistic to expect the normal piano students to practice alone and be successful. 3. Sufficient practice time has to be arranged. Early grades require 30 minutes a day, middle grades up to an hour, upper grades more than an hour, associate level two to three hours a day. (I practiced and studied for 5000 hours to earn my Grade 10 and ARCT over four years. No kidding.) 4. Every short cut the student takes diminishes the outcome. 5. Last advice: Don't sign up until your music is memorized. Last note: The completion of my Grade 10 was the most difficult thing I ever did as an adult and as a musician. Berklee of Music was a walk in the park in comparison. But, it was the most rewarding and exciting thing I ever did too. Cheers, David ![]() “Surrender to the expert”, great advice. Be teachable. With that in mind I came up with these thoughts. The take away: your teacher probably knows best. Complete your lessons, then fool around following your own muse. Why?
Cheers, David ![]() People want to learn to play an instrument fast. (I included). We dream about performing the Moonlight Sonata, jamming the blues, or playing Christmas carols in just weeks. Two weeks would be ideal to quote Leo Babuata. Search for “learn piano fast" in Google and you get 418,000 hits. The proprietors make wild claims and promises. Bunk, of course. Let us take a closer look at what it would take to play well. Focused practice on the right things for a start. Playing an instrument is primarily an athletic event. Physical skills take time and guidance. Of course, there are people who can guide you more effectively and quicker than others. However, few people can teach themselves past a rudimentary level. It would be like trying to achieve your black belt from watching Youtube. An absurdity. Now assuming you have a competent teacher, in person or online, you have to learn effective practice habits. The habits of the pros. (I swear some people spend more time looking for shortcuts than the time it would take to learn properly in the first place) Before you dive in with plans of practice marathons, I suggest you start slowly and build some good habits, habits that will raise the odds of success. Step one: Listen to a competent recording of your pieces before starting to play. Then complete the assignment, and afterwards fiddle about. Step two: Explore the instrument, improvise, and noodle about. Step three: Add a little time each week to your practice sessions. Step four: Inspire yourself by reading magazines for students like Keyboard, Pianist, Modern Drummer, Downbeat, etc. Step five: Have faith in your progress. It is a lot of work to learn to play well. I practiced about 400 hours before I could play drums in an amateur band and not embarrass myself too much. Now I am up over 1000 hours in almost 3 years. If it takes 10,000 hours to reach expert status, at this rate I will be 80 years old. Nevertheless, I will be swinging hard. My goal is to add one extra hour per month to my practice schedule. Now my drum practice is about 6 hours a week. By the end of the year, I hope to have it up to about 12 hours a week. Which will cut the 30 years down considerably? (In my forties, I studied and obtained my ARCT in piano pedagogy. I put in five thousand hours over 4 years of practice and study. I succeeded at it, and had an excellent finish, but the experience was the most difficult thing I ever did in my life, period. Berklee College of Music was a walk in the park compared to that experience.) Final thought: Celebrate the small victories because it is the journey that counts. These thoughts and acts will help tame the practice monster and give you some inner peace to help you persevere through the difficulties, defeats, and triumphs of learning to play well. Cheers, David ![]() Are you learning tunes or concepts? You need a balance of both. Just learning tunes leads one into a cul-de-sac. There is a reason to practice scales, chords, arpeggios, and studies if you are a pianist. There is a reason to practice your rudiments if you are a drummer. Best advice I got on this topic was, “the people you admire, really know what they are doing”. Check out Jo Jo Mayer, or Elton John, etc. These musicians are highly trained individuals. They are not fakers. Read any drum magazine. Behind the tattoos and hair are skilled tradesmen and women. Second best advice I got is, “you got to put in time, if you want to leave the land of make believe”. Cheers, David ![]() Maxims for success 1. Time counts 2. Focus on the tricky bits first 3. Use consistent fingerings 4. GOOOOOOOO SLOOOOOOOW, very slow with a steady beat. Engage your best friend--the metronome. 5. Be patient. Speeding up before you are ready can undo all the hard work you just did. 6. Spend extra time on scales, chords, and arpeggios, these boring bits are the key to rapid progress. Listen for evenness of tone and steadiness. Be cognizant of the relaxed feeling in your body and the gentle rhythm of your breathing. 7. Have fun, a happy expectant attitude goes along way. Cheers, David ![]() Giving up the piano can be one of life's great regrets. But resuming lessons after decades is not. If you are thinking about it you should prepare yourself for an interesting journey of rediscovering filled with joy and guided by humility. I invite you to watch this recent video and browse the book where Alan Rusgridger learns Chopin Ballade no. 1 at age 57, 41 years after giving up the piano, while working as the editor of the Guardian newspaper. WOW! As a drum student myself, it is always heartwarming to meet a fellow traveler For more info on my own journey in mid-life learning see my blog. Just click on this paragraph. Cheers, David updated: May 2023 ![]() I won't make any New Year's resolutions this year, but I will review why I signed up for drum and guitar lessons in the first place. Success, I've been told, is a result of our habits, and our habits are the consequence of our actions. Actions come from our values. Values are bred into us. So, resolutions in conflict with our values are doomed. But habits created considering our values have a chance. Postscript February 2023. I made a few resolutions this year. These resolutions were created after reflection and preparation. I'll see how it goes. Cheers, David Updated Feb 2023 ![]() Step one: Review your motives that lead you to music study. Step two: Do a time audit for a week. How much of your time was used to surf, watch TV, and other non-productive activities? My guess is reducing these activities by 20% would free up lots of time to practice. Step three: Parents, consider clicking on the photo above. It links to an interesting article on internet use and teen behavior. The average teen uses 4.5 hours a day to surf. Cheers, David ![]() “Private Practice Determines Public Performance” Carl Allen, December 2011 issue of Downbeat Magazine “Start with the end in Mind” Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Tips on Practicing I just finished reading Carl Allen’s article in the current issue of Downbeat magazine. Carl reviews his philosophy of drumming. Most of it is applicable to piano and guitar as well. Inspired, I offer this.
We play like we practice, so… 1. Practice mentally and emotionally engaged. 2. Remember, it must be in the so-called muscle memory to be secure. 3. Practice slowly, listen deeply, be patient, and pay attention to the minute details of the score: articulations, dynamics, phrasing, tone, etc. 4. Start slowly, the correct tempo will come later. 5. Imagine you must play publicly in a week. Then tackle the annoying bits first. :-) Cheers, David Updated Feb 2023 You must believe you can do it. Without this belief all is lost. Update September 2020 A good attitude is easier to maintain if you are sharing this journey with other people. You can meet other adult piano students at professional piano recitals. Strike up a conversation with the person beside you. because chances are good, they play or have played the piano. David Updated Feb 2023 ![]() How do we maintain our enthusiasm for study and hard work? Here are some sure-fire ways that will help.
Tonight, we saw Jo Bonamassa at Roy Thompson Hall Toronto. Rockin' good fun for twenty-five hundred enthusiastic middle-aged fans, aficionados, and players. I'm looking forward to practicing tomorrow. Cheers, David Story Updated Feb. 2023 |
You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail. AuthorI'm a professional pianist and music educator in West Toronto Ontario. I'm also a devoted percussionist and drum teacher. Categories
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