It’s the silence between the notes that makes the music

The “quote” which is the title to this blog post (and variations of it) can be attributed to a few people – from Mozart to Debussy to Miles Davis.  I could probably write a whole ‘nuther blog post just on this quote alone (and Davis’ variation: “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” Ah, that inspires me to jump up and run to my piano right now!), but that blog post is not for today teamviewer download kostenlos herunterladen.  No, actually, this blog post is in reference to an article I read on, of all places, Entrepreneur.com.  You can find it here: The Best Way to Use Breaks to be More Productive.

To summarize, breaks are important.  The article goes on to discuss the balance between how long you work and how much break time to take, and how best to spend a 5, 10, 15 or even 30 minute break at the office herunterladen.  It’s a really interesting article that you might want to read because you are an adult in my life, but what really strikes me is how this relates to being a musician, and also, how it relates to being a growing musician, like all of the kids I see each week.

Practicing is something that I spend a lot of time talking to my students about.  It’s not just my job to teach your children music, but to teach them the skills to sustain a lifelong love of music – and that includes being able to practice it regularly without the adults in their lives nagging at them about it windows 10 update nicht automatisch herunterladen.  Really – if I teach your child, go on and check out their manuscript book (I’ll wait).  In the last month or two, I’ve probably written not just praise on their improvements, but often general and sometimes incredibly specific strategies for how to practice a piece of music.

What I don’t really touch on in writing (though I guess it’s there if you read between the lines) is the importance of breaks.  For most of my students, we discuss the importance of a regular practice habit, how many times a week, how many minutes each time film at youtube.  The general rule for most of my students is somewhere from 4-5 days a week (why not 7? because I’m a realist and know that your child also has homework, projects, and a social life, not to mention the possibility of activities like sports and dance.  It’s not my job to set unrealistic and unattainable goals for your kids.  I want them to succeed, after all, and not feel like they are constantly playing catch up russische musiken kostenlos.  Anyway). But for any of my older students who can sit for more than 20 minutes at a time, breaks can be incredibly important.  Or maybe, giving students a break can help to inspire them to sit for longer than those 20 minutes.  Twenty multiplied by 2 is 40, and if my kids could practice for 40 minutes 4 times a week instead of 20, well, I don’t need to tell you how great that would be herunterladen.

At entrepreneur.com, the five minute breaks include preparing a snack, reading an article, giving yourself a hand or neck massage, and trying to solve a Rubrik’s cube.  You can read about the benefits of each in the infographic at the page (plus all the other kinds of breaks you can take), but I think these are the ones that work best for practicing musicians (of all ages), and take the least amount of adapting for younger players web.de free download app.

Prepare a snack. This one is specifically for you parents.  You’re the grocery buyers in the house, and you know what your kids like.  Berries, leafy greens and nuts can boost brain function (Apples and cheese are great, too!).  Sounds like a PB&J break might be just the thing to break up a practice session, or break it down with fresh berries and raw shelled nuts herunterladen.  I happen to love cashews and pecans, and I’ve almost always got raspberries on hand, so I know what I’ll be reaching for when I go to practice later on.

Reading an article. Your kids might not be avid online readers with their own feedly.com account, but if they do love to read (and I do, too!) let them pick up their latest favorite book to read a few pages or a whole chapter photo for free on Wednesday morning.

Hand or neck massage.  At this point, our kiddos are not really at the place in their musical development where stretching before, during or after practice is really necessary (though if they’re ever playing for 30 minutes or more non-stop it’ll be something we’ll talk about, especially if they stay serious about music in college), but something as simple as getting up for a bathroom break, getting a drink of water, playing a few games at Betwiz, or just stepping away from the piano for a few minutes is a good hand, body and brain break.

The Rubiks cube.  I know a kid who can solve this in under two minutes, or something really ridiculous like that.  You can also find videos of Rubiks cube genuises on youtube instrumental kostenlos.  Your child doesn’t need to be the next Rubiks prodigy, but a simple brain teaser or puzzle is a good way to stay focused and yet take a break all at the same time.

When I was in college, I definitely spent a lot of time in the practice room.  I also spent a lot of time wandering around outside the practice room, too, and I think both of these activities were equally important.  When I took my breaks from practicing, it was to do a lot of things that I mention here – bathroom/water breaks, snack breaks. Sometimes, yes, socializing breaks.  It’s impressive to say you spent two hours practicing a day, but if you spent an hour of that time spacing out or constantly repeating passages without making progress, you haven’t really accomplished much.  The time away from the instrument, when handled correctly, can become just as important as the time you spend looking at and playing music.

Another great article at entreprenuer.com covers how to spend a lunch break.  With a little creativity, you can adapt these ideas into habits for yourself and your kids, too!

What are some of your non-musical practice tips?  What is your favorite way to take a break from the music?  Leave a comment below!

Leitmotif Listening

Stuck inside all day in the snow?  No worries!  Spend some time with your favorite epic movie franchise and give it a closer listen.  You may be surprised at what you find wie facebook videoen.

With “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” breathing new life into the epic Star Wars series, I was recently inspired to do a lesson plan for my middle school students on the concept of leitmotif and how composer John Williams uses this technique to bring to life a galaxy far, far away google books seiten herunterladen.  This was a really fun lesson that engaged my students to the max – I’ve never seen the more attentive (even the non-Star Wars geeks).  I won’t go through all the listening examples with youtube video links here (if you’re having trouble pinpointing a specific theme, give me a shout out on Facebook!), but if you’d like to do the activity I outline later in this post, my handout from class will help you out stream for free.

So now that you’ll be stuck inside all day, peering out the window wondering when Luke and his Tauntaun are going to show up, you might want to pop in your favorite Star Wars movie to while away the hours minecraft kostenlos vollversion downloaden deutsch.  I’m a teacher, though, and I can’t suggest such a brainless activity without giving you something to enrich the experience.

1. Print out a few copies (the pdf is only one page) of my Leitmotif Listening Worksheet watch for pc.

2. Check out my class handout or the wikipedia page on the music of Star Wars to familiarize yourself with the various themes from the movies.  There are dozens you will recognize throughout the series and some you will hear only in one of the movies, so a little musical briefing before you dig in will be helpful brackets download kostenlos.

3. As you watch AND LISTEN to the movie, jot down notes on the themes you hear.  In the Leitmotif column, write the title of the theme.  Also notate if the theme appears in a different form (more drawn out, truncated, different instrumentation) from when it is originally introduced wizards unite ressourcen herunterladen.  Use the words motif or theme to help you differentiate between shorter and longer pieces of music.    Under the Action column, write a few short words on what is taking place on scene musik kostenlos herunterladen android.  For Emotions, write down what the characters might be feeling or what you as an audience member are experiencing during the scene.

4. Afterward, think about how the music adds to the action and the emotions of the scene hörbuch download mp3 kostenlos.  Or, discuss with friends!

If Star Wars isn’t your thing (I won’t hold it against you, I promise), another great series to do this exercise with is the Lord of the Rings trilogy herunterladen.  The music for these movies was composed by Howard Shore, and it is every bit as complex and intricate as the tapestry of Star Wars themes Williams has created.  If you do this with any other movie, beware, you will only have the best results for a franchise or series where the music was composed by the same person throughout (unfortunately, this rules out Harry Potter, but you can still analyze each movie as a standalone).

So, my friends and students, have at it!  If you plan on doing this activity today, or sometime soon, please leave me a note in the comments!  Or, join me on Facebook with any comments, questions or observations you may have.

Beware the fog

As the big MAMTG Competition has finally arrived, I have one last thing to say to my students.

Beware of the fog.

No, not the actual kind of fog you see ls17 kuhn dlc kostenlosen. The kind of fog you feel. The kind of fog that is all too often ever present, lurking just in the shadows, that only ever really seems to appear at the darkest of times wlan driver windows 10 download for free.

Worry. Doubt. Fear. Nervousness. That fog.

Nervous – I don’t mind that one. Nervous means you care. Nervous means you really want to get it right need for speed für pc kostenlos downloaden. That one, I’m ok with.

It’s when nervous turns into worry that I start to get concerned. A little bit of nervous energy is great. A whole lot of cloudy worry can be terrible herunterladen.

So tonight, tomorrow, Sunday, forever, don’t let the fog take you. Don’t let the fog cloud your inner vision. Don’t let the fog lead you astray adobe pdf reader.

Close your eyes and remember you know the way. You know what to do, what to sing, what to play, how to feel. You’ve got it all inside of you. Don’t let the fog keep you from seeing that.

The List of Things You Cannot Say

I’m a music teacher.  Did you know?  Of course you did, I’m just being silly.  One of the things that I have developed over the years, that almost all of my students have seen at one time or another, is the “List of Things You Cannot Say.”  It is, because I am on a roll with stating the obvious here, a list of things that you cannot say.  Why?  Because I hate free speech!  Because I said so!  Because because because because!  Actually, we all know that I am a big promoter of the first amendment and everyone’s right to say whatever they want, regardless of how offensive it may be whatsapp pc chip for free.  So I suppose it is a little curious that I have, essentially, a list of banned words and phrases, and that not only do I possess and enforce this list, but I’m the one who came up with it.

I came up with this list not because I enjoy censoring my students but because these words aren’t so much Words as they are Little White Flags mp3 brander gratisen.  They are signals that the student has given up, or is about to.  While I do think that the situation may come up from time to time where it is good to just acknowledge that you’ve worked your hardest and to just move on from a project, students are often reach that point much sooner than an adult or teacher might.  Students need to be taught to persevere, to be dedicated, to face hardship and adversity.  And waving little white flags in the face of a difficult piece of music is no way to learn ios 11 kostenlosen!

The number one offender on this list, of course, are the two dreaded words, “I CAN’T.” If a student sees The List, it is probably because they have uttered these two words.  These are probably my two least favorite words on the face of the planet.  “Can’t” is probably my least favorite four letter word on the planet (not to say that I have favorites, they’re all pretty deplorable) pdfforge download for free.  When I hear a student say “I can’t,” it’s not coming after months of working on a particularly tricky passage, it’s coming after a week, maybe two.  It’s looking at something hard (“It’s hard” is also on the list) and making the decision that “I can’t” before we’ve even tried elster steuererklärung 2018 kostenlos herunterladen.  Often it’s giving up before we’ve even begun. And these are not the kind of thoughts I want my children to be burdened with.

I want my children to be strong, and adventurous.  I want my children to be curious and hopeful.  I want my children to be brave enough to test their limits, and also, smart enough to know when it is appropriate to think these thoughts musikvideos zumen.  Because sometimes, yes, it is hard.  Sometimes you’re not going to like the song.  Sometimes you’re just not going to get it (Yes, “I don’t like this song” and “I don’t get it” are there, too).

But please, say those things when you’ve given it every try, when you’ve attempted it every which way, upside down and backwards.  Give up after you’ve given it your all, and even then, give it one last try linux ubuntu german download 32 bit for free.

Second runner up for Most Popular Little White Flag is “I’ll fix it next time.”  Oh,  honey.  I learned a long time ago, as you are learning right now because I am telling you, that ‘next time’ never actually happens.  Next time is that mystical land that exists somewhere in the very near future that we never actually arrive at.  It is just beyond the horizon, it’s the gateway to ‘tomorrow’ where a lot of other procrastinators leave their to-do list why can't I download anything on netflix.  Don’t fix it next time.  Stop what you are doing and fix it now.  Right this second.

If you live in the present and work in the present, you won’t “always make that mistake,” which is another entry to the list.  You are always making that mistake because you are practically giving yourself permission to do so!  Why give yourself permission to be less awesome ice queen?  Why say, “I’m bad at this,” when it’s practically like giving yourself the free pass to be as lazy and as average as possible?  Students just don’t know how much awesome they have bubbling up inside of them, and when they say things like “I always do that” or “I always make that mistake” or “I’m bad at this,” they are clamping the lid down tight on all that potential that they just don’t see rtl kostenlose spiele herunterladen.

Because I try to be an optimist (how can you be a teacher and a pessimist?), I subsequently also created the “List of Things You Can Say” which is basically a compilation of the “List of Things You Cannot Say,” turned inside out.  “I can’t” becomes “I can,” I’m bad at this” becomes “I’m good at this,” and on and on.  Because if I’m going to subtract vocabulary from my students’ lives, it would be irresponsible of me to not add anything back in.

The funny thing about this list, is that I actually catch myself saying things on this list from time to time, and I’m not talking about the Can Say list.  Yes, even I get frustrated and say “I can’t,” or I get lazy and say “I’ll fix it next time,” on the rare occasion.  I’m not perfect.  But I know I can set a better example for my students.  So I turn my can’ts into cans and I keep on going. 

I hope you will, too.

Take 5: How Long Should I “X” For? X til you’re Happy!

Take 5 – taking a break. From time to time you just need to sit back, relax and reflect. Around here we’re going to try and do this on Fridays herunterladen. Of course, if it’s no longer Friday, you’re still allowed to come here, and comment about your week.

Every so often, a theme pops up in my teaching adobe pdf kostenlos herunterladen. I mean like I end up talking about the same things with multiple students. Sometimes I just get on a kick about one topic of another. Sometimes it’s purely coincidental, and sometimes it’s absolutely Anna-made (once, a boyfriend’s niece thought I was a cartoonist because when he was saying “animated,” she was hearing “Anna-made-it.”) spardasecureapp.

This week, Anna-made-it. We’re all still working on getting back into the school habits – waking up early, doing homework, going to after school activities grote apps downloaden 4g. Getting back in the practicing saddle is just another back to school routine to get into again, and I always work very closely with my students on their practice habits, all year long the elder scrolls online client herunterladen.

I’m a big fan of meeting kids where they’re at, and then traveling forward together. Sometimes I think this comes across as me being too easy, but I am not in the habit of forcing kids to do anything durak kostenlos herunterladen. No life-long learning ever happens that way. That’s not to say I don’t push my kids to be AWESOME, but I like it better when they feel they are in the passenger seat with the map as opposed to just sitting in the back looking out the window crime to download. So our first week back, the goal was just to practice. Just do it! Just get there! Sometimes that is the hardest step. And I’m happy to report that many of my students seem to have plenty of time to practice so far this year, getting to play 4-6 times a week snapshot kostenlos deutsch. (We’ll see how that’s going in a month or two.)

The following week they had to actually time themselves when they practiced. A few years ago, this was a harder task download the apartment confirmation. Now, between my students being older and either inheriting an old iPhone or getting a new one, almost every single one of my students has an iPhone or iPod with which I know they can time themselves skype kostenlos downloaden für macbook. I have to say, some of my students are already in good practicing habits, but some are just not sitting down for long enough, so this week their assignment was to practice for a minimum amount of time that I prescribed and then they had to keep working UNTIL THEY WERE SATISFIED WITH THAT DAY’S PROGRESS.

This is probably one of the biggest things I am trying to instill in my students this year. It isn’t about the minutes practiced, or the note speller pages completed, it’s about whether or not you are happy with the progress you’ve made, whether it is a small accomplishment like finally practicing for ten uninterrupted minutes or for something big like finally getting through the toughest section of the piece. It’s not the quantity, it’s the quality, and I’m trying to get them to realize that it is their decisions that affect their progress.

Yes, I absolutely believe that these life lessons can be taught to ten year olds. You’d be surprised. Or maybe you wouldn’t. Maybe I’m wrong. But we’ll see. Kids are pretty awesome people, and I’d like them to realize that they’ve got the ability to choose their own happiness.

So what did you accomplish this week, big or small?

Mwish No. 2

What’s a mwish?? It’s like, you know, a wish, but better, because there’s usually music in it! In addition to practicing, I need to think about what I need from my practicing (or my music in general) before I get to the bench speedphone 51 klingeltöne herunterladen. So that when I get there (or wherever else I need to be) I will be better prepared to totally rock it out.

This week I am embarking on week two of what I would consider my re-entry into the school year.  For some teachers, the school year just starts.  There may be a week or two of meetings and room preparation, but then, all of a sudden, the students are there and BAM school has started herunterladen.

But for myself, it’s a little different.  Last week I started teaching at the studio.  This week I will begin with my private students.  Next week it’s back to my elementary school.  I am easing my way into the deep end by wading myself in through the shallow instead of just going for that cannon ball jump.  I don’t mind herunterladen.

Over on my other blog, you can read up on the shiva nata challenge I’ve been doing.  Basically, I am challenging myself to do shiva nata every single day, and I am focusing (thinking, brainstorming and journaling) on my enthusiasm for the school year, and maintaining a certain level of focus, organization and enthusiasm through the whole school year herunterladen.

So my mwish for this week is for continued focus.  I feel like the frame of mind I am in with my students for the rest of the month can really set the tone for how the entire rest of the year goes – no pressure or anything, right – so staying on top of my game especially this week and next week is uber important herunterladen!

Specifically, though, I am mwishing I finish my list this week.  I don’t really know what to call it.  It’s sort of a lesson plan, but mostly a checklist I have been working on since last week where I am writing down all the things to review with my students.  All of my students so far are returning students, or transfers, so essentially, they already know quite a bit about music.  This check list that I am making is a way for me to make sure that I review everything possible in the most logical order possible… which is sometimes a little harder to figure out than one might think windows 7 service pack 2 kostenlosen!

So this week I am mwishing for order and organization, continued enthusiasm, focus, and, as always, boatloads of patience.

Audience Participation Time
What are you mwishing for this week?  What are you getting back into?  What new and fun things might you be starting herunterladen?

The Adventure Ducky Strikes Again

I have a student. Well, I have many students. But this one in particular, he is the inspiration for this post today.

He is, what I would call, a stereotypical little boy.  First of all, he, and his two brothers, are just adorable (I happen to teach all three).  They like video games and comic books (and if they don’t, they probably will), and jedi and pirates, etc.  Sometimes they are at each others’ necks, sometimes they are the cutest little trio.  They are the kind of little boys you might expect to come in with a skinned knee, or perhaps a frog in their pocket (their mom will probably read this, she will have to let me know if there’s ever been a frog situation) winrar german free 64 bit.

This one brother, however, is the kind of guy who makes a mountain out of a mole hill.  He has been this way for a long time, and it’s something his mom has told me about, and something he and I have been working on.  He has gotten much better at letting the little mistakes stay little.  We haven’t really had a crisis in the middle of a lesson for awhile windows 7 kostenlos downloaden.

Yesterday, though, I could see it coming.

It was just the way he scrunched up his face, for just a second.  And then there was a sniffle.  We were on the brink.  One more mistake and we might have had a situation.  So I stopped him immediately, and launched into it.  I wish I could have recorded myself saying it, because I worded it perfectly for him.  And they were important enough words that I wanted to share them with all of my students, and with the world in general.  Here we go kika to.

The Adventure Ducky, at some point I think I named him Jean Claude, or Pierre, I don't know why I give my pirate ducks French namesDude, dude, dude!  Take a breath, dude!  This is not a big deal.  Let me tell you something.  Everybody, every student, every musician, who has ever lived, has been to the place where you are right now.  You are on the edge of the map.  Sometimes this happens a day after you have your first lesson, or a week, or a month, or a year, or ten years.  Everything comes so super easy for you, and then all of a sudden, it doesn’t anymore.  All of a sudden, it’s not fun anymore.  It’s work.  This isn’t a problem, this is just the edge of your comfort zone sour.

NOW is when you begin your journey as a musician.  Now is when the adventure starts, and the fun begins.  Sometimes the challenges and problems that come up are exactly what make music interesting!  Where would the pirates be if they hadn’t committed mutiny, left Captain Jack on the island, stolen the cursed treasure and became zombies??  THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO MOVIE!  Look at how exciting it was.  Sometimes adventures are tough but they can be crazy exciting, too animes kostenlos downloaden.

Right now you are just at the edge of the map.  Your adventure is just beginning.  Don’t be afraid of it.  Don’t be afraid of mistakes.  Mistakes just make the day more interesting.  Let’s get the pirate ducky out to remind us of the adventure that we’re on spiegel app kostenlos herunterladen.

And Adventure Ducky sat on top of the piano for the rest of one of the best lessons I taught this week.  I think everyone needs a little visit from the Adventure Ducky every now and again pr0gramm app herunterladen.

Happy New Year 2011-12!

Welcome to a new school year!  We are into our second week of the school year, and by now, the cobwebs are dusted out of even the deepest corners in our brains and the spaces between our fingers.  Things forgotten over the long stretch of summer break are coming back to us, and I, probably even more than my students, am excited for the MissAdventures that this year holds for all of us fortnite herunterladen huawei p20 lite!

To celebrate the new year, I am encouraging all of my students to make a New Year’s Resolution.  Some of them have actually asked me if they can make two, but I have told them to limit it to one per instrument.  I appreciate their enthusiasm, but as I intend to hold them to these resolutions until their completion (or June 2012), I don’t want them to become overwhelmed bewerbungsformulare kostenlos downloaden.

What can one resolve to do on piano or guitar, one might ask?  PLENTY!  Last week I told all my students it could be very specifically related to their repertoire – I resolve to learn all of “Fur Elise” – or very general – I resolve to finish all the Level 1B books.  It could be related to technique – I resolve to keep my fingers rounded always – or related to their brain – I resolve to understand more about chords.  I gave them the whole week to think about it, and starting this week, we will discuss possible resolutions and make a game plan for achieving them adobe gratis downloaden.

I feel, though, that this is also a whole lot more than just a New Year’s Resolution (who keeps them, anyway?  I mean, besides my students and myself).  This is about setting a realistic goal, working towards it, and not giving up.  It’s about saying you’re going to do something, and then actually following through.  It’s sticking to your word, shouldering responsibility, holding yourself accountable.  It’s becoming more self-aware.  It’s delving into music on a level that, possibly, some of these kids have never experienced before.  There are loads of life lessons wrapped up in this, and also a great way to capture the enthusiasm of the beginning of the school year and stretch it out until the enthusiasm for summer break takes over quake 3 arena kostenlos download.

So much of education for a child is out of their control.  They go to the school their parents send them to, do the work that is assigned to them by their teachers.  Rules are set up for them, and boundaries are set.  But personally, I feel that a student should have a say in those boundaries.  Why limit learning?  Why not let the child’s own natural curiosity help to lead the way?  This is one of the things that I really love about private teaching.  The ability of the child to actively participate in the learning process.  They aren’t just on the receiving end, but a lot on my end of it all relies on them as well, and I it is my wish that they grasp that and enjoy it.  Not to just survive, but to thrive.  How often do you hear a student say, “I survived freshman year” or “I survived my high school years?”  How does that phrase change when you say, “I thrived during freshman year?”  “I thrived during my high school years?”

I know I’m getting off on a tangent here, but I feel like this is an important detour to take.  If we want kids to learn, they ought to want to learn.  And how better to get them to want to learn, than by letting them set their own goals call of duty spiele kostenlosen?

So.  New Year’s Resolutions.  Because I like the phrase “we’re all in the same boat” (and that’s not just because I secretly want to be a pirate), I am also making not one, but TWO resolutions (since I do actively play two instruments).  So here I go with mine pdf reader download for free german.

1) Fantasy Impromptu in c# minor, by Frederic Chopin.  Chopin is one of my faves.  If we were alive at the same time, I’d make it a point to go to all of his shows and meet him.  Maybe even ask him to jam.  I’d buy all his CDs.  I’d like him in Facebook (wait, I already like him on facebook).  This piece of music is one of my favorite pieces to listen to by Chopin, and also, one of the most technically challenging pieces I have ever had the chance to look at (I mean, I’m sure there are more technically challenging pieces, but I actually already have the music for this one, and it is hands down, the hardest piece I own the music to).  And since it’s been awhile since I actually challenged myself to anything on the piano (what with the tendonitis bout a few years back that sidelined me pretty much until this last year), I thought, this would be a perfect project for the 2011-2012 school year.  And in case you don’t know what it sounds like, here you go wie kann man tik tok videos herunterladen.

2. Flamenco guitar whatsapp foto niet te downloaden. A few years ago, I said to myself, I want to expand my chord vocabulary. That’s part of the reason why I enjoy playing so many old jazz standards, because they utilized a WHOLE LOT MORE than your standard I-IV-V progressions of today’s rock music games to roblox. And again, I haven’t really challenged myself in the guitar arena in awhile, so I thought to myself, what’s really hard for me right now sims 4 downloaden gratis mac? I’m a pretty decent finger picker, but I could be better. But, I’m not so much a fan of classical guitar. However. Flamenco guitar is pretty darned exciting. I also have a friend who does flamenco dancing (and have a few more who are interested in it), and I thought, this would be a pretty neat way to jam across the lines of art (I mean, I’d be on my guitar, meanwhile they would actually be dancing), so let me take a dive.

Of course, then I learned that flamenco music, is like, WAY HARD. It’s actually hard just to think about, at least for me, at least right now. It won’t just be a matter of learning a few songs, it will be more along the lines of learning a whole new set of theory and technique. I’m down for this. Totally. As it was recently explained to me, you basically have a set rhythm and a set chord progression. Everything else, from the strumming and melodies, to the lyrics and the dancing, is improvised. You learn all the rules and then you play with them (until your hand falls off, because in my case, it might). Here is an example.

Audience Participation Time
I’ve shared my New Year’s Resolutions. What are yours? Do you consider the new school year a time of new beginnings, or do you wait until January 1 to start yours? Do you even make resolutions or think they’re just a pile of lofty goals that are really a waste of time?

It’s Mwish Time!

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What’s a mwish?? It’s like, you know, a wish, but better, because there’s music in it! In addition to practicing, I need to think about what I need from my practicing (or my music in general) before I get to the bench herunterladen. So that when I get there (or wherever else I need to be) I will be better prepared to totally rock it out.

This week my mwish is simple.  I mwish to actually practice.  You know how you don’t realize how much you love something until it’s gone?  I am at this point right now.  And it’s not that I forgot how much I love piano, or guitar, or music in general, but music is one of those things that has become such a part of my routine (a very sparkly, wonderful, magical part), that I just grew accustomed to the sense of peace, accomplishment and joy that practicing injected into my everyday life.  Practicing has become both an important part of my life for my work and for my health.  And I miss it adobe flash player deutsch kostenlos downloaden.

It’s not that I am having an awful time up here in the mountains, sweating like a waterfall and destroying my feet, discovering new and interesting ways to make my body sore, but I am just not practicing any of my instruments the way I do when I am home, and I miss it.  So this week, I mwish for more practice time.  I’m not even sure how this is going to work out, as I have been trying – mostly unsuccessfully – for two weeks to practice, and if I haven’t figured out how to do it by now I’m not sure if I’m going to get it done ever final fantasy full version for free.

But a girl can mwish, yes?

Audience Participation Time
What are you mwishing for this week?  How is your summer schedule (if it is different from your school year schedule) affecting your practice schedule word computer?

Discipline for Beginners

Dear Friends,

So I am right now in upstate New York at Ukrainian dance camp.  I bring this up because the teachers here, among other things, stress the important of discipline in the students’ practice google earth kostenlos download windows 10.

I am also right now reading a book called Zen Guitar (which applies the ideals and philosophy behind the Japanese dojo to the study of guitar) (and actually is a really great book that all musicians should read) and one of the principles outlined in the book is also discipline ubuntu linux german free.

I like this congruity.  I like being able to study the same thing in different places.  It helps me to be better at it in general.  And discipline is an important skill to be built for any student of anything, whether it is piano, guitar, or, say, engineering.  Or business youtube videos herunterladen und versenden.

So what is discipline?  To paraphrase Philip Toshio Sudo (the auther of Zen Guitar), discipline is completing a task to the best of your ability every time you have to do it.  Which is actually a lot harder to do than it sounds, especially once a student has gained some skill in any given subject herunterladen.

When one of my beginners sits down at the piano, all they can do is be disciplined.  Everything they try is so new that it requires all the focus she or he can muster together.  If a student is practicing on a regular basis without mommy or daddy reminding them, then that student is actually on the path towards becoming a disciplined student of music google analytics.

But as a student gains more experience on their instrument, they require more and more discipline to stick with it.  Working on a song for a few weeks at a time does not require much discipline, but reviewing Hanon, Czerny or Schmitt exercises, or running through scales, or other finger exercises as part of your daily practice for weeks, months or even years (like at the stage of the game I am at right now) requires a level of discipline that few students ever develop wie kann man fortnite auf laptop herunterladen.

But here is something that is, like, way important.  And this is something that I actually remind my students of on a regular basis.  And it’s what I’d like to leave you all with today apple mobile device usb-treiber herunterladen.

Discipline does not mean doing it perfectly every time.  EVER.  Discipline means doing your best every time.  I know, sometimes our “best” is nowhere near our idea of what “best” sounds like.  But if you are trying your best every time you sit down to play one note or an entire sonata, then eventually – and probably sooner than we realize – our “best” becomes what we expect it to be paint shop gratis downloaden.