music practice

Fiddling with life and learning with the occasional dad joke thrown in…

 

 

What did you have for dinner last night?

When learning something new, try this trick. Pause on that new or challenging thing and try to remember what you had for dinner last night. Really try to picture it. How much time did it take to prepare it? What time did you eat? When was the last time you had that meal? How did … Continued

Leverage

A FiddleHed named Bob wrote to say that after playing banjo for seven years, he became fascinated with what his fiddler pals were doing. “How on earth can those fiddle players do that?” he asked himself. “I decided I’d give it a try.” Hats off to you Bob! Though I haven’t learned banjo, I have studied … Continued

Gonzervatory Story

An Opportunity This morning I submitted an application to a master class called “The Gonzervatory”. It will be taught by the great pianist and producer Chilly Gonzales next April. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and along the way I had some new insights into what I want to do … Continued

How To Learn Tunes From Recordings

Can’t figure out how to play the B part of Bill Cheatham because the band is playing it so fast? You could have your teacher slowly teach you each part of the tune and then practice the parts on your own until you can play the whole thing. Or you could learn it with me … Continued

First Things First

They say, “First things first.” But who are they? How did they come to know so much? What do they eat for breakfast Sorry, I have no answers to these deep and important questions. But cliches are cliches for a reason (even if we’re sick of hearing them). First things first is a useful approach to … Continued