September 9, 2021 If you’re getting into music for the first time, choosing your first instrument can seem like a huge decision. The instrument you choose will have a huge impact on your musical journey and be the foundation for your future musical education. Here are four tips that will help beginners choose the right musical instruments.
July 24, 2020 Home quarantine has significantly changed my daily routine. At first I thought all the extra time at home would get me to practice my singing way more. I quickly found that the pandemic left me scrambling to go virtual with my regular work and frequently paralyzed when it came to my personal singing practice and creative projects. Regular singing and music helps my overall mood and is a huge tool for managing my wellness. I found myself in a vicious cycle of feeling low energy and not doing the very thing that usually helps turn my mood around. In this blog I’m going to discuss some strategies I created for myself and my students to break through what I call musical pandemic paralysis.
Advice, Practicing tagged Advice, practice, practicing music May 1, 2020 For those artists sheltering in place, it can often feel like there’s a great deal of pressure to be productive and make something out of all this ‘free time.’ Given the current state of affairs, however, many artists and musicians may not be in a mental or physical position where they can really tackle writing and recording the next Great American Record. Here, we look at a few more ‘bite-sized’ activities for homebound artists to try during these harrowing times.
Advice, Coronavirus, Practicing tagged coronavirus, practicing music, songwriting August 4, 2017 The music world lives by the phrase “practice makes perfect,” but what makes the perfect amount of practice?
The path to musical expertise is a bumpy one, and practice is hailed as the golden ticket to success. When you’re aspiring to become an expert musician, it’s easy to feel like Goldilocks, struggling to find the sweet spot for your practice routine.
Malcolm Gladwell popularized the “10,000-hour rule,” based on Dr. K. Anders Ericsson’s research on expert performance, asserting that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master any skill.
This claim is famous, but is it accurate? How do you define too little practice? Is there such a thing as too much practice?
Read on for how researchers, musicians, and even doctors respond to these questions.
Education tagged music education, practice, practicing music July 6, 2016 I’m a huge advocate for practicing your instrument. And as someone who loves practicing, I am well aware that keeping a regular practice schedule is exceedingly difficult.
It’s so easy for the business side of music to take priority over your practice, because frankly the practice always seems like it can wait and some other things simply can’t. It further complicates things when you have a job, if you’re on the road, or occasionally have to deal with, you know, life!
That being said, I am a big believer in regular practice because I think it has real benefits for your music career and your mental health.