Posts Related to: Practice

One of the biggest problems that musicians face is holding on to their own musical identity and integrity. It’s often tempting to bail out on your own direction and capitulate to an agent, an audience, a label, or society in general.
Even with my experience in this business, I continue to be surprised by how a …

Practice is necessary to develop the skills required to pursue music successfully. But practice can also be a crutch – a delay tactic. Just as many people continue their college educations to avoid the necessity of getting a job – of facing the real world. It can be the same in music. You’re “never” ready. …

I have many sweet and amazing young clients, and I adore them. But I was moved, deeply, watching the Carol King and James Taylor concert “Live at the Troubador” on PBS recently. I’ve never heard either one of them sing better, or even as well, as they did on that show.
And check out Tina Turner, …

I work with a lot of songwriters, and I love helping them deliver their songs through their voices authentically. To do that, you have to know the difference between your songwriter and your performer voices – which are not the same thing.
Here’s the short answer: Songwriter voice is internal. Performance voice is external. What do …

This post first appeared on The Eloquent Woman blog. I earlier wrote about Denise’s decision to take up the guitar, for the first time, at 50. Denise is a public speaking coach.
“You can’t stop when you make a mistake,” he said. “You’re pausing to think what you did wrong and how to fix it. But you’ve got …

Progress in music is best described as an upward spiral. The initial stages are easy to trace. The beginner knows very little and can do very little, so every new technique and every bit of knowledge feels like a giant stride forward.
When these quick and easy strides end, problems typically set in. New information and new …

Regardless of the style of guitar you want to play, it’s important to know the fundamentals that need to be covered. Whether you want to play in a band, sing and play, or be a singer-songwriter, you’ll need to work on specific areas and skills. Here’s an overview of the ten fundamental things to learn to become …

Cut time is a source of confusion for many musicians. In this post, I’ll break it down and explain it; it’s not as daunting as it seems.
Cut time is used in Broadway music, sambas, polkas, bluegrass, classical, many ethnic forms and anytime the tempo gets so fast that it would be unwieldy to count and …

Here are some tips on how to approach music that’s technically difficult or otherwise hard for you. I’m referring to the piano in this post, but the tips can be used for any instrument or voice. Music may be hard to play because it needs to be played fast; has complicated fingering; multiple parts must be played …

Music is basically a type of self reflection, a form of communication intended to convey the uniqueness of the individual player. The uniqueness of an individual is the sum total of his or her experiences. These experiences shape the personality of the individual to a great extent, and it is this personality that is reflected through …