Over the past year or so, I noticed that there are certain pieces of musical advice that I tend to favor when helping students develop their playing. I also observed...
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In my previous blog post, I shared some recorded selections from “Greensleeves to a Ground,” which I had been working on as part of an ongoing aural skills project. After...
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With the increased time at home due to the pandemic, I have taken the opportunity to work more on aural skills. My most recent endeavors in this area involve learning...
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One of the great pleasures of being a musician is playing together with others. Although in-person collaboration poses certain risks at this time, multi-track recording provides a means for ensemble...
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In the fall of 2017, per the recommendation of a friend, I enrolled in Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects, an online course...
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Musicians have been aptly described as “small-muscle athletes.” Day by day, their work entails mastering the physical execution of their instrument or voice. Although I have never had any sort...
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In January 2018, I had the privilege of participating in an Effortless Mastery workshop taught by jazz pianist and author Kenny Werner. After spending time with the Effortless Mastery book,...
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Back in December 2017, I posted a blog entry about “Little Church,” a composition by Hermeto Pascoal, which Miles Davis recorded on the album Live-Evil. At the time, I was...
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Recently, I was preparing some music for a gig. For the most part, the assigned materials broke down into two categories, simple and complex. The “simple” items tended to involve...
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A couple years ago, I noticed that the name “Lennie Tristano” had become a recurring presence in my realm of musical interests and experiences. Lennie Tristano (1919-1978) was a jazz...
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