The Good Musician

“Understanding a musician’s motivations can deeply change your perspective of music.”

You recently read about listening sessions, and learned how to get more out of listening to a song. Reader and fellow-blogger Shankar from NewAgeVibe suggested I explore the topic of song titles.
One aspect that can enhance your insight into a piece of music is to research an artist’s motivations. Pay attention to a song title. In ancient times, the song title used to just be the first few sung words of a piece, usually in Latin. Good example of this is Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana (iTunes Link) .
Soon enough, song …read more

1 Comment

Picture this: You walk out in front of an audience, everyone’s got that expectant glare on their face and your inner conscience says ‘Hello’ with a screaming “Oh my god, lord, mother mary, buddha, I didn’t practice enough!”
Michelle Bennett over at “A Singer’s Life” shares a thought and an anecdote on rehearsing, and when it might be too much. Notably, she mentions relaxation:

So, when is enough enough?
Perhaps when, like the singer above, you have performed a role upwards of 100 times?
I am sure each singer has their own individual strategy concerning preparation and rehearsal. However, what I am learning more …read more

Comments Off

To celebrate the launch of this blog and b5media’s Music Channel, we’re giving away some cool prizes.
What’s up for grabs?
* 3 iPod Shuffles
* 3 MP3 players with preloaded MusicIP software
* 3 iTunes Certificates (worth US$25 each)

Read on to see how you can win.

3 Comments

“I used to be quite haphazard with my practice routines, until I tried using a diary.”

How does your practice routine look? You get down with your instrument when you feel like it, open up the page of some piece you want to play and start playing? Do you just grab that guitar and start jamming about scales?

2 Comments

1. Press the button
2. Listen
Sure, that sounds easy enough. Unfortunately, most people get Step 2 wrong. And god forbid I’ve met people who get Step 1 wrong as well, but that’s a different story.

4 Comments

Don’t deprive your children of the so-called “Mozart-Effect“. Engaging in music activates your brain like almost no other activity, studies say. Harness this power and encourage your children to learn music.
But many parents go about in a very wrong way. After 10 years of playing experience, I can tell what should’ve been better in my kiddy days. Points to consider when introducing your child to music:
1. Implement the 5 Pillars of Good Musicians
Don’t just make him or her play an instrument. Show them the different aspects of music, build on the 5 pillars and explain to them how it’s …read more

Comments Off

Why does the slamming of a door sound different than the pluck of a guitar string?
Before we dive into things lie music notation, chords, scale systems and the likes, we should understand the basic nature of music. When does a tone become a musical tone? The answer: When we perceive a sound as a regular, smooth pitch.

Comments Off