The Good Musician

This is a simple and quick tip.
As a guitarist, my hands are probably something I’d get insured, if I could afford such a thing. In any case, when pursuing mundane tasks like typing on a keyboard or cooking, your hands are subject to abrasion. Your skin gets dry, the nails become brittle, rough and dry. We’ve spoken about efficient nail care before, but I needed to share this new gem I found:
Neutrogena’s Hand and Nail Cream.
Seriously, after applying it for just one night, my nails felt smoother the next morning, and they were whiter (as opposed to being slightly tanslucent). …read more

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Quick Note:
I had the honor of writing for one of b5media’s most prolific music blogs, Metal Martyr. The post I wrote describes some thoughts on the difficulties and challenges apsiring metal musicians face, and I think the tips are interesting to anyone, even if you hate metal to the death (which is a pity, because you should respect all genres).
Check out the post: How To Be A Metal Musician.

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After the numerous comments on the wildly successful post about John Williams, I thought I’d share my ideas with you all the same, concerning his performance we so heartily discussed in that very post.
(Side note: I know, I’m a great sarcast, but understand the humiliation of begging for comments and getting none ).
Here are some things he did that really struck me.

He smiles. I think this is an important aspect: If you can convey a feeling of happiness over a piece or performance, your audience will feel the same.

He is humble. Of course this is subjective, but to …read more

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It’s the weekend, and I’m home at my parents’ place, away from my guitars, thus giving me plenty of time to pursue some good musician habits that I’ve developed over the past 10 years – you can have them in 2 minutes.
Of course, installing a new habit takes a while, but they’re more fun than chore-like, and you’ll reap a lot of benefits that will support your awareness of music as well as your playing.

Subscribe to a few music radio streams. Pick a variety of genres.
Watch the Sunday morning mass transmissions. Here in Switzerland, Sunday mornings hold a lot of …read more

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How many music teachers have you had so far? I’ve had two guitar teachers, a piano teacher, and about four other instructors who thought us basic music theory in school.
From all of them, I could learn a bit. Some had more to tell me, others less – with some I fought, others became good friends.
I recently had to move out from home for college, and since this meant moving away from my teachers town, I’m toying with the idea of getting a new one.

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This is a post by associate editor Geoff Young.
Hi, my name is Geoff and I usually blog knucklecurve.com blog about baseball because it is one of the great passions in my life. Music is another. I mainly consume these days, but through most of the ’90s and up until mid-2005, I played in working or semi-working pop and rock bands in the San Diego area.
My primary instrument is guitar, and I also sing — though some would debate the latter point. I’m honored that Arjun has asked me to share some gig stories from days gone by. Not all …read more

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Here’s a quick tip for musicians using iTunes.
Often, especially among guitarists, play-along CDs are included with many of the books you can buy nowadays. Organize these using iTunes, following a few simple tips to keep them from mingling too much with the rest of your music.

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This is Part 3 in the Competencies Series. See also Part 1 (Personal Comeptence), Part 2 (Social Competence) and Part 4 (Practical Competence).

What sets Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits apart from you? Well, he was lucky.
Most famous musicians were lucky somewhere down the road. But so was Britney, and I will not begin calling here a musician just yet. As a musician, Knopfler was a heroic master of the guitar, and played so well not only because he practiced for hours a day, but because he had a great intrinsic knowledge of musical theory.
Music theory and the entire science …read more

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In a previous post, it was commented that ethics may have nothing to do with competence.
Let’s recall my definition of competence:
Knowledge + Ability + Ethical Stand-Point = Competence

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This is Part 2 in the Competencies Series. See also Part 1 (Personal Comeptence), Part 3 (Scientific Competence) and Part 4 (Practical Competence).

Playing alone is something I like doing a lot. I like it because it makes me free, self-responsible for my doing, my musical creative process.
Unfortunately, it’s also the “easy way”. If musicians stayed isolated for all they do, imagine the amount of music that wouldn’t exist? It’s a laughable thought, but apt enough to illustrate the importance of musicians playing together. Thus, musicians require social competence.
Social competence is the ability to solve problems in a group. …read more

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