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Dirty subject, being responsible. Even bloody. That’s one I’ve been putting off for a long time. That area of being a pro musician is full of traps, of half truths, of misconceptions, of nerves and anger.  This is not tender meat. This is a rock concealed in a thickRead More

So far we have determined that, on this cold Chicago winter, we are broke. But life is still worth living and we need to spend more time practicing our instruments. We have also determined in one swift move that cooking is the answer to this particular situation. Cooking cheapRead More

Ouch! We are coming out of the holiday season tired, overwhelmed and… broke. December is the month where all the big bills are due: car insurance, renter’s insurance, house insurance, subscription for this service, and that one, bill for the food and the partying that took placeRead More

“- Hello Houston, we are go for 2020, we have the means, we have the tools and we have the energy. Send me the mission statement, please. – Hello Apollo, here’s your mission statement for 2020. You’re going to have to: Make more money. Spend more time withRead More

This holiday season I am thinking about the role of the drummer, about the fact that people lean on him in modern music. The drummer needs to be aware of his musical surrounding. He’s useless if he’s soloing double bass in a soft ballad. Oh, don’t laugh,Read More

Ah, the drummer! So many jokes about that guy! So many punchlines! He plays too loud, too fast, too much. He’s drooling as he works up a sweat, he can’t count further than 4, he’s the best groupie of the band. Yes, the drummer provokes a lot of laughs.Read More

When someone starts to learn the drums, they come to my studio and I show them the first beat in the style of music they’re interested in. Usually, it’s a rock beat. We go with a simple pattern, not too many limbs, not too fast with no dynamics. They are oftenRead More

Suppose you have decided to learn the piano. Good! That’s a great idea. Suppose you don’t have a teacher. Ha! Could be a problem. You go online, find a few tutorials, a few ideas, a few songs, you get yourself going. Again, great! And then you hit a wall, a hard one:Read More

Once someone has studied an instrument for at least 2 or 3 years, they can usually play a few songs well, they understand what a tempo is, what a metronome is, they know how to read a few written notes, they can deal with an accompaniment, a song structure and a few other thingsRead More

I noticed something peculiar among my students. But first, let’s set it up correctly. I teach all ages and all levels. My youngest one in my schedule right now is 4 and my oldest one is probably 65 (This is an educated guess). Inevitably, the younger they are, the moreRead More