Tag: Chicago piano instructor
Let it go.
Sometimes it’s important not to fret it, so to speak. You’re someone who’s decided to learn an instrument. You’ve been diligent and organized about your practice. Every day but Fridays (or Tuesdays, if you’re a Tuesday person), you will sit down and try to progress on them keys or on them drums. You’ve been very…
Camping
We just went to the Michigan Upper Peninsula with my Sweetie. It is the land of the cold and harsh winter. It is the land of the frozen trees where summer heat is just a respite before the snow covers it all. By the end of September they expect the warm temperature to pack it…
What do you need?
What is the equipment you need for you first steps into drumming? A lot of people assume that before you take a lesson, you’re going to need a drum kit. I do not recommend it. Look, if you got an instrument that’s great, congratulations! But it could also mean you bought something without knowing if…
How long does it take to learn drums?
Good question! I’ll tell you: a rock rhythm doesn’t take long. Usually in a few minutes one can already get the basics and play along with a song. Learning a fill requires even less time and it’s a lot of fun. You fly on the toms, making noise and smiling, then you land on a…
Adding music in your life
When someone start an instrument it could be for many different reasons. Usually, in case of an adult, the burn has been going on for a long time, the desire has had time to mature. In any case, the person has been listening to music with the strong intent to, one of these days, get…
How long does it take to learn the piano?
I think a couple of months can get you to play a few songs already. During the first lesson with me, there is already a song the student will play. We’ll touch on technique, on position, on getting to know the keyboard as well as getting to know each other as student/teacher. I want to…
Tommy
Last sunday was Father’s Day. My Sweetie had planned a little something for me: we went to see Tommy at the Goodman Theatre. I wasn’t expecting much besides a psychedelic adventure full of weird characters and messages too confusing to understand. I was also thinking about a production with actors/singers, a nice décor (This is…
Summer’s struggles
Let’s face it summer is not for practicing. Summer invites to the outside: swimming, biking, kicking a ball, throwing a ball, having a picnic, hanging out at the beach, traveling to a far away place. We want to enjoy the outdoors when the weather is nice. Especially in a northern city like Chicago where the…
The secrets of motivation
There is a subject I cannot really share on my blog: how to motivate people to practice. I don’t want to share because I am afraid people will not believe me when I try to tell them to practice, they will think I am just using a trick. I am not using any tricks. Barely…
Tips in cash.
I used to be in a circus. It was called “Cirque Plume” in France. That was before they got famous and grew to be the biggest circus in Europe. There were no animals in that organization, just a troop of jugglers, acrobats and interesting people. That was what was selling really well, the interesting part.…