Tag: Chicago piano instructor
What to learn on the drums. Part 1.
I have noticed that all human activities can get very complicated very quickly. For example I know some people who knit, a pass time that seems innocent enough. Well, not at all, my friends. Apparently you’ve got different concepts like needles or crochet, and a ton of different variations you can do to get a…
What I am reading.
Right now, I’m reading a biography of Schubert. He’s one of the three: you’ve got Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. They have their stones together in a cemetery in Vienna. That’s Beethoven on the right, Schubert on the left and a memorial of Mozart in the center. Mozart’s body was thrown in a common grave and…
When to start taking music lessons.
You start when you want to go to a concert and can’t wait to see the drummer or the piano player. You start when you focus on that instrument at the concert. You start when you like a song on the radio and bob your head to the beat. You start when you can’t help…
Maintenance.
I am a self-employed musician, a little entrepreneur of sorts, as a matter of fact the smallest kind there is since in my Mum and Pop shop, there is only Pop. In my business I have to deal with equipment. The very computer I am writing you from is part of that list. It has…
Concentrating.
What is concentration? Is it the key to success? Do we need to work on it? These are the subjects being discussed in this blog. Fasten your seat belt. I didn’t check the dictionary, I’m going on the fly here, but we’re going to accept this definition: Concentration is the ability to keep your mind…
Musicians biggest enemy.
What do you think is a musician biggest enemy? Do you think it’s money? Record company executives? Gas station food? Ex-girlfriends? Although every thing I just listed is a serious threat, I don’t think it comes close to the dangers of… repetitive motions. See what I did there! You didn’t expect that, didn’t you? Any…
Approaching a lesson.
I have been very lucky to meet some great people throughout my professional life. Some of them do the same job as mine, or aspire to it. We sometimes talk shop which is always fun. They tell me about their students, I tell them about mine. We have a simple rule: no names, and, if…
The lazy summer.
Oh, how I would like to do nothing all day, bask in the sun, go to the beach, come back to grill a few things on the Barbie and spend the evening reading a book that’s both easy and entertaining. I remember the summers of my youth. I used to do just that: nothing. And…
Where does it all come from?
Where does music come from? Actually, I am talking about American music, the one you can play with a drum set (which is an American invention, by the way). Do you know? The common idea is that melody and harmony came from Europe and the rhythm was originally from Africa. There is some truth to…
Deadly Trivia
Did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach, among all the great in music, is one of the few who got to enjoy a long life? He was 65 years old when he passed. Mozart it is said was buried in an unnamed grave as a pauper. What is not as well known is the reason…