Tag: drum instructor
The fight to build.
In my line of business, which is teaching music lesson privately, we are always striving to build a clientele. The numbers go up when the season is good, and down when the season is bad. I could agree with that statement if I thought it was the whole picture. Unfortunately, it is not. There are…
Listening to intentions.
Sometimes digital music is disappointing because we cannot hear the artist intentions behind the notes. Machines are great, don’t get me wrong, but they are, almost by definition, devoid of emotions, which, at least for me, is the reason why I listen to music in the first place. Hearing the sorrow of Billie Holiday when…
The belly of music.
I won’t lie, I’ve got a belly, a pouch, some extra dough above my belt. I know. Nobody ever mentioned it, but I know. I can feel it. I drag a bit when I’m walking (forget about running at this point), I make a sound when I bend at the waist to pick something up,…
The importance of concepts in music.
Here is something strange. I hear all too often about a drummer who can run circles around all the known and famous drummer and yet, nobody knows him. Imagine someone like Carter Beauford, the drummer for the Dave Matthews band, but without the celebrity. One of the reason is that technique is really not the…
Pictures.
When I first started my internet adventure, I had exactly one picture to display, not two, just one. That one: It has stayed this way for close to 15 years. I suppose that this young man is now a fully grown up adult with a busy and happy life, at least that what I wish…
Piano Trivia.
Did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach didn’t like the keys he was playing. He learnt to play the harpsichord but the instrument was limited since it couldn’t restitute any dynamics. Nonetheless, Bach was a virtuoso on the harpsichord. He preferred the organ, by the way. The Piano takes its name from a pretty long…
Fixing some dynamic problem in piano.
You get both type of piano players if you have a full schedule of students: the shy ones who play too soft or the Beethovenian ones who will bring the piano to its knees. Both are equally stuck in a dynamic range. One being soft or, as we say in music, Piano (yes, like the…
Resolutions.
I know we are not at that time of the year, the time when we take on big projects to fulfill big wishes. I am talking about New year’s eve, of course. That’s when the gyms around town fill up their calendars, when the sales of sugar plummets, when you see determined faces in your…
The new student.
I am always very excited to meet a new student. They always come with a spark in their eyes because they’re interested, curious, hungry for knowledge. Every time I am reminded that I have the best job in the world: sharing with someone my passion for music. I tell them to sit at the piano…
The musician’s plague
Musicians are often seen as people who are desperate for a job. We can all think of exception to the rule, of course, like the Elton John or Bruce Springsteen of our world, but in general, and especially if you’re at a lower level of pay and fame, the common agreement is that a musician…