Tag: piano lessons

  • Protecting your lessons. Part 2.

    In this second part, I need to say that you also need to carve a space in your life to practice your music, one that is sacred, non-negotiable and regular like a clock. For instance, you can decide that very Monday Tuesday Thursday and Saturday, you do 30 minutes of practice from 6 to 6:30,…

  • What to learn on the drums. Part 2.

    After those two concepts that are coordination and speed, you get nimbleness. That’s the ability to navigate the drum kit presented in front of you, going from a tom to a crash cymbal to a hi hat in a swift and elegant movement. It requires a lot of practice and dedication and if you do…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • At the beginning.

    I have been studying and teaching music for a long time and I can now say confidently that there is nothing more important than the beginning. The decision to take music lessons is always momentous, isn’t it? You were just another woman/man in the crowd and, all of the sudden, you’ve decided to claim your…