Watching Olympic gymnastics last night was a good reminder that the very best of the best still make performance mistakes.
We were at our new and good friends the Bates this weekend. We love those guys and I love sitting in their music room and playing their music with them. (Zach on guitar or bass, Tori on fiddle and Erin on fiddle/piano.)
I have a simple tip for you today about success. I have said it before, but it needs to be said again every once in a while.
I remember reading a book by Julian Johnson called Who Needs Classical Music a few years ago. It was a defense of art music and Johnson discussed in length the difference between art music and folk/pop.
I recently helped a recording artist on a new project during mixing. The mixing process involves a lot of listening as the artist and engineer work together to tweak tiny things that will make the music more impactful.
Someone was over at the house when I was practicing yesterday and noticed me repeating a 4-bar phrase over and over for a long time. Later on, she asked me how she could get her children to practice that way. As it turns out her children are like almost all children; they practice by playing songs all the way through and rarely stop to practice on problem areas.
Good idea or bad idea?
A student sent this in for comments. What do you think?
During the hoopla surrounding the Royal Wedding last year, I remember reading something interesting on Facebook.
I have never been able to completely hide my disdain for the great majority of the music industry that finds ways to fleece musicians without providing any service of value. I am referring to the majority (not all) of publishers, producers, distributors, labels, etc.