Practicing Your Scales Effectively

One of the first things we learn in music is scales. We're told that these are the building blocks of music but that doesn't mean too much to us initially. So we learn a couple of scales, starting at the lowest note, going up an octave (maybe two) and then come back and stop at the root. This seems to be the method for at least the first couple of months. We may then learn some songs, maybe some licks from our favorite solos. The scales however, still remain a step away from the 'real' music that we're learning. Aside from atonal and 20th century music that stays clear of scales on purpose, all popular music uses scales; in fact, the same scales.

Up and Down

All too often I hear students practicing their scales in the method listed above. Up and down, up and down. In the music we hear, the scales are rarely used that way. It's the equivalent of learning to paint using the same color combinations over and over. Aside from trying to getting familiar with the scale and trying finger exercises, scales shouldn't be practiced this way. Once  you learn a scale and and committed it to memory, you should be practicing it in other ways.

Perfectionism for Musicians

Something that a lot of musicians and artists often deal with is perfectionism. I know this first hand because it's something that I have to fight everyday. Perfectionism is debilitating in the fact that it can stop you from doing the thing that you love the most. It causes stress and undue friction within your own life. And, can actually cause the opposite effect of it's 'purpose' in the first place. While there is a place for high artistic standards, when your standards become so high that nobody can live up to them, how are you supposed to create your art?

The Evolution of An Artist

It usually happens you're so busy trying to get stuff done, that you don't notice. You try and get something done everyday. You work hard at your craft and try to improve. While you may not notice, there's something happening there. You're evolving as an artist. Before we get too philosophical about this, let's take a practical look at what's going on here and see if we can help in our own evolution.

Effective Memorization In Music

One of the most important parts of learning music is memorization. Whether it's a small piece. a couple of licks, scales, chords, or an entire performance, memorization is something that musicians have to deal with on a daily basis. Yet this is rarely mentioned in textbooks and music courses. One thing that should be part of every musical education is how to effectively use your memory. Simply learning a piece isn't enough: memorizing the piece is another process entirely. It must be dealt with accordingly. If you don't believe me, just look at how you would approach trying to remember a phone number. If you had a pen and paper, you would simply write it down and forget about it. But, if you had to memorize it on the spot, you would probably go through a couple of exercises or techniques to help you remember the number. You know that simply repeating it to yourself just once isn't going to work*

Practicing Away From Your Instrument

Most of the time when we talk about practicing, it's usually just about sitting down with our instrument and going through some exercises. We go through some technical exercises, some scales, go through some tunes and maybe get in some improv or writing. If we're really diligent and on the ball, we'll get in some ear training and theory. Of course doing all of these things without our instrument there seems just like a waste of time. In fact, it's the opposite.

Virtuosos Do It

Famous composers, performers and virtuosos have all been know to do it; they regularly practice away from their instrument.

Top 10 Reasons NOT To Learn Music Theory

It's been said a million times that every musician should learn music theory. Here are ten reasons not to:

1. Music theory is for classrooms and doesn't apply to working musicians.
2. It's too hard to learn. You need a doctorate to understand this stuff.
3. It takes too long. There's a better use of my time.
4. It's a waste of time. Nobody really uses this stuff.

Measuring Your Music Talent

We go through life relatively quickly. It's easy to go through an entire day and not really remember what you've done. It's just as easy to accomplish quite a few things in a day and not realize it. It's the same with our musical progress. It's easy to just go day by day without figuring out exactly where we are, what we are doing, and what we'd like to accomplish.

We have a terrible sense of time. It's the same with a lot of areas of our life where we go with our gut feelings or some vague recollection. How many songs have you written? How many songs do you know? You may think that it may be a large number but until you sit down and actually calculate the exact number, you really don't know for sure.