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Jazz Standards on Guitar: All of Me

Categories Guitar Music Practice

As we learn to play in the various styles and genres of music, it is crucial to become familiar with the repertoire of that genre—and jazz is no different. The term ‘Jazz Standard’ is thrown around a lot between improvising jazz musicians, and we all make it our goal to master as many as possible. The beautiful thing about jazz repertoire is that wherever you are in the world, regardless of language barriers or cultural differences, there are certain jazz standards that other people will know. Right now, the best thing we can do to start our journey into jazz … Read more

Common Injuries Suffered by Drummers and how to Avoid Them

Categories Drums

Learning a musical instrument is a physical activity that requires both physical and mental exertion. Different instruments utilise different limbs, muscle groups, and individual muscles, and it’s important to be aware of this when approaching your instrument. For example, a pianist who focuses on the fingers, but neglects the wrists, will probably play with a stiff technique and could develop wrist strain. The same is true for drummers, though the muscles groups we use to create sound with our instruments are different. This article will assess the key muscle groups utilised by drummers before looking at how, through use of … Read more

Guitar Effect Pedals – Chorus Pedals

Categories Guitar

Chorus effects pedals create another class of modulation effects that people often confuse with flangers and phasers. Technically, a chorus effect is very similar to a flanger, just with a different sonic objective. While the chorus effect isn’t discussed as often as some of the more popular effects like overdrives or delays, it is actually a really important effect, especially if you play a lot of classic rock. The goal of a chorus effect is to mimic the sound of a choir, hence the name. In a choir of human voices, there will always be slight variations of pitch and … Read more

Ultimate Injury Prevention: How to Gain Body Awareness for Pianists

Categories Music Practice Piano

Piano playing requires extremely repetitive muscle movements. For example, if you play quarter notes consistently at 120BPM, after an hour, the repetition will require your muscles to contract and release 7,200 times…with eighth-notes 14,400 times… with sixteenth-notes 28,800 times! This many muscle movements add a lot of stress to your body and there is a high risk of injury if you do not pay attention to your physical needs. Musicians need to take care of their bodies, just like athletes do. Sadly, however, most of us do not listen to our body until we experience pain or discomfort. Take some … Read more

How to Practice Piano: A Beginner’s Practice Guide

Categories Music Practice Piano

Learning piano is a rewarding challenge, but where do you begin? And how do you practice? And why? This article provides a comprehensive practice guide to answer these questions and help you get started on the right track. The eight tips discussed here will help you effectively improve your piano skills. Tip 1: Mental Practice Why? Learning a piece of music away from the piano can drastically improve the efficiency of your practice sessions. Studying away from the piano, or mental practice, will help you keep a clear goal in mind when you practice and you will more likely avoid … Read more

Beginner Rock and Pop Drum Course Rationale

Categories Drums

Designing the beginner rock and pop drum course was a task that required a lot of planning, as well as trial and error to create something that takes students through all the key aspects of drumming that I feel every drummer should know. This rationale will explain the theory behind how the this course is designed and what sort of skills students will have developed upon completion of the course. Why Rock and Pop? First, let’s clarify that by discussing rock and pop, we’re also including a number of subgenres which fall within this bracket such as hip-hop, R&B, blues, … Read more

Guitar Effect Pedals – Wah Pedals

Categories Guitar

One of the most musically expressive effects available in the guitarist’s toolbox is the Wah pedal. Musical legends across several genres have used this effect with great results for decades. Notable Wah effect users include Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Slash, Steve Vai, John Mayer, George Harrison, and the list goes on and on… The Wah effect may be the second most common pedal (just behind Overdrives) found on the pedalboards of pros all around the world. The reason for this is thanks to the many different things a Wah can be used for. You … Read more

Guitar Effect Pedals – Fuzz Pedals

Categories Guitar

Fuzz pedals are like the unnoticed middle child in the family of distortion-type effects. Their achievements are often overshadowed by their older sibling, Overdrive, and they don’t require as much attention as Distortion, their misbehaving younger brother. However, Fuzz does have its place in the family due to its very unique sonic characteristic. There is not a Distortion or Overdrive pedal that can get you the same sound as a Fuzz pedal. However, some Fuzz pedals can be tweaked to sound similar to a Distortion or Overdrive pedal, which makes Fuzz pedals highly versatile. If you’re a Blues-Rock guitarist, then … Read more

10 Most Influential Jazz Pianists You Should Listen to

Categories Music Practice Piano

The number of truly wonderful pianists is astounding. There are countless innovative and unique artists that have taken composition and performance to new heights. It can be easy to get discouraged with your own playing in the face of such greatness, but I’d like to point out that there is one thing every great pianist has in common, regardless of time period or style – they all were inspired by and influenced by those who came before them! When I first started learning to play piano, I only played and listened to classical music. I wasn’t exposed to jazz until … Read more

5 Common Mistakes Made by Beginner Drummers and How to Avoid Them

Categories Drums

Throughout our lives as musicians, we learn from our mistakes, whether they be small simple errors when playing a certain piece, or a more deep routed weakness in a fundamental skill such as pulse or counting. The best musicians are the ones who are able to learn from their own mistakes. However, there are certain common mistakes which are easy to avoid, yet still seem to trip up most beginner drummers. This article will outline some of these common mistakes, many of which I commited personally as a beginner, and look at how they can be avoided, and why doing … Read more