Simple Music Secrets

Playing a musical instrument often entails tedious tasks such as playing scales that can become boring. Scales are a necessary evil, if you will and if applied properly can be a path to better playing, no matter the instrument. To be able to get the most from a task such as playing scales, it is necessary to grasp how you will benefit from their use.

music scales

Why Scales?

Playing scales properly will do wonders for your technique, no matter if you are a singer or you are the piano player. You will be able to progress to more difficult pieces if you persist in your scales practice. Learning music theory will come naturally as you learn scales. Jazz is particularly suited for the use of scales, due to its changing and modulating nature. Scales help you to grasp and anticipate music.
If you want scales to become second nature you must make them a part of your day, every day. Playing scales helps to warm up your hands and only takes a few minutes per day.
Practice Tips
It is important to start with a scale that is easy for you. It is always important to begin slowly. A short run, say a triad or even less is a good place to warm up before you move to a full octave or even more. Continue to move up the scale in half tones until you have gone up an octave if you can. Next you will repeat the process with a different scale, say a minor one instead of a major one.

As you continue with scales practice the music will become part of your finger memory, or vocal memory if you are a singer. As you warm up you will then be able to run scales together, one after another to obtain a better technique. Remember to always pay attention to your technique when you play scales. Scales practice is often dreaded and feared by all musicians until you understand what it will do for you.
The way you play scales is the way you will sound, you are embedding muscle memory.

The best analogy is to liken vocalists to athletes. An athlete begins with a personal goal in mind – to achieve a level of accomplishment based on the sport they are interested in. Only then, with this clear vision in mind, do they begin to train their body on a daily basis to reach this goal. These hours of practice and training are directly responsible for the level of performance they are eventually capable of.

In the same way, singers have a goal to sing beautifully and comfortably without straining or damaging their precious voice, one that can certainly suffer from abuse and bad habits if not well cared for.

A long-distance runner does not wake up one day and suddenly expect to be able to run a ten-mile marathon. They know they must build their strength and endurance slowly to run greater distances over time. Similarly, a vocalist must care for and train their voice with diligence and patience, working steadily toward the ultimate goal of effortless singing without strain.

The questions that surround the history of the guitar are many.  A guitar is made from partly science and partly art. The guitar has always been made from wood but these days composite material also plays a role. All of the metal parts of the guitar have also benefited from technology. The guitar construction has changed but little over hundreds of years. Woods from around the world make up most of the guitars that exist today.

The guitar neck must be made from a very hard wood to resist twisting and maple has always been the choice for fine guitar necks. The truss rod is now used to resist the twisting force applied to the neck.

Hard woods such as ebony and rosewood are often used for the fret board of the guitar. In addition to being very dense these materials are also hard wearing and will last a lifetime. Fret boards may be made to last a little longer if the surface is planed to produce an even surface again.

The simplest tuning mechanism for the guitar is a wooden peg with the string wrapped around it. With modern tuning mechanisms exact tuning adjustments are possible. Bridges are also adjustable now as well. With machine heads and adjustable bridges it is now possible to get  in tune and stay in tune.The guitar tuner is also a large contributing factor that allows guitar players everywhere to be in tune all the time.

The history of guitar was changed forever with the development of the electrical pickup. At first crude and simple, the pickup evolved into a precise affair with identifiable sounds. The invention of the pickup lead immediately to the solid body electric guitar much as we know it today. The pickup now allowed the guitar to be used in situations it could never have been heard prior to this, such as with a drummer. A small pickup changed the history of the guitar for all time.
The basic design and construction of the guitar has not changed despite the advances that have been made.

As you begin your piano lessons, follow these suggestions for a positive experience

The first thing you need to do to is find a teacher that is competent .

The teacher can guide you through the process of learning piano and be a life-long mentor and friend. They can start you off right, set lesson plans and monitor your progress weekly if not daily.

You will also find that online training has come a very long way and is an exceptional way for many people to  begin learning piano.

While it is true that one can learn a great deal by ear, you will make much faster progress with exceptional instruction and you will learn the right way.

There are certainly stories of famous performers who do not read music, mostly in jazz and rock, but these are the exception rather than the rule these days.

The use of instruction will allow you to become a qualified pianist in a much shorter time.

It is probably not the best idea to use a friend who plays piano to instruct your child; they may or may not be a accomplished teacher and it may strain your relationship.

If you child has a proficiency and decides to stick with it, they will have a hard time unlearning bad habits they acquire from an unqualified teacher.

If you have a friend or relative instruct your child you may be less inclined to push the teacher to push your child. You will also most likely not criticize their teaching methods, even when it may be perfectly reasonable to do so.

The need to practice piano or singing or any other instrument on a regular basis cannot be over-emphasized.

If you do not practice you will not progress, need I say more?

Practice your piano as much as you can of course, but at least 20 minutes at a time.

You will get more from your practice if you are not fatigued so start early in the day or take a rest beforehand if you can.

If you do not warm up properly you will not be happy with your progress and you may even injure yourself.

When starting any new instrument, and when you learn piano, it is important to set goals for yourself, but make those goals realistic.

Your teacher or online course will help you set these goals.

Work on sight-reading and understanding written music. Also practice playing songs you have never seen before so you can improve your sight-reading skills

If you read about the composer you are playing, you will better understand their personality and their life and be able to interpret their music more authentically.

The skills a new pianist needs to learn piano will not come over night , so keep at it and do not give up. You can do it.

Jazz Solo

Improvisation is common in many types of music, but is mainly expressed in jazz. Most all players know a common set of songs called standards. These standards are know by all and can be called on at any time in a concert . A player can expect to build his own solo jazz part upon a standard usually. If you plan to be a instrumentalist, you definitely should attempt to learn the jazz standards. Only after you know the song and its chordal structure can you be an effective soloist . Reading music can be an invaluable skill when it comes to this task.

The instrumentalist usually will not begin prior to the main melody of the song being played once through by everyone. Awaiting your cue to begin your jazz solo, you are well advised to know how long the first section will be. You will receive a nod by the leader of the band to begin your solo when it is your time in any case. Often your solo will begin after the singer finishes the verse and chorus.

jazz solo

Only understanding and a good understanding of musical structure will be the building blocks of a great jazz improvisations. The chord pattern of the song dictates the boundaries of your solo. This is where all the time you spent practicing scales will bear its fruit. Learn the scales in all keys and go from one to another with a seamless transition and you will learn to build a good jazz improvisation. If you find it difficult at first to build a solo, try playing arpeggios in the key signatures as you move through the song.  A solo is not just running scales however. The jazz solo should contain dynamics, structure and have something to say. You cannot know the exact way you will get through your solo, but you can know generally how you will  get there.

Most jazz improvisations start with at least a general understanding and statement of the melody. Starting simply is the best way to leave room to move as you go through your solo. As you go on through your solo you can increase the tension, dynamics and tempo before resolving to the main melody at the end. If you examine some of your favorite solos, you will see that more often than not they follow this general structure .

Listen to other soloists to hear how they do their jazz improvisations. Go to concerts, buy recordings and learn how to build your own jazz musical solo. In time you will know what the structure of a good jazz improvisation is intrinsically without being told.
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