Everyone will tell you that practice is important. They are right, of course, but just as important is the right practice. Once learned bad habits can be very difficult to break. Especially when guitarists rely so much on their instinct.Overdoing the VibratoGuitarists often make the mistake of treating vibrato, the vibrating of notes, like a coca cola bottle they want to fizz … [Read more...]
How to Read and Play Piano Chords The Right Way
Chord symbols can feel a bit of a mystery to beginner piano players since, unlike guitar playing, teachers don't use then as the basis of learning how to play the instrument. Instead, they tend to start off by teaching you the individual notes. While this is important to know, some find it a bit of a turn off. After all don't you want to learn how to play your favorite … [Read more...]
How To Make The Most Of An Open Mic Night
Open Mic nights are the best place for beginner to intermediate musician to perform covers and new material. Having usually gotten in for free, the audience don't expect you to play to a professional standard. Those that play badly usually find audience are sympatheitc to their plight. Often the way to develop a connection to the audience to keep coming back week after week. … [Read more...]
Electric Tuners Vs. Tuning By The Ear: How to Tune a Guitar At Home
Musicians make tuning a guitar look so easy. You may have even seen one replace a string and retune it whilst in the middle of a song! That takes practise, but don't worry if you are looking to play the guitar over a long period you have plenty of chances to practise to that good. In fact, pretty much every time you pick it up you'll have to retune it. Since you won't always … [Read more...]
How to Create The Best Environment To Practice Your Music
To master an instrument you not only need to practice, but you need to practice in a comfortable environment. The following pointers suggest ways you can play your instrument to your heart's content without distractions and without disturbing others.Find a Quiet Place to LearnAs good as you maybe or may become at your instrument, people will rarely like to hear you practice. … [Read more...]
5 Tips To Get The Most Out Of Busking
It's great being a busker. You just pack your instrument and move to the next big town or city. The more tourists the better. If you don't find much business you can just move again. Sometimes you'll find the perfect place and stay there the whole summer. If you follow these tips, the world is truly your oyster.Take Note of The Local Busking LawsIt's tempting to view busking as … [Read more...]
How To Find Time To Practice Music When You Have A Day Job
Practice is vital if you want to be successful at anything in life and nothing more so can be said of life as a musican. Music is continually moving on different directions meaning that you continually need to learn different ways to make music. You also need to make sure that you're totally confident with your instrument. When that opportunity comes up, and … [Read more...]
How Much Should You Practice If You Want To Be A Successful Musician
The quick answer to this question should be as much as possible, but like anything it's not that simple. Or should I say that complicated. Practice should be long enough to improve your playing and short enough to stop you from losing all enthusiasm for your instrument. It should be routine enough to become a habit, but progressive enough to become the most interesting part of … [Read more...]
5 Reasons Why So Many Talented Musicians Will Never Be Successful
If you speak to any successful musician they will always tell you a story about a childhood friend who was more talented themselves, but somehow didn't turn that talent into a career. The problem with a career as a muscian, it generally doesn't come quickly and can take years pounding the street before you get your big break. Take Ed Sheeran who has recently … [Read more...]
Learning Music: Five Tips to Becoming A Better Musician
If you want to become a better musician you need practice and practice. Sound simple? In theory it is simple. In practice, it's a little bit more complicated. You can't just turn up and go over and over what you already know. This simply means you'll be very good an one piece of music and not really improve your overall music knowledge and will certainly not give you … [Read more...]