Jonathan Harnum's Blog, page 13

William Short: Do More Slow Practice. Why is it SO Good?

There are few things more challenging to remember to do (both for myself and for every single one of my students) than SLOW practice. Here is some genius advice from Bassoonist William Short.

Source: Getting the Most out of Practicing — William Short

Minor Scales: Natural, Harmonic, Melodic. The What and the Why.

Gorgeous: Tú Me Acostumbraste featuring Omara Portuondo

Siberian Sleigh Ride: Don Byron

Siberian Sleigh Ride, by Don Byron came on my headphones reminding me how much I love Byron’s Bug Music album (wiki). “Old” tunes, quirkily arranged, sometimes complicated, joyful, and thoroughly enjoyable. Sounds like a description of a person I like.

Here’s Siberian Sleigh Ride

The “Stinky” Locrian Mode Explained

The “Stinky” Locrian Scale: 5 Musicians Try to Make it Work

Adam Neely, Paul Davids, Ben Levin, Nahre Sol and Samurai Guitarist try to make something musical using the Locrian scale (7th mode of the major scale).

 

Bjork’s Locrian tune Army of Me

Vonnegut: Honor the Ways You Suck

Kurt Vonnegut

When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of ‘getting to know you,’ questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject?

And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes. And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, ‘‘Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.”

And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”

And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could ‘Win’ at them.

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Find Your Concert Band Music Name

Analysis of Lennon’s “Imagine”

I’m really enjoying Jake Lizzio’s offerings on YouTube. He’s also got a Patreon page. Here’s his excellent analysis of John Lennon’s Imagine.

The SECRET To Efficient Practicing

Some great stuff in here on different types of practice, structuring your time, and words of wisdom, like this gem:

“Practicing technique is like polishing a water faucet. It doesn’t make the water taste better or make it any more pure.”

Pat Metheney

Though Beato uses guitar playing to illustrate these ideas, you can absolutely apply them to your own instrument.