Dear Students,
Below you will find a few tips that will help you in your musical journey. Enjoy!
Growth-Every one learns at different ways and at different rates. Some people might find learning to read music a slow and painful press but might master ear training in a few weeks. Some people are great soloists but find it difficult to play in ensembles. Everyone will have his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Just be patient, practice and ask good questions. You’ll always win in the end.
Consistency-Practice every day at the same time and place if possible. At the very least, try to have some sort of schedule. Practicing for a 3 hours on Monday and Thursday while taking the rest of the week off a musician does not make.
Practice Area-Have al your tools ready and within arms reach. Be able to practice in a relatively undisturbed area.
Repair-Keep your instrument in good working condition at all times.
Musician-“Be a musician not a guitar player!” That’s some of the best advice I ever got from my first guitar teacher, John Harrelson. A musician understands how music works, can play in different keys, organize parts, read, write and express his/her musical ideas in a variety of ways. A good analogy is Language Arts: You must read, write and converse to be considered fluent.
Use technology and other resources-The WWW offers so many translations (chords, scales, transcriptions, lessons, tips, etc.) of popular music it’s almost unimaginable. Libraries are also a great place to search for books and notation. Hey, have a friend or a relative who plays music…ask them for some tips. Remember, music is an adventure and you should experience as much as possible from as many sources as possible.
Prioritize-Start with a “warm up”. Then, practice the areas you need to most. Doing the same thing over and over will not yield growth. Use your time efficiently.
Notes-You can take notes in a variety of ways. Try tape recording your lesson or using a “non traditional form of notation”. If all else fails, jot down a few tips/tricks in a notebook.
Communication-Really, this is the most important tip of all. Tell me what you want, what your goals are and what your having trouble with. Your parents have my contact information so if your stuck, do not hesitate to give me a call and or drop me an email. You have to become an active an aggressive member of your Learning Community.
In the end, you are responsible for your education!
Here are some fun sites:
Dr. John Harrrelson: My first guitar teacher and a great educator/performer. -www.johnharrelson.com
Musicians Institute-World’s best contemporary music school…in Los Angeles!
www.mi.edu
Ultimate Guitar Tabs Archive: Over 300,000 songs!
www.ultimate-guitar.com
California Institute of the Arts: Best world music program!
www.calarts.edu
Folk Music Center (store & museum), Claremont (Ca).
www.folkmusiccenter.com
Azusa Pacific University: Best choral program in California!
www.apu.edu/music
MySpace
myspace.com/craigrowe
Huapala: Hawaiian Music and Hula archives
www.huapala.org
