Making Rapid Progress in Your Music Practice

Music is about the only discipline in which simply putting in time is seen as a virtue. "I practice my instrument an hour a day," is something that you will hear students say with pride. (Or, "My Mom makes me practice thirty minutes a day.") Teachers frequently require a certain amount of time per day on the instrument.

When I was first starting out on violin I brought home a paper each week which required my mother to write down how many minutes I had practiced every single day. I brought the paper to my lesson each week, and a part of my grade was simply the number of minutes that I had practiced. The results of those minutes practiced often seemed secondary to the number.

Large numbers of minutes spent in simple, rote repetition is often held up as the standard way to learn an instrument or a piece of music. It is my contention that this is wrong. Now before you start shouting that I don't know what I am talking about, let me quash the idea that I am saying that a student should not spend a reasonable amount of time practicing the instrument. What I am saying is that our focus should not be on the clock or on the number of repetitions played, it needs to be somewhere else.

Teachers and student musicians should change their focus from how long I practice to how much progress is made during practice. A two hour practice in which no real progress is made is not nearly as effective as a thirty minute practice with a discernible improvement made in a passage or on a technique. Admittedly there will be times when the focus is simply on repetition and doing something correctly. In that instance repetition of a technique done well is a great goal. But playing a scale twenty times with the same note played badly each time is actually counter-productive.

Let's focus on an improving what we are doing. Let's focus on playing the passage or performing the technique, if not perfectly, at least better than we were doing it before the practice session.

How do we accomplish this?

When practicing a technique, I believe that the key is speed. Actually, I believe that the key is a lack of speed. We start almost agonizingly slow . . . slow enough that we are able to perform the technique correctly. Repeat the technique at this speed until it becomes natural and at least relatively comfortable. Then we speed up just a little bit . . . just far enough that we are on the verge of failing. When we have determined where that point is we work at that speed until we have mastered it.

This is an instance in which a metronome is a great tool. The metronome helps us maintain the proper speed for our practice. It is also a great measure of progress. At the end of a practice, if I can say that I moved from playing at thirty beats per minute to forty beats per minute I have made discernible progress.

If I am just starting with a piece of music I use a method similar to that which I just discussed with technique. I start very, very slowly with a passage which I can play. I repeat that passage at a speed at which I am comfortable until I can play it reasonably well.

Once I have established a starting point with the piece, I use a practice technique I think of as, "AND . . .?" Here, I use the part that I can play well as a starting point and I add to it. "Okay, I'll play this part AND . . .?" and then I add a phrase, or a measure, or maybe even a single note. Perhaps I will simply try to improve a portion of the selection I already feel comfortable with to make it even better. I will start as slowly as I need to make it right and then I speed up. At the end of practice, if I can say that I started with the ability to play twenty measures correctly, and now I can play twenty five correctly, that is discernible progress.

If I am really practicing instead of just spending time, I almost never end a practice playing something the same way that it was when I started practice. If I can make substantial progress in forty-five minutes rather than an hour, that's great! I may actually stop at the end of forty-five minutes. Or I may go on to something that I want to learn for myself, rather than at the behest of a teacher. Or I may challenge myself to stay with the piece for that last fifteen minutes and really polish it or add and extra three measures! I always end practice with a run-through of the piece as well as I can play it, then reward myself by playing something that I can play well and that I truly enjoy. That way I walk away from the practice session feeling happy about the instrument, myself, and my teacher!

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana formed his namesake band, Santana, in San Francisco in the late 1960's. The group's foundation was built upon Latin rhythms fueled by a percussion section which included drums, timbales, and congas, over which Carlos superimposed his tonal magic. Among his early influences were blues guitarist B.B. King - Santana not only imitated King's playing, but also the facial expressions of the "King of the Blues".

Building upon these stepping stones, he was able to create his own unique guitar sound from the use of jazz-rock scales augmented by feedback and sustain, creating a searing, soaring tonal montage. He once compared the three dimensional nature of his guitar tone to a pond, where you can see the sun reflecting from the surface, the fish swimming in the water, and the sand and corals at the bottom.

Santana's first break came from landing a gig at Woodstock, where they played the instrumental "Soul Sacrifice" to a receptive gathering that was perfectly suited to the spiritual nature of the embryonic band's musical offerings.

In this stage of his career, Carlos' musical vision was channeled through Gibson SG Special guitars and Mesa-Boogie amplifiers. Early tracks "Evil Ways" and "Jingo", from their debut album "Santana", as well as "Black Magic Woman" (written by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green) and "Oye Como Va", from the masterpiece "Abraxas", provided the launching pad for Santana's

Further expanding their jazz fusion direction, Santana added to their legacy with "Everybody's Everything" and "No One to Depend On", from Santana III, and a cover of the Zombies "She's Not There" (featuring the use of a Wah pedal) from "Moonflower". During this period Carlos was partial to Gibson Les Pauls and Gibson

In the 1980's Carlos collaborated with musicians such as keyboardist Booker T Jones (leader of the instrumental rhythm and blues group Booker T and the, drummer Buddy Miles (alumni of the Band of Gypsys, led by Jimi Hendrix), as well as jazz keyboardist McCoy Tyner and jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter. During this period, Santana began to endorse custom made Paul Reed Smith guitars. He received great critical reviews in this era, but not much commercial success.

However, that changed in 1999, with the chart topping CD "Supernatural", followed by another number one release, "Shaman" in 2002. At this point, Carlos was generating his trademark tone with custom made Dumble amplifiers.

From the beginning of his career to the present, despite all the changes in Carlos Santana's music and fellow musicians, and his choice of guitars, amps, and effects pedals, there remains one constant: his quest for the holy grail of magical, supernatural, transcendental tone.

How to Write a Song - Study the Masters

If you want to learn how to write a song, do what all great songwriters do: Study great songs! If you want to be a master songwriter, you must learn from the masters.

If you've been writing songs for a while, it's very likely are doing something right. When you write regularly, you tend to get a feel for it. You develop an instinct for what is catchy, memorable and engaging. But you can take it a lot further than that.

Think of a craftsman, say, someone who is good with wood. He may have a natural ability to carve or construct things from wood. If he does it all the time he's going to get really good at it.

Now, if that same person studied woodworking as an apprentice, imagine how much faster he will learn his craft. By studying with the masters, he will learn shortcuts and techniques that might take him years longer on his own.

It's the same with songwriting.

By studying the techniques of hit songwriters, you learn what works and what doesn't. You learn how to write songs. You learn how to write songs that resonate with people on a deep level. That doesn't mean you have to give up your natural style, or change who you are.

It simply means you learn better ways to present your unique ideas.

By studying song form you can learn to better express those ideas which are unique to you. You learn to build a better vehicle to take your song ideas where you want them to go. So how do we study hit songs?

Listen to the radio! Listen to the radio with a critical ear. Listen closely and ask yourself a series of questions:

1. Why does this song appeal to me?

2. What is it about the chorus that I find so irresistible?

3. What emotion/s does the melody evoke?

4. Why do the lyrics speak to me?

Keep on asking yourself these questions. Keep digging deeper for more answers. There can be many reasons why a song is so appealing. Find and analyse the reasons why it appeals to you.

Realise also, the importance of rewriting. If you settle for the first draft, you'll never find out how good your song can really be. That's what all great songwriters have done and continue to do.

It's an ongoing process. You never stop learning. So don't ever think you're done!

Josh Groban

Josh Groban is a 25-year-old baritone who has tremendous contributions in revolutionizing the music world. He was born in Los Angeles, California. With a classical voice combined with the young energy and appeal of a rock star, Josh Groban offers a refreshing alternative to the standard Top 40 fare. Crossing the boundaries that define radio's musical genres--pop, classical, rock--his music combines elements of romantic classical pieces with the beats and the synthesized sounds of world music. In addition to English, Josh sings in Italian, French, and Spanish, but doesn't speak those languages fluently.

Josh is also a talented instrumentalist and composer besides being a great vocalist. He plays both piano and drums, and he co wrote three of the songs on Closer, his second album which ultimately encouraged him to write his own songs for his future albums.

Pop and classical (http://events.ixs.net/Classical.aspx ) singer Josh Groban made his debut in the seventh grade, but then put music aside for a few years until he enrolled at the Interlochen Arts Program. In late 1998, he hooked up with a friend of his vocal coach, producer/writer/arranger David Foster. Groban worked for Foster as a rehearsal singer on a series of high-profile events, including the inauguration of Grey Davis as governor of California and the Grammy Awards (at which he rehearsed Foster's "The Prayer" with Celine Dion in place of Andrea Bocelli).

He successfully got admission into the theater department of Carnegie Mellon College. However, He was lucky enough to get a recording contract at Warner Bros which temporarily halted his education.He made his recording debut singing "For Always" with Lara Fabian on the soundtrack to A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, and appeared in the 2001 season finale of the television series Ally McBeal.

His first wonderful achievement was his debut album, Josh Groban, that was released in November 2001 and Luckily, it proved to be big hit. Within a Year, Groban was a rising star. His album went double platinum, and he had his own PBS special in November 2002. A month later, he performed "To Where You Are" and "The Prayer" at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, and joined the Corrs, Ronan Keating, Sting, Lionel Richie, and others for a holiday performance at the Vatican in Rome. His second album was released in November 2003. Two months later, he earned his first number one record when Closer skyrocketed from number 11 to the top spot on the Billboard album charts. In 2006, Groban released his third studio album, Awake, featuring guest appearances by the vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

He was a very successful and a very popular musician. He's sold over 14 million albums worldwide, had a #1 album and four #1 singles, and been nominated for a Grammy, American Music Award, World Music Award, and People's Choice Award.

Groban's 'hands on' approach in the creative process of "Awake" is reflected in several Groban penned and produced songs along with musical contributions from Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Dave Matthews, Glen Ballard, Eric Mouquet, John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting) Marius DeVries, David Foster, Imogen Heap and Herbie Hancock.

"Awake's" 13 new songs including the just released first single, "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" show the Grammy nominated Groban's tremendous growth as a vocalist, producer and songwriter since he first appeared on the musical landscape.

With a lineup of stellar producers including Marius DeVries, Guy Sigsworth, Glen Ballard and David Foster, the album contains songs in Italian, Spanish and of course English. An early stand-out, "February Song" with Josh on keyboards came to the 25-year-old Los Angeles native on a sleepless night. “

Additionally, Groban recorded a suite of two stunningly haunting songs where he harmonizes with longtime idols Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The first song, the Groban/Dave Mattthews penned "Lullaby" is sung a cappella and the follow up, the South African song, "Weeping" which Josh first heard on a trip to South Africa. "The musical tapestry of the country and their heated history, the honor of meeting Nelson Mandela and visiting schools in Soweto was totally inspiring. And, it was a dream of a lifetime for me to sing with Ladysmith in the studio. I've loved them from the moment I heard Paul Simon's Graceland."

Josh Groban dominated the international music scene in 2001 with the release of his self-titled debut album featuring the hit single, "To Where You Are." His follow up CD "Closer" with the smash hit "You Raise Me Up" brought enormous success to the young singing sensation. He has made scores of television appearances beginning with Ally McBeal and continuing with countless performances on Oprah Winfrey, Good Morning America, The Today Show, two PBS specials, the Superbowl, the Oscars and the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics with an audience of over 2 billion people.

His first PBS Special went on to become the No. 1 selling DVD of 2002. On the touring front, Groban started out his now legendary 40-city concert tour (which sold out in a record breaking 20 minutes) and then went straight forward to a two year arena tour across the US.A Josh Groban tour for 2007 is expected to be announced shortly.

Josh has admitted to being a romantic person, using music to express the emotions that he normally wouldn't feel comfortable saying otherwise.

Josh is a performer with a meticulous eye to detail. He spends hours learning the meaning of every song he records, perfecting the pronunciation of his foreign language songs, and working with the producer to ensure that the finished product is impeccable. He takes a very "hands-on" approach to all aspects of his music and his tour production.

A typical, perfecting the pronunciation of his foreign language songs, and working with the producer to ensure that the finished product is impeccable. He takes a very "hands-on" approach to all aspects of his music and his tour production.

The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Pea is an International fame American hip-hop group. They are from Los Angeles, California, America. The group is composed of will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie. Their music styles are pop-rap and alternative hip hop. The Black Eyed Peas Group was created in 1989 when will.i.am real name William Adams and Apl.de.ap real name Allan Pineda met and started rapping plus performing together around Los Angeles. They also got opportunity of signing to Ruthless Records that is run by Eazy-E, after inviting the attention of the nephew of Jerry Heller who is Eazy-E's manager. Having another friend in their group, Dante Santiago, they named their trio Atban Klann.

In the beginning of their career, The Group faced some problems. Their first album, "Grass Roots", was never released as Ruthless did not consider the social themes mirrored in the group's music to be marketable to their listeners. The Group was renamed as Black Eyed Pods by Atban Klann. However, Finally it was decided to name it Black Eyed Peas, because - as will.i.am stated on the front cover of the Monkey Business album, "Black Eyed Peas are food for the soul". There were also changes made in the team of the band. The band replaced their original third member with Taboo real name Jaime Gomez, plus had Kim Hill as a steady background singer. Contrary to many hip-hop acts, they opt to perform with a live band and chose a musical and clothing style that wildly different from the "Gangsta Rap" sounds of other Los Angeles-based hip-hop (http://events.ixs.net/Rap-Hip-Hop.aspx ) acts at the time.

Most of the performances of the band were exhibited in the local club circuit since the mid-'90s beside fellow acts like Ozomatli and Jurassic 5. Then they launched their second album named Bridging the Gap in 2000. This album contained the hit "Request + Line" featuring Macy Gray. In 2003, they released their third album, Elephunk which proved to be a superhit. Importantly, The lovely voice of Stacy “Fergie” was featured in this album.From this very album the anti-war anthem "Where is the Love?" came. (possible protest against the Iraq war which began the same year the song was released. in 2003) featuring an unaccredited Justin Timberlake that proved the band's first major hit, mounting at #8 on the US Hot 100, in addition topping the charts almost everywhere else, counting six weeks at #1 in the UK where it was the biggest-selling single of 2003.

Another great song of "Elephunk" was "Shut Up" that ranked at #2 in the UK. However, One of the critic commented on this song as "the single most vacuous, pointless, vile and generally loathsome song in a generation") and topped the charts in many other European countries including France and Germany. Elephunk was an international success and went gold and platinum in the US, UK, Germany and other European markets. The third single from the album, although significantly restyled from the original Elephunk version, "Hey Mama" hit the Top 10 in the UK, Germany and other European countries and reached #23 in the US.

The Black Eyed Peas continued enjoying their work and wrote many new songs.Their next album, Monkey Business, was released on June 7, 2005. The first single of the album, "Don't Phunk with My Heart", was an instant hit in the U.S., going to number three on the Billboard Hot 100. This song rested on the highest pinnacle yet of their career and they brought home another Grammy for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group. The song also became three in the UK, and five in Canada, and number one in Australia. Though it also earned some criticism due to its obscenity. Another song form the same album "My Humps", instantly achieved commercial success in the U.S. and reasonable substantial radio play regardless of the sexually suggestive lyrics; also reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Black Eyed Peas released an iTunes Originals play list of their greatest hits in Sept 2005, as well as some that were re-recorded especially for purchase through iTunes. The play list involved popular songs like "Don't Lie", "Shut Up" plus a new version of "Where Is the Love?"

It is worthmentioning here that Black Eyed Peas also involved themselves in the social welfare services. They established the Pea Pod Foundation to help suffering children globally. The foundation is administered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation. On February 6, 2006, At a concert in Hollywood, California the band was joined by Sergio Mendes, Jessica Simpson, and other stars to benefit the foundation.

Keeping in view of the modern trends, Black Eyed Peas also produced a remix album, named "Renegotiations" on March 21, 2006. It is actually the Remixes" to iTunes. It includes remixed versions of Ba Bump, My Style, Feel It, Disco Club, They Don't Want Music, Audio Delite at Low Fidelity, plus also the standard version and video of "Like That". And the next week it was released on CD without the music video. Others who took part in it were on the EP included DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Erick Sermon, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Large Professor.