Hello! After discovering that another pro musician and teacher was applying some of my blog articles successfully with her students, I decided to share the info with whomever could use it (in addition to my regular students and readers). Anyone learning an instrument should check it out. 
About Music Lessons – Blog Book
“A Practical Guide to Learning an Instrument”
A collection of blogs and articles about learning music, music lessons, and private instruction.
First off, ask yourself, “Am I happy with the way I play?”
If you are happy with the way you play, you probably don’t need private music lessons. If you are not happy with the way you play, you probably do! (Though an experienced musician very often just needs to practice more!)
(I could actually end this blog right here!)
In compiling my student’s goals over the years, (over 1,000 one-on-one students!), here are some common reasons why people take music lessons:
1. To learn an instrument for fun.
2. To learn an instrument as a profession.
3. To get unstuck from where they are and move ahead.
4. To improve their timing (rhythm).
5. To play the sounds they hear in their head.
6. To understand what they are already playing or singing.
7. To clear up confusions from past studies and playing/singing experience.
8. To have a fun and relaxing hobby.
9. To play with other people, for fun or professionally.
10. To improve their pitch.
11. To learn songs by ear.
12. To play by ear.
13. To improvise.
14. To read music.
15. To write songs and/or compose music.
16. To play a certain style of music.
17. To play better, in general, whether beginner or pro.
There are many ways to learn musical things: instructional videos, books, friends, websites, schools, self teaching, or all of the above. Some people do well with these methods, while some do not. And even when the above work, if someone doesn’t understand something, or wants to get better faster, a private instructor is usually sought out. (And, obvious or not, if someone wants to become a pro classical player lessons are the norm.)
So, If you’re stuck, want some guidance, or don’t know where to start, a good teacher can discover what you need to do and get you going.
Personal happiness is the bottom line.
So…, if you are happy with the way you play, you probably don’t need private music lessons. If you are not happy with the way you play, you probably do!
Marty B.
Email
(818) 242-7551
http://buttwinickmusic.com
Feb 27
Scales are the vehicle for understanding the language of music. They are the musicians’ alphabet. They define the elements of a song, give direction to the hands and provide understanding to the ears. They are used to make melodies, develop physical dexterity (chops), figure out chords, and learn to sing in tune: they have many uses.
Not every musician or music student needs to learn scales.
To strum guitar chords on your favorite song, you don’t need to know scales. To understand the chords you are playing—you most definitely do. Attempting to read music fluidly without knowing scales can be awkward and frustrating—it doesn’t work. To play a funk groove or rock riff, you don’t really need to know scales. However, to be a versatile and competent player in most styles, you do. It all depends on how far you want or need to take your musical endeavor.
There are lots of scales, and you could learn a few or many—whatever is needed. A scale is the basic vocabulary of music. You can learn to speak a little bit, or a lot.
A person only needs to learn what they need to know, in order to play or write the way they want to play or write. That’s all. It’s actually quite simple.
(A note on talent and education: I had the pleasure of having a pro songwriter as a student for a few months. He was a singer/guitarist, and had a list of #1 hits that anyone could retire on. So why did he end up in my teaching studio? Well, this was a conversation from our first lesson: “I write a song for Willie or Whitney. Then I hear it on the radio and the chords are different and there are strings and horns and all of this other stuff. What is that? How does that work? And what is a scale, and what do the black keys on a piano do?” The man was serious. He was genius songwriter who had crafted that skill. He had a natural ability to create. He was an excellent communicator, story teller and guitarist. He had no musical education at all, and didn’t need one. He only sought some education when he became curious. Interesting.)
Marty B.
Email
(818) 242-7551
http://buttwinickmusic.com
Greetings!
As 2011 comes to an end, activity is activated and production is purposeful!
I hope all is well with you, and here is an update from my zones of creation:
I’ve finished mixing some live music with Richard Robinson and have released four tunes! I should have the next project completed in a month or so. We completed a funk ballad, swing tune, rock fusion piece, Latin piece and a few others. I’m very excited about this! The music is posted at my music, and there is more of my music here as well.
My student’s are winning like crazy. (Sometimes ya have to brag…) My personalized curriculum continues to expand, and every lesson is really fun. One student is recording some guitar & vocal tracks, another is learning classical bass, a piano student went from focusing on reading to grooving and playing blues while an alto sax is being assaulted by another! You can see a list of current students here, success stories here, and more about what I do here.
Also, anyone you know who is bogged with their current musical studies or wants to start some enhancement yet doesn’t know what, should click here. I’m a good trouble shooter/consultant and this page will tell you more about it.
And now is a good time to check out my Holiday Gift Packages! Music lessons make great gifts! You can get them for someone else, or have someone else get them for you!
Book publishing continues to expand. We recently developed a new customer who purchased all 15 titles and is getting ready for his band consultations.
And what is this about? Read on…
“There is more to being a musician than fingering notes on an instrument. There are the subtleties of group interaction, musicianship, repertoire, the business side (if you are a professional), and many additional subjects.
The Musicians’ How-To Series consists of short- to medium-length e-books about a variety of music-related topics. This series provides musicians and singers with supplemental information that for the most part isn’t taught in schools and might or might not be learned on one’s own or from a private instructor. Much of this information has never before been in print.They are designed to throw in your bag or instrument case, take to your gig, rehearsal or jam, and PUT TO USE!”
Well, there’s always more: gigging, new books, blogs, a regular rock-band-teaching gig I have, copywork, etc. But the above are the main points I wanted to tell you about.
So I did.
And thank you for reading this!
Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. OK?
Marty B.
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Marty Buttwinick
(818) 242-7551
http://buttwinickmusic.com
http://musicianshowtoseries.com
May 7
“Some days you get up and put the horn to your chops and it sounds pretty good and you win. Some days you try and nothing works and the horn wins. This goes on and on and then you die and the horn wins.”
Dizzy Gillespie
“Music is my mistress, and she plays second fiddle to no one.”
Duke Ellington
“Jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night but differently each time.”
Ornette Coleman
“A great teacher is one who realizes that he himself is also a student and whose goal is not dictate the answers, but to stimulate his students creativity enough so that they go out and find the answers themselves.”
Herbie Hancock
“The bottom line of any country is, what did we contribute to the world? We contributed Louis Armstrong.”
Tony Bennett
In addition to learning the mechanics of playing an instrument, here are some various points of awareness one develops, or not, as musical skill and playing experience evolves. This is not in an exact order, as people develop however they do, nor is it every possible awareness: it’s just a bit of an overview. A person could stop at any point, have strengths and weakness along the way or continue to the highest level.
If one continues, various levels applying to solo playing or playing with groups are:
Mar 26
Check out my new Glossary of Musical Terms!
It is an expanding list of musical and music-business related terms. It has brief, yet concise definitions of important words. Not everything will be here as we already have dictionaries for those terms.
There are often many definitions for a word and I will mainly list a musically-oriented, simple definition or two for each one. Sometimes simple is good! (As time goes on I will be adding more involved and more in-depth definitions that you can access by clicking on words that are hyper-linked.)
The main focus is musical terms that are commonly mis-understood, or should be known by anyone playing or studying music.
I just started this project in March or 2010 and it will be expanding over the next few months. If there is anything you need a definition for let me know.
His name is Gadi Lehavi and he is amazing!! He plays “Spain,” and plays so well it’s almost unreal. But here he is, so watch and listen and be blown away! (Who was this guy? )
