Posts Tagged piano

Glossary of Musical Terms

Mar 26

Posted by Marty Buttwinick in Learning Music | No Comments

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.

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Prodigy Boy Playing Spain in a Jazz Club

Jan 27

Posted by Marty Buttwinick in Playing Music | No Comments

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? )

 

 

 

 

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The Basics of Jamming

Sep 4

Posted by Marty Buttwinick in Band Related | 1 Comment

The Musicians' How-To Series

The Musicians' How-To Series

 

THIS ARTICLE WAS PROMPTED by the many questions I’ve been asked by students wanting to play with friends but not really knowing what to do. Not everyone is a natural jammer. Even if you are, it can be easy to run out of things to do. Even if you know some chords, licks and songs, putting it all together with someone else’s chords, licks and songs can be a mystery. And can you still jam if you don’t know any songs or licks but only a few chords? You sure can—as long as everyone’s reasons for jamming are at least similar.

As rehearsing and professional playing entail group attitudes so does jamming at beginning and intermediate levels. More than one person playing at the same time is a group and needs to be treated as such. For example, selfish jammers aren’t always fun to play with and someone too shy to play a note might have a hard time at first. The less experienced a person is, the more boldness could be needed, while a more advanced person might need to have patience with those who don’t know as much or aren’t as nimble on their instrument.

Jamming is a mutual creation. We jam to have fun, to work out ideas, experiment with equipment, and many things. If someone solely wants to see how his rock licks sound through the new amp while the others want to play music focused on personal interaction that jam is not going to work. Goals must be aligned.

I have logged hundreds of hours coaching beginning and intermediate musicians how to jam. The bottom line is having compatible goals and comparable playing levels. Match up these two elements, add on something to play, and you’ve got yourself a jam. Some fundamentals are contained the article, “Musicians’ Roles.”
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What Kind of Gigs Do Musicians Play for Money?

Sep 1

Posted by Marty Buttwinick in Playing Gigs | 1 Comment

 

Making it as an original artist or session player are goals of many musicians and singers. Until a person achieves these ranks in the music business – how does a musician make a living? My students asked me this question for years and here’s the info. This article covers traditional instruments, as computer driven music is a topic for another article.

Since different instruments provide different functions in the music biz, e.g., soloing, playing accompaniment, etc., the gigs they get follow accordingly. Though I primarily cover the more popular instruments, many classical instruments will be mentioned. If you don’t know what these instruments are, or what they sound like, I suggest going to a library and checking out CD’s that describe and demonstrate them. There are also a number of excellent computer programs that do this if you’re set up for it.

The purpose of this article is to expose you to the types of gigs different instruments are used for. I mention how gigs are gotten, though complete information is covered in my “MUSICIANS’ HOW-TO SERIES.” Here are the usual calls:
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Physical Tension Indicators

Aug 6

Posted by Marty Buttwinick in Practicing an Instrument | No Comments

This is an brief expansion of the post “Technique Practice Changes Life Patterns.” I’ll be expanding this over the next month to be even more specific.

On Guitar/Bass:

  • Too much hand squeezing showing whites under the finger nails.
  • Left shoulder raised an inch or two. (The other shoulder for lefties.)
  • Mouth muscles are tight, lips are tight as well.
  • Harsh picking sound, not smooth. Commonly just holding the pick too tight. (Unless doing a tension/shredding technique, where it needs to be held tightly.)
  • Tight jaw.
  • Tight neck.
  • Lower back gets sore quickly.

On Piano/Keyboard:

  • A shoulder raises an inch or two.
  • Mouth muscles are tight, lips are tight as well.
  • Tight jaw.
  • Tight neck.
  • Lower back and/or shoulders get sore quickly.
  • Feet go up and are resting on the toes.
  • Hands are stiff therefore the sound is stiff.

And the remedy for any of these?

Notice and release tension while practicing!

And this is actually a skill that can be developed. (Read my “Guidelines for Practicing a Musical Instrument” for exactly how to do this!)

Very interesting.

Marty B.

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