I know I said that I was quitting music, and I did quit, if for just a while.
It seemed harmless enough to leave a little plastic melodica laying around, I thought I could resist it. It's 'just a toy' I thought. That's enough about that.
Instead of making a post about how I couldn't resist the temptation to craft a melody with that harmless toy, this will instead be a post about how I've decided to start teaching what I learned in music over the years, so that my music addiction can perhaps benefit someone else while I struggle with it inside. I'll quit eventually, but first there's a few things that I can share with those who have taken up the habit of playing songs and music.
Today's Music Lesson
I took a couple of piano lessons a while back, with the amazing Lee Tomboulian as my teacher. I learned a lot in those two lessons, and many of those things I can actually still remember to this day. A couple of things that I learned:
- Don't try to play anything that you can't sing.
- Always practice with a metronome
About that first one: Don't try to play anything that you can't sing. The most primal instrument that we have access to is the human voice. To 'hear' a song in our heads, it helps if we can hum along, so that we can take part in the music mentally, even as we might unconsciously dance or tap our feet-- humans like to be able to dance and sing on a whim.
For musicians, the ability to hear the movements in a song is the same as anyone, and if there is no melody to approach, or no rhythm to feel, then there is no song to play. If an arrangement of music is too complicated to sing, then it will be next to impossible to learn how to play the arrangement-- to communicate the song-- on an instrument of any kind.
I still occasionally try to play something I can't sing, but it helps to have a logical limit on any art, no matter how illogical the art might be.
2. Always practice with a metronome.
This is a good lesson for any musician. While at first the metronome may seem cumbersome and in the way, that steady 'click' will not only show the musician their weak points in a song, but will also force the musician to practice longer, or until the metronome stops. The beat will compel the practicer to keep practicing, when without the metronome's relentless tap, there is the tendency to take more breaks, getting less done.
With some practice on a particular song, the metronome's click can vanish in the rhythm of the song, only appearing when the musician wants it to appear. The metronome trains the musician to keep a steady tempo, or pulse, so that everyone can tap their feet with ease.
'Sunny' played with a click
I've been learning this Bobby Hebb tune, the classic '60's song, Sunny. Last night I hit record on the camera, turned on the 'click' metronome at 150 beats-per-minute, and on my third try I made a version to share.
In the video, the click track nearly gets away from me at one point in the tune, it was me bending the tempo, but not on purpose. I barely saved it, but if you listen carefully you'll hear me try to force a movement of chords into a shrinking space, followed by me playing behind the beat for a few measures sympathetically (it would have driven a real drummer crazy!)
Thanks for looking, hope this music lesson helped, but if the signs of addiction start to show, I can't be blamed for it. All I offer is a way to make your music problem sound better, so that friends and family will get off your back about it. Music can take over an individual's life, and little devilish tunes can dance in the heads of even the healthiest beings, this is only a way to make the best of this affliction, so that others can enjoy the pain that the musician feels.
Even if you enjoy playing music, these little pointers can be useful, so until next time, don't try to play anything you can't sing, and use that metronome!
photo above is mine, 2018, and video is me pounding a Yamaha CP33 stage piano through a Peavey amp.
