The Everyday Musician

Sometimes it’s really nice and relaxing to sit (or stand) alone and play my instrument.  I love to do this sometimes as a relaxation exercise, although “exercise” sounds too directed for what I do. I sort of meditate with my music.
However, it’s also a lot of fun to play with others.  I play regularly […]

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I enjoy playing around some with improvisation and composition.  I don’t have aspirations to become the next Mozart, but it is a lot of fun to come up with my own tunes occasionally, or just find new ways to play over familiar progressions.  I also find that by exploring sounds via improvisation, it helps me […]

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Have you ever noticed how many rhythm terms we use, or how common rhythm is, in our everyday lives?
“You’ve got some rhythm going”
“I’m in the groove” (this has special meaning for us bass players)
Habits are more strongly formed by rhythmic repetition (albeit somewhat slow tempo)
Meter (or metre) in poetry and children’s rhymes
Or how many of […]

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By the time I got done writing the following comment to add to Sherry’s good post on “marking music to help us focus”, I figured it was too long to add as a comment.  So, here it is as a second post.  If you have time to read only one, then read Sherry’s instead of […]

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Perhaps it’s the peace-inducing power of making music, or perhaps there’s a very fundamental aspect of our being that the rhythm of music, and especially “participated” music, touches.  After all, if a strong rhythm is present, it’s been documented that listeners’ heart rates will basically start keeping time with the tempo (within physiological limits).   I […]

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Have you ever noticed how music just seems to soothe the tensions of the day away? Especially if you’re playing with friends?
A couple of years ago we had a house fire. We all got out fine, but the ensuing mess not only stunk, but took a long time to get cleaned up, assess the damage, […]

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For an intimate glimpse into the power that music has in binding people together, you should see the recently released documentary film Young @ Heart. The documentary follows a singing group of about twenty seniors, ranging from 72 to 93 years old. They sing rock classics.
This is real. The Young at Heart […]

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If you’re a baby boomer, or perhaps an older sibling of one, you probably have been paying attention to what is described in a New York Times article today as “a booming industry” to help seniors exercise their brains. The feature article on the front page of the Business Day is titled “Exercise Your Brain, […]

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A fantasy that never came true for me is that my family of three children, my wife, and I would make music together.  It just didn’t happen, largely because it wasn’t of sufficient priority.  I’m afraid that music was just “my own thing”.  I didn’t really try at all to pull together a family musical […]

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Althea was my piano teacher, and one of my very favorite people ever.  She was positive about everything she said and taught.  She called her students “her children.”  For sure, her music studio felt like a foster home, safe from the emotional hazards of childhood.
There are many kinds of music teachers; I wouldn’t want to […]

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