Everyone needs to practice to become proficient on their instrument. I personally have spent countless hours (and still do) doing exactly that—all in pursuit of a deeper rapport with the guitar. Ambitions vary greatly, as does the amount of time needed to achieve the goals that are aspired to. It’s an ongoing process which never really ends as long as the musician retains the desire to evolve.
Many students are skeptical of taking voice lessons, thinking, “Do I really need to take lessons to train my voice?” The answer is yes! If you want to learn how to sing with proper technique, and with good vocal health, then taking voice lessons with a professional vocal coach will help you grow tremendously as a singer!
Here are some of my tips to help show you how beneficial it is for you to work with a Vocal Coach:
Check out these quick intros to country electric, jazz fusion, folk, electric blues, and jazz by John Heussenstamm. Known for his popular educational books from Hal Leonard publishers and his radical playing technique, John is a real find as a teacher.
Available on DVD and via online streaming: the Saxophone Master Class with Dave Liebman. In over 180 minutes of footage, Lieb covers three part breathing, a discussion on describing sound, the larynx, lip placement, mouthpiece exercise, overtone exercises, tongue placement, articulation, using expressive devices, and equipment. The course is compiled from his live master class in the fall, recorded with live students, and with some additional information intercut in a later session.
We’re probably a little biased but, truth be told, we’re proud of the teachers that make up the Lessonface community. All are fantastic instructors, but many also continue to record and perform in addition to their work as educators.
Luckily, our talented bunch also happens to be quite web savvy (which is why they love to teach music online) and many like to share their performances. We’ve curated some Lessonface teacher recordings and music videos from across the Internet that we think you’ll enjoy. Enjoy!
Advice from teachers on making your practice routine sustainable and fruitful.
1. Start with goals
Ambitious, sometimes stretch, aspirations push us to be great. Piano instructor Elina Christova uses this to her advantage by, "pursuing challenging projects to keep me motivated. If things get too comfortable then I know I need to turn it up a notch."
The great old-time banjo player Wade Ward once referred to changing the tuning on a banjo as changing the “atmosphere” of the instrument. By this, he meant the entire feel of what you can play is shifted by the tuning. This sentiment holds true for the guitar as well, because a simple tuning change can greatly vary the feel of what you play, while at the same time helping you to discover new arrangements (and to avoid ruts in what you play).
Here's some advice from teachers on how to choose what instrument to play. Individual results should vary, but in general: Learn to play the instrument that calls you, and don't limit yourself to just one.
Ukulele teacher Khabu Young discusses his newly released Ukulele Players Series, a self-guided online course that organizes the basics of music and applies it directly to the ukulele in a fun, easy to follow program and gets you playing music right away. The course includes videos, worksheets, and audio tracks for singing and strumming along. Learn more and enroll.
