It’s all about timing.If music is the art of alternating sound and silence, the precision with which you can understand and subdivide time is crucial to the groove. Practicing with the metronome at slow speeds will improve sense of timing and practicing at higher tempos will help you achieve accuracy and precision. Don’t forget to incorporate metronome exercises in your practicing schedule and you’re guaranteed to hear the results!
Art does not exist in a vacuum. Even if you are a solo singer songwriter that hates sharing the stage with anyone else but his guitar, you can benefit from playing with other people. Music is an interactive skill that requires deep sensibility and quick reflexes, but more importantly, it’s about learning to listen.Getting together with other musicians and learning to communicate with them through music will undoubtedly help you to gain a deeper understanding of yourself as a musician
3. Transcribe songs by ear.
Music is first and foremost, a listening art.Although there are thousands of resources to help you learn new songs, nothing beats sitting next to the cd player for hours on end, and picking apart your favourites songs note by note. Transcribe a song by ear every week and you will quickly develop an ability to recognise and find notes on your instrument. Your bandmates and ears with thank you.
4. Learn other styles of music.
They say nothing interesting happens inside of our comfort zone. That is definitely true for music.After a while playing your music style of choice you will start to develop a matching vocabulary as you become more comfortable with it. This is all good and well, but sometimes it’s easy to keep repeating the same ideas over and over again. That’s when a journey across different genres of music can refresh your musical outlook and give you new ideas and concepts to apply in your music. Sometimes, forcing yourself to play things you usually dismiss can open up new avenues and takeyour creative spirit to places you never imagined before.
5. Practice 30 minutes daily (better than cramming 6 hours one day a week)
They say thatpractice makes perfect. But mix it up, don’t always do the same drills. Scales are a good warmup, but can get boring if you are doing the same things over and over. Set goals and work through them. Break up your music pieces into smaller chunks and play them on repeat until they are 100 % perfect. Be mindful in your practice, don’t daydream. Practice in a room free from distractions! Practicing often for shorter periods of time works well! Recording your practice also helps.
Pianos are renowned the world over, despite being just over 300 years old. A relatively short rise to fame compared to that of the guitar, whose beginnings can be traced back to around 3000 years ago. And yet they have been a prominent part of society almost since they were created. Today the piano is still often found in middle and upper class homes, and taught at schools across the world. In china alone, a survey counted over 40 million children learning to play the piano in 2015.
Considered a vital instrument for musical learning, the piano is here to stay. This is hardly surprising, as pianos have been found to enhance our performance in numerous ways, and brain imaging has shown that playing the piano actually physically changes our brain, forming more connections between both the left and right hemispheres. Pianists are a step ahead of the game in problem solving, language, spontaneity, decision making and social behavior. It’s no mental leap then, that parents and teachers alike would encourage learning the piano.
Pianos have opened the doors to music for many people, they are relatively straightforward to understand and play. They provide an important basis of musical knowledge and have become a stepping stone, often allowing musicians to move onto other instruments.
For many years pianos brought music into homes and the lives of people. Forming such an important role in our social history, the instrument has easily found its way into popular culture. Movies, books and musicians highlight it as a magical and versatile instrument.
Read more about the history of Pianos on our Instrument Rental Website. If you live in Barcelona, we rent pianos to students, or anyone who wishes to play at home. Living in a city with limited space means that having a piano at home is a bit of a luxury, but the rental program takes care of a number of issues. There is no longer a huge initial investment. A delivery service bring the piano to your door and removes it when you no longer need it or want to use it. Phew!
Having a piano in the house has benefitted many of our students during the lock down. Keeping fingers nimble and it’s also as an intelligent way to pass the time. Playing the piano is a workout for your brain!
Before the pandemic our pianos made appearances in various concerts across the city from small private functions to large orchestras in the Palau de la Música. They have been played as brides walk down the aisles up and down the coast of Barcelona. A piano certainly adds a special touch to any event. As we slowly start to move forward again, and places begin to open, we hope that our pianos bring joy to many more people, and music begins to appear in the public quarters of Spain.
Did you know that most of the pianos we use at the school are digital pianos? By all appearances they seem to be acoustic pianos. But what is the difference really?
Digital pianos are electronic keyboards which have been developed to mimic acoustic pianos. Technological advances mean digital pianos now sound and feel (almost) like classical acoustic pianos, but with the convenience of being portable and not requiring fine tuning.
Digital Pianos can also easily be amplified for concerts or connected to headphones for playing at home. Digital pianos are usually cheaper than regular acoustic pianos, but their advantages often outweigh the fact that they may not feel or look exactly like an acoustic piano, and they are rapidly becoming the instrument of choice for the modern day classical pianist.
These pianos accomplish all that through a variety of methods, from weighted keys to built in sound quality. And no, a digital piano is not a keyboard. There are unique differences! If you are intrigued you can read an in-depth explanation here.
The guitar may have taken over in popularity, but the piano is a key stake holder in the world of popular music, with the likes of Alicia Keys, Elton John, John Legend and Lady Gaga all performing pop music on the instrument.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN01vHhFZdA
The piano is widely used as an important classical instrument, forming part of symphony orchestras across the world. And the classical pieces are still hugely popular with pianists such as Louis Lortie known as one of the best interpreters of Beethoven, Chopin and Ravel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH6za0Cp4RA
The piano has been used in all kinds of music, from jazz and classical to rock and pop. It’s a versatile instrument, and if you are interested in lessons in the piano, our teachers are talented professionals who can help you accomplish your musical dreams!
The banjo, a musical instrument of 4, 5, 6 or even 10 strings, is made up of a wooden ring about 35cm in diameter and covered by a patch that can be made of plastic (in its modern style) or leather (in its traditional version) ). Its sound is one of the most unmistakable and characteristic that exists.
The banjo was developed in the United States during the 19th century. Reminiscent of various instruments from Africa, the banjo developed into what we recognise today in the plantations of the American south and across the Caribbean, and even become an emblematic symbol of slavery. Although it was the African-American musicians who explored and played all its rhythmic possibilities, the banjo was created in a blended culture and it quickly became a characteristic instrument of American music.
During the 1800s and the booming plantation era of the Antebellum South, the instrument slowly filtered through the population. It became a widely used instrument in rural America. Grotesque representations of African culture sprang up during what has been labeled the “minstrel” era, where skits and songs performed by white musicians in “black face” popularised banjo playing. So much so that there was even a “banjo craze” during the 1860s. Many of the white performers creating the minstrels shows were Irish and in turn this is how the banjo also became a characteristic instrument of Irish music. After some time, the banjo lost its “raunchy” associations with the minstrel shows, and the style of playing changed somewhat too.
The banjo has a fascinating history in America, you can read more about it on Wikipedia or online.
In many parts of Africa there are very similar instruments, from their construction to their sound.
The original, or first, version of the banjo has an opening at the rear (openback). In the 20th century, the design of the instrument was renewed with a wooden resonator that serves as a closure. The latter was called the bluegrass banjo, with greater volume and resonance than its first version.
A beautiful traditional banjo musician is Doc Watson playing “The Cuckoo bird”:
Currently, both types are still in force and choosing one or the other depends on the musical style being performed. Also today we can find a great variety of different instruments that were created from the original banjo, varying the length of the neck, the number of strings, and combining it with other instruments.
In 1890 the banjo became the leading musical instrument in traditional American music. In both country music and jazz, the banjo is the characteristic instrument. Even the Charleston and the Foxtrot use this instrument in some special variants.
The modern banjo has a variety of shapes in four or five string versions (also a six-string version, tuned and played just like a guitar!). The banjo is usually played with a quick strum, however it is also possible to find many styles.
If you are interested in how the modern banjo is played and sounds, don’t miss this video of The Dead South doing “In Hell I’ll be in good company”:
Its tuning is with friction pins or gears. Its strings are currently usually metallic creating those typical twanging notes, while those who prefer more melodious or traditional sounds choose nylon or leather strings.
Bill Keith, a five-string banjo player, made one of the greatest contributions to the stylistic development of the instrument. By varying other styles, he created what would later become known as the melodic or Keith style.
Here is a video of Bill Keith playing “Caravan”:
If you are interested in learning to play the banjo you can take classes with excellent teachers.
You can contact us to coordinate a first free trial class!
And if you have some tools at home, you can be encouraged to create your own banjo and experience its sound for yourself.
César Munera teaches Flamenco, Classical, and Contemporary Guitar (covering both Jazz and Blues, Rock, and Pop) at the Shine School of Music. We asked him some questions:
What was the first thing that sparked your interest in music?
Since I was little I used to watch my Father play the guitar and I started from there.
Who inspired you to make music?
My inspiration began with The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Michael Jackson, Queen, and Pink Floyd.
How would you describe the music you normally play?
Well, I have been fortunate to study various styles, Classical, Flamenco, Blues and now what I play the most is Fingerstyle or fingerpicking which covers many genres, especially Ragtime, Country and Jazz.
What is your creative process like?
My creative process begins with listening to a lot of music, in addition to choosing the musical pieces that I like and from there I start to create, it also depends a lot on the environment I am in.
If you could choose to collaborate with any musician, who would it be with?
Well I would like to collaborate with many musicians.
If you could choose to open the show of any musician, whose would it be?
With my band it would be great to open for Radiohead and as a soloist I would like to open for Tommy Emmanuel.
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
I hardly ever sing in the shower
Which of your concerts have you enjoyed the most and why?
When I played the Aranjuez concert, because it was amazing to experience the orchestra, I felt like I was on another planet.
Where would you like to do a concert?
At the Liceu and in one of the great theaters in New York.
What famous musicians do you admire?
Tommy Emmanuel, Robben Ford, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, Gary Clark jr, Joe Robinson, and I could go on …
What has been the best advice you have been given?
Hmm, I’ve received a lot of good advice, I think the one I like the most is to not compare myself to anyone and express what I have.
How do you think the internet has impacted the music industry?
Internet is a good tool, the sad thing is that almost nobody buys the discs anymore, they download everything or listen to it over the Internet.
If you could change something about the industry what would it be?
I don’t want to answer this question, because maybe I would say a lot of ugly things hahaha …
What would you be doing right now if we weren’t in confinement?
I would be planning a trip for this weekend which is my birthday 😁
Take a class with Cesar and be sure to follow him on Instagram, where he often shares his music and videos.
The Ukulele is a small-sized, four-string instrument that we normally associate with Hawaii. The little instrument is vitally important in the area’s musical culture. It was created in 1880 by immigrants, before that there were no string instruments on the islands. Let’s find out more about this fun instrument.
Unlike the guitar, which has six strings, the ukulele only has four, so it is easier to learn to play it.
Types of Ukulele
The most common to find are: soprano, concerto, tenor and baritone. Others have also been built such as sopraninos (smaller than soprano), low ukuleles and banjoleles. There are even some ukuleles in an electro-acoustic format, known as electric ukuleles. While the “concert” ukulele has a sound with more body and depth, the smaller ones, such as the soprano, better preserve the bright and exotic tone so characteristic of Hawaii.
One fact which may help you to choose which ukulele to play, is that the bigger its size, the more “lower” it sounds.
Ukulele prices depend on many issues, like any other instrument, material, quality and method of production, brand. It helps to try a few out to see which sound you prefer.
Important accessories for your ukulele
It is important to buy a good case to protect the instrument from bumps and knocks and from natural exposure to the sun, air and dust. Some other things that will help you are a capo and a tuner. The capo is placed on the frets and allows you to raise the tone of the song or melody you are playing. The lower you place it the tone will be higher. If the tone is too low for your voice, if you are singing, you can lower it with the capo without problem and the same in reverse, to find the right match.
The tuner is another resource that makes things much easier when playing any instrument, it is inexpensive and easy to get, you can find one in any music shop.
Get Going!
On the internet you can find a lot of information, videos and history that will help you when you decide to start playing your ukulele, as well as practice videos and tutorials.
If you have the instrument and want to start testing yourself you can find a song that you would like to play and practice! You can also do this using the Ukulele-tabs or Ukutabs tabs that you can easily find online.
Besides being easy to learn, one of the best features of this instrument is its diminutive size, you can take it everywhere. It’s so lightweight that you can take it out for dinner at a friends house, or even travel across the world with it stashed safely in your hand luggage! And did we mention it’s easy to learn?! With very few chords you can play many of your favourite songs.
As with any instrument, practice is very important to incorporate sounds and rhythms. As you move forward with your ukulele playing, you can make them more complex.
Famous ukulele musicians
Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole is one of the main references of Hawaiian music, well known worldwide for his versions of the songs Over the rainbow and What a Wonderful World. His incredible voice, along with his skill at combining ukulele playing with jazz and reggae fusions, made him renowned.
Another of the musicians who loved this little instrument was Frank Sinatra, Fly me to the moon is one of his wonderful songs on ukulele.Paul McCartney, meanwhile, often plays the ukulele in his live recitals in his version of Something.
If you are a lover of Pearl Jam, you can not stop listening to the album Ukulele Songs, by Eddie Vedder. It is an unmissable album to always have on your playlist.
If you are interested in taking Ukulele classes, you can contact us as we have great teachers who will help you learn and improve very quickly. In no time you will be playing your favourite songs and composing your own music.
