Tag: practice tips

Run smarter, more effective, and more efficient rehearsals with these tips and resources for getting the most out of your practice time.

  • Music for Practicing Scales and Modes

    Music for Practicing Scales and Modes

    + Learning to read and write music? Access hundreds of lessons from Soundfly’s online courses on music theory, songwriting, production, mixing and more — subscribe here. This article originally appeared on Ethan Hein’s blog. Are you trying to learn scales and patterns, but finding it hard to make yourself practice? Do yourself a favor, and practice over actual…

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  • Are You ‘That’ Band Member?

    Are You ‘That’ Band Member?

    Whether or not you’re the band member causing an issue with your fellow musicians, use this self-check to figure out how to resolve the problem.

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  • What Are Hanon Exercises and Why Should Keyboard Players Practice Them?

    What Are Hanon Exercises and Why Should Keyboard Players Practice Them?

    Hanon exercises are the source of much debate in the keyboard community. Some teachers love them, and others think they’re useless. Students seem to universally dislike them, at least when they are starting out. It’s not hard to see why; they’re repetitive, they don’t sound cool, and it can be hard to see the practical application.…

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  • 5 Stick Bag Essentials for the Gigging Drummer

    5 Stick Bag Essentials for the Gigging Drummer

    Drummers today are expected to come prepared and ready to play every session and every night on the road. After you’ve done the work to learn the music you need for a performance, the next step is to make sure you have the right tools to get the job done. In most performance situations, you may…

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  • Focus on Simplicity: Exercises to Strengthen Your Foundations in Improvising

    Focus on Simplicity: Exercises to Strengthen Your Foundations in Improvising

    By Mike Casey Raise your hand if you’ve heard this cliché before: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Well, as cheesy as that sounds, I happen to believe it’s right on the money. After all, advanced musical devices, concepts, and patterns are usually just a slew of basic fundamentals stacked on top of one another, inverted,…

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  • 3 Simple Yoga Poses That Work Wonders for Musicians

    3 Simple Yoga Poses That Work Wonders for Musicians

    Strengthen the connection between mind and body while easing your aches and pains through these musician-friendly yoga poses.

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  • How Successful Musicians Practice: The Horn Section

    How Successful Musicians Practice: The Horn Section

    This is the fourth instalment in our series on How Successful Musicians Practice. If you’re just joining us now, this series asks professional and semi-professional musicians performing and recording with all kinds of groups how they practice and what helps them stay organized. We’re getting to the heart of what it takes to grow your musical…

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  • 5 Steps to Getting “Gig Ready”

    5 Steps to Getting “Gig Ready”

    You just got hired to play a cover gig with a band. You’ve got about a week to prepare, and it pays pretty well. But you’re expected to play about 20 new tunes (give or take), and most likely, you won’t be rehearsing with the band, save for running a few things at soundcheck. What…

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  • 20 Creative Songwriting and Composing Prompts Courtesy of ‘Every Song Ever’

    20 Creative Songwriting and Composing Prompts Courtesy of ‘Every Song Ever’

    + Improve your songwriting with Soundfly! Explore our range of courses on emotional chord progressions, basic songwriting technique, songwriting for producers, and many more. Subscribe for unlimited access here. Ben Ratliff’s Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty is my favorite book I’ve read in the past year. In each chapter, Ratliff details a…

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  • How Successful Musicians Practice: Songwriters & Composers

    How Successful Musicians Practice: Songwriters & Composers

    Welcome back to my four-part series of articles on How Successful Musicians Practice. If you’re just joining us now, this is the third installment, so if songwriting and composition aren’t ultimately your areas of interest, feel free to peruse the practice regimes of either these seriously successful percussionists or these 4, 5 and 6-string samurai! To briefly…

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RJD2: From Samples to Songs