Apr 30
Reading Tab. For the final installment of my Intro to Beginner Guitar series we’ll cover what is probably the most important tool you can have as a budding guitarist: TAB. Continue reading »
Archive for April, 2007
Apr 29
IntellectualMusician.com relies on it’s dynamic group of authors to make this site into the wonderful resource that it is. Among the best is this month’s featured author Brien Henderson. Continue reading »
Apr 28
May is officially super-heavy-duty promotion month at IntellectualMusician, and we’d much rather give back to our community then to Google! For the whole month if you sign up on the forum and recommend 2 friends who also sign up we’ll send you 10 dollars cash for being a good person! Continue reading »
Apr 28
Whether you’re a classically trained player looking to branch out into jazz, a budding jazz player looking for more explanation on how to solo over changes, or a rhythm section player starting to approach jazz Continue reading »
Apr 27
Reading Chord Diagrams. This article is a continuation of the the mini-series I’m writing on beginner guitar. Today we’ll dive in and get some actual playing done by learning to read some basic chord diagrams for guitar. Continue reading »
Apr 26
Rhythm is the most neglected area of musical study in Western musical practice. I know that may seem like a bold claim, but in my experience it rings true. Most players are so consumed with the notes that they forsake the rhythm. Continue reading »
Apr 25
Tuning. This is a continuation of the the mini-series I’m writing on beginner guitar. Tuning a guitar is one of the hardest, while most essential things for a beginning guitarist to do. Hopefully this lesson will help demystify the process. Continue reading »
Apr 24
IntellectualMusician.com has received The Thinking Blog Award after being nominated by another wonderful blogger Ignacio, of ig blog. Click here to view the award. Continue reading »
Apr 24
In this article, I’m expanding on my previous piece, “Why I-IV-V Works, And Works So Well.” I’ll be adding 7ths to the chords and starting to talk about harmony a little more. Continue reading »
Apr 23
Everyone knows the drummer keeps the time in a band, right? Or in an orchestra, the conductor leads the tempo with his/her baton? What about in a string quartet? Who controls the tempo there? Continue reading »
Apr 23
I found myself talking to a young woman last night who is learning the piano. She was taking a class at our local city college, but since she works full-time and sometimes had to work late and miss class, she started to fall behind and dropped the class. Continue reading »
Apr 23
My first article on transposing instruments was a brief overview of instrument transposition, if you’re looking to write for these instruments and don’t play them yourself. Continue reading »
Apr 22
Thinking Like A Guitarist. This is a continuation of the the mini-series I’m writing on beginner guitar. This lesson will get us acquainted with the fundamentals of playing the instrument. Continue reading »
Apr 21
When I’m reading down saxophone music and I see a written pitch, the pitch that sounds is different from the one written. This is because saxophones are in a class of instruments known as “transposing instruments”. Continue reading »
Apr 21
Anatomy of the guitar. In this lesson series “Beginner Guitar” we’ll cover all of the basics so that you can finally build up the confidence to pull out that guitar that’s been in your closet since you were 16 years old, and at very least reach “Campfire” proficiency. Continue reading »
Apr 20
Everyone knows it, a progression so common that entire genres of music are based on it: the I-IV-V. What makes it so powerful? The answer is surprisingly simple Continue reading »
Apr 20
Let’s face it, if learning was easy, we’d all be experts. But how does one balance the tears and apathy with the delayed joy and gratification that will undoubtedly come to one who devotes the time? Continue reading »
Apr 19
There are all kinds of ways to gain dexterity and technical facility on your instrument. A lot of students get books with etudes or exercises, but I’m a big proponent of making up my own exercises. Anyone can do it. Here’s how. Continue reading »
Apr 18
What’s the sound of one hand clapping? Probably not unlike the sound of one musician trying to improvise without accompaniment. But no one ever said there was room for friends out there in the old woodshed. Follow these steps to fight practice-room loneliness… Continue reading »
Apr 17
How many of us know a musician that practices for more than two hours daily? There’s no doubt that these obsessive types exist, but when you’re in the real world there’s always something there to curtail your ideal uninterrupted practice time (job, kids, American Idol…). Continue reading »
Apr 17
Many students ask me how they should go about preparing a piece of music for performance. The method I outline here is actually quite simple. By following each step to the word you should be able to prepare even the most complicated pieces without too much pain and suffering. Continue reading »
Apr 16
Want to improve your ears? It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re a singer, Solfege can improve your aural ability and make you an all around better musician. Continue reading »
Apr 11
Major what? Augmented who? Intervals can be confusing, but by breaking them down into their smallest forms one can quickly demystify them and the start putting them to use almost immediately. Continue reading »
Apr 10
Many people cringe at the mention of key signatures. In actuality, a key signature can be a huge help and a great short cut to memorizing intervalic relationships, scale shapes, and more. Continue reading »
Apr 10
As explained in the first article of this series “Playing The Right Notes” chord tones are the building blocks of all music. In this article we’ll learn how they are made in just three easy steps. Continue reading »
Apr 10
Music, while being an art, is also VERY much a science. In this lesson I’ll break down what it is that makes certian notes sound better than others, and in my follow-up lesson, “Building Chord Tones” we’ll see how to find as well as play these magic notes.
Continue reading »
Apr 09
Do you know about music? Want to share your knowledge? Why not join the cause and become an author! Continue reading »
Apr 09
IntellectualMusician.com is a website built and maintained by musicians, for musicians. The basic idea is simple, gather a superior group of extremely talented and well educated musicians and give them an outlet to share their knowledge. Continue reading »