In this 45-minute interview, #irishflute player and singer Shannon Heaton talks with author Judy Minot, focusing in on issues for amateur musicians and anyone who wants to learn music. She offers #practicetips on breathing, phrasing, musical expression and overcoming challenges. Shannon talks about fitting in to Irish traditional music sessions, breathing and phrasing, intonation, consistency in practicing, recording yourself, addressing your inner critic, being a beginner, and setting goals. #musicpractice #irishtraditionalmusic #irishmusic

Memorable Quotes from This Episode

"If you're really not fluent with a language, you don't just jump in on the high level conversation. But just to say, "hi, how are you?" you just need a couple of words just to sit down and play a few tunes."

"Listening is a thing to do."

"Have high expectations for yourself. How much more beautifully can my rhythm hit? Nobody's going to say, 'Oh, my gosh, she's like, too rhythmic!' It's never going to happen. 'Her rhythm is too clean. Her rhythm is too, too lovely!'"

"Nobody said it better than my friend Alexandra. She said her biggest hurdle to learning by ear... was overcoming her own impatience with herself... At the end of the day, it's just exposure therapy and getting over your own impatience."

Guest Shannon Heaton is a world-class American performer with Irish roots and universal appeal. She's also a prolific and creative composer and arranger. One reason I wanted to talk to Shannon is that she's passionate about making Irish music accessible to players and listeners of all levels and backgrounds. She's done this with her duo with guitarist Matt Heaton and with her podcast Irish Music Stories. Shannon has created free resources for Irish traditional musicians, including the Virtual Guided Session, the long-running tune of the month video and podcast series, and four books of tunes oriented to beginning and intermediate players.

Chapters:

00:00 Teaser Open

00:48 Intro

02:10 Irish Music Stories, tunes, and Irish music sessions

04:00 Building blocks: Preparing to play in Irish music sessions

07:46 Learning to have a defined sense of rhythm

09:08 Active listening

13:09 Checking in on your pitch

14:08 Shannon's latest projects

15:58 A 3-minute consistent warmup routine helps with focus

17:21 Playing in the car, playing in the closet

19:15 Recording yourself

21:05 Being discerning vs being critical

21:43 Patreon info

22:08 Breathing

26:24 Phrasing

27:47 Being a beginner at things. Learning by ear as an example.

31:02 Finding time and motivation to practice

34:25 Setting higher goals and challenges

36:30 Composing

38:09 Irish Music Stories podcast

39:03 Working through mistakes and difficulties

40:44 Metronomes and the Casio beats

42:17 The In Harmony tune book

43:14 The importance of learning "session standards"

46:46 Outro

Memorable Quotes from This Episode

"The magic ingredient is feeling like you're able to do a thing. "

"Music is a language. But it's not one language. It's a whole bunch of different languages. The idea is to treat it as a language so that when we are spoken to by another musician, we can understand what they said to us."

"The ideal is to keep our ears, to keep our fluency of hearing and speaking up, along with the fluency of our nervous system."

"At the end of the day, we are building reflexes. Because the conscious effort that we have is limited."

"For every musician, some sort of inventiveness or creativity with what you're given is possible, and fun! And should be part of your daily playing."

Guest Dallas Vietty is a world-recognized accordionist and band leader, most well known for playing American jazz, European swing in the tradition of Django Reinhardt (gypsy jazz) and French accordionists. His groups have performed at some of the top U.S. festivals including TEDx Philly, Djangoary Festival, and Djangofest Northwest. He has performed on Broadway, at Lincoln Center, and at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, as well as many performances in New Orleans and the Auvergne region of France. Dallas is also a thoughtful and attentive teacher whose accordion program is well known among aspiring jazz accordionists.

Podcast host Judy Minot is a music educator and musician, and the author of the award-winning book Best Practice, Inspiration and Ideas for Traditional Musicians. Judy is an evangelist for the power of trad/folk/roots music to bring richness to our adult lives. Judy herself has never been a professional musician. She enjoyed a long and successful career in broadcast television and in digital marketing, picking up two platinum records and a platinum video, multiple awards. She holds a 4th degree black belt in the martial art of aikido, is a certified yoga teacher, a regular contributor to Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and has sung on the stage of Carnegie Hall. She teaches Best Practice concepts online and in person around the world.

In this interview, renowned Irish Fiddler Martin Hayes shares his deep understanding of musical expression, personal style, and creating a beautiful sound in this interview with author Judy Minot. Martin offers practical tips on practicing, playing with feeling, balancing tradition with innovation in Irish music and conquering stage fright.

Memorable Quotes:

"There's only one fundamental mistake really, in performance as far as I'm concerned, which is do I get into it or not?"

"It is all deep. There's no there's no other way around it."

"The only authority in the music, the real authority, is actually the melody. Respecting the melody is the key."

"It's actually when you have lost the pulse that the impulse to speed up comes."

Guest Martin Hayes is regarded as one of the most significant talents in the world of Irish traditional music. His unique sound, his mastery of the violin, his acknowledgement of the past and his shaping of the future of the music, combine to create a formidable artistic intelligence. He has drawn inspiration from many musical genres, but remains grounded in the music he grew up with in East County Clare. In addition to his solo playing, Martin is known for his longstanding creative partnership with guitarist Dennis Cahill, and as a member of the Irish "superband" The Gloaming. Martin has continued to push the boundaries of the "traditional" in Irish music with groups like the Common Ground Ensemble and the Martin Hayes Quartet.

Podcast host Judy Minot is a music educator and musician, and the author of the award-winning book Best Practice, Inspiration and Ideas for Traditional Musicians. Judy is an evangelist for the power of trad/folk/roots music to bring richness to our adult lives. Judy herself has never been a professional musician. She enjoyed a long and successful career in broadcast television and in digital marketing, picking up two platinum records and a platinum video, multiple awards. She holds a 4th degree black belt in the martial art of aikido, is a certified yoga teacher, a regular contributor to Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and has sung on the stage of Carnegie Hall. She teaches Best Practice concepts online and in person around the world.

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Resources

Martin Hayes Official Website - https://www.martinhayes.com/

The Gloaming - https://thegloaming.com/