Showing results for "Life" in Instruction & Technique

The concept of work-life balance is anything but foreign in today's hyperconnected society. But what if finding the elusive balance lies not in tuning out but instead bringing one more key element into our lives? In his new book The Habit of Noticing: Using Creativity to Make a Life (and a Living), Austin-based singer-songwriter Darden Smith says the secret lies in embracing and using your creativity every day.

No matter where you are in your musical journey, this book is for you. Beginner or professional? These techniques will sharpen your skills at any level. Play piano, guitar, violin, or sing? This approach works across all instruments. Struggled with sight-reading before? This book takes a completely new approach to learning. By applying the principles in this book, you will develop musical intuition, bulldoze through your sight-reading challenges, and become an unstoppable force of confidence in your performances.

Wretch 32 is one of the most influential musicians at work in Britain today. He is also a lyricist of unparalleled ability and an advocate of music as a tool to educate as well as to entertain. In an age of unprecedented social and political change, Wretch’s music stands as a medium of protest and of progress, helping to explain and shape a new era. Rapthology is an anthology of the songs that have shaped Wretch, and our society, over the last 30 years, from gospel music to dance hall anthems to the most innovative emerging young voices.

Music, Lyrics, and Life is the songwriting class you always wish you'd taken, taught by the professor you always wish you'd had. It's a deep dive into the heart of questions asked by songwriters of all levels, from how to begin journaling to when you know that a song is finished. With humor and empathy, acclaimed singer-songwriter Mike Errico unravels both the mystery of songwriting and the logistics of life as a songwriter.

In 1968, Vashti Bunyan gave up everything and everybody she knew in London to take to the road with a horse, wagon, dog, guitar and her then partner. They made the long journey up to the Outer Hebrides in an odyssey of discovery and heartbreak, full of the joy of freedom and the trudge of everyday reality, sleeping in the woods, fighting freezing winters and homelessness. Along the way, Vashti wrote the songs that would lead to the recording of her 1970s album Just Another Diamond Day.

The Art of Is contains breath-of-fresh-air thinking about how to cultivate the kind of game-changing creativity everyone seeks. Stephen Nachmanovitch shows exactly how the passion and immediacy of improvisation can be cultivated and how, in fact, we all improvise all the time - whether we are driving or deep in conversation.

Singing offers unparalleled joy, yet it also presents unique challenges as our voices age alongside us. These changes don't signal the end of your singing journey but rather a new chapter that requires specialized guidance and strategies.

Performing with David Bowie, surviving the murky depths of the music business, enduring a painful divorce, and making the first music video in outer space, award-winning recording artist Emm Gryner has navigated through life’s highs and lows using a secret compass: singing. Her voice, and her desire to express herself in music, has been a constant, from the early days of playing in bands while growing up in a small town, to playing arena rock shows and stadiums. Across these years and on many travels, she’s discovered the human voice to be an unlikely guide.

Most of us dread standing up in front of a crowd. In fact sociologists rank public speaking as our greatest fear. But there's good news. You can overcome this and other fears through the Vocal Awareness® System that Arthur Joseph has spent over four decades successfully developing. Now, in Voice of a Leader, Joseph offers proven methods to create a paradigm shift in the way you present yourself.

In this “by ear” lesson, you will learn both the rhythm and lead guitar parts to this blues hit by Fred James. The lesson begins with a full demonstration of the guitar parts with drums and bass followed by a detailed “all-audio” lesson teaching every lick to every guitar. At the end of the lesson, you are given the backing tracks in three different configurations for you to use in your own live performance of the song.

When Gustavo Dudamel, at the age of 28, ascended the podium at the Hollywood Bowl for his inaugural concert as conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he immediately captivated the hearts of his audience, just as he had the minds of music critics who designated him a modern-day Leonard Bernstein. In Changing Lives, the maestro's story becomes the entry point to an equally captivating subject: El Sistema, the music education program that nurtured his musical talent, first as a young violinist and then as a budding conductor under the mentorship of its founder, Jos Antonio Abreu.

This Stevie Wonder hit makes a fun intermediate level piano solo and it is fast to learn and memorize because you will learn it completely “by ear.” At the beginning of the lesson is a full demonstration of the song followed by a detailed lesson in two to four measure sections using no music, print, or video. At the end of the lesson there are backing tracks with no piano on them to be used for live performance.

In this piano by ear lesson, you will learn a beginner level piano solo of this classic hymn. The song is fully demonstrated and then taught in two to four measure sections, completely by ear, describing every note and finger used to play the song. Listen to the lesson sample above to see just how easy it is to learn to play this great hymn completely “by ear”!

The afterlife experiences of Michael Jackson re-emerge five months after his death into an even more unexpected and profoundly exciting path. Get to know a different Michael Jackson, the part of Michael Jackson that wanted to 'Heal the World' and founded 'Heal the Kids.' Get to know the Michael Jackson who has emerged from the afterlife again after spending several months under the tutelage of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not what you're expecting, but rather, the afterlife Michael Jackson ramped up by several thousand amps.

Learn a fingerstyle solo of this Beatles hit without using music or tab. This all-audio lesson includes a full demonstration and detailed “by ear” instruction teaching every phrase slowly and without music, tab, or video. This is a level two difficulty.