Monday 10 June 2019

4 Reasons Why Practice is Crucial To Your Growth As A Musician


No one is never born genius, one has to work for it and it is the result of that work that they become really good at what they do. That particular work/performance from musicians is the practice they do on their instrument. It is the most fundamental yet the most important thing a musician needs to do to supplement their growth at every step. Although it is given that practice will make you better, let us understand why it is so crucial for musicians.

1. Muscle memory
Playing an instrument is all about ‘instinct’ coming into play. When you play your instrument what will you do naturally? You have to make the complicated techniques your second nature so that you can execute it flawlessly on your instrument. The only way to do that is to practice regularly so that your muscles build a memory by being exposed to the same exercise so many times that it becomes natural for you. However, you do have to make sure that you are doing the drills correctly and efficiently so that your muscle develops the correct technique.

2. Explore Ideas
The more you sit with your instrument, the better will be your understanding about it. As you attempt to play like your idols and apply all the necessary theory in your instrument, you will discover new ways of using your techniques to sound unique. You will find your own style of using certain techniques and how to apply them in your playing. A good practice session will allow you to explore a fresh take on certain exercises and also open up new ideas in your playing which, is an important aspect for every musician.



3. Feedback System
You won't know what you are doing wrong until you play. The best way to rate your playing is to record yourself, play back and then self-analyse what you are doing wrong and what you can do better. You can focus your practice sessions toward the elements that you think requires work. The lesser your playing weaknesses, better is your musicianship. It is crucial to give/take feedback as it minimises any loose ends in your playing and is an important factor to grow as a musician.

4. Realistic Goals
As you sit down for practice, you will have an idea of your progress and where you stand in terms of capability in certain skills. Practice lets you set realistic goals which will encourage more commitment and intent whenever you practice. There should be a purpose in every practice session and a result oriented goals to be able to develop new skills and improve existing basics on every step.

If there is one thing common among all the successful musician, it is the relentless dedication to their trade and instrument through numerous hours of practice which should be the template for every budding musician. Give time to your instrument and practice with commitment and you will surely get results and be the musician you always dreamed of.


BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.





Tuesday 4 June 2019

4 Reasons Why Practicing your Scales and Technical Concepts are Important


Every riff you play, every tune you hear in a song has a technique behind it and it sounds the way it does because of the use of different concepts that allows a certain tune to have a distinct character. To sound good you have to follow certain rules, thus it is important that you put an effort in understanding your theory properly. Here, we will give you some of the reasons why it is so important to know your theory.

1. Strong Foundation
As you must have heard from numerous source, it is crucial to have your basics strong to be able to get the best out of yourself in higher stages. The best way to have a strong foundation is to practice scales and work on the techniques that you have been taught in the beginning stages. It will get your limbs playing or your vocal chords accustomed to your instrument and develop an instinctive memory in your muscles which will help you long way. As you build up your basics with scales, you will be able to experiment different variations which will make you more skilled musically.



2. Accuracy and Speed
For any instrumentalist it is very important to play your notes cleanly which basically requires accuracy in your playing. Since scales are the most basic sequence you can play on an instrument, it gives you the platform to give feedback to yourself and even evaluate yourself as you will know exactly how it should sound on your instrument. Due to this easily understandable sequence it is also the best tool to improve your speed on your instrument. Different scales require different shifts and alteration of your fingers, thus your muscle will respond to the memory you have developed with practice and will help you to execute in faster tempos. However, you should slowly increase the speed in your playing so that you don’t do any basics wrong.

3. To play in a band
Let’s say you have formed a band which has  a keyboardist, a vocalist, guitars and drums. To start at a common point, everyone has to know the scale on which you are trying to play a song in or else it will sound like a mess. Similarly you have to be able to play along the beat so that you don’t sound like you are all over the place. To have a chemistry within the band and to be tight in your playing, you have to know your scales and other basic concepts. More you are accustomed to your theory, there will be more scope for your band to play more genres, styles and advanced music.

4. Sound Unique
Techniques are used to make a certain note sound a little different which adds dynamic to the song. Dynamic plays a very important role in songs as it make it sound more whole and make it much less monotonous. So if you want to sound like your idols or want to stand out from the crowd, you have to work on your dynamic which are basically your techniques. Take references from your idol or from your mentor on how to best use the techniques to sound technically and musically correct while also adding a lot of character to the sound of your instrument. Work on the technical concepts very consciously as it is of utmost important that you get the basic of each and every technique right in order to sound the best.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.