Have you ever heard the words You Gotta Practice, and that Practice Makes Perfect? Back in October I wrote a post about practicing and how important it is. There are so many musicians that believe that Practice does indeed make Perfect. They hold this to be self evident. And to a certain degree they are true. However I want to contend that Practice Does NOT Make Perfect! All practice does is reinforce what you have learned so far. Basically it perfects what you’re able to practice.

This simply means that if you practiced a wrong note or sequence of notes in the wrong frame, then you will get it perfectly wrong every time you play that sequence of notes. You’ve got to practice the right thing and be consistent and persistent. If you think about and look to people who have made it big in this world, you will find that they put a lot of time and effort into becoming who they are and what they can do. In other words they practiced the right thing and did it consistently for a long time.

What are some tips that you can do to practice and play perfectly? Well one thing that you can use is a METRONOME. For any musician this is a KEY element for any practice session. Playing in time grows you as a musician in ways that can’t be measured. It is an intangible that is often missed by music teachers and students alike, that is, being able to play in time.

Similarly in life, not just in music, we have the opportunity to make a difference in the world. It shows by what we PRACTICE on a day to day basis. There is a lot of things that we do that could make the world a better place. I want to practice SMILING at my neighbors and co-workers. I want to PRACTICE being a man of my word and always following Through. I want to PRACTICE Paying It Forward just as someone paid it forward for me this week. What have you been practicing this week? I want to be able to continue on my journey to PERFECTION as I Play It By Ear!

A Beautiful thing happened to me today!

A wonderful little lady paid for me to get my gas tank filled with gas. It was a very beautiful thing for he to do. And so I will look for someone else to help them. Not that I wouldn’t help them before, but that I would make a special effort to be nice to others as this lady was to me. She made a point to let me know that she was having a bad day and was insistent on me accepting the gasoline so that she would feel better about her day and herself. Her only stipulation on this was that I would Pay It Forward for someone else when I can.

WOW! What an attitude to have when you’re having a bad day. If the world could adopt this attitude, the world would be a much better place. I will definitely keep this attitude for the rest of the week and hopefully for the rest of my life – Be nice to others ESPECIALLY when you are having a BAD DAY!!! Oh what a world we would have if everyone thought like this.

I think about some of the knowledge transfer in the world today as well. This attitude can be useful in reaching others. There is nothing better than to help each other out and pay it forward as we go. I know that my world view has been tipped farther toward this concept having experienced it in this way. I’m DEFINITELY going to Pay It Forward as I Play It By Ear!!!

Every Day Is Mother’s Day! At least it should be, as far as I’m concerned. That’s why I’m posting this message today instead of yesterday! It’s because of the hard work of mothers everywhere that we have all the great things in the world today. I am the man that I am today because of the impact that my mother had on me and my life. From my earliest days I remember my mother praying for me, and  encouraging me to excel in school and in life. Failure was not an option. She made it such a part of our framework that I have adopted that mindset even to this day! How does that relate to legacy? I believe that Legacy deals with the positive impact of someone or something on the lives of others. One of the ways this really impacted me, and by extension everyone around me, is in the area of Music. From as early as I can remember mom would encourage music around the house. She was always singing some song, even though she would tell you that she didn’t sing very well. She sang the Psalms that she learned while she was growing up. She sang different hymns that we all sang as a family, which is where I learned harmony. When I was about 8 years old, She actively encouraged my oldest brother to teach me piano. And then she made sure that I practiced and practiced my lessons until i could play them “properly!” I was also called upon to play the piano for our family devotion. And then u was called upon to play for church. And the rest is history. I hope I can pass on my Mama’s legacy as I continue to Play It By Ear!

While traveling through through New York on my way to Pennsylvania I saw a sign that showed the elevation of how high above sea level we were. I tried to take a picture but it was blurry as you can see from the collage above.

The reason that the picture was blurred was myriad, with the weather conditions as well as the instability of the smart phone camera when zoomed in. But regardless of the conditions it was I didn’t have have a clear picture of how high I was or how much higher I could go.

A lot of people, including myself, are in the same position when it comes to their dreams and goals. The problem for most of is that I believe we have an unclear picture of our full potential and even the way to clarity is blurred.

How do you realize your full potential? How do you get clarity on such a fundamental question of life? I believe that  the answer lies in finding your purpose in life. When you find your purpose, then you will begin to realize your full potential. You may even be able to pick up a musical instrument and Play It By Ear!

So on my way to work today, I saw this accident on the side of the road. There were police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances and first responders everywhere. I was able to take this picture while moving at a very slow crawl past the scene of the crime.

What I could notice, was that the top of the car was totally off the car – The Jaws Of Life had been used! The Jaws Of Life, as they are commonly called in rescue operations, usually refer to specialized Hydraulic Shears that are designed to cut through metal. That’s why they’re so useful in rescuing people who have been trapped in their cars.

This picture which was taken from the Wikipedia’s Hydraulic Rescue Tools website, shows the Hydraulic Shears commonly known as the Jaws of Life!

The Jaws Of Life can take unexpected turns in so many ways, and when they have you it could feel like everything will be OK! Or that everything is going completely awry! It all depends on your perspective. How you react is determines whether you gave a Glass Half Full or Glass Half Empty experience! For Example:

Glass Half Full –  Yay! I’m saved!
Glass Half Empty – Oh no! My car is ruined!

There’s only one way that I hope to be in IF the Jaws of Life make an appearance in my life. And that’s with a smile, because I know that if I’m alive and kicking will enjoy my family and friends as we get together to Play It By Ear!

This is a re-post of a blog that I had earlier this year called – To Teach or not to Teach. I felt that it is worth mentioning again. There is even an update. So here it is:

To Teach or Not To Teach? That is the question. Well for some teachers its not even a question. It’s anathema to them. What am I talking about? Playing Music By Ear. It just is not done. I have had people come to me and tell me that they started experimenting with playing by ear and their music teacher forbade them from doing so. And so it is now that they “THINK” that they can’t play by ear so they don’t try.

I’ve wondered to myself, “Self! What is the reason for this kind of thinking by music teachers who insist on teaching ‘By The Book’?” And the answer is a simple “Lack of Understanding.” In my humble opinion and experience, people fear what they don’t understand and they can sometimes pass that fear on to their students. It is also true that you can’t effectively teach something that you don’t intimately know. Music is a performing art, and you have to be able to demonstrate the lesson as it happens.

One of the most important things that we  use as music teachers, students, and fans is the art of creative listening. Music is an auditory experience. We ‘hear’ music with our ears so we have to listen. As music teachers this is sometimes missed in the teaching. We don’t teach our students to listen critically to themselves, other artists and also to what the audience is saying. Always. Always. LISTEN.

There are people who say that playing by ear is just memorization of songs. And to a certain extent that is true. Playing by ear is more a matter of a coming together of a working knowledge of music theory, chord progressions, bass line movement, alternate harmonic anticipation and melodic interpretation. For some who have more experience playing by ear, you can utilize structures and chord progressions that may come from other songs and intersperse them into what they are playing as they are playing it. This is often seen in Jazz, Gospel, Country and other popular music genres of modern times.

So if you want to learn to play by ear does that mean you shouldn’t learn to read music as well? I answer that with an emphatic, “NO!” Learning to read music opens up a whole new world to the music performer and rounds out his or her education. It enables a musician to be more marketable and versatile when they can do both – Read Music and Play By Ear!!! Its quite interesting to note that musicians who can only read music look up to musicians who just play by ear. And musicians who only play by ear look up to musicians who only read music.

Oh for the day when musicians can be equally proficient in reading music and are also able to Play It By Ear!!