We welcome Chris Stevens to our staff at JBMS this month.
Chris has a Masters in Music from USC, and is a great resource for strings students in the area!
Please help us spread the word!
Pics and such to come...
Click here to visit our website and sign up for your free introductory lesson today!
JB
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
You are what you eat!!!
The old adage is certainly true when it comes to our bodies and overall health.
But did you know that this principle is very applicable to the music world, especially when it comes to developing your own personal style as a musician?
During the past several days around the studio, We've had an ongoing conversation. The topic: improvisation, particularly on the guitar.
When it comes to improvisation, and melodic playing, there is certainly no shortage of artists to choose from to find your muse. And there are many schools of thought, and resources available to "play like insert your favorite here." But what if you could get inside the heads of geniuses like Derek Trucks, Eric Johnson, George Benson, Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, EVH, Jimi Hendrix, and a host of others (the list wouldn't fit here even if I had 3 weeks to write it and you had time to read it) to find out not only how, but "WHY" they played the way they did?
Certainly one benefits from the study of scales, arpeggios, and their various forms/locations on the guitar, as well as Chord Theory, and learning how to "play over the changes" as it were. But one thing we've noticed as we've tried to teach folks how to improvise is that all the vocabulary in the world won't help you communicate. Don't get me wrong, the theory/knowledge of the instrument is absolutely necessary, but ultimately is a means to an end. You can't just memorize a dictionary, you have to become skilled at building your own sentences. Your own ideas. Your "style", if you will.
So what does it take? What's the missing ingredient? Well, needless to say, Talent is paramount. There are many players, famous and obscure, who have never studied music theory, or taken formal instruction, who can make the most learned of any of us want to shut our guitar case and go into real estate. Their "ears" guide them through an unorthodox approach to their instrument, and arguably, the end result is much more "listenable" than many who can rattle off every key signature and diminished scale on the fretboard.
Certainly, natural ability is a needful thing. If you're reading this, chances are you're already on your musical journey. The talent for music often inspires one to endeavor to learn to play an instrument, like an inner voice that wants to get out. So lets just assume, for the sake of this blog, that you already have some natural ability. Check. Ok, what next?
The title of this blog says it all. One common thread that every great guitarist and songwriter has, regardless of how different their styles can be, is that they ALL LOVE MUSIC. They insatiably listen to it. They don't know why, they just do. It's in their DNA.
What goes in, comes out. We humans tend to be influenced in every area of our lives, from the clothes we wear, food we eat, houses we buy, the cars we drive, even the words we use. You cannot expect to be a great improvising musician and not listen (at great length) to folks doing that very thing.
I remember a period in my life several years ago, when I wore out a particular George Benson record. I mean I played it every day, all day, for something like 5 months. I never sat down and tried to learn a lick, or the songs. I just really liked the music, and had it playing in my home, office, etc all the time. Then it happened: I started sounding like George Benson when I played guitar. I didn't try to do it. It just happened. Sometimes, even when I didn't want it to. I would be at some rock gig, and out would come these little boppy, horn like lines. The thing was, I was just starting to "hear" that way. This was a big deal, because I hadn't grown up playing RnB, or Jazz, etc. I was a hard rock fan. I could play almost every tune on every Zepp record available. I did my share of showing off in the local music scene, ripping off fast solos and turning the amp up to 11. Of course I had a pretty advanced understanding of the guitar, and music in general at that time. I believe this phenomenon wouldn't have taken place (at least certainly not that extent) without that knowledge and technique developed in prior years, however, it took BOTH ingredients. Not just the chops, and knowledge, but I had to DIGEST a steady diet of Benson's tastiness for several weeks and months.
My advise to those of you trying to become a great improviser on your instrument is to listen to anything and everything you can get your hands on. The gig has changed with the advent of the internet. When I was growing up, you had to have a friend who had the records, or go out and buy it yourself. Now, there is an immense amount of music available at your fingertips on Itunes, Amazon.com, etc. And now free services like Spotify and Youtube make listening to music even easier to do. If you're not a HUGE music fan, you're not going to make the cut. Listening is everything.
Thanks for reading :)
Jim Beaver, Director at Jim B
eaver's School of Music, shares his talent with the WNC area in a variety of capacities, including teaching nearly 1,000 private guitar students over the past decade, weekly duties as Musical Director at Faith Church International, various productions at the Flat Rock Playhouse, and countless performances at local listening rooms in the WNC area.Jim Beaver's School of Music, founded in 2001 by Jim, is located at 810 South Grove street in Hendersonville, NC 28792. Seven different instructors offer private music lessons in a variety of instruments to the greater Western North Carolina area, including (but not exclusively) Hendersonville, Asheville, Fletcher, Columbus, Tryon, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, Arden, and the surrounding areas.
828-693-4056
info@jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
www.jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
Monday, February 20, 2012
Making Practice WORK FOR YOU!
Being a guitar teacher (and music school director) over the past decade, one might imagine I've seen success and failure among our many students over the years. Whether you are old or young, beginner or advanced, it goes without saying that without regular practice sessions several times per week, you won't succeed.
But what about the student who IS practicing, and still doesn't seem to be movin
g forward? In my experience, most folks have a threshold of a few weeks or months with stagnation before they finally hang it up. But why, if they ARE practicing regularly, are they not progressing? (glad you asked)
There are several factors that could contribute to this.
1. Environment is EVERYTHING!
Recenthly when chatting with a student about their lack of motivation with practicing their instrument, I began asking them questions about what it was like at home when they tried to practice. The student had their guitars all out in the living room, in plain sight (which is a good idea). However, ALSO in plain sight were: The TV, Playstation, and Computer, all of which are major distractions for this person. I suggested they move their "practice" station up to their bedroom, away from any distractions. I also suggested they make sure the sound/tone of their guitar was similar to lessons, as well as chair height and stand height being the same as when they attended their private lesson. With just such a small change in their environment, we saw INSTANT results!
2. Routine
Just as with any exercise program, or school system curriculum, you cannot treat the process as a smorgasbord. Any personal trainer in the world will tell you that in order to be successful in exercise, you need a ROUTINE. You're not going to get very far dabbling in a couple of sittups here, some treadmill there, etc. Our bodies and minds THRIVE on routine, which can be easier for some of us than others. Just like a healthy diet consists of balanced meals, with proportions of different food groups, so should ever practice routing. You should have a technique element (to train PHYSICALLY, more on that later) A theory element, and an application element. You need the balance to make the most of your time. Now students here at Jim Beaver's School of Music are given an assignment weekly by their private teachers following this philosophy, so if stagnation starts to show it's ugly face, diagnosis is usually pretty easy. The problem is, many folks view the process of learning an instrument as entertainment alone. You can't expect to become an accomplished musician if you approach the process like periodically renting a movie. You have to be systematic in your day to day practice routine. This doesn't mean you won't or can't enjoy playing, even early on. But just as eating only the dessert in our meal would leave us very unhealthy, so will only playing the entertaining aspects of our routine! The best way to keep your self accountable to covering all the "elements" daily is to.....
3. LOG IT
Out of sight, out of mind, as the old adage goes. The truth is, none of use remember every detail of every day. Keeping a diary or journal logging when, for how long, and "what" you practice, can make a TREMENDOUS difference in keeping things alive and progress steady. The diary really just confronts ourselves with ourselves, and our ACTUAL accomplishment daily. I often tell my students, "If all I ate were doughnuts and drank only Mountain Dew, you would notice a difference in my appearance in a few weeks." The same is true with practicing, if you are DOING the routine as outlined by your teacher, you won't be able to help but get better. The process works to those who work it! We cannot be at the student's home each night when they are practicing, however the diary is the teacher's best eye view into the day to day of a student. When we have a student stagnating, we can usually see in this log whats going wrong (and more important, prevent stagnation in the first place when habits start to drift towards the lazy...) It also helps to keep a structured schedule. In other words, let Tuesday at 5:00 be your practice time, and nothing gets done until it's completed. When we have a very loose practice schedule, we'll most likely have very loose progress. We tend to think that a minimum 5 days weekly is a great place to start. Having at least 1 day per week that you don't touch it is a great thing in my opinion, but only if one is DILIGENTLY working the other 5 or 6 days.
4. Set Goals
We humans need a dragon to slay, a mountain to climb, and a problem to solve. It's in our DNA! Here at JBSM, from day one we establish a clear cut "FINISH LINE" with each student. Because everyone is different, you can't approach music lessons with a one size fits all mentality. It's vital that one has a clear goal in mind while they are doing the less than entertaining aspects of learning a musical instrument. Running scales, reading piece after piece, and things like technique and chops builders are not fun for most people, at least not in the early stages. Just like an Olympic athlete has the image of the gold medal in their minds as they are punishing their bodies as they train, we musicians must keep our eyes on the goal we've set. See yourself soloing like Joe Satriani, ripping up arrangements of classics like Tommy Emmanuel, writing and performing tunes like John Mayer, winning American Idol, etc. Goals make the world go round! If you are just spinning your wheels in the mud of busy work, dabbling in a scale or two, half an exercise, etc...well, you're just simply not going to make it.
5. LOVE the process
Just like a war is won by the smaller victories in various battles, our goals are met one day at a time. Learn to love the process you are in, content with just getting your daily installment of work/fun on the instrument, knowing that your diligence will pay off. When you see (INSERT FAVORITE MUSICIAN/ARTIST HERE) you see the current day state of their process. You don't see the YEARS of effort that got them there. In our microwave society of "I want it yesterday, and for free," diligence is becoming less and less visible in our culture, especially in younger folks. If you want to BE more than average, you have to DO more than average.
Jim Beaver, Director at Jim B
eaver's School of Music, shares his talent with the WNC area in a variety of capacities, including teaching nearly 1,000 private guitar students over the past decade, weekly duties as Musical Director at Faith Church International, various productions at the Flat Rock Playhouse, and countless performances at local listening rooms in the WNC area.
Jim Beaver's School of Music, founded in 2001 by Jim, is located at 810 South Grove street in Hendersonville, NC 28792. Seven different instructors offer private music lessons in a variety of instruments to the greater Western North Carolina area, including (but not exclusively) Hendersonville, Asheville, Fletcher, Columbus, Tryon, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, Arden, and the surrounding areas.
828-693-4056
info@jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
www.jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
But what about the student who IS practicing, and still doesn't seem to be movin
g forward? In my experience, most folks have a threshold of a few weeks or months with stagnation before they finally hang it up. But why, if they ARE practicing regularly, are they not progressing? (glad you asked)There are several factors that could contribute to this.
1. Environment is EVERYTHING!
Recenthly when chatting with a student about their lack of motivation with practicing their instrument, I began asking them questions about what it was like at home when they tried to practice. The student had their guitars all out in the living room, in plain sight (which is a good idea). However, ALSO in plain sight were: The TV, Playstation, and Computer, all of which are major distractions for this person. I suggested they move their "practice" station up to their bedroom, away from any distractions. I also suggested they make sure the sound/tone of their guitar was similar to lessons, as well as chair height and stand height being the same as when they attended their private lesson. With just such a small change in their environment, we saw INSTANT results!
2. Routine
Just as with any exercise program, or school system curriculum, you cannot treat the process as a smorgasbord. Any personal trainer in the world will tell you that in order to be successful in exercise, you need a ROUTINE. You're not going to get very far dabbling in a couple of sittups here, some treadmill there, etc. Our bodies and minds THRIVE on routine, which can be easier for some of us than others. Just like a healthy diet consists of balanced meals, with proportions of different food groups, so should ever practice routing. You should have a technique element (to train PHYSICALLY, more on that later) A theory element, and an application element. You need the balance to make the most of your time. Now students here at Jim Beaver's School of Music are given an assignment weekly by their private teachers following this philosophy, so if stagnation starts to show it's ugly face, diagnosis is usually pretty easy. The problem is, many folks view the process of learning an instrument as entertainment alone. You can't expect to become an accomplished musician if you approach the process like periodically renting a movie. You have to be systematic in your day to day practice routine. This doesn't mean you won't or can't enjoy playing, even early on. But just as eating only the dessert in our meal would leave us very unhealthy, so will only playing the entertaining aspects of our routine! The best way to keep your self accountable to covering all the "elements" daily is to.....
3. LOG IT
Out of sight, out of mind, as the old adage goes. The truth is, none of use remember every detail of every day. Keeping a diary or journal logging when, for how long, and "what" you practice, can make a TREMENDOUS difference in keeping things alive and progress steady. The diary really just confronts ourselves with ourselves, and our ACTUAL accomplishment daily. I often tell my students, "If all I ate were doughnuts and drank only Mountain Dew, you would notice a difference in my appearance in a few weeks." The same is true with practicing, if you are DOING the routine as outlined by your teacher, you won't be able to help but get better. The process works to those who work it! We cannot be at the student's home each night when they are practicing, however the diary is the teacher's best eye view into the day to day of a student. When we have a student stagnating, we can usually see in this log whats going wrong (and more important, prevent stagnation in the first place when habits start to drift towards the lazy...) It also helps to keep a structured schedule. In other words, let Tuesday at 5:00 be your practice time, and nothing gets done until it's completed. When we have a very loose practice schedule, we'll most likely have very loose progress. We tend to think that a minimum 5 days weekly is a great place to start. Having at least 1 day per week that you don't touch it is a great thing in my opinion, but only if one is DILIGENTLY working the other 5 or 6 days.
4. Set Goals
We humans need a dragon to slay, a mountain to climb, and a problem to solve. It's in our DNA! Here at JBSM, from day one we establish a clear cut "FINISH LINE" with each student. Because everyone is different, you can't approach music lessons with a one size fits all mentality. It's vital that one has a clear goal in mind while they are doing the less than entertaining aspects of learning a musical instrument. Running scales, reading piece after piece, and things like technique and chops builders are not fun for most people, at least not in the early stages. Just like an Olympic athlete has the image of the gold medal in their minds as they are punishing their bodies as they train, we musicians must keep our eyes on the goal we've set. See yourself soloing like Joe Satriani, ripping up arrangements of classics like Tommy Emmanuel, writing and performing tunes like John Mayer, winning American Idol, etc. Goals make the world go round! If you are just spinning your wheels in the mud of busy work, dabbling in a scale or two, half an exercise, etc...well, you're just simply not going to make it.
5. LOVE the process
Just like a war is won by the smaller victories in various battles, our goals are met one day at a time. Learn to love the process you are in, content with just getting your daily installment of work/fun on the instrument, knowing that your diligence will pay off. When you see (INSERT FAVORITE MUSICIAN/ARTIST HERE) you see the current day state of their process. You don't see the YEARS of effort that got them there. In our microwave society of "I want it yesterday, and for free," diligence is becoming less and less visible in our culture, especially in younger folks. If you want to BE more than average, you have to DO more than average.
Jim Beaver, Director at Jim B
eaver's School of Music, shares his talent with the WNC area in a variety of capacities, including teaching nearly 1,000 private guitar students over the past decade, weekly duties as Musical Director at Faith Church International, various productions at the Flat Rock Playhouse, and countless performances at local listening rooms in the WNC area.Jim Beaver's School of Music, founded in 2001 by Jim, is located at 810 South Grove street in Hendersonville, NC 28792. Seven different instructors offer private music lessons in a variety of instruments to the greater Western North Carolina area, including (but not exclusively) Hendersonville, Asheville, Fletcher, Columbus, Tryon, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, Arden, and the surrounding areas.
828-693-4056
info@jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
www.jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Jim Beaver's School of Music Presents: Rock and Ride at Wolf Ridge ski trip!
That's right! We're taking our first ever Jim Beaver's School of Music trip to Wolf Ridge resort in Mars Hill NC on March 3, 2012. We will meet at the resort at 9:00.
You must have your money in to us by 2/27 so we can secure our group rates of $55.00 for skiers (includes gear and pass) and $70.00 for Boarders (also all gear/pass).
A free ski/board lesson is included as well!
Not to mention our Rock Band Program will present 4 different Bands to perform at 4:00!
You don't wanna miss it! be there!
Click here to visit our facebook event!
Jim Beaver's School of Music
810 South Grove Street
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-693-4056
info@jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
Teaching guitar lessons, drum lessons, voice lessons, violin lessons, piano lessons, ukulele lessons, in Hendersonville, Asheville, Columbus, Tryon, Fletcher, Arden, NC
You must have your money in to us by 2/27 so we can secure our group rates of $55.00 for skiers (includes gear and pass) and $70.00 for Boarders (also all gear/pass).
A free ski/board lesson is included as well!
Not to mention our Rock Band Program will present 4 different Bands to perform at 4:00!
You don't wanna miss it! be there!
Click here to visit our facebook event!
Jim Beaver's School of Music
810 South Grove Street
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-693-4056
info@jimbeaversmusicstudios.com
Teaching guitar lessons, drum lessons, voice lessons, violin lessons, piano lessons, ukulele lessons, in Hendersonville, Asheville, Columbus, Tryon, Fletcher, Arden, NC
Friday, December 16, 2011
1/2 priced Ukulele lessons
visit our website by clicking this link!!
Jim Beaver's School of Music is offering buy one get one free gift certificates until the end of the year! Call today at 693-4056, or click here to visit our website for more info!
Offering guitar, bass, drums, voice, piano, ukulele, violin, cello and viola lessons!
Serving the area since 2001!
Jim Beaver's School of Music is offering buy one get one free gift certificates until the end of the year! Call today at 693-4056, or click here to visit our website for more info!
Offering guitar, bass, drums, voice, piano, ukulele, violin, cello and viola lessons!
Serving the area since 2001!
1/2 priced drum lessons
visit our website by clicking this link!!
Jim Beaver's School of Music is offering buy one get one free gift certificates until the end of the year! Call today at 693-4056, or click here to visit our website for more info!
Offering guitar, bass, drums, voice, piano, ukulele, violin, cello and viola lessons!
Serving the area since 2001!
Jim Beaver's School of Music is offering buy one get one free gift certificates until the end of the year! Call today at 693-4056, or click here to visit our website for more info!
Offering guitar, bass, drums, voice, piano, ukulele, violin, cello and viola lessons!
Serving the area since 2001!
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