Cymbals, Technique, Website Reviews |
Cymbals are one of my favorite percussion instruments. In my studio, I stress the importance of triangle, tambourine and cymbal technique. A couple of months ago, I found this great resource on cymbal playing, CymbalExcellence.com. The site features Thomas Stubbs who is currently the cymbal specialist and associate principal timpanist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. You can easily get lost in the audio and videos of Mr. Stubbs instructing and playing the orchestral cymbal repertoire. This site is for beginning percussionists as well as professionals. I highly recommend this website and I hope everyone will visit this site. You won’t be sorry and I am sure you will learn a thing or two about cymbal playing.
Drumset, Website Reviews |
If you are looking for a drum catalogue, look no further. The Internet Drum Archive exists to provide a source of reference material for vintage and collectable drums and percussion throughout the world. The are other sources of historical percussion information on the internet (check out the Deagan Resource) but this is the most comprehensive collection of catalogues that I have ever seen. If you have any catalogues you want to contribute, please make sure to contact DrumArchive.com.
If you have other resources, please make sure to leave a comment below. Thanks to Tom Blomquist for sharing this resource with me.
Professional Development, Vibraphone, Website Reviews |
It has been a while since I have reviewed a website. [Check out The Bulletproof Musician review from July 2014.] Today, I want to introduce All Things Vibraphone. The site has transcriptions, videos, and performances for vibraphone students. The site describes itself as “A page for vibists with related links to audio and video recordings, articles on improvisational techniques, jazz transcriptions, mallet technique…” (more…)
Professional Development, Resources, Website Reviews |
There are a lot of great websites for musicians, but one I keep coming back to every week is The Bulletproof Musician. The site, by Dr. Noa Kageyama (performance psychologist and Juilliard graduate), features a weekly blog post, coaching and an online training course. According to his site:
“The purpose of this website is to teach musicians how to overcome stage fright, performance anxiety, and other blocks to peak performance. The specific mental skills you develop will allow you to experience the satisfaction of performing up to your abilities – even when the lights are brightest. Wait, let me rephrase that. Especially when the lights are brightest.”
I wait anxiously every Sunday morning to read the latest blog post. Unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to take part in his coachings or online course, but I have a couple of friends who have and they are incredible.
Recent posts have included:
Why I Should Have Paid More Attention in Music Theory Class
How to Keep Performances of the Same Piece from Getting Stale
The Learning-Performance Distinction and Why Gains in the Practice Room Don’t Always Stick
Is This the Key to Being Less Distracted on Stage and in the Practice Room?
3 Entertaining Videos on Life and Career Success
The blog posts are well written, researched and presented. I would highly recommend adding this to your Sunday morning routine. The posts are not just about performance anxiety. Some of my favorite ones talk about creativity and practice habits.
As I continue to build my site, I will write about sites, apps, books and other resources about music that I have found valuable in my development. If there is something that I should check out, please leave a comment below and let me know.
