Skills You'll Learn
Obviously, it would be an understatement to say that playing a musical instrument is about merely hitting the right notes. Yet, few people fully grasp how multifaceted and demanding it really is.
Much like a martial art, music is a discipline that requires both knowledge and skill. It solicits from us the need to develop numerous faculties and aspects of our beings on all levels: physical, mental, emotional, intuitive and spiritual. In addition, it heightens our ability to multitask. And, the abilities we acquire through learning music are those that can serve us in all areas of our lives.
This is why I believe training in this art form is more than just rewarding and enjoyable; it is invaluable.
And now for some of the skills you'll learn...
Body Positioning, Posture and Dynamics
- Improving body positioning and posture
- Natural ergonomics and holistic integration of physical movements
- Hand positioning, fingering
- Increasing muscular strength and stamina, sharpening dexterity
- Kinesthetic control and technique
- Coordination, independence
Mental
- Increasing mental strength and stamina
- Disciplining the mind and understanding its processes
- Extending attention span
- Developing focused as well as peripheral attention
- Memorization
Factual, Structural, Intellectual
- Nomenclature, notation, symbols
- Physics and chemistry of sound
- Theory: linear and geometric architecture of musical harmony
- Various genres, styles and structural forms
- Understanding "parts" — vocal, orchestral, and on piano — and the roles they play
Visual, Aural
- Visual and aural patterning
- Recognizing structural shapes and relationships
- Note-reading, sight-reading, sight-singing
- Ear-training, auditory discernment and refinement
Expression
- Interpretation, expression, musicality
- Timing: meter, tempo, retards, flow, riding on the "groove"
- Articulation, dynamics, phrasing
- Ornamentation, embellishment
- Adding individual personality, character and style
Creative
- Understanding the creative process
- Exploring one's own creativity
- Improvisation
- Harmonic structuring and melodic shaping
- Composition, songwriting and writing lyrics
- Writing and interpreting chord charts
Practical
- Learning how to benefit from mistakes and uprooting the problems that cause them
- Learning effective ways to go about practicing
- Tips on how to maximize performance and stage presentation
Personal and Spiritual Development
- Getting in touch with and growing in appreciation of one's talents and abilities
- Enhanced self-awareness, building self-esteem and confidence
- Increased appreciation for the value and benefits of music and the arts
- The Zen of music: personal development, spiritual growth, and greater wisdom gained through understanding the correlation between music and the universal laws of nature (physical and metaphysical)
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