How To Sing Harmonies

Harmonies. They almost seem to be invisible on some tracks, yet on others, they seem to make the whole song. Most music you hear on the radio (pop/rock/MOR) is filled with harmonies. Sometimes it's obvious, usually it isn't. A great harmony can take a track to the next level. Yet, there seems to be lots of confusion about how to do these or where to put them.


They're Out There

If you listen closely to the vocal tracks on most pop songs, you'll find tons of harmonies. You'll not only hear them on the chorus but peppered throughout the rest of the track too. Most vocalists like to stick a harmony on a couple of lines throughout the song, not just the chorus. A lot of the time, it's layered in the background, just lifting the line without making it too obvious. Sometimes the vocal will be doubled, sometimes it's the lead an octave above or below, and of course the traditional 3rd above is always popular. Doubling and singing the same line an octave above or below is also vary effective in bringing something extra to the line without having a full blown harmony there. Some artists will almost always double their vocal line.

Different Strokes

What people don't realize is that each style of music has it's own way of dealing with harmonies and vocals. Some styles (like metal) generally don't like 3 part harmonies unless it's for a special effect. Other genres (like country) use harmonies so much, that it's pretty much part of the style. Jazz of course has it's more complicated harmonies, but usually used more in vocal groups (versus the intimate trio setting). Certain types of rock and indie rock also use different harmonies to create different moods (Alice In Chains is a great example of unique harmonies being part of their style). RnB harmonies also can go beyond the typical intervals to great effect.

Some Of The Rules

Straight ahead harmonies follow simple rules that can be used as a starting point (as well as ending point) for some of your songs. Most harmonies will follow the chord or 'harmony' behind the vocal line. Depending on your melody, your harmony will usually be a third (or fourth) above (or below) that. For example if your chord is a C major and your vocal melody starts of an E note, goes up to an F, and returns to and E, your harmony line will be a third above that (i.e. G, to A, back to G). However, if your vocal melody line starts on a G, goes up to an A and back to a G, your harmony line will be a fourth above that (i.e a C, to a D, back to a C). It doesn't always work exactly this way because your melody doesn't always start on a convenient note, but it's a good starting point. Also, depending on the genre, different harmonies will apply. If you're singing harmony on a blues song, or a reggae song, different harmonies will apply. Still, a third is a great way to start.

Get It Going

The best way to get started in using harmonies is to just get started. Don't worry about too much of the technical stuff to begin with. Just try singing along with songs and try doing the harmonies. We'll go into some exercises that will help you along the way but it's best to just get going. A lot of vocalists I've worked with didn't work on harmonies as much because they were a mystery and had trouble at the beginning. Try working on these and see how far you get. The best harmony singers I've ever used had a great ear and would come up with the best harmonies. There are two ways to go about figuring out and working on harmonies; a) strictly technical (following the line exactly) and b) experimentation (not following the line). These both occur in music for different reasons. Most of the time when signers are in 3 (or more) part harmony, you have to be a bit more strict about the lines because you don't want the different harmony lines tripping over each other. The second happens a lot with just one line of harmony where the harmony line won't follow the melody line exactly. Examples of this is where the melody will move but the harmony will stay on one note (or move around very little).

Strictly Technical

Start by playing a chord on the piano. Keep it simple to start. With your right hand play a simple melody. Start with using chord tones only. The example listed above is a great example to start with. Play a C chord. Play the melody above that: C to D back to C. Now you're going to sing the harmony. Play the E to F just above the C to D you just played. Hear those notes in your head. Sing them and try to remember them. Now play the chord with your left hand, the melody notes C and D with your right hand and sing the harmony notes E and F all at the same time. It's important when you work on this that you get your pitch right. Once you get your notes right, try and hear the notes you're singing with the original notes of the melody. This is the most important part; you need to hear both parts at once. This is where most vocalists fall behind. The reason for this is because whenever you sing harmonies, you're always singing with another person. That other person is usually the lead. Your line must meld with theirs seamlessly. That can't happen if you aren't listening carefully to what they're doing. This listening has to be done as soon as you start practicing harmonies. The best harmony singers I've ever heard didn't just have great pitch, they had great timing, and most of all they had great ears.

A Little Experimentation

The other way to get some harmonies  going is to simply start singing and see if you can 'hear' another line, it doesn't matter if the line is 'technically' correct i.e. a correct harmony line moving in perfect parallel with the lead vocal. It just matters that you try and start to 'hear' these things. Again start with a simple line and then start singing lines above (or below) that line. Try to stay above or below the melody; harmony lines as a general rule don't cross the melody. Try as many variations as you can. Remember to try lines below as well as above your original. The value in this is that after you become used to singing harmonies, this is the best way to come up with interesting lines. Line made up are almost always better than lines carefully constructed (this may not be the case in strict harmonies or really involved arrangements) . If used in conjunction with the technical method, you'll find you're on your way to becoming a great harmony singer.

One Liners

Because some melodies just around a lot, or don't stick to chord tones, a 3rd or fourth line won't work. Sometimes, because the chords are moving and your line doesn't or vice-versa a moving line won't work. Sometimes when nothing else fails, singing a single note over the entire phrase is best. Not only is it a good idea in some cases, in some genres (like indie rock) a single note above or below the melody will actually sound better (or cooler to your ears). Other styles of rock also like to use one liners like an octave below to a line to thicken it and make it sound darker.

In The Mix

Most of the time a harmony line will play second role to the melody. This usually works the best and like mentioned, it's a great way to bring out that melody. When it comes to having more than one harmony part, you're going to have to go in and do some tweaking to make it sound right. Depending on your harmonies and how many people you have singing any one part, the harmonies are going to have to be mixed right. It's not always all completely even. We tend to like the higher harmony parts better, so they're usually mixed a little higher, or at least heard better. If it's a three (or more) part harmony, be careful with the inner voices. If one of these sticks out too much, it'll sound weird to our ears. Our ear naturally pick up three things. First, we hear the lead and for a lot of people, that's all they really notice. Second, we'll hear the highest harmony, third we'll hear the lowest note and finally we're able to discern the inner voices. To most people those inner voices are almost invisible. A lot of musicians try and pull those inner voices out to make their music more interesting. The point is that unless it's something you want to do on purpose, it'll sound strange to our ears if those middle lines are the most prominent.


The Double

Once a special effect, it's now standard for artists to double their vocal line. This is used in every genre of music from pop to rap. There's something special that happens when a vocal line is doubled. Keep in mind that the line has to be sung twice and not just copied and pasted. The latter results in a chorus/phase type effect (or even make the line completely disappear) whereas doubling the vocal will thicken it. Some artists do this numerous times. While effective to bring out a vocal line, it also takes away from the intimacy of a single vocal; the idiosyncrasies and special inflections of the original vocal may get lost. One effect that a lot rock artists like to use is to keep the verse a single vocal line and then double it at the chorus. This really makes the chorus stand out and keeps the intimacy of the verse intact. Remember too that often the harmonies are doubled just as much as the lead. This has the same effect making the harmonies sound bigger (and somewhat smoother) than just the one line. Remember to make the double as close to the original line as possible or you'll end up with a useless mess.

Start Your Harmony Engines

There are so many ways to treat a vocal line. Harmonies are one of the best ways to really pull out a line. Plus, people just love the sound of multiple voices. It's a powerful tool. Try some of the other things mentioned in this article: doubling, octave doubling, alternate lines etc. Even if your genre doesn't generally use a lot of harmonies, you may start something that changes everything. At the very least, you'll create your own unique voice.

The Cirlce Of Fifths: Other Applications

We've talked about the circle of fifths and the different ways that songwriters you can use it. Today we're going to talk about a couple more ways that the circle applies to different aspects of music theory. Other uses include chord progressions, key modulation, improvisation and composition.

Modulate What?

When it comes to modulating to different keys within the same song, there are ones that are more fluid than others. For example a modulation from the major to it's relative minor is a very fluid modulation whereas the modulation from C major to F# major is more abrupt. The further away the modulating key from the original in the circle, the more obvious and abrupt* the change will be. In most forms of classical music, there is a modulation as part of the form. For example the second movement is usually in a different key. You'll find that the composer would often follow the circle when choosing a key to modulate to. If they chose a key further away, if was often on purpose and for a good reason. So in effect, the simplest modulation would be from a major key to it's relative minor. One movement to the left or right would be the next easiest movement. The only exception to this would be the modulation to the major's parallel minor. For example going from C major to minor. Even though their key signatures are different, we hear this modulation so much, that it doesn't seem intrusive to us at all.

*Of course 'abrupt' here is subjective since accomplished composers can make the most unusual key changes seamless...or the most obvious change seem intrusive.

This not only applies to composition but to improvisation as well. If' you're DJing you'll find the same thing happens when you mix songs. The further away the keys, the more obvious the transition will be.

Improvisation

The use of the circle is also a great vehicle for improvisation. Go through some theory books or jazz courses (the Aebersold series is a great example here), and you'll find that they'll often suggest going through the circle of fifths as an exercise. There are two reasons for this. First it's a great way to get the circle second nature in your mind. After going through the circle a million times with your scales, it becomes like your second name. Second, like mentioned above, a lot of modulations follow the circle so you're in effect practicing something that's going to come up in real world situations.

Try this: When practicing your scales, go through the circle. Play the C major scale up and down and then move to the right (or left) of the circle and keep going. You'll end up going through all keys in a very musical way. Try playing a pattern and doing the same thing. Next, try doing the same thing with chord progressions (e.g. a ii V I ). Since keys often modulate a fifth away, you're practicing things that will definitely come up. You'll find that the entire progression (a ii V I progression is all fifths) is just one movement of fifths after another.

Chord Progressions

We covered the circle and how it applies to chord progression before. Chords will often move in fifths. For example the famous 'Rhythm Changes' is just a chord progression going through the circle of fifths. Just like modulations, the movement of a fifth in chord progressions is a very pleasing sound to us. You'll find that the most well known ( and used) chord progressions (e.g. ii V I, IV I, V I, vi ii V I, etc.) are all just movements of fifths. At the same time, if you want to make things difficult, modulate across the circle. Start at C, then go to Gb, then to G, then to B, etc. If you look at notoriously difficult songs, (e.g. Coltrane's 'Giant Steps') you'll find that it follows these guidelines. Also, when improvising on changes in jazz or blues, it's common to add a V or ii V in the middle of the progression (again, just more fifths). These need to be on your fingertips.

Composition

Of course, all of this leads us to composition. Key modulation and effective chord movement and progressions are part of the craft. Knowing where to go, (or at least knowing where you want to go) is a huge part of effective writing. If you start off in the key of F and want to make a couple of modulations, what are your choices? Or, you're right in the middle of writing a beautiful melody and are trying to find a great way to harmonize that line, what are your chord choices? One of the things that you should be looking at in both examples is the circle of fifths. The 'smoothest' modulations are the ones that are closest to your home key on the circle. If you're right in the middle of writing a song and can't figure out the next chord, if it's not the root chord, try one a fifth away, you'll be surprised at how effective this is. This can also work in reverse. If you want to jump all over the place, if you want more angular changes or intrusive modulations, use the circle to pick the oddest modulation.

It's There, Use It

As you can see, there are tons of uses for the circle of fifths. It's best to have the circle on the edge of your fingertips. You'll be amazed how often you'll use it.

The Other Circle Of Fifths: Thirds

We've talked about the circle of fifths and it's many uses here before. There is another circle that exists in music that you need to be aware of. It's the answer to many other questions in music as well as the answer to any chord in music. It's the circle of thirds and it's so important that it needs to memorized.



Here it is: C  E  G  B  D  F  A ( C  E G etc.)

That's it. Memorize it. It's very simple yet it contains all of the chords used in music. It's also the foundation of every arpeggio and scale that you'll come across. It also contains every other chord progression that isn't covered by the circle of fifths. If fact there are only three movements in music: a second (or seventh), a third (or sixth), or a fifth (or fourth). These can all be chromatic or diatonic.

Chord Chemistry 101

Ok, "How is this every chord known to man?" you may be asking. Well all chords are constructed from thirds. There are chords built on fourths and some with 'added' notes but we'll come to that. Every chord is initially built from thirds and then altered from there. To know what the notes are in any given chord, simply start with that note and go in thirds. Of course you're going to have to take into account the key you're in. For example, if you're in the key of E, the E chord will be E  G#  B  D#  F#  A C#. That's it. If you want to change any of the notes, change it, then make that part of your chord name (e.g. EMaj7#11 = E G# B D# F# A#). So you start on the root and climb in thirds. In the E example above we're looking at the root, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth. They all work this way. Not all chords will have all of these notes in it*, but this is the basic foundation.

*Not all notes need to be in the chord; some are 'more important' than others. For example, you usually include the 3rd and 7th since these really define the chord (i.e. major/minor, dominant 7th/major 7th) and the altered extensions. Some extensions, like the 11th in dominant chords is usually left out; others like the 3rd and 7th mentioned above, may be the only notes played. Remember, these aren't hard and fast rules, and can be changed at any time. These are just guidelines.

A Scale Is Just A Linear Arpeggio

One thing that may be a be a bit of a mind bend (at first) is that a scale is just a linear way of looking at a chord. You will come to see that scales and chords are interchangeable and different ways at looking at the same thing. If you look at the notes in a CMaj7 chord and then you look at the C major scale, you'll see that they are almost identical. Improvisers will look at a scale and see the target notes (i.e. notes of the chord) and passing notes (auxiliary notes not found in the chord). Some music (like bebop) was founded on the idea that you could improvise on the upper extensions of the chord and not on the chord tones themselves. A game changing idea at the time.

So What About Those Fourths?

Even though there are chords built in fourths, and others with a fourth or second added, they're still built from this basic chord chemistry. That is, the basic chord is still a C major or D minor (or whatever) but then instead of voicing the chord in thirds, you voice it in fourths. You still name the chord the conventional way (i.e. according to the method listed above). Therefore a chord built on fourths will still be named according to the traditional way. Other chords, like added and suspended chords work in the same way. In fact, once you know the chemistry behind how these chords are built, you can come up with a ton of varieties of your own. The best thing about this is once you've come up with some great chords, you'll know how to name them properly. Again, just use the circle of thirds to figure out what your chord is called, then name it appropriately.

Advanced Arpeggios

Since the circle of thirds is great for chords, the same holds true for arpeggios. Arpeggios are made up of the thirds that we mentioned but once you get into some extended harmonies and altered chords, those arpeggios can get quite hairy. This is where our circle of thirds comes in again. Instead of trying to play all of the notes of the chord, try building the whole thing in thirds. That is, start with the triad and continue climbing from there. You'll find that you end up playing other triads over top of the original triad. This is where polychords come from. Polychords seem really confusing at first but once you've done this exercise a couple of times, you'll see who effective they are. Once you see that for example playing a D major chord over a C major triad automatically becomes a Maj 13 with a sharp 4, trying to incorporate one of these chords into your playing won't be such a problem. This works on many levels. Just go up the arpeggio and see how many triads pop up. Get to know these. Some players rely on these when it comes to altered and extended harmonies because you end up playing new harmonies based on basic triads that you've been playing for years. Don't forget that when improvising, playing around with these extended triads may bring a whole new level to your playing.

Chord Progressions in Thirds

Remember we talked about the ways that chords move. Aside from the fifth movement which we talked about before, there is the second and third. Once you get used to the sound of roots moving in certain intervals, it becomes a lot easier to discern chord progressions and even single lines. When listening to a chord progression, listen to the roots and try to guess which interval they're moving in. Is it seconds (stepwise)? or is it fifths? If it isn't one of the these, it will be our thirds. Some famous chord progressions move in thirds. Anytime the root moves to it's relative minor, it's a third movement. Anytime you hear the famous rock I to bIII, it's a third movement.

E to G is used in millions of rock and blues songs.
So is the E to C (down an third) movement.
Any I to vi or iii is a third movement.
A C#m G Bm is a famous pop progression.

Just to Start

As you can see from the examples, we've just got started on thirds and third movements in chords. The same goes for the chord theory mentioned above. Memorize this circle just like you've memorized the circle of fifths. You'll see these coming up again and again in many things you do. When you have them on the tip of your tongue, it becomes easy to rifle off chord tones, progressions and arpeggios without much thought at all. And that's what we want; we want it to all become automatic.

The Musician's Most Important Skill

All too often we talk about how to practice and perform. You might think that the most important skill a musician could have is great dexterity or, a great imagination, or maybe even great creativity. Where these are important, that there is one skill that is the foundation of all that a musician must do. It's our memory. Memory isn't just used by musicians to remember tons of songs; it's used in every aspect (improvising, composing, performing). Musicians must remember songs, chord progressions, fingerings, lyrics, scales, idioms (licks), performance notes (dynamics, inflections, phrasing, breathing, etc),  recording techniques, engineering facts, song forms, theory, stage moves, gear settings, recording settings, software applications, etc. And this is just the musical applications! This doesn't include any of the marketing, PR, business activities that we have to do on a daily basis. Memory even comes into play in our ear training because ultimately, the ear is using our memory as reference point for all of those chords, intervals and sounds.

It's All In The Repetition

As a musician, the same exercises and drills are repeated over and over again throughout your lifetime. There's a good reason for this. Repetition is simply one of the best (if not the best) way that to learn. Of course all musicians know this, since this principle is shoved down our throats from our first lesson...Did you practice? Did you go over all of the stuff we talked about? Did you do your scales for the millionth time? Did you practice your rhythms (that you've memorized)? We all know that practice makes perfect and the essence of practice is repetition. For some reason though, we don't apply this principle to other areas when we know how effective it is. For example, a lot of musicians will work on music theory, different styles, new chords, new scales etc. but they don't apply this repetition technique. The best way to retain a new scale/chord/technique is to repeat it over and over until it's second nature. There is the proper application of new material which we've talked about before but, for simple retention, repetition can be one of your most effective weapons. Use it daily. One of the most effective things about teaching is the fact that I can enforce this simple technique every week when I see the student. If you're practicing on your own, you're going to have to reinforce this on yourself. Ask yourself what you did the last time you picked up your instrument. What did you do last practice?  Did you practice what you had started? Did you do a little everyday or did you just go through it once? Make sure you do this every time you sit down to practice.

The Four Point Review Method

Once you've learned a new skill, read a book or had a lesson, one of the worst things you can do is just go home and forget about it. Even leaving it until the next day isn't a good idea. There is a method of reviewing material that will go a long way in absorbing and memorizing new ideas. Every time you come across something that you want to retain and use in the future, go through this learning regimen.

Step 1 - Input: Like mentioned before, it's not enough to simply read or scan the information that is presented. You must engage the mind immediately. Get into the mindset that you're going to immerse yourself in the task at hand. It's the same with learning almost any new skill, the more your mind is engaged in the technique, the easier it will be to retain and use that information. You engage the mind by asking questions, repeating important facts out loud, making notes, circling and highlighting important points, and most of all, summarizing what you've just learned. Let's look at a couple of those in detail.

Engage First

The most important thing about trying to remember facts and ideas is to engage the mind in the first place. This may seem obvious but you have to be working the brain a certain way right from the beginning to make sure that the facts are retained. It's like trying to remember somebody's name when first being introduced. It's important that you go through a couple of simple steps or you may end up paying attention to the color of their shirt instead of remembering their name. Simply reading something or passively skimming over it is ineffective in retaining information. Reading and skimming over material are only effective when you've engaged the mind in the right way. It's all too easy to just read over something without remembering anything. How many times have you ended up reading the same paragraph over and over because your mind was elsewhere? This happens more often than you think. Try this: read over some material, or a couple of blogs or a couple of articles like normal. Just read them like you normally would, don't do anything different. (You might try harder to retain info this time because you know whats coming next). Now close whatever material that you had open and try to remember what you've just read. How much can you remember? If you've read a dozen blog posts, how many do you remember? Do you even remember the titles? How about the pictures? How many of those do you remember? Because we consume so much information in a day, we start to consume our reading material like our television; as a casual observer.

The Non-Casual Observer

Now we're going to take the same material but this time we're going to engage our mind. Keep in mind that this isn't something that we usually do automatically so we're going to have to make a conscious effort. There are a number of ways to retain information, to learn and to be able to recall it at will. Numerous books have been written on the many ways of doing this. There are ways to retain lists, physical surroundings, technical information, graphical information etc. Most involve using all of your senses in one way or another. Others try and figure out how you process information and use that to your advantage. Do some research on these and try them out. You may find one works better for you than others. The way you learn is usually a personal thing and one method doesn't apply to everyone. We'll look at just one way to help us retain all that we read.

Mindset

When you first get the material, give it a quick once over. That means if you have a book or even a chapter of a book, go over the entire thing at once. Go to the end and see what you're supposed to learn. If it's a scale or theory, look at the final examples to see what the point is. By doing this, you're getting an idea of the overall thought process right from the beginning. You'll notice that in some books, there is a summary at the beginning of each chapter as well as one at the end detailing all that was covered in a couple of sentences. You should be doing the same thing when you start with any new material. Second, get rid of any other things that may be on your mind. It's a standard thing to close your door and turn off any distractions when really getting down to work. There's a good reason for this. You want to do this every time you sit down to learn. Except don't stop at just that. Try and shut off your mind too. Empty your mind of any other thoughts if possible. That's why it's good to get an overall view of all of the material when you start, it gets your mind into the task at hand. Try and keep this focus. We lose concentration easily and quite consistently. Keeping focus is a skill that must be learned and worked on. Third, keep an internal dialogue about the material at hand going on. Why is don't like this and not that? Why do this at all? Is there another way? How do I do these things? By keeping your mind engaged with this dialogue, it'll be easier to keep focused.

Step 2 - Organization

We've talked about having a separate method of collecting ideas and putting things together for your practice sessions. I use a binder that I put all of my notes in, reference material and practice schedules. When learning new material, it's important to have a place where you can make notes but also be able to come back to. Remember the review is going to be really important. Get together a notebook or use your favorite method be it a laptop or anything else you use. It's important that you have some organization to your notes. That way, when you come back to them, it's simply a matter of going through a quick review. Looking for notes, forgetting where you put something, or not understanding what you've written will just get in the way. You can make notes any way you like, just make sure you do them. This is something that we lose after we leave school. Notes are great for organizing things in our mind and reviewing what we've learned. Retention is difficult without these. Also, try and make time for a review everyday. After a while the reviews will be less often but it's important that you're consistent with this. We know that the best way to learn is by repetition. Make it so the repetition is effortless. You simply go to the material everyday, and review. I'm not just talking about organizing the written material but organizing your time.


Notes and Mind Maps

One great way to engage the mind and try organizing things in your head is to create notes and mind maps. Mind maps can be used for anything...even music. It's about how you put it together. Once you learn some new facts, put them together in a mind map and see how they all connect and make sense. Mind maps are really just another way to make notes. Instead of having lists though, we have a graphical representation. This is more like our brain functions so it's more effective than long lists and straight text. Mind maps also use keywords which are another great learning tool. I find that any type of graphical reference always helps. Mind maps have a standard way they are put together. I follow this but also have tons of other notes and diagrams I make to understand. Tests have shown that material is retained much better when it is written by hand as opposed to typing or other input.

Repetition

Like mentioned above, it's important that the material is reviewed consistently. This is one of the most important parts of learning. It's the reason why I'll go over the same material again and again with my students. That means having a schedule and going over all of the material everyday. It's important to go through these steps every time you open your notes.

Step 3 - Review

Of course there is no retention without review. That means not just going over the material but going over it consistently and making sure that you understand what you're learning. Go through the same mental processes that you went through when you first learned the material. The consistency of review is important also. When you first learn something new, it's important that you do a review almost immediately after learning. That means if you've learned something is a classroom, do a review that day when you get home. This is the most important review of all of them. Just doing this will increase your retention and understanding tenfold. Go over all of the material you learned that day. This doesn't have to take hours, a half hour will do. Just make sure that you engage your mind like you did when you first learned the material. Once you've done the first review, you can wait until the next day before you do another. Do this review like the first. Once you've done these first two reviews, you're well on your way to retaining the info. You can wait a couple of days before doing another review but don't wait longer than that. After doing all of these reviews the first week, you can just do a review once a week for the next month, you should be able to retain all of the information this way. Once you've done the first month, you should only need to do a review once a month. I try and go over all of the material once a year. If you have tons of songs and an extended repertoire, you may have to tweak your review methods depending how much material there is. Remember that if material isn't reviewed often enough, it will have to be relearned when the time comes.

Don't Just Regurgitate

It's usual for most people to review material simply by reading over it again. There are more effective ways to remember. One is the mind map method mentioned earlier. Another effective method is to create quizzes and/or try to recreate what you've learned. This means taking the ideas learned and try to write down and explain all that's been covered. Once you've gone over the material, go back over it in your head. What's the general point? What was learned? Are there new definitions and terms to know? Did you understand what you read? Is there something that you didn't understand? If there was, write it down. You can come back to that later. Once you've gone over the material, close everything, take a short break and then give yourself a small test. All you need to do is write down, play and explain what you just learned. By putting it in your own words, it will help with not only your retention but your understanding also. Music can be confusing, by putting things into your own words, it helps create your own understanding of the material. You'll find most musicians have their own opinion about quite a few things in music. This is because we've all taken the same concepts and organized them and made them our own.

Focus and Engage

You can see that once again we've just touched the surface of what we can do to use our memory better. There are a couple of techniques here that you'll want to use again and again. The better you get at retaining information, the better you'll  get at remembering songs, fingerings, scales, chords etc. This sort of technique will permeate all of your playing and make you a better musician overall.

How Not To Practice

There are many times when we set out to accomplish our goals but it either takes too long or doesn't happen at all. When it comes to music, we all know how important it is to practice. Yet, there are many things that we do that undermines our ability to get better, grow and learn. This things may not seem all that important at first but their effect over time can be monumental.

Practicing Quickly

We know what we want to do. We have a basic idea of what it is and how to go about it. So we try the exercise a couple of times slowly and then plow ahead and see how quickly we can pick it up. It's not perfect but it's close. The speed is almost there but there are a couple of problem areas. So we keep plowing ahead and forcing it to work. This is in fact contrary to what we want to do. Every time we practice something, it gets reinforced in our brain. Practicing something at a fast tempo, incorrectly, over and over again just reinforces the bad technique. That's why it's important to practice slowly. When you practice slowly and deliberately, you are reinforcing good technique (i.e. the neural pathways in your mind). The tempo doesn't matter; it just matters that you are doing it correctly. Practice slowly and get faster gradually. Ironically, if you practice this way, you'll get better sooner.



Practicing Mistakes

The biggest problem by far that people do on a constant basis is to practice their mistakes. Once you've practiced something a couple of times, it becomes a pattern in your brain. If you keep practicing it the same way, that new 'wrong' habit is going to be reinforced again and again. There are many things that can happen when we learn something new. Sometimes we go with what 'feels' right or comfortable. It's important that when you practice, like working out, that your form is correct. Practicing bad form can produce all sorts of bad side effects; from slow development to even injury. Just going with the flow isn't always the best idea. Sometimes our bodies do the wrong things and we have to take the time and make sure we're doing it correctly. This goes hand in hand with practicing slowly. But it also goes with being focused and making sure that you're thinking about what you're doing. It's all too easy to get comfortable with what you're doing and not think about it. It's easy to get into some bad habits and bad technique simply by not paying attention to what you're doing.

Being Inconsistent

We need to practice a new skill many times before in becomes ingrained in our minds and our muscle memory. It's been said that you need to practice something for 10,000 hours before it becomes part of your muscle memory. Whether or not the number is correct, we all know that a new skill must be repeated numerous times before it becomes second nature. Yet when we practice, we aren't as consistent and we know we should be. There is a general method of review that ensures that when you learn something, it is remembered. The biggest part of remembering something is doing it over and over. The same goes with learning a new skill, it must be done consistently over and over. It's important to do a review every time you sit down to practice. What did you work on yesterday? Do a review. Whenever it comes to a new skill, this is going to have to be done consistently for an extended period of time before it becomes second nature.

Not Setting Goals

This is something else we've talked a lot about here. It's pretty hard to be consistent when  you don't have an idea of what you're trying to accomplish. It's important to think about these things first. Even if you are consistent, are you being consistent with your goals? If not you're going to have to change either your methods or your goals. Once you establish what it is you want to accomplish it's easier to be consistent. It's easier to stay the course and gauge any progress.

Not Having Any Patience

When learning a new skill, it's important that you are patient with yourself. If you take the time, following these guidelines will be a lot easier. If you learn the proper technique and practice slowly, your progress will be greater. This does take some initial patience because our natural inclination is to push it as soon as we can. It's always, 'if I can do it this fast, I could do it a lot faster'. Or, 'I can almost do it this fast'. Have patience with yourself and practice at a good tempo for an extended period. Also, the more you want accomplish, the more patience you're going to have. Music takes a long time to learn and master. There are many things to take in and work on. If you have the patience to see it through, people will be amazed with your talent whereas you'll know how much time and effort you had to put in to make it seem that way.

Little By Little

Are you starting to see a trend here? All of these things seem to go hand in hand. Practicing slowly and deliberately, while staying consistent with your goals. These are pretty much a standard in all music schools yet it's something that's easy to forget or overlook. It takes a bit more effort to make sure that you're doing these things every time you pick up your instrument. It takes discipline on a daily basis. The next time you pick up your instrument, before you play a single note, think about these things. It'll make your time with your instrument that much more productive.

Practicing On Purpose

We seem to set out with the best of intentions. We try and practice everyday. We make sure we're covering the basics. We're trying to improve. Like we've talked about here before, it's important that you set apart some time to try and assess what your goals are. You try to figure out what you want to accomplish on your instrument and what you want to accomplish with music overall. But there's so much to learn. So much to practice. Every new skill seems to take forever to master. How do you know what you're supposed to practice and what not to? Of course having a great teacher is invaluable for this because that should be a prime consideration of theirs every time they see you. But how to do you figure this out on your own? How do you practice with purpose?



Narrowing It Down

When I teach, the first thing I ask is what kind of music the student listens to. I ask this before I even ask any of their goals because their answer to this question lets me know what direction to take in their lessons. If they say they love metal, I will take a different approach as opposed to if they say they love jazz. I then ask them what they want to accomplish with music. Usually it's mostly just about getting better and learning to play songs. But there's more to it than that. I ask them if they play in a band, if they ever perform live or if they ever do any recording or writing. The reason for this is because doing one of these type of activities will have an effect on what their course of action will be. If a student wants to learn metal and is in a band, part of their practice should be directed as what's happening with the band. If they ever book a show, or start doing some recording, this should have a direct effect on what they're practicing.

Why Bother?

You might be thinking 'why bother'. Why not just try and practice really hard each day and go through your regular regimented program? There's two reasons for this. First and foremost, music is an incredibly vast subject. There are simply too many avenues for any person to tackle all at once. Most artists and musicians (even veterans) will usually choose one particular avenue to explore at any one time. Just look at some releases of great artists. They will usually release an album exploring a certain style or sound. Check out the albums of some of the great jazz artists and you'll notice that they go through certain periods where they'll focus on one area. It may not always work out but I find it's the mark of a great artist who always strives to reach further with their art. Secondly, choosing a particular path makes it easier to improve in your development since your not scattered trying to learn too many things at once. It keeps you motivated since you can see your progress and it's not too overwhelming. For example, if you're in a metal band and recording a new CD, learning to write 4 part harmony shouldn't be your prime focus. Not at this time, maybe later.

Pinpoint Focus

If you want to keep your practice sessions interesting, it's good to have some variety, but don't lose track of the primary reason you're there. Make sure that when you sit down to practice you're clear about what you want to do. It's all too easy to pick up your instrument and 'just start jamming'. This is fine once it a while, these sessions can produce some interesting results. But, don't forget about the reason you're there. If you started something yesterday, review it, go back and make sure that it's ingrained in your playing. At the same time, if you have more than one project going, you're going to have to set priorities and keep them. If the projects or your interests collide, you're going to have to stick with one...for the time being at least. For example you're in a band and you're gigging regularly, but you also want to become a film composer. Both are quite time consuming so somewhere along the line, you might have to make a decision to go one way or the other. At the very least, there are going to be times and situations where you're going to have to focus on one more than the other. Essentially, once you decide on a course of action, some things are going to be mandatory to focus on, and others will be extras that you could try to fit in when possible.

The Projects Scenario

Really busy musicians usually have one or more (usually quite a few) projects going at the same time. How do you manage this? How do you fit it all in? It's all about organization. You'll find that accomplished musicians are not just really hard working but organized. Organization and management aren't things that are usually discussed in music class. The more projects you have going, the more things you want to accomplish, the more organized you're going to have to be. There is no other way. If you aren't organized, the projects will suffer...sometimes all at once. Either you keep your projects to a minimum, or get organized.

Getting Organized

What does this mean? It means planning, deadlines, taking notes, making decisions, finances, and time management. All of those boring things that seem to get in the way. In fact it's the opposite. The more organized you are, the easier it is to be creative. When you know exactly what you want to do at any given time, it makes it easier to get it done. Instead of wasting the time away not knowing what to do, or what you did yesterday, you can get right to work. We've talked a lot about this in here before but here's a summary.

Plan. This always goes first. The further along you are in the project, the more detailed your to-do list should be.Always be planning. There are the initial steps of development, but planning should be done consistently since things change often.

Deadline. There needs to be sort of time-line. This isn't cut and dried...especially with music; but you need to put some sort of time-line together with a deadline. Try and stick to this. Projects get done more often when there's some cut off and urgency to them. The last 10 yards are often the hardest.

Notes. While this may not be intuitive, it's really important that you take notes. The better you are at this, the easier it will be to stay on top of things. Always make notes as you go along. Ideas and problems always pop up.Make notes on what you've done, what you want to do, any problems, and how you did certain things. If you've gone through a certain process once, writing it down will make it easier to remember for the next time.

Decision Making. This in a category of it's own because there will come a time to make some decisions. Set this time apart and look at the overall picture. Let the ideas stew for a while. Put all of the ideas together and make some decisions. If it's a tough call, sleep on it. You'll find you get the best ideas at the weirdest time. If not sure, just set a course for action and see what happens. You'll make mistakes along the way, learn as you go. Don't stop or hesitate for too long. A little step in the wrong direction is better than none at all.

Finances. This is another one that needs its own category. This needs to be a separate planning session. It's not easy to put this together but the more upfront you are about how much it's all going to cost, the easier it is to make crucial decisions. Money is a crucial decision.Not thinking about it or not dealing with it won't make it go away. Planning in this area helps eliminate those nasty surprises that come out of nowhere and you aren't prepared to deal with.

Time management. Of course this is the one that everybody thinks of when talking about organization. As you can see though, if you've taken care of the other areas, time management becomes a little easier. If you know what you have to do, and how much time you have to do it, it's easier to make it part of your schedule. This also includes taking things off your list and delegating if at all possible.Time management at this point is really making sure something gets done everyday and that you stick to the items on your lists. Of course you also must be diligent about not wasting time on anything that doesn't fit into your plans. All of the things on your list are time consuming, so you have to be diligent about your time.

The Details

So once you've decided what your goal is, what should you practice? Let's look at the metal band scenario. Unlike the film composer who will be working on their composing, music theory and learning different styles of music, you're going to be focusing on just the one. Secondly, whereas the jazz musician may start out learning a dozen variations on the blues, you'll be focusing on your scales, arpeggios, chord progressions, alternate tunings and learning your tunes (cold). In short, you are now practicing on purpose. You're practicing with a specific purpose with a specific set of goals, with a specific set of exercises. Another caveat, even if you know what you want to accomplish, don't try to learn everything about your style of music all at once. There are some lesson books that go into 8 and 12 hour guitar practice sessions but this isn't practical most of the time. You should still be focusing on the things specific to your goals.

For Example...

For example, in the metal band example, you'll want to spend a portion of your practice working on arpeggios (using alternating picking and sweep picking). Unfortunately there are a million different arpeggios with a million different fingerings. You should focus on the ones that are used the most and grow from there. That way you'll have the 'basics' down before getting into anything to esoteric. You know you'll be using and applying these almost immediately; when they come up in songs, you'll be prepared. How do you figure out which are the ones to learn first? Two ways: first is by learning songs in your genre. There are chord progressions, scales and/or idioms specific to your style. Once you've learned a dozen or so songs, you'll start to notice some similarities. You'll notice the same scales, chords and arpeggios popping up again and again. It's what makes the style of music sound like it does. You may have to spend some time looking for and analyzing these things, but they're always there. Look for books, videos and other learning materials on your style, in the (specific) subject you're interested in. It doesn't matter what you're trying to learn, the info is out there! In the metal example from above, even though there are a ton of arpeggios and fingering available on the guitar, there are a couple that metal guitarists love to use over and over; mostly because they sound great. Learn and memorize these ones first. Then when you have time, go into things that aren't usually used in your style and try to apply that. It may set you apart from all the other bands in your genre.

Going With It

Whatever you decide on what it is you want to do, your course of action will be slightly different than everybody else's. Even two people in the same band may have a different set of goals. It's all very personal when it comes to artists managing their careers. The more organized you are, the more you plan and make notes, the easier it will be to get things done. The easier it will be to track your success and see where you are heading. The easier it will be to achieve what you want to achieve. Above all, the more rewarding it will be when you look back and see how it's all coming together, and how it's all going exactly the way you want it to go.

The Real Life Of A Musician

I read a great quote a long time ago that said ‘a musician doesn’t do just one thing, a musician does many things’. Great words of wisdom. Unless you’re lucky and hook onto something immediately, you’re going to end up doing a lot of things to make ends meet and ultimately become successful in your career. Instead of just going out there and just getting 'any job to pay the bills', it may be in your best interest to really think about what you want to do and how to go about getting there. Something that you should take into consideration when trying to figure out how to get into the industry is (oddly enough) 'industry related' jobs. These are better than your regular run-of-mill jobs because a) in some cases be a greater source of income than your standard part-time wage b) it may be something you're already skilled at, and most importantly, c ) it may create excellent opportunities that take your music career to the next level.

A Little Of This, A Little Of That

For example, you may start out in a band and end up becoming the ‘go to’ sound person when setting up the PA. You may end up being the most knowledgeable when it comes to recording and mixing. Or, you may be the person who takes care of all of the PR and social media chores. You may end up being the web person; taking care of all of the updates and coding. Whatever it is, these can all be potential sources of income. Gaining some expertise in these areas and using them in the music industry is a great way to get a foothold in the industry. Once this happens, you automatically become surrounded by other musicians and industry people. I don’t know how many musicians I’ve met who had they’re big break by knowing the right person in the industry; often through the oddest circumstances (e.g. I helped this guy with his website and his uncle happened to be in the industry). There have been many composers who got the gig because they were ‘already there’ e.g. working at the company at another position (that's why becoming an intern can be so valuable). Or, getting to know industry people from just getting another job (e.g one of aforementioned skills) within the industry. You get a job somewhere in the industry and suddenly, you’re there right in the middle of it all.

The List

Here are just a few of the things that you can do to make some money and may help get your foot in the door:

Teacher / Educator

One of the best things that I’ve done is teach. Not only is teaching rewarding, it can be financially rewarding. You can make much more money teaching than most part time (or even some full time) jobs. It also helps in your own development, because trying to explain a concept to someone else really helps clarify the concept in your own mind. Teaching can be a great (and usually reliable) source of income. You can work for a while, go on the road (or whatever) and return at almost anytime. It''s also a great source of networking within your own community. Working at a local school or college, you learn about all of the extra community affairs and shows going on. It's easy to get involved and meet tons of people. Most musicians I know have taught at one time or another.

Performer

I firmly believe that every musician should go on the road, or at least perform on a regular basis. As far as musicianship goes; nothing is better for your development than performing with a band. Performing is beneficial for all musicians no matter what else you may be doing. If you're teaching on the side, this is a great way to get new students and to showcase your talents. Nothing gets students more excited than seeing their own teacher up there showcasing their skills. Performing is also one of the best ways to network. Everybody wants to be part of something cool, and shows are cool. If you're performing on a regular basis, always let anybody you come in contact with about your shows. There are so many musicians out there; having a great live show is a great plus and sets you apart from all of the 'non-performers' out there.

DJ / Remixer / Laptop Musician

I got into this unexpectedly and was very grateful for the experience. It added a whole new dimension to my music career.There are many facets: DJ'ing, VJ'ing, remixing, laptop musicians, MC'ing etc. Of course DJing is a great source of income and may be a way to showcase your own tracks (some DJ"s feel that it's poor taste to play your own tracks) and network within that community. Most DJ's develop their own style and sound. Remixing has become part of the skill set; adding another dimension to their career and another potential source of income. DJ's also become producers in their own right. Some DJ's are more laptop musicians with a whole new generation of 'Ableton Live' specialists gigging out there. The digital music scene has become another whole section of the music industry.

Studio Work

While not the same as before the home studio revolution, studio work can be another source of income. There are tons of people with music software wanting to create tracks, but then finding their 'VST guitar simulator' just isn't cutting it. If you work with a lot of musicians, and money is scarce, you can parlay your musician skills into getting them to do some of your work too. Like we've talked about here, musicians are usually well versed in a number of areas. Find out what the other person is skilled at and see if you can trade your musician skills for their internet/mixing/whatever skills. Beware; be absolutely clear about these things before you go in. It'll save you headaches, misunderstandings and arguments later.

Mixer / Engineer

Like mentioned above one thing that is widely available to most musicians is recording software. What most musicians don’t take into account is the learning curve involved in using that software. Not only is there the learning curve for the software, there is the engineering and mixing. Anyone how has spent anytime in a studio knows how hard it is to get your demo sounding great. There are some many facets that need to be taken care of. If you’re good at mixing it may be a great source of income. Most musicians need a good engineer and/or mixer. Again, be clear about your fees and what you're responsible for up front. Most people like to come back numerous times, with numerous changes and revisions, asking you to redo it/touch it up without paying you any extra for your time.

Professional sound

If you’re spent any time on the road, you’ll know all of the trials and tribulations of live sound. Being knowledgeable in this area can be another area of potential income. Look into local live venues that have live music on a regular basis, there always seems to be a need for someone in this area.

Music Sales

Another standard for a lot of musicians. This is another source where you may be a pro in this and not even know it. Music sales is also a great source of networking because you eventually get to know almost every musician and industry professional in your area. It's a great way to network with other musicians because you literally meet tons everyday. It doesn't take much time before you know have a dozen like minded musicians that may be potential band-mates or a source of gigs..

Songwriter / Composer

This is something I generally do all the time depending on the other things that are going on in my life. Depending on what you want to accomplish, this is something that you would be doing on a constant basis anyway. Always think about how to use these skills to make money. It probably won't be your sole source of income for a while, but it has to be maintained and updated/revised constantly.

Producer

This goes along with the writing but in this case, it's writing specifically for an artist. This also involves getting the right songs and right sound. It involves all of the aspects of business. This is another aspect that will take some time to get steady work going. The key is to start working with other artists and start producing as soon as you feel you're ready. It's a learning process like any other and will take some time to learn all of the ins-and-outs of the job. Be patient, and try to get work and  your name out there whenever you can.

Marketing/PR

Like many musicians I know, this is something that I’ve never been very good at; yet it’s one of the most important things you can do as a musician. If you think that this is just for artists releasing material, you’re wrong. We’re all in a constant state of working and looking for more work. Whether you’re a gigging musician, songwriter, teacher, or a band on tour, it’s always important that you are connecting with other people. This is something that most musicians don’t take seriously enough yet it’s one of the greatest resources of getting ahead in your career and making money. If you're good at this, the industry always needs these kinds of people. There are always positions opening up for outgoing knowledgeable people to help with marketing and PR. A lot of them may be internships or low pay but now always. Either way, it's a great way to meet tons of people in the industry.

Music business/Management

This is a something a little different than the marketing. This means taking care of the business and administration. One of the great things a publisher does is take care of most of the administration for musicians. These things can be quite involved and time consuming. There are copyrights, correspondence, and a million other things that must be taken care of on a regular basis. This (along with marketing) is arguably where musicians suffer the most in terms of skills. Like marketing skills, if you've got 'em use them. I know a few people in the industry that do this type of work and they always seem to be working. Like every other area of the industry, companies are always looking for hard working, outgoing people.

Lecturer / Industry Pro

This is a bit different from teaching in that you become a lecturer or a ‘expert’ in a particular area. While this isn’t something that you would start out doing, you may find yourself being knowledgeable in a certain area and may use that to help other musicians. There are many of these 'self proclaimed experts' online so setting yourself apart from the wannabees is something valuable. You don't have to be an 'industry veteran' either. Lecturing on software (e.g. how to use Ableton Live) and/or gear, music styles, are other areas where this may apply. A successful blog, is also a great outlet for this. I know of other musicians who work for various music supply companies, traveling the world, promoting certain products.

Web Stuff

This is a huge subject. It has all of the website/coding/etc issues but also all of the other things that go along with maintaining an internet presence. A couple have been mentioned before: social networks, marketing, website creation/maintenance, graphics, video, etc. All of these need to be created and maintained on a regular basis. These days they're also incredibly invaluable because it's something that every musician needs and pretty much has to do. Sure, all of the tools are out there but there's a learning curve and keeping it all updated and relevant is an ongoing task. 

It's All There

Yes, there are a ton of things on this list and there are tons more! It's easy to get too wrapped up in it all and lose sight of why you're here in the first place. You may to do a majority of things on this list at one time or another. Pick the ones you're best at. The ones that you can do without taking too much time away from your primary goal. If there are things on this list that you need but are unskilled at or reluctant to do, try and find a way to outsource that skill. It's the best of both worlds where you can spend the majority of your time working on the things you love best and are most important to you, while letting others take care of the rest.