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Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose.
BRENDAN O'DONOGHUE
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Quick thought: what to transcribe?
Almost every player plays the same shit at every tempo... so if you’re significantly slowing everything down. Just find a slower song....
brendan
Dec 30, 20191 min read
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Quick Thought: It's definitely simpler than you think it is.
1) What you should work on in the practice room 2) The fingering of that lick or passage (even in F# maj) 3) What constitutes a balanced...
brendan
Jun 10, 20191 min read
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Don't "Flanagan" Your Bandmates!
If you somehow ended up under a rock, John Coltrane recorded a song called "Giant Steps" on an album of the same name: He had a fantastic...
brendan
Apr 19, 20194 min read
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Quick Thought: Make Sure You Learn the End
I think everyone has an experience where were learning a song, got the double chorus at the end, and said "I got this" and moved on. Then...
brendan
Apr 3, 20192 min read
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Have You Even Listened To Jazz?
I was listening to that album "Charlie Parker: One Night At Birdland" Other than the stacked line-up, it's probably the live bebop album...
brendan
Mar 28, 20192 min read
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Quick Thought: No One Cares How Little Rehearsal You Had
I promise that no one on the bandstand or in audience that's gonna move your career forward is thinking, "That cat sounds great for not...
brendan
Mar 22, 20191 min read
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Quick Thought: Other People's Transcriptions
A friend who is does a lot of IT programming once told me in reference to cloud backups: "There is no cloud, just someone else's...
brendan
Mar 22, 20192 min read
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Quick Thought: Getting Faster
Although we all know it's true, it never hurts to hear it again. Remember that if something sounds rough at 40 BPM, it may sound flashier...
Brendan O'Donoghue
Mar 22, 20191 min read
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Quick Thought: Play The Song You Want To Play
When doing low-key pick-up gigs or jam sessions there are good opportunities to try out new ideas to grow. But in light of there being...
brendan
Mar 20, 20192 min read
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Quick Thought: Be a fan of the performer in classical music.
This doesn't mean neglect your favorite composer or compositions. But especially as a performer, figure out which soloists, orchestras,...
brendan
Mar 20, 20191 min read
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Transcribe Something Pedestrian Today
...Also transcribe your heroes being otherworldly, obviously. But let’s talk about all those non-face-melting licks you can find...
brendan
Mar 18, 20195 min read
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4 Ways Being Like Larry Bird Will Make You A Better Musician
It’s a good joke among my friend that I don’t follow sports. My better known friends know that I’m actually pretty fluent in late 90s and...
brendan
Mar 9, 20198 min read
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