Carl Barker (Full Instrument Cover)

All parts learned by ear. Filmed with two people. As you can see, this video was filmed a couple years ago. Most people enjoy it, but to the few who take the video's audio quality far too personally, I'm sorry. The parts were filmed with a point-and-shoot camera, and it was edited in software I hardly knew how to use. I assure you, all of the parts are being played, and yes, I am aware that the original song is prominent in the mix. Let's try to move on.

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Eleven Reasons Why You Should Learn a Musical Instrument

You are thinking that it would be great to take up a new hobby as your kids are all at school now and you want to indulge in time for "you". A couple of your friends play musical instruments and enjoy playing in the local orchestra. You thought that learning an instrument could be something to take up, but are a little hesitant. Take a look at the eleven reasons why you should learn a musical instrument.

1. Parents want to give their children an opportunity. Maybe they play an instrument themselves and want their children to share the pleasure that they get, or they have an instrument at home which needs dusting down.

2. Children want to learn because their friends are.

3. The school orchestra or band are short of a particular instrument eg bassoon or trumpets, and you learn that instrument to fill the gap.

4. People learn more than one instrument. You find that people in bands can play guitar, bass and drums, or that it is common for people to be able to play flute, clarinet and saxophone. You may be a flute player and have an interest in playing in orchestras for musical theatre. To save on space in the orchestra pit the parts are written for one player to play flute, clarinet and a range of saxophones.

5. You like the sound of a particular instrument and just want to learn that instrument.

6. You were given an instrument for a present, inheritance or you were lucky enough to win one. So why not give it a try.

7. You have a particular instrument lying around the house not being used so thought it would be a great idea to learn it.

8. For relaxation. You can while away the hours with an instrument at hand and relieve the stress of the day.

9. You have the desire to play in a musical group such as a band, orchestra, chamber group or duets with a friend. This creates a great social environment.

10. To be able to earn money when you are good enough by:

- teaching it - this is great because it is a job with flexibility i.e. you work when you want to as well as the student(s).
- solo artist
- accompanist
- professional orchestra or band

11. Learning an Instrument and hence playing music teaches you many things including:

- the use of many parts of the brain
- improved performance in all areas of the curriculum
- listening, memory, communication, coordination, concentration,critical thinking, team and social skills
- imagination and creativity e.g. improvisation and composition
- cooperation and commitment e.g. in lessons and group playing
- the development of self esteem and confidence

These are eleven reasons why you should learn a musical instrument. Do you think you will? Wouldn't it be great to play along with your friends when good enough to?

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How to Get More Practice Time on Your Instrument

Practice Minutes

Here is a personal observation I made while a student of classical double bass at the Wiesbaden Conservatory in Germany ... all those years ago.

Fist of all I must tell you that I am a lazy person. As a matter of fact, I am so lazy that I don't want to do things twice. The result is that I organize myself! I consider this to be the highest form of laziness.

Anyway, back to the (related) observation.
As a music student I sometimes was too lazy to rosin up my bow, tune my bass, and get some practice done ... especially if I only had about 15 or 20 minutes "downtime". So what did I do? Nothing really, just hung around and waited for the bus, a friend to show up, or whatever else was next on the agenda.

Until one day it dawned on me! If I were to do SOME practice in my "downtime" every time, the minutes would add up to hours, to weeks, to months. Yes, I even did the calculation that converting 15 minutes of daily downtime to uptime amounted to a staggering 91 hours of additional practice per year. Whoa! Ninety-one hours! I was in! And since then I have retained the same attitude.

So that's my Laziness Conversion story. Organization = The Highest Form of Laziness

Try this technique for yourself ... and have even more success on your instrument!

P.S.
Another statistic I did in my final year of study was to note EXACTLY how much I really practiced. At the end of one year I was pleased to find I averaged three-and-a-half hours per day.

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Choosing an Instrument For Your Child - Part 1

How do you choose a musical instrument for your child? First you may want to find out which instrument your child may actually have an inherent talent for and where to go to find this out. Also, many parents may have an initial choice already worked out in their minds. Then there's your child - What does he or she want? All of this presupposes that your child wishes to play an instrument in the first place.

The first thing I think that you must do is to have an open mind about the choice. If you are a violinist, for example, you may have a desire for your child to follow in your footsteps. If this is fine with your child, great - But remember that he or she may have something else in mind. Let it happen naturally.

Most schools, unless they are experiencing unfortunate budget cuts, have music programs where kids get to try out various instruments under the supervision of the music teacher. But this can be imperfect. I remember this when I was a kid, and it didn't effect my choice in the end.

Many local music stores rent "student model" instruments and will let you try them out. This is usually for more traditional band and orchestra instruments. Instruments such as the guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard seem to be a bit harder to find as "rentals". But these instruments can always be tried out first before you need to make a buying decision.

Some instruments are inherently harder to play than others - Or so it would seem. Some kids have a hard time with brass and reed instruments, while others do not. Some kids can pick up a violin and get decent tone after a very short period of time, while others cannot.

Your child also may have other ideas no matter what you may think he or she has a natural talent for. If this is the case, don't try to enforce your will as your child may simply end up getting turned off by the whole thing.

The bottom line on this is that finding the right instrument is a process. Be patient with it.

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