by Jamey Mann, Catoctin School of Music 0ver the course of my playing and teaching career I’ve developed a couple rules. These rules are simple, but effective for the students that follow them. I’ve developed these rules to help students think about and process the information they are seeing in their music, to help them understand the importance of listening to what they are doing and...
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by Jamey Mann, Catoctin School of Music Every musician comes to the point where they become very busy. A robust teaching schedule, consistent gigging, performance jobs, or continuing education can make finding time to practice difficult even for accomplished musicians (yes, we must still practice). This is true for adult students as well. In fact, it is more important for students still learning the instrument to...
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by Alyssa Cowell, Catoctin School of Music Every once in awhile, a student will ask me a question that seems like it should be easy to answer but isn’t. Recently, I had a young vocalist ask me who my favorite singer is. The follow-up question: “Why are they the best?” got me thinking a little bit more. The student in question is young, and while it is flattering...
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by Jamey Mann, Catoctin School of Music Injuries for musicians are common and something all teachers and students must take seriously. A student ignoring pain or a teacher not paying attention to a student’s technique may have dire consequences in the future. Most recently Steve Vai (one of world’s best and accomplished guitarist with over 4 decades of experience) suffered an injury in his left hand...
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by Jamey Mann, Catoctin School of Music Something I say several times a day to students is please slow down. Students playing too fast is an issue students of all abilities must work on. Many listen to their favorite songs or artist and are eager to play just as fast as them. In addition, students may have difficulty recognizing the piece or song they are playing at a slower tempo which...
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