Piano Guidance
Piano Guidance
Photo: Monstera
The brain The brain is one of the busiest (second only to the liver) and the laziest organs in our entire body. Our brains tend to focus on things which make it feel good, keeping us in our comfort zone.
Updated on 5/19/08 with comment from RealPlayer (see below) Users of YouTube and other video-sharing sites could face $750 per clip penalties if...
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You'll need music, an etude or method book, and a metronome to help you get started. These supplies require minimal investment on your part, but...
Read More »We all have a brain, but do we have a mind to use it? In life, we gravitate to those who possess and dispense wisdom. I have had the benefit of countless mentors, sages, and confidants sprinkled throughout my life. The brain is one of the busiest (second only to the liver) and the laziest organs in our entire body. Our brains tend to focus on things which make it feel good, keeping us in our comfort zone. If your brain is left unstimulated, it results in a condition known as lame brain or dull skull, both of which fall into the untremendous category. Emerging research on neuroscience confirms the brain is a muscle and mental fitness is as important and real as any other health regime for our bodies. In evolutionary as well as theological constructs, man occupies a unique space in the universe, the only known living entity capable of striving for, creating, and achieving greatness and oneness with, or as, God. Hence, there is inherent greatness in every human being, and every human being has a role in unlocking that potential via self to claim their intellectual or spiritual birthright (or both). Which brings me to the question, is your brain HOT or COLD? And by HOT I mean, Higher Order Thinking and by COLD I mean, Can’t Organize Logical Deductions. Retraining your brain has broad implications for behavioral transformation. Behavioral transformation is why we seek out people and books smarter than ourselves. So when you are unpacking an issue in your life, be sure you are getting prescribed solutions from individuals or research that exhibits higher order thinking. In laymen terms, higher order thinking is what we all do when we think deeply about a problem or situation. HOT is also reflected in the six levels known as Bloom’s Taxonomy. Stay away from COLD brains. They are chalked full of emotions, faulty assumptions, logical fallacies, and jumping to conclusions. As John F. Kennedy so aptly put, "Too often, we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” COLD brains result in automatic thinking which is triggered by a spontaneous event. It is based on personal opinions or beliefs and accepts present realities as they are. HOT brains, on the other hand, are cautious and look for main contentions, evidence, and assess reasoning. HOT brains are open to alternatives and go deeper into the issue and ask questions. So why don't we use our HOT brains more and revert back to lazy heads? First, we are taught since we are school-aged children to answer quickly in a multiple choice world where there is only one correct solution. We aren't paid to think at work, instead to accomplish tasks and meet metrics. We also get a great deal of satisfaction by crossing things off our "to-do list" rather than our "to-think-about list." Lastly, heating up your head is tough because it exposes our ignorance. So what’s the temperature of your brain? We can control the setting of our brain. We hold the keys to adjusting our cognitive thermostat and not just passively reflect the frigid, lack of critical thinking going on all around us. That’s why my father always said you’d be the same person five years from now that you are today except for two things, the people you meet and the books you read. So make sure they are both blazing with brilliance and not numbing with nonsense. Interested in learning more? Check out these two FREE webinars Be a Better Thinker Part One and Part Two and bring Tracey into your organization.
If you want to be a professional classical performer, you're looking at a minimum of 10 to 15 years of concentrated study with a master teacher,...
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Study Finds That Mozart Music Makes You Smarter : Science: IQ scores improved after students listened to a sonata. But the gain is temporary,...
Read More »The oldest music recording available on Spotify is a French compilation album titled Anthologie De La Chanson Française, which has recordings dating between 1900 and 1920. Singers included on the compilation include Henri Fursy, Lucien Boyer, Ainé Mevisto, Gabriel Montoya, and more.
Believe it or not, the oldest song on Spotify is actually the oldest song in the world. Titled “The Hymn Of Ugarit,” the track is a modern recording by Al-Pha-X of what is the oldest known piece of music ever discovered. The song dates back to 14th century B.C.E. and was discovered on a clay tablet in the 1950s. Obviously this particular version of the song was not recorded 3,400 years ago, but rather in 2008, so it may not be what you’re looking for. With this in mind, we’ve also dug up the oldest recordings on Spotify. The oldest music recording available on Spotify is a French compilation album titled Anthologie De La Chanson Française, which has recordings dating between 1900 and 1920. Singers included on the compilation include Henri Fursy, Lucien Boyer, Ainé Mevisto, Gabriel Montoya, and more. Recordings didn’t exist for very long before 1900, and especially not music recordings. It was a while before people fine-tuned the technology enough to produce the high-quality music recordings we are accustomed with these days. Still, it can be interesting to hear music from a time past, and that’s why we’ve gathered here today. If you’re interested in hearing some even older recordings, albeit not music, Spotify also has a compilation called The Oldest Recorded Voices in History. This compilation includes speeches dating between 1888 and 1912, from people like Robert Browning, Thomas Edison, Florence Nightingale, and more. Stream Al-Pha-X’s recording of “The Hymn of Ugarit” below. Check out the French compilation from the early 1900s below that, and at the bottom see the compilation of old recorded voices. Finally, for the curious, also see our post about the longest song on Spotify.
Pianists are all-too-often afflicted with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, as well, which we'll cover but, first… These two injuries, along with 'Carpal...
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The Consumer Product Safety Commission found that most buildings constructed between the 1920s and mid-1970s had detectable levels of asbestos. In...
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Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.
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Old folks can learn to play the bass guitar because it does not require the vigor of the acoustic guitar to play. By simply strumming the strings,...
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This note name indicates the lowest note of the chord, which we call the root. This root note is always our starting point. This can be any letter...
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