Feedback Loops

Posted by Jason Comely on June 30th, 2019

Feedback Loops

I left today's entry too late, but time was well spent plinking on the keys.

As decided yesterday, I need to apply the music theory I'm learning and create a direct feedback loop. Today I started practicing chords and even played a horribly incompetent rendition of the hymn How Great Thou Art using Mantius Cazaubon's video tutorial. Angels in heaven must have wept.

Playing piano scales seems like the logical next step for me. I'm using Mantius Cazaubon's book for instruction on that, and signed up for his free beginner piano course on Udemy. As you can tell, I'm a fan of his teaching style.

A Question to Ask Myself

Posted by Jason Comely on June 29th, 2019

A Question to Ask MyselfWith the little time and energy I have this evening, I settled into Jonathan Harnum's Basic Music Theory: How to Read, Write, and Understand Written Music. Near the beginning of the book there's an explanation about the parts of a note (note head and the stem) and how to position them on the staff. I'm not getting it though. It's too early in the game for me to learn this because I can't use it right away. Maybe that's what I need to ask myself every time I sit down to learn this, or anything for that matter: can I practice and/or apply this new information right away to see if it works? If not, I should probably skip it until I can. I also learned about rests, something I'm going to do now.

Jason Comely eNewsletter

Posted by Jason Comely on June 28th, 2019

Poseur to Composer

In my early 20s I was bassist in a nu metal band (our influences were Melvins, Helmet, Kyuss among others). I didn't actually know how to read music though. I just played by ear and thrashed away at my instrument. I even lit my bass guitar on fire during a gig at Toronto's Opera House.

I was what real musicians call a poseur.

Now I'm learning to read and write music, primarily jazz and gospel hymns. I also want to play a variety of instruments, starting with the piano, but due to tendinitis (golfer's elbow in both my arms) the amount of time I can spend doing repetitive practice will be limited.

I'm documenting my progress every day for an entire year on the write.as platform and invite you to take up a similar challenge. What new skill do you want to learn in the next 365 days? If you decide to do something similar, please let me know so I can follow you.

My intention is that Poseur to Composer eventually becomes a book - a sort of continuation of my first book Zero to Superhero. A little more information about the project is on the about page.

Measure