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My Favourite Things
These are some things that I like, and have really amazed me.
The first is a scientific article which is the first one I know of to look at the key question of supposed “talent”. Instead of the preconceptions they have actually done the studies and the results are surprising. The link is here : http://cogprints.org/656/00/innate.htm
But if the link moves or fails just look for:
Howe, Michael J. A., & Davidson J. W., & Sloboda, J. A. (1998 in press) Innate Talents: Reality Or Myth. Behavioural and Brain Sciences 21 399-442.
They discuss the extent to which unusual or exceptional talents in various fields are innate or acquired. They conclude that effort brings reward, and that there is a fairly simple relationship between performance in a field and the time spent on developing the necessary skills. I simply suggest reading it with an open mind.
I have decided that they are right, and the only thing I would add is that proper and effective feedback, preferably from someone who really wants you to succeed, or simply supports you without negative feedback (as a computer can) speeds up the learning process a lot. I think you can work out your own feedback, but in the early stages the external feedback helps a great deal.
Two computer programs for musical education I highly recommend.
Ear Test by Brent Hugh. This teaches absolute and relative pitch. It is varied, clever and tireless. Most importantly, it works. It is also free in its basic version. This man deserves a medal.
The link is here: http://brenthugh.com/eartest/
Earmaster. This program will teach how to recognize chords, melodic intervals, chord progressions, rhythmic patterns, how to take down a melody from dictation, how to sing intervals and a great deal more. It is fantastic. It is cheap to buy and you can even download it for a month to try it out.
The link is here: http://www.earmaster.com/
I wish I could get royalties on these programs. I talk about them to anyone who will listen.
Manouche/Gipsy Swing Music
If you have ever heard Django Reinhardt you have heard the basis of gypsy swing. It is still very much alive and there are festivals all over the place.
There are a great many sites, with a lot of links
Try these:
http://www.clubdjango.com/djangolinks.htm
http://www.hotclub.no/entry_main.html
http://www.robertnormann.no/audiovideo.html
An oldie but goldie
http://dorado.schmitt.free.fr/
A truly wonderful musician
Robin Nolan does the best backing tracks and explanations I have ever seen.