Procrastination and Music

I was once told that you need to be prepared for opportunity when it comes because you may never see it again.  That is a true statement that I have tried to keep in the for front of my mind since that day.

Like many of you procrastination is a problem that I have suffered from for many years.  It has many different faces.  For me it came in a few different forms.  One was I had to make everything perfect.  The other was frustration or victimization if you will. 

It seemed that I never had the right connections, equipment to do what I wanted or education.  These ideas where not excuses for not doing things in my mind, they where real issues that never seemed to have a resolution.

As a music teacher I have talked to or taught many self-proclaimed procrastinators.  Many of their issues concerned the pressure that they feel from others, stubbornness, perfectionism, frustration and worst of all is low self esteem. 

The reality of our situation is that we feel like we are lacking something. 

Sometimes it’s our lack of education on a subject of interest that drives us further away form doing.  For others it’s the fact that our passion is time consuming and we don’t have that much time to spend on our project.

Still others it’s the fact that what we want to do is difficult and we don’t want to make mistakes that others will see.  The fear of making mistakes is natural one and for many it is the most difficult to overcome.

I have personally been guilty of falling to the overwhelming size of a project.  To think about the entire project became stressful and that was when my perfectionist “getting it done right” attitude kicked in.

Others have had a lack of tolerance for others that they had to work with.  This drove them away from making time for the project.  You should never put other people’s lack of ability or drive in charge of your life.  This is where you stubbornness might be pushing you in a bad direction.

Self-doubt is a major reason for many of us procrastinators to continue doing nothing.  Minimizing your own skills in order to create doubt is not only a problem that you create; it is one that only you can stop!

Your own ideas of limitation can cause you to put off what you want and exchange it for more of what you have.  If you don’t like what you have than this can be quite a problem for you!

To be honest In retrospect I was not following through and I have consequently missed many good opportunities.  But that was the past.  Now that I have learned to recognize my procrastination I have learned to take action.

How do we solve our procrastination problem?

The good news is that you can end our problem today.  Right now you can turn the corner and head in the right direction.  You are in charge if you allow yourself the power to take control. 

Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Set small goals that break your project up into smaller pieces
• Reward yourself for meeting those small goals
• Develop your patience by understanding your expectations
• Find a good role model who you can ask questions when you are feeling overwhelmed
• Surround yourself with “do’ers”.  Peer pressure will help push you alone if you surround yourself with positive people.
• Find a good work/practice environment.  If you can’t work at home find a place that you can concentrate in.
• Expect days when you won’t get things done.  Backsliding is a fact of life and a temporary failure.  It is an unfortunate fact that success is made by stepping on and over failure.
• Relax; it’s okay if you don’t get it all done in your first deadline. Just get it done! Be sure to finish.
• Be honest with yourself and recognize when you are procrastinating.  Then take the steps you need to reach your goals!

For more information about how to build your confidence, improve your creativity and make better music visit http://www.bebop2pop.com and get your copy of 9 secrets to better music.

Reggae Music History: The Jamaican Sound

Reggae music history was born from the fires of American music in the 1920’s.  It was a fantastic time for musicians all over the world.  The record player was quickly making an impression and radio was spreading the sound of music across the country and the world.  

Jazz swept across the globe with the help of these radio broadcasts and records and by the 1940s places like the not so distant island of Jamaica was turning its ear to listen. 

The Island
Through radio broadcasts and records, Jamaica, got caught up in the stylish and fun American Jazz music of the 1940s.  At the time the average Jamaican lived in shanty houses, ghetto’s like Kingston and Trenchtown where becoming home to the majority of the population.

At the time it was a British Colony but Jamaica itself was beginning to change.  Its mostly rural economy was eroding as people began flooding into the capital, Kingston, in search of their own piece of postwar prosperity.

Tourism in Jamaica back then was not like it is today but Jamaica being the beautiful island that it is it did attract people for Vacation.  

Bands like Eric Dean's Orchestra sprang up to entertain tourists.  Future giants like trombonist Don Drummond and sax man Tommy McCook learned Jazz licks from records and the radio while honing their musical chops.


The 1950s
In the 50's big band Jazz had given way to the smaller group oriented Bebop creating a faster and more youthful sound.  Again the Jazz rage spread all over the world including to Jamaica and soon Jazz, one of America's great contributions to the world’s musical culture would become responsible for Reggae, as it swept around the world.

American popular music would begin to fragment further. In Jazz, Be-Bop and soon Hard-Bop became the new movement, Rhythm and Blues started coming on strong and the era of the jazz orchestra was slowly fading.

In America music grew faster, groups smaller in size became more dominant, more youths began to rearrange the songs of the big bands and writing there own.  Eventually Rock n’ Roll would hit the airwaves making music more accessible to the “common” man.  

These ideas began to spread to Jamaica through the radio and the record, just as it did to other parts of the globe.


On the weekends people of all ages throughout Kingston would gather for dances in the open spaces called ‘lawns' all over the city. DJ’s would spin records on Sound Systems.  Throbbing sounds from the United States would be the talk of the town from week to week.

For many Jamaicans this was the only way to hear the new records.  In the poor economy, many didn't own a radio so this was how you heard the new records.

The R & B sound swept Jamaica, both young and old found it captivating.  The race to get the newest American record became a serious one. Sound System owners would travel to the U.S. to buy new records, or have agents import them. It was a constant war to have the newest, freshest music and a popular disc might be played 15 or 20 times during the course of a dance.

By the mid-50s Duke Reid and Clement Dodd where Kingston’s best Sound Systems.  Competition between them was fierce, and would becoming one of the major catalysts for the fast growth of the Jamaican music industry. 

Still there was more growth that needed to occur, the sound systems had no choice but to play American records because the island simply had no recording facilities and could not press their own records.

In 1954 the first Record Label, Federal, opened for business, but even then its emphasis was purely on licensed U.S. material. Stanley Motta had made some tapes of the native mento folkloric music, but it wasn't until the kick start of Rock n'Roll that homegrown Jamaican music would find its way to vinyl.

As Rock n’ Roll became the dominant form of music in America during the late 50's, the number of R&B releases dwindled to a trickle and it was not enough to satisfy the insatiable appetites of the Sound Systems. Something had to be done to keep this thriving business going.


Record One Jamaica
The first person to act was Edward Seaga. In 1958 he found WIRL (West Indian Records Limited) and began releasing records by local artists. They were blatant copies of American music but they were new and playable on the Sound Systems.

The same year, a well-to-do white Jamaican named Chris Blackwell got his own start as a record magnate, putting out a disc by the then-unknown singer Laurel Aitken.

Within twelve months both Reid and Dodd, seeing the possibility of having records available exclusively on their systems, had jumped on the bandwagon with Treasure Isle and Studio One labels, respectively.

Soon the pressing plant to be named Caribbean Records would be established on the island, meaning the masters no longer had to be shipped to America for pressing. The Jamaican recording industry was born and Jamaican music would find its own identity quickly to the surprise of all.

Practicing and Focus

Practicing and Focus

Practicing is a learned trade.  It does not come easy to many of us but it is important. Not only so that you can meet your goals but also it will help you develop principles.

A person with good practice technique will significantly increase their results and strengthen their belief in themselves. This is beneficial not only for your confidence, but your creativity as well. 

How do you organize your thoughts in order to focus on your goals?

Consistent practice leads to development of solid principles built on knowledge, your confidence grows as you attain goals, your creativity improves as you relax and define your habits.

Remember not to constantly judge your progress. Take it easy on yourself and enjoy your instrument. Good practice is enough to say that you did it, and that you are on the path to success.

Practice when your energy level is at its highest. Study your most difficult tasks at your high energy times. That way your are more apt to understand what your doing and remember those songs faster!

Below are some tips to help you develop those habits. You should notice improvement in a few days
, but like any practice, there will be ups and downs so stay true and good things come in time!

Practice Tips

• Take a few minutes to summarize a few daily objectives.
• Gather what you will need so you don’t needlessly get up and down.
• Think of a general strategy to get your objectives done.
• Get a dedicated space, chair, table, lighting and environment that you use every time you practice.
• Turn off your cell phone or telephone

• Avoid being disturbed or interrupted by putting up a sign.
• Develop a steady routine and stick to a daily schedule.
• Accommodate your day/nighttime energy levels
• Create an incentive if necessary for successfully completing a task.
• Alternate reading with song playing, music theory study etc…
• Play with a group of people.
• Ask your teachers or friends for alternative strategies for learning.

History of Hip Hop Roots: Born From Reggae, Forged by Dub

One of the greatest things about music is the thought that you can borrow ideas from other musicians and artists to create your own masterpiece.  For the kids in the ghettos of the Bronx New York this is exactly what they did.  

It was a time when the United States government neglected the people of the Bronx New York because of the amount of violence s well as racism.  Despite a seemingly insurmountable hill the youth of Generation X stood up for what they knew to be truth.

They stood up and screamed it while they developed there own brand of music known as Hip Hop.

Jamaica Sounds

The melting pot of america was about to give birth to another unique style and sound. Reggae, like Hip Hop is dependant on the “invisible man” behind the scene like DJ’s, producers and engineers who mix the music and create a danceable sound.   

In fact the term DJ comes from the Jamaican term for rapper. 

Studio owners like Lee “Scratch” Perry was one of these centers of musical power in Jamaica.  He called his studio the “Black Ark”.

Beginning in 1973, for five years he recorded everyone and everything he could in Jamaica.  Like Hip Hop the Reggae recordings became the uplifting ideas and political barometer or "political poll’s" set to melody and “Riddim.” 

Dub History

Songs like Bob Marley and the Wailers “Small Axe” and Delroy Wilsons “Better Must Come” where rallying cry’s of the people.  These highly political songs became great ways to express the will of the people.

Unfortunately it was not the answer to the problems as the music also had heavy social consequences and didn’t provide the relief from reality that music usually provides.

Eventually as a “B side “ to these popular songs the lyrics would be cut out letting this very danceable music thrive. These "Dubs" (songs without lyrics) provided the uplifting relief to it’s listeners that was need.

Dub masters like Lee “Scratch” Perry, Keith Hudson, Niney the Observer, the mighty two and King Tubby became some of the most influential artists of their time.  

King Tubby created the first remix as we know it today on Jacobb Millers “Baby I Love You So” creating the happy uplifting song into a prison like haunting escapade. 

Hip Hop a World Away

DJ Kool Herc, a native of Jamaica was familiar with the large sound systems.  He had seen the power that rappers and the cool dance invoking styles of Reggae’s lyric less Dub music had on people.  

Having grown up in Trenchtown, Jamaica, the same area that Bob Marley grew up in, the young pioneer had a fascination with turn tables and large, loud sound systems. 

His father also owned a sound system that he rented to bands and DJ's when they needed it.  This came in handy for the young DJ Kool Herc as he tested out this system when his father was not around.  He did not have permission to use it because his father did not what him breaking it!

One day he stumbled upon a technique that unleashed the full power of the system and showed his father what he had learned.  It was such a revelation to the two of them that his father started letting the young man spin records during the breaks at the concerts that his father was working at.

Eventually he began throwing parties so he could pay for clothing for school.  These parties became so popular that he was soon known throughout New York.

As his abilities behind the turntables grew so did his vision for a peaceful Bronx, New York.  Along with other young visionaries like Afrika Bambaataa and Grand Master Flash music history would never be the same.

 For more information about the History of Hip Hop or other styles of music go to http://history.bebop2pop.com

Passion and Desire vs. Wanting Attention and Praise

A friend said to me once that wants are wedges. That thought instantly stuck with me because I realized that she was saying that the more you want something the further away it feels.  Another way of saying it would be the tighter your grip something the more it slips through your fingers. 

Passion is a great thing to have.  In fact I believe in cultivating your passion through developing small goals.  Steady work will create a snowball effect in any aspect of your life. 

In music we tend to be hard on ourselves because of our desire to be “great”.  The fact is that great is subjective.  It is determined by a small group of people who like your work.  

Odds are there will be just as many who don’t like what you do.   So shouldn’t you be more concerned with your own ideas of success?

Questions To Set You Free

Do you think of yourself as a person who plays music for fun or are you searching for something from your audience?

From my personal experience I have been both.  My first path was that of someone who wanted to hear praise from my audience.  As hard as it is for me to admit I was looking for acceptance.  At times I received it and oddly enough I did not know what to do with it.  I would bring up all that I did wrong or sometimes I felt like it was not enough praise!

As I grew as a musician and became more comfortable with my talents and knowledge. I started to see these traits and how destructive they where to me.  I was lucky to be able to have survived them.  I now play for the love of what I do.  I teach because it is a good way to earn a living and I write music because it is fun.  I will do these things until I can’t do them anymore.

Many of you out there are very talented people, all of us are seeking acceptance from someone. 

For every one of us our ideas of acceptance and success will be different.  We have all lived different experiences and have different circumstances that drive us.  So we must ask ourselves the questions:

Where is the line between passion and attention getting?

Do you see music as a way of giving or receiving something?

What is your idea of success?

How do we balance these ideas floating through our emotional minds?

These are serious questions that you should be asking yourself in order to keep a balanced head on you shoulders.  Not only should you be asking them but also you should write down your answer and read it a month later to see if you still agree.  Rewrite it if you don’t.  

That lead us to a tool that many very successful men and women of all walks of life use to help them understand their direction and focus their energy.  It is called Autosuggestion.

Autosuggestion

It is an amazing tool that I have been using for some time now.  It is easy and takes only as much time as you wish to put into it.  The more you use it the more powerful it becomes.  The more powerful it becomes the more transparent your path is.

The idea of autosuggestion is that you must define what you want in detail.  What are your goals?

Write them down on paper.  Be detailed and explain what you are willing to do to get to your end goal.  Read this to your self twice a day (morning and night) until you memorize it.  When its memorized think about how you can take action, think about this goal as much as you can.

Here in lies the rub.  Thinking about it is not enough.  You must take action.  Without action you will never attain your goals. 

Integrity Over Recognition

Let me ask you this, is a family man who works a day job and raises his family and also plays in a band a few nights a week for fun any less successful than Michael Jackson? 

Economically I would have to say yes, but there is more to life and more to music than money.  There is more to life and music than popularity. 

Integrity and enthusiasm have a grand room in the palace of the human heart.  As you grow as a musician you need to see your art as it is.  Focus yourself on your growth.  The steps you are taking to better your music as well as the lives of your listeners will show you who you are.  The work you do must enrich your life if you expect it to enrich the lives of your listeners.

The world is the greatest mirror. 

Seeking fortune and fame will work for some of you out there.  I can’t help but think that you will be disappointed in what you receive when you get it if you have not prepared yourself for life along the way.

Talent will last a lifetime.  It is a fact that the most productive time of your life is actually after the age of 40!

So, How will you get to your destination?

How will your reach your long term goal?

For more information about how to build your confidence, improve your creativity and make better music visit http://www.bebop2pop.com and get your copy of 9 secrets to better music.

Expectations Weigh Heavy

There is a real difference between having goals and expectations.  For some people expectations can drive them to success, for most of us they weigh us down and drive us to quit.

In many of my students I noticed that high expectations were the leading cause of "musical depression".

Musical Depression has many symptoms including:

• Stage fright
• Creative blocks
• Low confidence 
• Arrogance 

Of course there are many other symptoms as a result of anxiety due to impossible to meet expectations.

Unfortunately expectations also are the leading cause of "creative differences" between band members. 

High Expectations lead to feelings of annoyance with others who "don’t pull their weight".  Don't get me wrong sometimes those people need to be replaced, but many times it is a self-destructive issue that is born of High Expectations mixed with Low Confidence.

How do we fix these issues?

There will be many realizations along the way to your success; the first must be the realization that Failure Is Temporary.  That’s right.  No matter how it feels in the moment, that feeling will pass and you are one step closer to getting where you want. 

If you follow through with your plans!

Don’t waste your time putting more pressure on you self by holding on to your failures, there are going to be many through your life.  Don’t worry about it because we all go through it. (except that guy with the beard from the dos equis commercials)

The difference between people who are successful and the others are the habits of shrugging off the temporary failure and getting what you want by taking the next step.

Expectations don’t have to be bad 

If you keep them in perspective and "roll with the Punches" you can use those expectations as long-term goals.  But you must be aware of expectations because they lurk in the corners of your dreams and hide between the lines of your goals!

Creating a series of short term goals are key elements to controlling your expectations and making those otherwise heavy ideas feel as light as a feather.

For other ideas on how to make yourself better prepared for success in music go to http://www.bebop2pop.com for your free CD 9 Secrets to Better Music.

Welcome to my first Blog post!

Hello World...

I'm excited that I have a chance to let you all know about my new website www.bebop2pop.com.

I have been spending my time lately creating a series of videos that will help other musicians learn how to practice better.  The goal is to help others create the music that they hear in their head come to life.

Over the next few weeks I will be revealing pathways to improving your creativity and getting you focused on your successful future as a musician.

It doesn't matter if you want to be a famous rock star or just play for fun in your living room with the ones you love.  It all takes effort and if you are anything like me you want to put the least amount of effort and get the maximum amount of reward!

This blog will be all about music.  From the history of music styles to the understanding of creativity...