• A Lesson On Pacing Yourself

    So my wife, Sarah, is part of this exercising group called “Stroller Strides.”

    It’s a group of moms who workout with their young children in strollers. After researching the company, they have about 1200 franchises around the world.

    Three times a week, she meets up at the park down the street and the moms work out for about an hour doing cardio and strength training. Since Jadyn is in school and Brendan (our 3-month old) is still too young, Layla, our 1 year old, gets to enjoy the experience with just her and mommy.

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    The Day I Crushed My Thumb Into 3 Parts

    I remember like it was yesterday.

    I was 12 years old and my mom had just bought me my first “real” keyboard. I don’t recall much but I do remember being at Guitar Center all day long as she master negotiated the lowest deal possible. It was like we were buying a car.

    By the end of the day, we walked out of there with a new keyboard, amplifier, stand, bag, sustain pedal, and cords — all for the price of just a keyboard!

    Prior, I had a radio shack keyboard. Don’t get me wrong, it did the job and along with my grandma’s antique piano, I had more than enough to…

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    “Jermaine, You’re A Killer!” Says Student

    I got this comment from subscriber, Tina, that I want to share with everyone. She flat out called me a killer!

    (Not that kind of killer). Read what she has to say below…

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    Who Else Wants To Learn A Fancy Altered Chord Progression?

    In this lesson, I’m switching things up a little bit.

    Warning: This isn’t for beginners. These chord progressions will require a “stretch” — multiple octave playing. But nevertheless, it’s good to feed the brain with what is to come (hopefully in the near future).

    Today, I want to talk about altered minor chords and altered dominant chords…

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    What Golf Can Teach You About Mastering The Piano

    As you may know, I took up golf last August.

    My instructor, Tracy Roberts (a.k.a. – “Coach”), is an amazing teacher. Like me, he really illustrates the “what,” “how,” and “why” and I’m pleased to be under his guidance, now on the other end as a beginning student.

    I’ve even introduced my oldest daughter, Jadyn, to the sport. I figured I could get her started early, seeing that she picks up stuff extremely fast.

    This week, we started working on my “short game.”

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    My Advice To A Student About Learning Songs

    After yesterday’s post, I received an awesome comment from Chris Johnson. I quickly replied and after re-reading our exchange, thought it appropriate to share with you.

    Chris wrote:

    Well you’ve done it again Jermaine. You know how close I am to my goals! I pretty much do all of this already but I still struggle at times and I always struggle with the bass.

    I have all of these skills under my belt except for picking out those darn bass notes…

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    The Key To Learning New Songs… QUICKLY!

    Let’s not kid ourselves.

    The whole point of learning all these theories, principles, and shortcuts isn’t because we’re in love with this stuff (well, some of us are). But for most, learning this stuff is a means to an end.

    And without a doubt, the ultimate “end” (at our website at least) is to hear a song and in a matter of minutes, be able to play it.

    There’s a lot that goes into it, don’t get me wrong. But here, I want to give you a really concise blueprint…

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