Dennis St Germain

Compose Music Yourself

Composing music is an art that has many benefits to one's musicianship. It will help you become a better improviser. It will add a new dimension to your musicianship. Your technique will improve. Everyone wants to hear a new recording of original music. Composing music will also improve your listening abilities and learn to appreciate all music. Writing your first tune... (posted by Dennis 1 year 240 days ago.)

Musical Motif - Are You Repeating Yourself?

A musical motif or motive is a recurring set of notes or a series of intervals played in succession. I'm sure you've heard repetition in a melody in fact, almost all compositions are made up of repeating motifs. If you can repeat yourself musically, this will allow one to capture the essence of an improvised solo and rivet a listener to your ideas. Everyone no matter how sophisticated they are at listening... (posted by Dennis 1 year 295 days ago.)

The Real Book Jazz Fake Book Story

Simply put, a "fake book" is a book of lead sheets. Lead-sheets are a basic musical skeleton of a tune with the melody and chords usually written as a chord symbol and lyrics (if any).The fake book is a central part of playing music in public, particularly in jazz, where improvisation is particularly valued. Musicians called it a fake book so that they can "fake" a tune and would allow a musician to make an... (posted by Dennis 2 years 30 days ago.)

Learn Guitar Soloing Using Short Guitar Licks

Learning guitar soloing without beating yourself up over the right notes or fumbling for the right fingering is something we all work towards when learning to solo over chord changes. Some musicians are uncomfortable with the idea of using guitar licks because they fear it will inhibit their creativity. But learned correctly guitar licks can enhance your soloing and make your ideas smoother. The idea is... (posted by Dennis 2 years 69 days ago.)