10 ways to improve your musicianship with a computer

ByBret Pimentel April 15, 2009March 16, 2017

laptop It seems like there’s very little I do these days without a computer. Here are some ways I have used a laptop to boost my practice sessions.

Listen

With hard drives large and cheap, there’s no reason not to have your music collection with you anywhere you can take your instrument and your laptop. Absorb the music of your old or new favorite artists, borrow or steal their best ideas, and find inspiration for your own creations. With iTunes (free), you can even use the Store feature to search for short previews of music you don’t own, and buy it inexpensively for instant gratification. Check out YouTube, too, for lots of free music (and then support the artists by buying a nice legal copy of the stuff you like).
Record yourself

A built-in microphone or an under-$10 add-on is enough to reveal perhaps more than you want to know about what you really sound like. To really get every painful detail, pay a little more for a quality mic. I have one of these, which works well for me because it’s a standalone recording device and can also be used as a computer microphone. Free (or bundled) software like Garage Band or Audacity gives you a quick and easy way to hear yourself, plus tons more features for power users.

Also, try using a webcam and bundled software to get a look at things like your posture, technique, and facial expressions while playing.
Make goals

After you’ve listened to yourself recorded in digital clarity, you may have a few ideas of what needs improving. Fire up your word processor of choice, and make a list of what needs fixing and what you can do about it. Goals that don’t get documented don’t get done: “if you think it, ink it” (or, even better, type it). Make specific, measurable goals, and refer back to your list often.
Track your progress

Spreadsheets like Excel are perfect for keeping track of measurable goals. Use them to keep track of your speed at something, or how many measures or lines or pieces you have learned, or which days you practiced a certain skill. If you want to get really fancy, make a chart to show your rate of progress, or to reveal when you’ve hit a plateau and need to rethink your practice strategy.
Play along

Play along with favorite recordings to try out performance tempi, get a feel for accompaniment parts, and do an overall reality check. Or try various kinds of playalong software, like Band-in-a-Box or SmartMusic. Or, just have your favorite playalong products like Aebersold recordings or the Tuning CD right at your fingertips.
Use notation or sequencing software

Used in combination with a MIDI keyboard, notation software can be a quick and convenient way to transpose or arrange parts, or even to check out what complicated rhythms sound like. (With most software, you can do it without a MIDI keyboard, too, but it’s more work.)

Or try creating your own playalong recordings. These can be as complicated as complete orchestral accompaniments in your favorite key and tempo, or as simple as long tones that you can play along with in unison to check your intonation. Or how about a custom click track with your preferred tempo changes?
Use analysis tools

Try the freeware Spectrogram for visualization of your sound. Only your ears can tell you if it sounds right, but a look at a spectrogram may tell you something interesting about the harmonic content or amplitude of one note compared to another. The simpler amplitude visualization provided by software like Audacity can also help you recognize when, for example, there are unwanted bumps in your phrases.
Use online texts

There’s a wealth of valuable information online on how to improve your playing. One of the best examples of this is the online archives of the Double Reed, the International Double Reed Society’s journal—decades’ worth of solid gold articles by the world’s best oboists and bassoonists. There’s sheet music to be found, too—see my recent post about the IMSLP.
Communicate

There are lots of excellent message boards and discussion forums devoted to playing musical instruments. The Clarinet Bulletin Board is an example of a discussion board that is well-established, frequented by genuine experts, and generally polite. One of the benefits/dangers of these fora is that anyone can contribute, so you’ll have to use your best judgment to sort the good ideas from the bad.

Or, if you’re feeling bold, look up the website of one of your favorite players, and send him or her a polite email expressing your admiration and asking for a suggestion on something you’ve been trying to improve in your playing. They are busy people, so be patient and understanding if they don’t respond right away, or even if your email seems to have slipped through the cracks permanently.
Control distractions

Use your computer to enhance your practicing, but when games or favorite websites become a temptation, turn it off! If your willpower needs a boost, try the LeechBlock Firefox extension or the Mac program Self Control.

Musicianship

Did I play that “right?”
ByBret Pimentel May 15, 2014March 14, 2017
Sometimes my beginner students will play something for me, then ask, “Was that right?” What they generally seem to mean is something like, “Did I use the correct fingerings in the correct order?” A student who is slightly more advanced might ask the same question, but also wonder whether the rhythms were “correct.” A student farther along than that might take into consideration things like accurate observance of marked articulations and dynamics.

Setting aside creative concerns and looking only at technical matters, when is a student’s playing “right?”

I try to impress upon my advancing students that execution of musical passages isn’t really about “right” or “wrong,” but rather about degrees of rightness. To borrow an idea from manufacturing or engineering, we might think in terms of tolerances.

In other words, for a beginner, a half-note rhythm might be “right” if the half notes are roughly twice the length of quarter notes, and a pitch of “D” might be “right” if it is closer to D than it is to D-flat or D-sharp. For a somewhat more advanced student, it might not be “right” until the rhythms can be played without wandering too far afield of a metronome and the pitches trigger the “in tune” light on a cheap electric tuner. For an even more advanced student, those tolerances wouldn’t be fine enough—we might expect the rhythmic ratios to be accurate to within a few percent, and the pitches to be accurate within so many cents.

photo, Lewis Meyer

At the highest levels of musical technique, we question what tolerances are accurate enough for our audiences, or for someone with even more finely-tuned ears—a conductor, perhaps, or an audition panel, or collaborating musicians, or a record producer. Are my rhythms “right” when they are within a tolerance of a hundredth of a second? A thousandth? A ten-thousandth? Who will hear the difference if my pitches are within a tolerance of ten cents? Five cents? The more I think about it, the more I’m certain I can never really be satisfied, because as my execution gets more accurate, my ears get less tolerant.

If your ears are currently “tolerating” your level of accuracy when you play, it may be time to listen more closely and critically. Don’t be satisfied with “right”—go for more right.
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Musicianship

Music guilt
ByBret Pimentel January 10, 2022January 29, 2022
In my professional capacity as a musician and music educator, I frequently have to lay down the law with my students or with myself about not practicing enough. The sense that I’m never quite good enough, and that it’s my own fault for not working harder, is a real professional hazard.

But when I meet people who aren’t professional musicians or serious music students, they often seem to feel the same way. They confess regrets about an instrument collecting dust in a closet, about not “sticking with it,” or about never learning to play at all. Sometimes they tell me how much they used to enjoy playing, but how some additional factor like music theory or stage fright or scales took the joy out of it.

I have to remember in those moments to keep some perspective. While my own musical goals demand serious daily work, lots of people find joy in dusting off an instrument once a month or once a year to play the same three songs again. Some people find certain aspects of a traditional music education boring. Some might play well, but aren’t interested in doing it front of an audience or a teacher.

And that’s okay! There’s lots of room for musicians of all levels and aspirations (or non-aspirations). And, of course, we professionals need a public that is enthusiastic about music, not guilt-ridden and regretful.

If you want to learn, it’s not too late. If you want to play or sing casually, you may. If you don’t want anyone to hear you, you don’t have to let them. Music should be fun for you.
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Musicianship

Subdivision, long notes, and slowing the tempo
ByBret Pimentel May 13, 2015March 14, 2017
As my students get better at reading more complicated rhythms, often it is the “easy” notes that emerge as the ones still lacking in precision: the longer note values and the rests. It’s not uncommon for my university students to play intricate sixteenth-note rhythms with accuracy and confidence, but play whole notes that are too short by a significant fraction.

Try this: use your thumb and index finger to indicate a distance of about an inch (or, if you live in a country with saner units of measure, do a centimeter). How sure are you of your estimate? Now try one foot (or maybe 30 centimeters), then one yard (or one meter). How sure are you of those estimates? Probably less so. Look into the distance and see if you can guess at a point that is a mile (or kilometer) away. At distances this large, it starts to feel more like just guessing. But if you are reasonably confident of your smaller measurements, you can use them to derive the larger ones: measure out 12 of your guesstimated inches, and you can be more confident that you are in the ballpark of a foot.

Note values are the same way: it’s much easier to place notes that have less “distance” (time) between them. This is why subdividing is key to playing longer notes (or rests) accurately. Don’t start a whole note, wait, and end the note when you suppose enough time has passed; instead, mentally use smaller notes to measure out the longer ones. For example:

Subdivision is also particularly useful for slowing down tempos smoothly and gracefully. When the “large” beats need to get farther apart, it’s not easy to do this gradually and evenly. Smaller beat subdivisions are much easier to manipulate.

Subdivision takes some concentration at first, but can become somewhat automatic with practice. Master this technique for greater precision and control of tempo.
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Musicianship

Individuality, conformity, and music students
ByBret Pimentel May 20, 2013March 15, 2017
I found myself relating to Jennet Ingle’s recent blog post about an independently-thinking oboe student and the subjective qualities of tone. I related both to the student and to the teacher.

… I had to lecture a student on Sound a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t believe how uncomfortable it made me. It is truly such a personal thing. I felt like I was criticizing his smell, or his personality – it was that delicate for me.

I don’t actually think I am leading him wrong in insisting that he sound more “American” to fit in at his Midwestern college – but I hated telling him so. I would love for him to use his own unique voice and have it be accepted for what it is. But instead I have to encourage him to get more generic, and to sound more like everyone else. This rubs me wrong, philosophically.

I have been in the position as a student of trying to do something that I think is a personal artistic expression, and being told that I need to toe the line. I have also been in the position as a teacher of watching a student pursue an individual course that conflicts with what I am trying to teach.

Should music students (or students in any kind of artistic field, for that matter) be expected to conform, or allowed to explore freely? By letting a student do his or her “thing,” am I incubating innovative, boundary-smashing Art? Or am I failing a student by not grooming them in the established tradition? Read More “Individuality, conformity, and music students”
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Musicianship

Written jazz articulation problems
ByBret Pimentel October 11, 2022October 11, 2022
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Stylistically-appropriate articulation has long been under-taught in jazz education. (Or waved away with a “ya gotta listen”) . But that is changing , with some recent guides and method books starting to find some consensus about best practices. Concepts like which notes to accent, or how long to sustain certain notes, apply to all jazz instrumentalists. But wind-instrument players have the extra complication of which notes to tongue or slur. This distinction is critical to good jazz style.

In classical music, wind players usually perform articulation markings with accuracy. But printed jazz music can take varied approaches to articulation markings.

Some charts for experienced players have sparing articulation markings or none at all. The composer, arranger, and/or editor trust the performers to apply appropriate style:

Others, particularly more recent ones, use markings that reflect the crystallizing best practices:

But may otherwise well-written charts, bafflingly, use markings that are not stylistically appropriate:

Some red flags include long slurs and staccato markings. Experienced jazz players instinctively ignore these bad markings and use better articulation practices. (Long slurs can in some cases be explained away as “phrase” markings. But since they are visually indistinguishable from slurs, it’s better to omit them.)

Occasionally a good jazz composer or arranger will use an articulation marking in a surprising or unusual context. It’s up to the performers to determine whether this is an intentional break from typical jazz style, or an editing error.

In some cases, a composer/arranger might even choose a particularly anti-swing articulation as a kind of joke. This is usually followed by a figure that should be played with exaggerated, correct swing and articulation. This heightens the contrast between “good” and “joke” style:

Jazz players and educators are responsible to know and apply correct articulation, using their best musical judgment to override the written parts when appropriate.
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Education

Mindset shifts for college music majors
ByBret Pimentel March 24, 2026March 28, 2026
Here are some mindsets that I find can hold college music majors back from reaching their potential—or can launch them to the next level.

From “This is how I was taught” to “I’m here to explore new ideas.“

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve suggested a better fingering option to a student who resists because they already know a different fingering and would rather not have to remember a new one. But my most successful students are curious to learn new things and try them out. Someday you’ll have the option to choose your own path, but you’ll do so from a place of experience, not habit.

From “I have to practice for hours” to “What can I get done in ten minutes?“

Mastery takes time, but the quality of that time is what really gets results. I’ve had students suffer alone in practice rooms all week with nothing to show for it. But if they can set a few small goals and spend a few minutes pursuing each of them in a focused way, by their next lesson they have measurable progress, the confidence to show it off, and a grade that reflects it.

From “I’m never going to use this” to “I’m building a versatile skill set.”

My students often have very clear ideas about what they will and won’t be doing in their careers. But working in music and/or education can mean wearing a lot of different hats, and broad knowledge and experience can have surprising advantages.

From “My teacher my is judge and executioner” to “My teacher is on this journey with me.”

Rather than playing your assignment for your teacher and nervously waiting for a verdict, let your teacher be a guide and consultant. Be ready to outline and demonstrate your successes and frustrations from the week, and ask for help and advice on what’s holding you back. It’s not you versus your teacher—it’s the two of you versus the technical and musical challenges.

From “I don’t play well enough to perform in front of others” to “I have something to share.”

My students perform frequently for other music majors, for faculty, and for public audiences. It’s pretty normal to feel inadequate to the task or to feel outclassed by others. But our audiences, even when they are our peers or teachers, want us to succeed. If you see your performance as a gift rather than a test, you never know who you might impress, inspire, or uplift.

Which of these mindset shifts feels the most uncomfortable to you? Often the one that scares us the most is the one that offers the biggest breakthrough. Let’s do this!
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