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Here's the more philosophical stuff.

Practicing

When I practice it takes me a good hour before I can really start to get somewhere. It seems like for me that that first hour doesn't really even count although i have to do it to get past everything else. Get past what? The day, the crap, the business, the other side of the brain stuff.

I think of that and I want to pass it on. I can't imagine I'm unique, most of us must have this buffer that we have to get past. It's probably important to find out where your buffer ends and make a note of it.

A Day of Good Vibes - Check it Out

I'm thinking about how to do a day online in August where maybe different vibe players do concerts all day online. I think we would need about 6 or 7 people, start at noon on a Sunday and go until 6 (Philly time). That should get most of us in there. Each of us would play about 45 mintutes.

Any ideas or takers? It would be the first online Day of Vibraphone!

Consistency is the Secret Formula

Man I've been here practicing for the last few hours. I'm working on stuff I worked on yesterday and I'm realizing once again how important consistency is.

I'm seeing what I did yesterday flow a little better today. It's really exciting and always has been.

That's why I just want to mention about this. Make sure you're setting aside time each day, or most days. You need that consistency to get better.

Just taking a 5 minute break to pass on my 2 cents.

Fear and Practice/Performance

I wanted to address something that I have struggled with for a long time- attaching my self-esteem to my ability to play. I have always struggled with technique and regular practice habits, mainly due to the incessant self-flagellation I inflict during the practice sessions I manage to put together. Plus, part of me feels like if the music business is as bad as everyone says, why spend my time learning to be a great vibraphone player only to be damned to eternal penury playing door gigs in generic jazz quartets?

Hello from Ed Mann

Greetings Vibes people

this site is great! I had no idea so many people are involved in playing mallet instruments. I am having a good time reading thru what is here.

I play a 1979 Deagan #594 vibes with Serna pickups. I love this instrument, and have never lost (1) pickup ever. It sounds great, I like the bar sizing and it has held up to a rigorous life, from world tours in road case to it's local rustic Suburu roadcase.

more soon!

thanks

ed

Communicating with drummers who can't read

Hi All,

I play regularly with a few drummers who can't read music, one most of the time and a couple of others on a fairly regular fill-in basis. I've been trying to get us to do some more formal arrangements of tunes -- nothing terribly complicated, just some accent points and rhythm breaks, added interludes and the like, although I'd like to get more complicated. I've been having trouble communicating these things to the drummers though.