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Joel Horton
Past Notes
June 29th, 2016
June 22nd, 2016
Joel worked on his new song during the lesson time, and Ethan and Seth played along with it.
We went into Ethan's time until about 4:05.
Next week is the last lesson, maybe Joel will be done and we can record his song?
June 15th, 2016
Today we went an hour together, since Joel has missed a few, and Ethan is in England.
We worked on a new song he has been writing; finding the notes on the piano, and writing it down together to help us figure out the right chords to go with it.
I let him keep going after 4, and he's still writing the song now. :)
June 8th, 2016
June 1st, 2016
May 25th, 2016
Joel and I started a new song today, "Let Her Go" by Passenger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBumgq5yVrA
We learned the right hand of the intro and the chords until the chorus.
Next is the verse.
May 18th, 2016
May 11th, 2016
May 4th, 2016
April 27th, 2016
We did two things in Joel's lesson- first he played me the Bruno Mars song he was working on and then we tweaked his recording a little bit.
Near the end of the lesson Seth and Ethan came in and they played guitar and drums on Joel's song, making a little 'band,' and then through Ethan's lesson the three of them stayed to play through four or five other songs.
Joel has a lot of potential! I'd like to see the three of them play together more.
April 20th, 2016
Joel and I recorded his first new song today - he should keep working on the Bruno Mars song this week, though we didn't revisit it at all today.
We'll probably do a bit more work on the recorded song next week before I upload it.
April 13th, 2016
Joel played through his final version of the Molly song for me, and then we recorded (with my camera) him playing the one about death.
We decided to learn a new song, and I wrote out Bruno Mars' Just the Way You Are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjhCEhWiKXk
Once he gets it down we'll start to build on it.
April 6th, 2016
Joel had something up at school (he won Silver!) so came a bit late.
We worked through his song, and downloaded an app to his phone to help him find the notes of the melody.
Unfortunately not enough time to do a lot, but I gave him some suggestions in the few minutes we had.
March 30th, 2016
Joel added another verse to his Molly song, and it's coming along well.
We worked through some lines of the chorus - if he could really bear down and get the lyrics to this song finished for next week it would be fantastic.
March 23rd, 2016
Joel hadn't really added anything to his song sing two weeks ago, so I am wondering if he has really taken the time to practice - he said he was unsure how to put the different ideas together, so I tried to answer his questions, and give him concrete examples of how to go about it.
Wee spent the lesson with a pencil and paper, and he got some tangible musical ideas written down. I think it was a useful lesson, and that he enjoyed it, because he asked to stay and use the piano a little longer to get more ideas down.
March 16th, 2016
March 9th, 2016
Joel came with a new song today, and it was quite good. We massaged it a bit by inverting the chords (chord inversions) to make it less "parallel" in it's motions. He is going to write words this week, about his cat.
March 2nd, 2016
Joel didn't work on the new song I'd asked him to work on-- he seemed emotional today and cried in the lesson. I'm not sure if it was about his friend who died or because I showed disappointment for him not working.
We talked instead about songwriting techniques, and he made up some songs using these ideas - he has the tools to do this, he just needs to work on it.
I explained "inspiration vs perspiration" and the importance of working on something, and not waiting to feel the mood.
February 24th, 2016
February 17th, 2016
Joel and I wrapped things up on the new song he wrote, and I showed him some new chord patterns, like 'add 9,' '6', 'sus4,' etc.
His homework is to write a new song for next week, or to pick one that we can learn.
February 10th, 2016
February 3rd, 2016
Joel was feeling unwell.
January 27th, 2016
Joel and I went through his new song, and I helped him write the last verse.
I recommended he think about adding a bridge, and showed him some examples of that.
We can try recording it next week if he's ready.
January 20th, 2016
January 13th, 2016
January 6th, 2016
December 30th, 2015
Joel and I talked about the circle of fifths as a way of finding additional chords to add to his song. I asked him to print one out (search Google) or use his laptop to read it and try to pick new chords out for his song.
December 23rd, 2015
December 16th, 2015
Joel wasn't able to come tonight because of setting up the gym for the Christmas concert.
December 9th, 2015
Joel brought his song again this week, and we worked through some chords and melodies.
The bulk of the lesson was spent on ear training. I'd sing a note, and he would try to find it on the piano. THis is critical in developing songs, so that you can learn to play them and know what you're doing musically.
He's coming along. If someone sings a note or two, and he tries to find it on the keyboard, this will be good practice.
December 2nd, 2015
Joel and I worked first on inversions for How to Save a Life, and he practiced that for 15 minutes. We then talked about the song he wrote.
We found the melody on the piano, and based on that were able to find the chords that would best suit that part.
We played it through and talked about the best style of playing for a sad song.
November 25th, 2015
Joel and I had a good lesson. We went down to the new grand piano and worked on adding more expression and feeling to the song as well as using the sustain pedal.
We didn't review the inversion and 'second' note aspects of the chords this week, and he didn't seem to remember that, so we'll talk about that next week again.
November 18th, 2015
I missed Joel today. Hope he's not sick.
November 11th, 2015
November 4th, 2015
Joel wasn't feeling too well today-- we'll try to make the lesson up some other time.
October 28th, 2015
Joel continued where we left off, and I could tell he'd been practicing.
We played through the song a couple of times, then I showed him some things he could do to make the playing interesting.
One was adding the second note of the chord to present some 'tension' in the sound. Another was to change the inversion he uses so that the sounds are closer to each other tonally.
October 21st, 2015
Joel and I went through How to Save a Life a number of times-- he's getting the hang of it.
I gave him the sheet music for the song, if he can make a copy of it or print out a copy from my site, that'd be great since other students use that sheet as well.
October 14th, 2015
I missed Joel yesterday.
October 7th, 2015
Joel was a few minutes late today. We went over a couple of minutes to give him a bit more time, but Ethan has a lesson right after him.
We reviewed last weeks song, and I showed him other things to do with the left hand to be able to build on what he is doing.
He was a tad resistant to learning another song, but I want him to push himself to learn other chords and styles of playing. We talked about perhaps learning "How to Save a Life" next.
September 30th, 2015
Joel has done well this week, and I could tell he'd practiced.
We added some ornamentation to the song so that there are melodic events happening between each chord.
He should continue to work on this, and get it smooth, without pausing between chord changes.
September 23rd, 2015
We did a bunch of repetition of the chords he was struggling with (repeated 100 times), then worked on embellishing the way the chords are played throughout the song.
One interesting thing we added was an arpeggio with an eighth rest on beat 1.
September 16th, 2015
We reviewed the song Sugar from last week, and I could tell he had practiced. He still needs to spend some time on smoothing it out so there are less mistakes.
We then added a rhythm to the left hand, which I wrote on his piece of paper. We worked on the rhythm together for the remainder of the lesson, and he started to get it... he's very close.
Reminder about the mp3 I sent -- he said he'd forgotten about it.
September 9th, 2015
Joel wanted to start piano again (which I'm happy about-- he's good at the piano).
He expressed an interest in learning Sugar by Maroon 5:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09R8_2nJtjg
This is a great song to learn because the chording is simple, so we can focus on other elements of playing, like inversions and arrangements.
That's what we did, and he learned a new inversion for a bunch of the chords. I asked him to work on playing both hands together with the inversions.
June 23rd, 2015
Joel and I worked through drums again, and added a new song, "Seven Nation Army."
Here's the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3qy8H6-5WY
Grab some wooden spoons, and practice on couch pillows or pails. :)
June 16th, 2015
Joel forgot tonight. :)
June 9th, 2015
Joel gave me an overview of what he wants his song to be about, and played a minor version of it which he plans to include. We then went to drums.
On drums Joel reviewed the beat four eighth note fill, and we worked on that for a while to get it smooth.
We talked about not stopping when you make a mistake, or making your mistake into part of the song.
We added a flam on the beats, and I showed him a flam on every quarter.
I then introduced him to a drum roll, and we worked on that on the snare and hat.
If he gets some sticks, he could play on anything-- pails, the counter top, whatever.
June 2nd, 2015
Joel played through his song again this week, with the chorus idea he added-- he hadn't come up with a melody, so I suggested he use a phone or ipad to record the piano, then to sing along with it to come up with a melody idea.
We then went to the drum kit, and reviewed the work from last week. We added the left foot to the highhat, and a tom hit on beat 7 before the crash.
May 26th, 2015
Joel played for me a song he'd written. I asked him to come up with a melody to go with it.
We then moved to drums, and worked on a 4/4 8th note beat, with a crash on 1.
May 19th, 2015
Looks like Joel may have forgotten today?
May 12th, 2015
Joel and I started with trumpet, and did 20 minutes or so, before his lips started getting really sore-- so I showed him some basics on the violin for 5 minutes, and then how to play a quarter note drum beat on the drum kit.
May 5th, 2015
Joel wanted to try trumpet today, since he could be taking trumpet at Challenge.
We worked through the embouchures that he will need, and played some C and G notes. He was able to play higher notes more easily than lower notes.
April 28th, 2015
Joel and I recorded the song today, and I'll try to put it up online soon.
Good job Joel. Please start thinking about another song to learn. Maybe we should try a different instrument now, or work on song writing.
April 21st, 2015
April 14th, 2015
I missed Joel today!
April 7th, 2015
We transposed Tomorrow down two steps to make it a little easier to sing. I made an MP3 of it, and emailed it to Joel so he could practice in that key.
Next week he'd like to record it.
Watch coming in on that part after the verse, and take deep breaths so you can sing the long note at the end.
March 31st, 2015
Joel is still in Israel.
March 24th, 2015
Joel is in Israel today.
March 17th, 2015
March 10th, 2015
Joel and I warmed up to start, then went over Tomorrow with the lyric video on YouTube.
We then searched for some YouTube videos of karaoke, so that he could sing along without another vocalist.
At first he had some challenges singing the right note, but eventually got the hang of it-- I asked him to pick one of the many Karaoke versions to use as a recording starting-point for next week.
I asked him to warm up his voice every time he sings, doing the scales etc. at least 4 times this week.
March 3rd, 2015
Joel and I went over the vocal warm ups for the first 15 minutes, and then he expressed interest in the Annie song, "Tomorrow."
We worked on learning the melody for the remaining time.
I asked him to work on memorizing the lyrics and the melody before next week's lesson.
February 24th, 2015
Joel expressed an interest in taking a break from the piano today. He wanted to have a go at vocals.
He has a very true voice- clear, in tune, good pronunciation.
We did a series of excercies, and I showed him how to practice them this week. Over the next week, he should think of a song that he'd like to work on that suits his voice.
February 17th, 2015
Joel hurt his hand and won't be in today.
February 10th, 2015
Joel and I worked on When I Was Your Man. It's coming along well, needs a bit more practice.
February 3rd, 2015
Joel seems to have forgotten today.
January 27th, 2015
Joel and I recorded a few more takes of vocals, then added a new song, Bruno Mars, "WHen I Was Your Man"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmMkwwYaN1E
January 20th, 2015
Joel was at Great Wolf Lodge this week.
January 13th, 2015
I suggested we add a new song this week, but Joel really wanted to sing the song we started already, so we recorded his vocals a few times. It's close, but a few places he wants to redo.
He'd like to perfect it before moving on, so we'll continue recording it next week.
January 6th, 2015
Joel and I worked through All of Me together, and then recorded the piano part.
I showed him something else he can do with the right hand, and how to swap the rhythm part to the left hand while he does it.
I said he should work on that this week.
December 30th, 2014
Joel told me he spilled the beans on his new song. I'm glad he told you. We reviewed it a few times, and I helped him work through the parts he was having trouble with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk7-GRWq7wA
If he gets the wrinkles ironed out, I told him we'd record it next week. You may want to remind him about thinking of alternate lyrics to use to sing to his dad.
December 23rd, 2014
Joel and I added a new song (a secret right now) - I'll post more details when it's no longer a secret.
We wrote the chords on a scrap piece of paper-- I'd like him to put it in his book, and bring it next time. :)
December 16th, 2014
Looks like Joel may have forgotten today?
December 9th, 2014
Joel came in ready to learn a new song today. He chose Waiting for Superman by Daughtry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4jCtfFCcIQ
I wrote out the chords for him and we went over it two or three times
December 2nd, 2014
Joel and I recorded vocals for the whole lesson. He struggled a bit with the bridge, which is REALLY HIGH-- I was a bit surprised he was able to get up there!! Great job Joel. I'll mix the song and upload it tonight or tomorrow.
November 25th, 2014
Joel and I went over his song, and I corrected something he was doing incorrectly in the bridge. I then gave him the option to start a new song or record this song, and opted to record.
We recorded piano first, and then added vocals. He wasn't quite familiar with where to come in, etc., so we didn't finish the vocals in time. We'll try to wrap it up next week, but he should also pick a new song he'd like to learn for next week's lesson.
November 18th, 2014
Joel came today! We reviewed the song, and added the left hand parts -- he picked it up very quickly.
We also had somehow missed the F minor and G minor spots, so I showed him that (in the bridge) and we went over it a few times.
November 11th, 2014
I missed Joel today!
November 4th, 2014
Joel and I focused on the chorus today, which is a slightly different pattern than the verses. We went through it a dozen times or more, and I showed him how to add the left hand.
He's coming along well. If you want an acoustic piano, I know someone trying to get rid of theirs.
October 28th, 2014
Maybe Joel forgot this week...
October 21st, 2014
Today Joel and I reviewed the things we'd worked on a couple of weeks ago. He's got three things to do this week:
1. Write down rhyming words to go with the chords he learned (D minor, E minor, and A minor)
2. Work on the scales (where he tucks his thumb under) with single hands and both hands
3. Learn this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGoCtJzPHkU
I'll be sharing the chords with you to print out for him.
Great job!! He's really a natural, Janine!
October 14th, 2014
Joel's catching up on homework today.
October 7th, 2014
Joel is still on holiday.
September 30th, 2014
Joel is on holiday to see his dad!!
September 23rd, 2014
Joel and I reviewed the two songs he's been working on-- he's coming along pretty well!
We talked again about minor chords, and I showed him E minor, A minor, and D minor. We played it together for a bit, and I asked him to write a couple of verses that could be sung to these chords... maybe a song for his dad.
It's too bad we weren't done earlier, because I would have liked to have him record it to give to his dad when he sees him.
I asked him to use his left hand on single notes, and his right hand on the chords.
He should also continue to work on last week's songs until they're smooth.
September 16th, 2014
Today Joel and I worked on Mary Had a Little Lamb, and London Bridge.
We talked about the difference between minor and major chords, and that there are three of each, and one diminished chord in each key.
A key is the name of the note Do Re Me starts on.
I gave him a keyboard to practice with this week.
September 9th, 2014
Today Joel and I went through the notes of the piano, and we learned together the basic notes from A to G. I taught him the animal names I have created for each note to make it easier to remember where they are. I want him to try to memorize them so that he doesn't need to use that trick.
Ant, Bird, Cat, Dog, Elephant, Flower-Bed, Grandma
We then learned about what chords are, playing more than one note at a time. We learned three chords, and their fingerings: C, F, and G.
We played through a few variations of these chords; first C, F, G, F. Then we did G, F, C, F.
Seth came in and played drums, I went to bass, and we jammed for the last 5 minutes of the class.
I asked him to print out a piano keyboard or draw one, to practice the fingerings and note names.
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