Michael Patilla's Blog

October 16, 2006

This photo is from a recent trip that my wife and I took to Salt Spring Island, in British Columbia, Canada. I performed a concert for a series called Music and Munch, held at the All Saints' Church by the Sea in Ganges. The couple with us are Sarah and Duncan Mathieson, the organizers of the concert series and owners of Cocoon Bed and Breakfast.

It was really fun to have the opportunity to travel to such a beautiful place and meet such nice people. There were about 60 people in attendance at my performance, and I really enjoyed getting to know a number of them afterwards. On the same trip, I performed a concert at the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Seattle, and taught a masterclass at the Cornish College of Performing Arts, also in Seattle. After those two events, we drove our rental car into Canada and took a beautiful ferry ride to Salt Spring Island for my concert there.

Playing the guitar has afforded me so many exciting travels. On many of the trips, I have been able to take Carol with me. I have been to Italy, Switzerland, France, Greece, Mexico, Honduras, Canada, and pretty much all over the US. The thing that I always try to tell my students is that I have worked very hard to become a good guitarist and a good performer. For the past twenty years, I have spent most of my energy trying to constantly improve my skill level on the instrument. It isn't good enough to just spend hours practicing, you have to spend hours practicing with specific goals and you have to learn to engage your ear so that you are fully aware of the sound that you are making. I know a lot of musicians that practice four to six hours a day, but there is still something missing in their music because they do not practice the right way. Four to six hours of mindless practice is just a waste of time.

Also, it is important to know that we should strive for technical precision so that we can play our pieces accurately, but that is not the most important thing. It isn't technical precision that touches an audience. Musical expression is what makes a performance special. When I learned that, playing the guitar took on a whole new meaning.

So, practice hard, and listen to what you are doing, and maybe one day you can travel all over the world and perform too!

Visit my website at http://www.michaelpatilla.com

Email me at [email protected]

2006-10-16 13:23:05 GMT

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		Michael Patilla is the guitar professor at Mississippi State. This page will include information for guitar students.

		October 16, 2006 This photo is from a recent trip that my wife and I took to Salt Spring Island, in British Columbia, Canada. I performed a concert for a series called Music and Munch, held at the All Saints' Church by the Sea in Ganges. The couple with us are Sarah and Duncan Mathieson, the organizers of the concert series and owners of Cocoon Bed and Breakfast. It was really fun to have the opportunity to travel to such a beautiful place and meet such nice people. There were about 60 people in attendance at my performance, and I really enjoyed getting to know a number of them afterwards. On the same trip, I performed a concert at the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Seattle, and taught a masterclass at the Cornish College of Performing Arts, also in Seattle. After those two events, we drove our rental car into Canada and took a beautiful ferry ride to Salt Spring Island for my concert there. Playing the guitar has afforded me so many exciting travels. On many of the trips, I have been able to take Carol with me. I have been to Italy, Switzerland, France, Greece, Mexico, Honduras, Canada, and pretty much all over the US. The thing that I always try to tell my students is that I have worked very hard to become a good guitarist and a good performer. For the past twenty years, I have spent most of my energy trying to constantly improve my skill level on the instrument. It isn't good enough to just spend hours practicing, you have to spend hours practicing with specific goals and you have to learn to engage your ear so that you are fully aware of the sound that you are making. I know a lot of musicians that practice four to six hours a day, but there is still something missing in their music because they do not practice the right way. Four to six hours of mindless practice is just a waste of time. Also, it is important to know that we should strive for technical precision so that we can play our pieces accurately, but that is not the most important thing. It isn't technical precision that touches an audience. Musical expression is what makes a performance special. When I learned that, playing the guitar took on a whole new meaning. So, practice hard, and listen to what you are doing, and maybe one day you can travel all over the world and perform too! Visit my website at http://www.michaelpatilla.com Email me at [email protected] 2006-10-16 13:23:05 GMT Site Home