The last topic on the agenda is lessons. I now offer individual and small group private music lessons in the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA area. This is a touchy subject for me considering I only formally took private lessons one time when I was preparing a trumpet solo for a regional competition when I was 16. In short the experience was interesting. On one hand I did learn a few “ways” to practice that I was not aware of, but on the other hand it seemed to be a “look what I can do” session for the instructor. Looking back at this I realize this experience helped shape the way I learn music and how I teach it as well. The way lessons with me are run are dependent only on where your (or your child’s) learning takes us. I can play the instruments that I give lessons for, you will hear me play inevitably, but these lessons are about you and your growth as a musician, not mine. It will never be about what I can do as a musician, i.e. I will not waste your time or money. It starts with me asking questions about music and what you want to accomplish with music. I can quickly assess your skill level and where we are to begin by this conversation alone. What will you get with lessons from Mark Mayer Music? In my opinion music is vast and complex, but like many things in life, simultaneously it can be simple and compact. I want to give my students the ability to not only play an instrument well, and to learn their favorite songs, but to explore their own creativity and expression by providing them with a solid musical foundation to grow from. What is this musical foundation I speak of? Theory. Don’t be intimidated, it’s just a word. All of my lessons will have within them little nuggets of theory stuff that will act as the “why” and “how” the music we are studying works. Anyone (even you) can teach you how to play a C major chord to an A minor to an F major to G major lather, rinse, repeat for 25 years, but I will teach you why and how all of those chords work well together and why hundreds of thousands of songs (minimum) have been written using just those four chords. What does this mean for you?  It means a couple of things; 1. You will be able to write your own original music for the rest of your life if you so choose to, and you can use this knowledge of theory to learn to play other musical instruments! 2. Your ears will naturally start to hear music differently and you will most likely be able to “play by ear” with more ease than before, which is always very impressive. In my opinion learning and teaching music with theory alongside the playing of the instrument is the best way to ensure a positive long lasting relationship with music. I suppose music is like learning a soothing new language with some mathematics, kinetics, sociology and quite a few other indescribable feelings mixed in. Let’s explore this magical musical world together.

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” Plato

If you have made it this far congratulations! I barely did myself. My posts will (knock on wood) never be this lengthy, or at least I will attempt to keep them to a short sweetie. Oh ya I almost forgot…with every first lesson you get a complimentary Mark Mayer Music T-shirt! Yeah! We love free stuff! Email me here to book a lesson!

As I mentioned, I also offer audio engineering services. This will consist of, but not be necessarily limited to: recording (tracking) you or your band, movie project, field recording etc., editing and mixing of said recording; if you’ve recorded something yourself and it has hiss or buzzing or needs editing, or needs to be louder, I may POSSIBLY be able to fix it. I can also “radio” master your recording to make it loud enough to be in the ball park with the big boys, but please understand…mastering is a unique skill for engineers who have the equipment and tools to make your track really shine and punch. Unfortunately with all of the other services I offer I do not have the time or gear to truly master your recordings. In other words if what we record is going to be played for mass media I can refer you to a qualified mastering engineer. Read the next post on private individual and small group lessons.

Now, the good stuff… This is how this blog thing will tentatively work: every week or so I will post a piece of original royalty free music for download under Creative Commons License. Whether it be a beat, a little background music, a hard rock song, whatever I am inspired to make in that moment will be released as an .mp3 out into the universe for all to use freely and openly. You are allowed to use the royalty free music for video projects, podcasts, tv/ radio etc. to your hearts content, just as long as Mark Mayer Music is credited properly in your work (read the legal stuff on CCL). Eventually all of the music will be downloadable (.wav, .midi) files where you can purchase and edit the tracks yourself and not have to credit Mark Mayer Music. I should add that I am a fan of unpredictability, so not every blog post is going to be a piece of music. It may be my take on some theory things I’ve been mulling over in my head like using modal scales within the context of a key center, or how to find inspiration for song ideas, or a home recording tip of the day, whatever… anything kinda goes until I get the feel for what the people (you) want. Now. Read the next post on audio engineering and mixing services.

We are hard at work constructing this site, stay tuned…