Help a loved one (and/or yourself) start 2023 off with some music! Contact Jason at 773-369-8268 or jason@knowingtrees to discuss some options. He can work with your budget and schedule!
Gift Packages of Lessons are Available this Holiday Season! Read More »
We measure the distance between two notes using intervals. Here is a worksheet to help you get familiar with some intervals. When you’re done with the worksheet, compare the drawing that you made. What do you notice? Add your question to the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them for you.
Getting Familiar with Intervals Read More »
Today, I am honored and humbled to offer for sale pieces from my Listening Wide-Eyed: Limited-Sight Contour Drawings of Musical Instruments series. Between now and early July 10, 2022 you can purchase a piece of one-of-a-kind artwork made specifically for you or a loved one. Jump to the order form. The Listening Wide-Eyed series is an outgrowth of my visual art, musical and mindfulness practices. Each one-of-a-kind piece from Listening Wide-Eyed is created through a limited-sight process, where I make a drawing on a sheet of bristol board without taking my eyes off the subject. I don’t look at the board until I am done drawing. Within the messiness, the structural knowledge and spiritual essence of each instruments expands. Each drawing is a made-to-order, one-of-a-kind piece of visual art. They are created with wax pencil and bristol board. Each purchaser is invited to customize their piece, in regards to which instrument, the use of color and matting. There are also options specific to gifting one of these drawings to a loved one. This process started as a way to strengthen my visual record abilities. As my practice bloomed, this limited goal fell away and the drawing practice engendered more connections between the parts and the whole of both the instruments and myself. How do we move? Where are we sturdy? Where are we delicate? How do those and other qualities affect our presentation to and relationships with others? Considering these questions allowed me to hold and play each instrument in a more open, inviting way. We see and hear ourselves, and others, every day. I hope having these drawings in our living space, practice room, or at a family dining table prompt us to notice moments when we are making assumptions about what we know about both ourselves and others. I hope that they can act as a guide to remain open, curious and to foster connections in musical spaces and all other relationships. This round of sales does end on July 10, 2022. Order form for Listening Wide-Eyed: Limited-Sight Contour Drawings of Musical Instruments
Listening Wide-Eyed: Limited-Sight Contour Drawings of Musical Instruments for Sale Read More »
I keep track of the number of times I do certain activities in my life. This comes from a pretty severe case of perfectionism/”fear of the blank page”. Keeping track of this stuff has helped me immensely over the years, and is actually how I developed the Sticker Method: Creating a Habit of Practice. You can read more about the process from last years’ blog post Stuff I Keep Track of – Totals for 2019. Here are the totals for 2020 Background This year saw a lot of change in my life. I moved to Marquette, MI in last November of 2019. Between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31 of 2020 I lived in five places for at least a month and, including other travel, all total I slept in about 15 different beds. And, then there’s the pandemic. Basically what I’m saying is, that is why my numbers are not as complete as I would like them to be. I know that I kept track of my numbers for all the months, but I can’t find where I wrote them down! I only have numbers for seven months, which is SUCH A BUMMER! Final Numbers We’ll say that there were 215 days available (in the months that I have data for) Music making = 189 days = 88% (This is the first year of collecting this data) Visual Art/Writing = 150 days = 70% (Down 16% from 2019.) Body/Mind Work = 169 days = 80% (Up 53% from 2019). Skateboarding = Well, this is a sad one. I got 30 days in, in the late spring and early summer, BUT, I broke my shoulder on July 10, 2020 and I have retired from skateboarding. In addition, I started collecting some data on how many days I work on my “business” (that is not my actual teaching.) This is a very new category and I’m still not sure how to keep track of it. I hope to have more conclusive data next year. Quarterly Focus Words for 2019 (I got this idea from the Being Boss podcast.) Quarter 1 = Nurture Quarter 2 = Patience Quarter 3 = Prepare Quarter 4 = Clarity Goals for 2021 Music-Making – I’d be happy to maintain these numbers. It was so helpful to re-engage with the Dozen a Day piano books. It’s so helpful to have a concrete set of musical exercises to play in the mornings. Visual Art/Writing – I think that this will be stronger in 2021. I am much more confident with my work as a visual artist. And, I’ve found many ways to “break through” in those moments when I am feeling unsure. Body/Mind Work – I mean, I could actually see myself being able to get to 365 days. That would really be something. I wonder. 312 days would be six times a week. 300 days would be 82%. I wonder. See you next year!
Stuff I Keep Track Of – Totals for 2020 Read More »
This fall I published my latest zine, The Sticker Method: Creating a Habit of Practice (available in the store). This is a method for taking a lot of the stress that can come with being a learner/do-er out of our lives. I’ve developed the method over my lifetime as both a teacher and a student I am a user of The Sticker Method and one of my favorite aspects of it is that the method can be used for anything. If you’ve heard my music, seen my drawings, watched my skateboard videos, or if we’ve talked about developing a habit of going to the gym, then you’ve seen The Sticker Method in action. What are you going to practice? I’d love to know.
The Sticker Method: Creating a Habit of Practice Read More »
Why do you play video games? Make music? Draw pictures?
Is it Skill and Achievement? Social? Money? Role playing?
Reflecting on a recent episode of Imaginary Worlds.
Why do you play video games? Why do you play music? Why make art? Read More »
It’s Saturday and for many people that means pizza! Here’s a fun song to go along with your pizza party. Some second graders from Hibbard Elementary and I wrote this song in 2018. Here is a lyric and chord sheet that you can download to learn to play the song yourself!
Let’s Have a Pizza Party! – Songwriting with 2nd Grade Read More »
For someone who is relatively new at playing music, learning a new tune, or a bunch of new tunes can be overwhelming. Because of this, I thought I would share my process for learning tunes. Maybe you’ll find it helpful to see how I do it. In this video I learn the tune Nancy on my harmonica. I learn an arrangement from my good friend, Jonas Friddle. I highly recommend checking out more of his music at jonasfriddle.com Enter your email address here to receive a free .pdf that accompanies this video essay.
During this challenging time of life I’ve been inspired by the Marquette Makers’ Project to keep busy with some creative work. I’ve made a lot of lessons like this, but this is the first one where I used a virtual whiteboard and recorded my voice along with the drawings I made on the whiteboard. It turned out pretty well and I learned a lot! In the video I mention two songs that use the minor 2 chord. Here are lyric and chord sheet for those to songs Old Devil Time by Pete Seeger Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen [vimeo http://vimeo.com/400364601] Here is the weekly schedule for Marquette Makers’ Projects during the physical separation from our communities. Cool stuff. I’m excited to see what people are working on.
How to Find the Minor 2 (ii) Chord in a Major Scale – Video Lesson Read More »
Recently, it was a very snowy morning here in Marquette, MI. I was waiting for some of my students to have their lesson and I wrote this song. I made a video of me playing the song, and there is a .pdf of a zine that you can print out to help you learn it. Print it double-sided and then follow the instructions to make the zine! The zine contains the lyrics, standard music notation, and specialized notation for harmonica, guitar and ‘ukulele. I was wondering, what would happen if we changed the lyrics from “snowy day” to “cloudy day” or “sunny day”. What changes would you make in the rest of the lyrics so that the song is about your day? Download the Snowy Day Zine here. Be sure to print it double sided and then watch the short video below to learn how to fold your zine. Thanks to Ore Dock Brewing Company for letting me use their beautiful community space to make some music.
Snowy Day – A Song for Young Musicians – Video and Zine Read More »
Originally posted on Facebook, Jan. 11, 2020 My teaching station this morning at Ore Dock Brewing. I have just a few lessons today, but I sure hope to do more here. It’s been a long time since I taught a chunk of lessons on a Saturday and I am feeling nostalgic and loved. Thanks to everyone who helped me get here. I’m thinking of you. #JAMuary2020 #musicmakesmesmile
Teaching Station at Ore Dock Brewery Read More »
Award-winning music educator, Jason McInnes, will be leading youth, family or adult music lessons this January at Ore Dock Brewing. Sign up for a 30 minute lesson in: * Guitar * Harmonica * ‘Ukulele Beginning, intermediate and advanced students welcome. Jason has over 17 years of experience leading music lessons that empower students to find their own musical voice. Space is limited! Contact Jason at 773-369-8268 or jasonplaystunes@gmail.com for details, to schedule a Saturday lesson, or to find another time to make some music. More information at www.jasonmcinnesmusic.com
Join the Band! – Music with Jason at Ore Dock Brewing Read More »
The Getting to Know Trees Newsletter
