Why "Thrift Shop" is cool

                The top song of the past four weeks("Thrift Shop") contains the notes: Gb,Ab,Bb,Cb,Db,Eb,F.  Yep that's a Gb major scale,no biggie...but the cool part is that the song revolves around the Ab note. Typically if a recording contains the notes of a Gb major scale, the recording will revolve around either the Gb or the Eb note, but this one doesn't. That's why it's cool.

By Blake Aaron Russell

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Choosing a Better Group

               We agree on enough to work together and make amazing change in the world. The subjects of common disagreement separate people because neither side has enough real knowledge to support their arguments.

“I know I'm intelligent because I know that I know nothing.”-Socrates

               However, we do treat some "in-between" ideas like truths for good reason. We have to latch on to some ideas, but we benefit the most when we do so in a very pluralistic way. We have to latch on, but not so tight that we can't let go as we learn more. Many facts of the past ended up as incorrect theories of the ignorant (the world is flat). Some ideas (group 1) like gravity or the Easter bunny, are difficult and maybe impossible to observe as "possibly incorrect" or "possibly correct," although with some "in-between" ideas(group 2), we have the ability to consciously place them into "folders" labeled; "I've Found This To Be True" or "I've Found This To Be False." In other words, we have the ability to form "relative-truths" about certain ideas based on research and experience. However, there are other ideas(group 3) that frighten, confuse, and separate us because we don't have enough knowledge to draw real or worthwhile conclusions about them. We don't like that. In fact, it makes us so uncomfortable that we often act like these ideas are more rational than gravity or the absence of the Easter bunny. This is a destructive and all to common problem. Think of these three groups. 1) No research necessary. IE. gravity, life needs( food, shelter, water, and ideas that we use several times a day and learned with minimal experience and research 2) Ideas that require several years of research and experience to draw conclusions. IE. how to be happy, how to make friends, how to find love, how to influence 3) Ideas that infinite research and experience could leave you without a conclusion. So, lets focus on what most of us know and agree on and what brings us together.
              In my "I've Found This To Be True" folder (group 2) I've placed this quote, "When you are healthy enough to do so, go find, participate in, lead, and follow within a group that helps people, because it will make you happy, and happiness like positivity, is exponentially infectious." This quote encompasses three important ideas my life has taught me; A.) groups make you happy B.) helping people makes you happy C.) being rationally positive makes other people happier. (all group 2) I equate them to happiness/fulfillment because most healthy people want more of it.
              People come together to help the earth,themselves, and humanity for infinite reasons, and do so in varying amounts, but the numbers of many groups diminish along side their helping potential because of disagreements about qualifiers like; who should be helped, why should they be helped, and under what conditions should they be helped (group 3 ideas).
              Many help qualifiers are romanticized like poverty, poor health, and lacking education,but these qualifiers have never been rationalized, and even if they could be rationalized, it would take an amount of time that wouldn't merit whats actually been accomplished by rationalizing them in the first place. Like; Maybe some rich people could use more help, maybe some poor people abuse help. maybe humanity thrives when certain people are sick, who gets to decide? why do they get to decide?(all group 3 ideas) and the important question; Why does our focus end up here?(group 1... maybe 2) When it comes to helping, it doesn't make sense to focus on ideas that have been disagreed on since recorded history. No one would have ever been helped. We deprive and provide health,money, and education to those who we find deserving. Welcome to the abyss of subjective territory that no one really understands, but many of us have formed strong opinions about.(group 3) Humanity and the earth would have been much better off if certain people had less help,money,education,health and influence. So these qualifiers aren't universally worthwhile. It's our fear of helping the "wrong people" that sometimes leaves us living static, unhelpful, self-centered lives. The turning point is when we realize that our help, though on the surface appears to be for others, is actually for ourselves with the added bonus of occasionally helping others too. We just need to pick or create a group that helps without causing other problems in the process.(group 2 idea)
             In short, we need to choose our groups more wisely. Many groups help some qualifying people under certain conditions while alienating others in need of help, as well as other groups of helping people. We need to find and create groups that help humanity while keeping group 3 "talk" to a minimum, especially when that talk puts one human or group above another. That talk will lead to inevitable separation and other problems that negate the initial cause. The unknown makes us uncomfortable. We try to talk our way out of it and we fail, because we don't have enough facts to really have a valid opinion. We just have a hunch that our peers have helped us romanticize. When people try to communicate about ideas that they don't understand themselves,they inevitably fail at communicating them to others. Its impossible to communicate those group 3 ideas to someone else. It becomes high volume, continuous streams of meaningless, bumper-sticker, emotionally charged, platitudes that separate people, waste time, and exhaust us. It's group 3 knowledge. It functions as a tab that separates people and deprives them of their helping potential.

Find and create groups that don't waste time placing themselves above others or attaching themselves to philosophies that do the same. Why give and take away when you can just give?

             We all agree on enough to take action and impact humanity and our own lives in ways that we haven't seen. We all agree that actions get much more accomplished than words, so lets focus on the few things we kind of Know and agree on like; our (group 1 and group 2) knowledge. " When you are healthy enough to do so, go find, participate in, lead, and follow within a group that helps people, because it will make you happy, and happiness like positivity, is exponentially infectious." The more conditions and qualifiers that we package with our help, and the more time we focus on our group 3 ideas, the less everyone takes away from the situation. However, when we decide to research, lets try to prove our own ideas wrong not right. Knowledge happens when someone with an idea constantly tries to prove it wrong with no success. Trying to prove something right shows your bias, and therefore doesn't produce useful information, while failing to prove something wrong excludes your bias, and yields very useful knowledge.

By Blake Aaron Russell

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Paleo and "Musician's Food"

               At different times we all feel unhealthy. Sometimes we're told we're unhealthy,feel unhealthy, and seem unhealthy(compared to your friends).  Sometimes our perspective is skewed by never having been healthy.  I've always been a health nut for all the reasons that people are health nuts,even the ridiculous ones.  Whether my reasons were related to appearance, performance/competence, environment, or just feeling crappy, its something that I've always been researching.  I've even had health problems that stemmed from my efforts to be healthier.  Despite this, I've finally found some ideas that work. These ideas have improved my health and address all the reasons I've ever tried to be healthy.  What you eat affects every aspect of your life.  (This post should inspire research) You can find this info cited at marksdailyapple.com as well as many other websites and journals. The following is my condensed approach to food.
                My new (4 years) relationship with sugar and carbohydrates has probably been the most beneficial to my health.  Early in my college years, I used to go to my parent's house to practice on their acoustic piano and eat all their food.   I remember going there early and eating a pack or two of pop tarts or a half a box of cereal and then jumping behind the piano. If you know me, discipline has never been a problem of mine, but ignorance has gotten the best of me plenty of times. So I would play for hours eventually getting the job done, but it went something like this; in 15 minute increments; practice,noodle practice noodle...Focus was extremely difficult.  This never happens to me now because I don't eat high glycemic index carbohydrates that raise your blood sugar levels too fast.  High glycemic index foods can cause inflammation, make you fatter, make you sleepy, leave you unfocused, cause pain, give you the blues and other countless side effects.  I've always been thin, but now I stay defined even without exercise. Body composition is 80% diet related. I wrestled in high school, which aside from daily practices, we additionally ran and worked out daily. We would spit in cups,stand on our heads, all sorts crazy things.....but my mile and 5k times are better now then they were then(and i'm 29 now), not to mention  I look and feel better now.  Eating these high glycemic foods also takes up room in your stomach that you need for other nutrients. (That's why we often overeat)
                 Psychologically we all want to accomplish and achieve goals.  Failing to achieve a goal has been a proven cause of depression.  As musicians we can channel this depression into the composing of a song about the human condition, but we may end up too sick to get to play it for anyone.  It's difficult to accomplish when you don't feel well.  I'm not knocking medical doctors, but the fact is: They study MEDICINE. They study how to cure ailments with MEDICINE.  Don't get mad when you go to them and they don't address natural remedies. They are trained to treat you with MEDICINE. They have a degree in MEDICINE.  It's up to you to treat yourself naturally.
                  www.Paleotrack.com. Trust me I know the stress of keeping a food journal can negate its other benefits if you're not careful, but just do it for an entire day... occasionally.  Getting started is difficult, but enter the most common meals or supplements you eat into the recipe/custom food section; that way you never have to do it again and the hope of it being easier the next time you do it, is motivation enough to go through it the first time.
                   Next on the list is; omega-3 fatty acids. We need them and we need a lot of them.  You can get them from fish as well as fish oil and omega-3 supplements.  They're necessary for ideal cardiovascular and joint health.  The suggested amount the fish oil bottle tells you isn't always as much as you need, so you can use a great website (paleotrack.com) to help you see about where your ratio is.  I don't have experience to confirm the importance of omega-3s yet, but the research is there; google away. I'll keep you posted when I do.
                  Easy on the salt and eat lots of vegetables for potassium.  Again paleotrack.com is great for keeping an eye on this ratio as well as others.  We've known for a while that the average person's salt intake is unhealthy, but this puts it into perspective and shows how potassium can protect us from the effects of additional salt in our diet.
                  Lift heavy things twice a week,  sprint every ten days, and walk/play/hike/dance/stretch etc- 5 hours/week.  Lifting heavy (relative term) things and sprinting starts a chemical reaction in our body that improves our strength as well as our overall health.  Obviously if your body isn't properly aligned, these activities can hurt you, so stretch regularly and when possible, be advised by a professional. I recommend yoga with a great teacher. Remember, this is more important for musicians and people with static jobs. Balance Balance Balance Balance.
                 Oh and limit alcohol to small amounts of red wine and no caffeine.  Don't do cold turkey. Go; coffee, then black tea, then green tea, then white tea, then quit.  Aside from it being unhealthy, you want to maintain the ability to shut your mouth and not fidget. (that is a word,auto-correct just proved it) I know I've done it.
               The money issue. Its simple: High glycemic foods are cheap for a reason; they're mass produced, and they don't contain many nutrients we need. I've paid those doctor bills for treatments that didn't work and I've paid the insurance premiums and for the prescriptions.  Your grocery bill is going to go up, but your medical ones will go down... and at the very worst they shouldn't increase, unlike they will when the manifestations of your bad eating habits finally begin.
               What you eat affects every aspect of your life.  I hope this was helpful and inspires you to research and then try this lifestyle. Share this with your loved ones while keeping it from your enemies:)  
 by Blake Aaron Russell

                 




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Your Lessons, My Life, and Music

             As far as a unifying idea for this post, I don't have one. As far as Your Lessons goes, I hope it will one day become this:   A community where people learn about music and enjoy it's ability to bring joy to the different people who it also brought together.

             I've been playing guitar for 17 years. More importantly to me, I played through middle school, high school, and through college.  The pivotal experiences in my life have revolved around my relationship with music and that instrument. That relationship helped defined a large portion of who I would become. Music has been something I've carried in my pocket at all times since then.  It was there while I was learning how to live.
                I'm the happiest I've ever been and its a different brand of happy.  Its aged... it has a story...and most importantly, it's far less fleeting than any happiness I've ever experienced. Some people struggle more than others because of circumstances out of their control, but so many people create their own struggles out of thin air.  It would take a psychologist to list all the reasons people do that, but despite the reasons, it actually DOES frequently happen. I know this because I've done it myself and watched others while they did it . Art in the form of music saved me from a life of creating artificial struggles.
                I realize that the summation of my experiences has brought me to where I am and I'm really glad to be here.  I say that because I was told it wouldn't ever happen by so many people.   I've been told by hoards of people, from truly varying backgrounds, that there will never be a point in your life where you'll feel like you've arrived.  I've heard that there will always be a struggle for everyone just around the corner.  I can't disagree more.  I think people say that to make themselves feel more comfortable not making the decisions they know they should. I've been lucky to have had relationships that showed it was possible, but at the very least, I was around a select few, who may not have experienced being content, but did believe it was possible.  I'm very glad for that.   In short, music taught me how to be positive.
                     It taught me to be positive when people say you shouldn't be.  I learned that there's a bright side to everything. I've learned that whether you view people as inherently good or evil, you should treat people the same.Good.  and... I learned that you do this, not for their sake , but for your own. Happiness is a goal of mine, but its not just about that. I think being happy is easier when you choose not to learn and more difficult as you learn more.  I want both.  I always want to be happy learning and experiencing new things and I think I know how.  To me, an experience is like a puzzle. You complete the puzzle when you see the good in the experience.
                 The idea of community is very important to me and I learned how to be a part of one from music.  People coming together and functioning as a unit is a powerful force. Notice how I didn't qualify it...groups aren't always good... so choose well.
                    I learned ;(that cant be how you use a semi-colon..or spell it) how to  respect yourself and others equally, follow even when it doesn't make immediate sense, lead when it doesn't make immediate sense, logic is very important but its not everything, how to be yourself, how to act, how to love people, teamwork, the importance of perspective and bias, that we choose how we react more than we would like to admit, the importance of mistakes, its not what happens to you its how you react, listening helps you learn and it reminds people they're important, hard play is as important and maybe more important than hard work, true education=reading different types of books and hanging out with different types of people, 
                 I started writing this post as a way to figure out and show what I really wanted for Your Lessons to be, but the more I've written I've realized I don't think I can put it into more than just a few words without narrowing the scope of what It could be. I feel very separate from it despite the obviously important role I play in it. I think that's important.  I teach all day but I learn all day as well.  Music has brought me the purest form of happiness, and although I'm sure there are other ways to obtain this happiness,  this is the path  I'm most familiar with.  I will always teach music. As far as a unifying idea for this post, I don't have one. As far as Your Lessons goes, I hope it will one day become this:    A community where people learn about music and enjoy its ability to bring joy to the different people who it also brought together.  Hey wait...I can paste this to the top of the post:)

by Blake Aaron Russell
                   


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Listen To Something Better

Could you be more satisfied with the music you're surrounded by? In my interactions, I've found that most, if not all would answer, "yes." I began playing guitar in middle school(90s) and early on the defeated and jaded mentality of many musicians I met was apparent. I felt it, subscribed to it, and often supported it through high school and my years as a college music student. I believe we were taught indirectly that the common man didn't care about what we made or even worse "Didn't have the capacity to care." If you know me, you know I'm not a gambler or a risk taker, but I believe with minimal effort we can bring back the type of musicians and artists we're proud of admiring. By recognizing what we value in music, we can improve the quality of the music we're surrounded by. First of all, don't support music that doesn't completely embody what you value in art. Silence is better.

You might ask yourself while watching t.v. or listening to the radio, "Would I be hearing this song if the singer were ugly?"

If you answer "no" and value musicality,artistry, or virtuosity over genetic appeal, change the channel,

don't buy the album, or the ticket. Unfortunately we can't have it all, so the more

we value attractiveness, the less likely it is that our society will produce musicians with quality in other areas. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying

that valuing attractiveness above all will worsen the quality of future music... I'm not that kind of guy.

I want what we want above all,but it comes down to a large group of people choosing what they'll value to make a change. But wait... Is that possible? Yes.

The admired elder/attraction influence. Take a minute to think about the first music you heard

that moved you. How did you come to hear it? My older brother introduced me to the first music I loved. By falling in love with that musical group or person, a chain of musical values develop that lead you down a given path. Along this path, other people drastically change our musical values and perception. On little more than one hand, I could count the people who influenced the music I listen to today. I remember this girl (Holly) in middle school who told me she liked a rock band called Silverchair... I listened to that group solely because of how attractive I found her to be. That's normal young boy stuff, but here's the interesting part; I fell in love with this band because of her. After listening to them, I liked them and probably followed them for over ten years. Yes, the band was great, but I wanted to like them and that's powerful. Its similar to how I wanted to share what my older brother valued in music. For totally different reasons(that's gross), but the point is, I wanted to value what they valued, then afterwards I genuinely loved and valued both groups and their music moved me. These are insignificant events on a very small scale with reference to my main point, but I think we choose what we like and influence each other's values more than we think.

The nostalgia effect. Everyone can think of a horrible song that moves them because of it's nostalgic effect. We fall in love with a song because it happened to be playing while something memorable was happening. The key to remember here is that what we were doing was often important not necessarily the music . This is just another reason to choose your music. Play something that you support in every way or choose silence. Let the smell that day or silence itself remind you of that memory.

Its important for us and the people we influence to choose better music or silence instead of diluted art. One person's musical values mixed with an other's creates a more universal idea of "good music," but if some people "let" themselves be fed music that they don't care about, I believe they're likely grow to care about something not worth caring about. So the commonalities between the music I value and the music you value are the foundation of better music. If you were to add a third person, there would still be values in common and those values would be even more important. It is those values that MUST be present for the art form to grow. By recognizing and supporting what we value in music, we can improve the quality of the music we're surrounded by.

by Blake Aaron Russell

www.yourlessonstn.com

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"Sleep With One Eye Open" Chris Thile and Michael Daves

Stupendous!

I love almost everything about this album. With a very "old living room" sound, the production sticks out the most. I've never liked the sound that money makes. I'm not sure if its because I'm a musician and don't like being reminded of things I can't afford, or what, but the album sounds like hospitality. It reminds us musicians, that greatness can be attained without money if you've got some spine. Despite the "genuine" sound of the album, I couldn't help wondering if Daves is really that southern. Speaking of southern, I wonder if what we think of as southern has any relation to the sound of poverty.... Anyways, both guys can sing and play well... and they both have that rare effortless tenor ability. The harmonies are wonderful and remind me of one of my favorite albums "Realtime" by Tim O'brien and Darrell Scott. In fact, this album is very similar to that one. They do a Louvin brothers cover thats really great to. If you haven't listened to the Louvin brothers, you should because your mind will be blown by how many of the songs you'll recognize. Needless to say the've written a lot of songs that people have covered over the years.

In summation, I feel like this album says "We're some heavy weights that don't need no expensive production" Oh yea, and its a bluegrass album

by Blake Aaron Russell

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2

Most agree that jazz must contain improvisation, but even that concept is a new to some. When looking at the practitioners of what we call jazz, this idea works... but what about all the others who improvise. When you ask that guy with the black rimmed glasses and the scarf that's far too cool, "Is Angus Young a jazz player?" After using a man-purse full of words irrelevant to the question, he replies,"No way man!" But he fits the bill right?... He improvises? Would you be brave enough to say, he is a jazz player, but he's just not that versatile? I say he is a jazz player and a great one. Maybe energy makes jazz... energy received (from the player to the player) and produced(from the player to others)