Music

Mozart Demystified black and white sheet music on a stand

Mozart Demystified

Since Mozart’s death, his legacy has been dramatized and romanticized in both literature and film. One specific film Amadeus, warps Mozart’s character into a boyish, immature person. While I still suggest you see the film because it is still wonderful, just remember that they take very wide artistic liberties. Here are a couple of myths…

An Introduction to Diction Gold microphone

An Introduction to Diction

Having proper diction is paramount while singing. Without it, we wouldn’t understand the words, thus losing an important connection with the music. A few students have recently had some minor diction issues, so here are a couple of ideas to help you sing your words clearly. 1. Warm-ups: Developing any skill begins with a good…

Ludwig van Beethoven: An Overview Beethoven bust

Ludwig van Beethoven: An Overview

This December 16 marks the birthday of one of the world’s greatest composers. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was born to a musical family in Bonn, Germany. He was a pianist virtuoso from a young age and toured Europe to critical acclaim before going deaf in his late twenties/early thirties. Despite this seemingly crippling ailment, Beethoven…

DAWs: What You Need To Know DJ board

DAWs: What You Need To Know

Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) are what you use to record and edit music on your computer. It is software that allows you to manipulate audio in various ways, and depending on your software of choice, can do different tasks. DAW software isn’t cheap, but it isn’t the most expensive either, making it easy to start…

How Music Benefits Infants

While the studies on the “Mozart effect” have disproved that listening to Mozart makes your toddler smarter, there are still numerous benefits to exposing your infant or young child to music and music lessons. Here are a couple of ways that music helps to develop your child’s brain. 1. Spatial/temporal reasoning: Preschool students who took…

Spooky Musician Myths

With the Halloween season upon us, let’s take a look at some of the darker sides of the musicians we’ve come to appreciate. From hauntings, to murder, to devil worship, true or not, these stories are sure to be creepy! 1. Mozart’s Death/Requiem: It is known that Mozart’s Requiem in d minor was unfinished due…

Some New (And Some Old) Practice Techniques

From recent lessons I’ve taught, I’ve come across a couple new practice techniques. Try these ideas for a more successful and efficient practice session! 1. Break it down: I’ve talked about this before, but I’ve noticed that I’ve been saying it a lot more, and with more specificity. Very rarely should you play your entire…

Learning A New Instrument

Since the start of school, many students (especially 3rd and 4th graders) will be choosing a new instrument to learn. Many of my own students have been discussing what they could potentially learn and I’ve been explaining the difficulties of each instrument, or instrument family. This really applies to anyone who wants to learn a…

Artists of the 90s Part II

Last week we explored a few significant musicians of the 1990s. This week we continue with another list of noteworthy 90s artists! 1. Nirvana: It wouldn’t be a well-rounded 90s article without the mention of the grunge rock band, Nirvana. Grunge started in the late 80s in Seattle, Washington but truly matured and was brought…

Living in the 1990’s

While most of these blogs focus on all aspects of music, this one will focus on key lifestyle differences between the 90s and today’s decade. When learning a piece of music that is from a different time period (whether it’s 200 years ago, or just 25) it’s important to hone in on that time’s culture…

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