If you are not familiar with the butterfly effect, it is essentially when small changes can make bigger changes happen. Whether or not you may agree with the butterfly effect theory, you might agree that this past year and a half most of us had to make many small changes for lessons to continue. Many […]
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One of the first questions a new student asks when sitting at the piano bench is, “What do those three pedals do?” Great question! Before diving into the details of each pedal, let's look at the history of them. Piano Pedals - Long, Long Ago Piano pedals have been around almost as long as the […]
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Taking care of your musical instrument properly is extremely important, especially since you have to invest a lot of money, time, and research on choosing and buying the right one. Hence, if you plan to move to a new home, make sure you prepare your instrument for the transfer. Instruments are not only costly but […]
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The vocal range is one of several voice qualities that vocal teachers use to determine voice type. It refers to the full scope of pitches a given singer can produce, from the lowest to the highest. Other important voice qualities to consider are: Vocal tessitura (tehs-sih-’too-rah): the area of the vocal range most comfortable for […]
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Music is a huge part of everyday life for most people. Some are casual listeners, others live and breathe through it, but the fact is that it’s meant to help people relax, grow, and enjoy themselves in the purest way possible. Even though it can help us through our hardships without us giving it too […]
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Western Classical music era, which was between 1730 and 1820, was characterized by a distinctive music style, with a touch of romance and an aesthetic attitude, despite the politics in that era. The most common form of music was the Sonata. Its structural pattern formed a basis for most classical instrumental music. Ludwig Van Beethoven, […]
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Learning to play the piano is so much fun when you are passionate about the music and want to produce your own songs. Once you have started playing fluently and feel that you can begin to practice more by yourself, you might start thinking about purchasing a piano of your own. You could have your […]
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By Lou Ann Pope, Tonara Creative Education Specialist One of my favorite radio shows is John Tesh’s Intelligence for Your Life. I have learned so many interesting tidbits, but the best piece of advice is “Don’t buy your children things; give them experiences.” So started the first of many trips with my three children. Instead […]
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By Marilyn Floyd “Music melody is the part of a song that you can sing,” - Marilyn Floyd I tell my music composition students. Melody is the part of the song that everyone knows and remembers. Three parameters -melody, harmony, and rhythm - make music out of a collection of sounds and beat. Melodies are the easiest […]
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How do you get rid of stage fright? Well, you may never be rid of it 100% — a small amount of stage fright is actually not a bad thing! Well into his 60s, the renowned Duke Ellington used to say he enjoys a happy jolt of stage fright every evening. That being said, Duke […]
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