Learning the ropes of the guitar must be done both in theory and in practice — the mental and the physical/application side, respectively. The best way to learn the guitar is to distinguish the theory side and the physical side of guitar learning and to focus on one side first as opposed to practicing them both at the same time. When learning the guitar theoretically, you’ll dive into how the fretboard works, how strings and notes are related, what chords are, etc. It will be about reading and studying diagrams and the placements of your guitar’s fretboard. It is all...
Guitar / Piano / Voice
How To Balance Music Classes With Your Job
Maintaining a regular practice routine can be very challenging when a full-time (or even part-time!) job is needed. Your current job can also have a big effect on you by the end of the day. If you have a physically demanding job, it can wear you out to the point of exhaustion. If yours is a mentally demanding one, then it can certainly make it difficult to concentrate on practicing music. Here are some tips to help you achieve a healthy balance between music classes and your job: Consider your daily schedule. Ask yourself these questions: How does your work...
Guitar / Piano
How To Give Back To Your Community As A Musician
While there are so may ways to give back to your local community, there’s just something special about being able to make someone smile through your musical abilities. Here are some great ways you can help your community through your music: Join a charitable organization Being able to volunteer for a music-related charity in your area can be extremely fulfilling. While there are hundreds of nonprofits that you can choose from, using your musical abilities for a charitable organization just feels special. Thanks to the internet, it’s now so much easier to look up music-related charities and see how you...
Guitar
3 Tips To Consider Before Buying Your First Guitar
Are you planning to buy your first guitar soon? You’re in for a wonderful musical journey! It can be easy to feel overwhelmed with the choices—should you go acoustic or electric? what price point should you choose? Nylon strings or steel?—but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Take a look at the points to consider before bringing home your new guitar: What style of music do you want to learn? If you’re a hard rock fan and want to learn how to shred, it might not be a good idea to get a classical guitar as your first choice. There...
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New Years Resolutions For Music Students
As lifetime music students, it’s important to keep striving to improve with each year that passes. While working on and improving musical abilities is a bit of a vague resolution to set, here are a few suggestions that you can choose from: Learn To Practice Better Setting aside more time to practice may be a great resolution in itself, but let’s be practical: a lot of us don’t have any more extra time to spend. However, you can always choose to practice better. Quality practice sessions over a period of time is much better than drawn out practice that goes...
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Holiday Tips: Making Music With Your Family
When the holidays approach, music more often than not plays an important part in the lives of many people more so than it does during the other months of the year. Classic and modern holiday tunes fill the streets and shops, school recitals and choir performances are held, and so many more community events allow everyone to make the most of the wonderful benefits of music. This is why it is crucial to encourage people to take advantage of the musical opportunities being offered during these bright times. It often serves as the big push or the springboard that a...
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Holiday Destinations for Music Lovers
Traveling during the holidays can be made even more musical by visiting beautiful cities that are perfect for music lovers. From the timeless grace of classical Vienna to the rock and roll home of the blues in Memphis, take a look at some holiday destinations that are best known for their musical heritage, historical venues and evolving styles. Vienna Popularly known as the European capital of Classical music, Vienna is most known for Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Haydn and so many more. Visit Vienna to catch daily recitals, outdoor performances in the city’s many parks, or indulge in ballroom dancing, as the...
Dealing With Performance Anxiety: Part Two
We covered the basics of handling performance anxiety on the last post, but this time we’ll be focusing on all the different ways you can rehearse and train to minimize your nerves as much as possible. Comprehensive Rehearsing Practicing to improve technique is all well and good, but rehearsing your actualy performance as you would in front of a live audience is ideal when preparing for a show. If possible, don’t neglect the value of rehearsal in shedding unwanted nerves. These rehearsals help you find out if there are any inherent problems with your performance and once spotted, it’ll be...
Guitar / Piano
Dealing With Performance Anxiety: Part One
No matter what you call it—whether it’s performance anxiety, stage fright, pre-show nerves, or the jitters—getting anxious before a performance is extremely normal among musicians and other performers. The symptoms we experience range from the mildly annoying to the disabling, and it can turn what should be a delightful show into a painful slog. With our Student Showcase coming up this December 11th at 7:30pm at Busboys and Poets, it’s the perfect time to share a few strategies that will help you overcome performance anxiety and focus on the joy of music! When you’ve confirmed your performance piece with your...
Guitar / Piano
How Making Music Reduces Stress
No matter what month of the year it is, stress can be a big part of our daily lives. It negatively affects both our physical and mental well-being, whether we’re busy with our jobs, school or social lives. This is why we should do our best to set aside time to relieve our stress, and one great way to do that is by making music! Playing your favorite instrument or learning a new one are great ways to break free from unnecessary worrying. Music In Therapy Professional therapists have long been advocates of the positive effects of playing and listening...