music-lasts-a-lifetime

Music: The Gift That Lasts A Lifetime

Throughout our years as DC’s neighborhood music school, we have been regular witnesses to how much happiness music brings to people of all ages and backgrounds. Seeing the smiles of students who play new pieces, gain more confidence with their talents or see a marked improved in their skills makes us feel a joy that can’t be bought anywhere. They find more and more ways to express themselves through their own musical abilities, and we find that our students all recognize that music is a gift that lasts a lifetime. The gift of music never stops giving. Aside from the happiness...

Benefits of Acoustic Piano over Digital Piano

Benefits of Learning on an Acoustic Piano

While an electric keyboard or a digital piano is a great practical substitute when an acoustic piano is not available, such as for your home practice between lessons, there are still various features and learning benefits to traditional instruments that can’t be easily met by their digital counterparts. Considering upgrading your home instrument? We recommend considering a digital piano or, even better, an acoustic one. Take a look at some of the fundamental differences between digital and acoustic pianos: Sound First, and most importantly, students have to consider the sound of an instrument. While many technological strides have been made,...

Essential Items For Back To School Music Lessons

Essential Items For Back To School Music Lessons

Back to school shopping is in full force but if you haven’t shopped for music supplies  yet – it’s not too late! Whether your child is taking music lessons in school, or you’re returning to music as an adult, it’s the perfect time to make sure that all the essentials necessary to succeed within the year’s music program are in place. Being ready and confident for music lessons both in and out of school greatly helps to keep students motivated and focused on their musical progress; no matter their age! Here’s a short list of some musical tools that can...

2016 Summer Showcase

2016 Summer Showcase

Student Showcases provide an awesome benchmark to help our teachers plan their instruction, and also give our students a wonderful sense of pride in their accomplishments. We’re so impressed each and every time with the bravery, poise, artistry, and passion that our students bring to the stage. The Summer 2016 Showcases were no exception! From total newbies to cultured performers, students of all levels of experience took risks and brought their art to life. Catch out next show on Sunday, December 11th at Busboys and Poets!

Why You Should Take Summer Music Lessons

Why You Should Take Summer Music Lessons

Summer break is a highlight of many a kid’s (and adult’s!) life. Having no school means no assignments, projects or needing to wake up early every weekday. This doesn’t mean all learning should stop, however. Continuing music lessons throughout the summer makes a huge difference with progress. Not only is it much easier to work on and focus on music over summer vacation, but taking summer music lessons helps to find inspiration that can benefit other parts of your life. Fewer Distractions From Music While you’re in school, it’s normal to juggle several worries at once. You’re thinking about studying...

Workplace Tips - Ambient Noise and Lyricless Music

Workplace Tips: Ambient Noise and Lyricless Music

When a creative task needs to be done, whether it involves language, music or visual arts, atmospheric music can work wonders. Researchers have seen that a moderate noise level is best, but a slight volume bump can make it very difficult to concentrate. Overwhelming basses and insufferable synths are much more distracting and will do more harm than good. A recent study shows that ambient noise that included natural sounds, such as waterfalls flowing and waves in the ocean, can improve a person’s ability to concentrate, while masking outside sounds at the same time. You should always aim for soft,...

Hidden Advantages For Adult Music Lessons

Hidden Advantages For Adult Music Lessons

How many times have you heard someone say, “I wish I had learned to play a musical instrument as a child.”? You might have even said this yourself! But just because you weren’t able to play it when you were young, it doesn’t mean it’s too late. Not only are adult music lessons very rewarding, but they also have quite a number of advantages when it comes to learning music compared to younger students. Advantages of Adult Music Lessons Most Adults Learn Because They Want To Children are more often than not persuaded to attend lessons and practice pieces. Older...

How Music Affects Productivity

How Music Affects Productivity

While music is thought of as one of the most triumphant creations in human history, does music itself help someone to create? This is a question that has been asked increasingly often, ever since music has become a staple in the modern office space. With so many hours spent at the workplace and so much of work in front of a bright screen, music has become a daily companion to our regular tasks. It’s now a way to make the most of a boring day and to “decorate time”. The Effectiveness Of Music On Repetitive Tasks Music makes repetitive tasks...

AUGUST 2016 Policy Improvements

August 2016 Improvements

As a small music school, we love the flexibility we have to customize lessons to our students’ needs. Where a larger organization isn’t able to adapt and make changes as easily, we thrive by listening to what our students need. During our 2016 ‘Spring Cleaning’, our staff has made some determinations about improvements we can make to better serve members of the studio We’re excited to adjust and look forward to running a tighter ship than ever before! Easier Lesson Scheduling Because you need consistency to grow and improve, we’ve always worked to support a weekly lesson schedule. Beginning in...

Music At Work

Music at Work: Which Styles Work Best?

When it comes to music at work that helps boost productivity, choosing genres that you already like is usually given preference. But when you’ve been feeling like your choices have been distracting you or if you can’t decide what styles to listen to due to a wide range of taste, take a look at these suggestions: Ambient Noise Sometimes, silence can be too disconcerting. Other times, melodies can be too distracting. Here’s a tried and tested style (that isn’t really considered music at all!) that can fix your dilemma for you: ambient noise. Playing loops of white noise, rain, waves,...