Grosse Pointe Shores Archives - Grosse Pointe Music Academy

Pictures of the New Location at 19443 Mack Ave. in GPW

April 8, 2012

The Grosse Pointe Music Academy will open up it’s new location at 19443 Mack Ave. on Monday April 16th. I was in checking in on the progress and took a few photos to share. I am excited to begin a new era of Grosse Pointe Music Academy in out new space. I believe our new place will be much more efficient on many levels and central to all areas of the Grosse Pointe Community. We will also have more abundant parking as well as many other Mack Avenue business in walking distance. Enjoy Caribou Coffee, Burrito Mundo, or check out The Pointe After’s new location right next door to us. We will be in the building that was formerly a 2nd location for Grosse Pointe’s Village cleaners.

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Grosse Pointe Music Academy is Moving!

March 10, 2012

Grosse Pointe Music Academy which is currently located at the corner of Mack and Cadieux in Grosse Pointe Park will be moving at the end of March. Beginning on April 16th we will be conducting all of our classes and operations from 19443 Mack Ave in Grosse Pointe Woods.

Grosse Pointe Music Academy was originally started as Guitar Union Music Shop on Charlevoix St. at Lakepointe in Grosse Pointe Park. We moved to Mack and Cadieux in August of 2009. Guitar Union Music Shop was originally just a place to take guitar lessons and buy guitar accessories. In order to meet the needs of our customers in the community we expanded to teaching drums, piano, bass guitar, violin, voice, and other instruments. We currently have 25 university trained music instructors that are keeping music education alive in the metro Detroit area.

Music is our passion and we are committed to serving our community and surrounding communities with the highest quality of music instruction. Music Lessons are not only available for children. Many adults who with or without experience take lessons with Grosse Pointe Music Academy instructors. We believe that anyone who is willing to dedicate some of their time to practicing daily can and will progress in music. We also understand that not everyone is pursuing a career in music and simply wants to learn for their own personal enjoyment. You will will receive a personalized plan for achieving your goals when taking lessons with us.

Our new location will be under construction during the month of March. If you are interested in setting up lessons you can sign up anytime. We will continue to operate from our current location and move seamlessly into our new space.

As of April 16th, 2012 our new address will be:

19443 Mack Ave.

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236
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Social Network for written music

September 10, 2011

Check out noteflight.com. Noteflight allows you to write music and share it easily on the internet. Noteflight is a free software that gives you high power music scoring tools on the internet for free. Score music for virtually any instrument and share it easily by emailing links or embedding into your web pages or blogs. Noteflight has their basic service for free and if you read the FAQ on their website you will see that they claim that it will always be free. They also a premium service for 49 dollars per year for individuals. They also have plans for teachers and institutions. Noteflight is like the youtube.com of written music. See www.noteflight.com for details on the basic and paid membership.

Noteflight allows you to browse through thousands of shared files by other users. Noteflight gives high powered music scoring tools to musicians all around the world. Score in standard notation for any music instrument or voice. Guitar players and guitar students will enjoy ability to score on tablature and to write chords above each measure.

Information from the Noteflight Website:

Noteflight was founded with the vision of making it simple for everyone to create and share musical ideas online. We started by building a place on the web where individuals could create, view, hear and print their own music. Our users began to share, collaborate, teach and learn with Noteflight. We are constantly finding new opportunities in partnering with others, and as we continue to learn about what people see in Noteflight, we build new features. There’s something for everyone at Noteflight!

What is Noteflight?

Noteflight is the best way to create, store, listen to, print, search and share notated music online. If you are a composer, you can use Noteflight to author and manage your compositions. If you are a performer, you can use Noteflight to create and share sheet music that you like to play. If you’re a teacher or a student, you can use Noteflight to communicate and collaborate in learning music.

Join the Grosse Pointe Music Academy Guitar Ensemble

Grosse Pointe Music Academy is offering a Guitar Ensemble class for all guitar and bass students. Guitar Players usually do not have the opportunity to participate in group ensembles with others that play the same instrument. Schools typically have orchestras and brass/woodwind bands but they typically do not have guitar ensemble. We are here to fill that void. Guitar students can now gain the same valuable experience of ensemble play that violin players, trumpet players, or other instrumentalists get. Join the Guitar Ensemble today.

What are frets, and when should I have them replaced?

August 5, 2011

Frets are metal strips (usually nickel alloy) embedded along the fretboard (also called fingerboard) and located at exact points that divide the scale length in accordance with a specific mathematical formula. When a player presses a string against a fret it shortens the vibrating length of the string, thus changing the pitch or note that is heard. Frets are laid out so that each consecutive fret’s placement defines a half-step interval resulting in what is known as a chromatic scale. Fret placement is determined by a mathematical proportion that results in equal tempered division of the octave. This means that there are twelve semi-tones to an octave, and the twelfth fret will be the octave of the note that the open string is tuned to. In practice, luthiers determine fret positions using the constant 17.817, which is derived from the twelfth root of two (17.817 = (1-2^-1/12)⁻¹). This math is based upon the work of Pythagoras, who determined that if you take a vibrating string and divide it into two halves you could achieve the octave of the original note produced by the string. Pythagoras is accredited with the discovery of both harmonics and the diatonic scale. In all probability, Pythagoras actually worked out his theory of harmony from the monochord, a contrivance consisting of a single string stretched between two pegs and supplied with movable frets. However he discovered the basis for his work, Pythagoras’ theory lives on in fretted stringed musical instruments.

Since frets are usually made of nickel alloy, which is a softer metal, they tend to wear and require replacement. Not unlike the tires on your car, frets continue to function as they wear, so it may take some time before the degradation becomes noticeable. Eventually the playability and feel of the instrument will degrade to the point that it does become noticeable. The most common symptoms of fret wear are buzzing and decreased playability, but because fret wear proceeds so slowly, it may take a long time before the player notices the change. Usually, the wear will become visibly noticeable under the first and second string of the regular guitar first. This is because the steel used for the strings are harder than the nickel that is used for the frets. It takes longer to wear the frets under the other strings, because they are wound with either brass or bronze, which are both softer than the frets. There is an exception to this tendency for players who often use capos, as a heavy capo user will tend to wear out their frets more rapidly, and more evenly under all of their strings. Just as you notice the improved “handling” when you replace the tires on your car, you’ll notice your guitar playing much better when worn frets are replaced. Some players are more sensitive to this feel and may chose to replace their frets more frequently than others who are less sensitive.

It is difficult to say exactly how long one should go before replacing the frets on their guitar. The pressure applied on the frets by the player varies greatly between players and styles. It really depends on how you play. If you play your guitar one hour a year (unlikely), you could never wear out the frets, but if you play one hour a day, you probably will. It’s not uncommon for a professional guitarist who plays a nightly gig to wear out a full set of frets in a year. If you have high action and a hard grip, you’ll wear frets a bit faster. If you “choke” or “bend” notes, you’ll scrape the skinny steel strings across the frets and wear them much faster. While frets can be leveled a few times before requiring to be replaced, eventually they are going to wear to the point that even the most skilled repair technician will not have enough metal wire left to level. At that point, they will require replacement. This is usually the point where the fret height is one third as tall as it was when installed. Most people will probably have to replace their frets every ten years or so. A professional musician will have to replace them more often.

By: David Bolla

Certified Luthier

Grosse Pointe Music Academy Staff

Five Ways Piano Lessons Benefit Children

August 5, 2011

Two years ago, my wife and I started our oldest daughter, then six years old, in piano lessons. Both of us being musically oriented, we feel that music instruction is just as important as enrolling her in soccer, gymnastics or ballet.

But, when practice begins and the sound of scales badly played reverberates through the house, I began to wonder what was I thinking? Beyond the general discomfort of the first couple of years what are the benefits children receive from piano lessons?

Actually, there are many beneficial attributes children acquire from learning to tickle the ivory; the following are five of the most prevalent:

1. Piano Lessons Help Children in School

The most talked about benefit children receive from piano lessons is that it also helps with their school lessons. Numerous studies available show children who play an instrument, score higher on both standard and spatial cognitive development tests alike. There are also findings that show kids who play piano, in particular, scored higher in math, especially on problems dealing with ratios and fractions.

In one particular study conducted by Dr. Frances Rauscher (a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh) and Gordon Shaw (a physicist at of the University of California at Irvine) tested preschoolers who received piano instruction. They found that preschoolers who received piano lessons scored 34% higher than their nonmusical counterparts in tests measuring spatial-temporal reasoning, which is the brain function used to understand math, science and engineering.

2. Piano Lessons Raise Self Esteem

Learning to play the piano is hard work and takes dedication. Not only does each song mastered increase a child’s self-esteem, but showcasing their newly learned talents at piano recitals can boost their self esteem as much as winning a game in a sports competition.

Lessons also help kids to learn how to keep a positive outlook when facing difficult tasks. The understanding that mastering a new skill is a process that requires patience helps children to approach tasks with confidence, and not become discouraged or frustrated.

3. Piano Lessons Increase Coordination

Increased eye-hand coordination is almost a given for children that learn to play the piano, but there is more than that. Kids who play the piano have improved fine motor skills and, unlike other instruments, the piano requires both hands to work independently of each other, one moving fast while the other may be moving at a slower rate. All of these things help to increase a child’s overall dexterity and complex thought processes.

4. Piano Lessons Help Children to Concentrate

Reading a piece of music takes a great deal of focus, causing a child to interpret a note and a rhythm, translate it into hand movements on the keyboard and then immediately go on to the next one. Reading and playing music allows them to think both critically and creatively, which is a skill that will assist them in anything they choose to undertake in the future.

5. Piano Lessons Help Children to be Well-Rounded

Regardless of whether a child plays the piano for a short time or for a lifetime, the long-term effects of their piano pursuance are many. Through playing the piano, children are exposed to classical music that they may otherwise have never heard. Kids may develop an appreciation for composers like Bach or Mozart that stay with them for life. In addition, the skills and knowledge they learn in piano may help them easily pick up another musical instrument later.

So, as I sit and listen to my little one, pounding painfully away on the black and whites, all I have to do is remember that as she continues to practice, she’ll be creating a great deal more than a few simple melodies, which is truly music to my ears.

by TopTenREVIEWS™ Contributing Writer

References

Foundation for Universal Music Literacy Research Materials. How Music Can Dramatically Effect Your Child’s Development and Life-Time Success. 18 Oct. 2005. <http://www.allegrorainbow.com/media/pdfs/ChildrenandMusicResearch.pdf>

Pianonet.com. Benefits of Playing the Piano. [2005] 18 Oct. 2005. <http://www.pianonet.com/articles/benefits.htm>

Pianonet.com. Discover Pianonet: Learn to Play. [2005] 18 Oct. 2005. <http://www.pianonet.com/discover_learn.htm#>

Begley, Sharon. Pianoiseasy.com. Music on the Mind. [2000] 18 Oct. 2005. <http://www.pianoiseasy.com/showpage.cfm?page=articles>

West Music. The Piano and Child Development. 18 Oct. 2005. <http://www.westmusic.com/rspages.aspx?DocID=244&contentcatid=5>

Essortment.com. Benefits of piano lessons for a beginner. [2002] 18 Oct. 2005. <http://ksks.essortment.com/pianolessonsbe_rbrw.htm>

VanLandingham, Cynthia. EzineArticles.com How Piano Lessons Benefit Young Children. [2005] 18 Oct. 2005. <http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Piano-Lessons-Benefit-Young-Children&id=38953>

Posted by Grosse Pointe Music Academy Staff

Music Instruction serving the Grosse Pointe Communities and surrounding Metro Detroit Area

Grosse Pointe: 313-458-7723
Canton: 734-667-4983
Clinton Township: 586-846-2984
Brighton: 810-775-3476

Pictures of the New Location at 19443 Mack Ave. in GPW

Grosse Pointe Music Academy is Moving!

What are frets, and when should I have them replaced?

Five Ways Piano Lessons Benefit Children

1. Piano Lessons Help Children in School

2. Piano Lessons Raise Self Esteem

3. Piano Lessons Increase Coordination

4. Piano Lessons Help Children to Concentrate

5. Piano Lessons Help Children to be Well-Rounded

References

Testimonials

Quick Links

Recent Posts

Contact Information

What is Noteflight?

Join the Grosse Pointe Music Academy Guitar Ensemble

1. Piano Lessons Help Children in School

2. Piano Lessons Raise Self Esteem

3. Piano Lessons Increase Coordination

4. Piano Lessons Help Children to Concentrate

5. Piano Lessons Help Children to be Well-Rounded

References

Testimonials

Quick Links

Recent Posts

Connect With Us

Contact Information