Many people don’t like the idea of having to practice their scales on any instrument. There seems to be this idea that because the guitar is a pop music instrument that you don’t have to learn any real fundamentals like scales to be a good player. It’s no surprise because beginning music players, regardless of […]
Grosse Pointe
How many guitar chords are there?
Chords are groups of notes that when played together form some type of consonant or dissonant harmony. It’s typical for beginning guitar students to ask how many guitar chords exist. The answer is not infinity, but it’s still too many to bother counting. It’s much more productive to learn a few fundamental chords in depth […]
Can I start my lessons on a keyboard rather than a piano?
Modern technology has made it very inexpensive to get a full 88 key piano keyboard. These keyboards often have hammer-action keys which give it the feel of a real piano. Anyone who has compared keyboards without weighted keys to a real acoustic piano knows there is quite a difference. The feel from piano to the […]
Don’t you cry I’ll be back again someday
After waving goodbye to the children, Frosty the Snowman reassures them that he will be back again someday. Did Frosty ever return as he promised? Some people who are not satisfied with the ambiguity of “I’ll be back again someday” decided to change the lyrics to “I’ll be back again on Christmas Day”. Is it […]
The Impact and Importance of Christmas Music
Music can be found everywhere in the world. It is, after all, the universal language. Since humans learned that we could bang sticks against objects and create rhythms, we have had music. There is no form of music, though, that has been embraced across the globe quite like Christmas music. Likewise, the impact of Christmas […]
They tell me to start on acoustic but I’ve decided to start with electric guitar
Yesterday I gave you my thoughts on whether to start on acoustic or electric guitar as a beginning player. Instead of just saying you should start on acoustic, I rambled off 400 or more words so that my blog would be effective for online search engines. While I gave my opinion that I think everyone […]
Acoustic or Electric. What should beginners play?
Beginning guitar players are often faced with the dilemma of choosing the type of guitar to play first as they begin lessons. Many people love the looks of the electric guitar but heard somewhere that you should always start out playing the acoustic guitar. Other people have heard that you always want to start on […]
Winter Recital Grosse Pointe Music Academy 2011
The Grosse Pointe Music Academy Winter Recital will be held on Saturday, December 10th 2011 at 6pm for session 1 and 8pm for session 2. The recital will be held at the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church located at 17150 Maumee at the corner of St. Clare in Grosse Pointe city. View Larger Map This is […]
Play Chopsticks while eating sushi
Chopsticks is the most popular piano song of all time. Some would make the argument for Heart and Soul or Beethoven’s Fur Elise. They’d be wrong. It’s Chopsticks. More people play Chopsticks than any other song when they come across an open piano. Why? Because it can actually be played with a pair of chopsticks. […]
Google Doodle Guitar Songwriting Contest
Test your songwriting ability by using the Google Doodle Guitar. Record a song 30 seconds or less to win a free T-Shirt and 25 dollar cash prize! The Google Doodle Guitar appeared on Google’s homepage a while back and it’s pretty cool and easy to play. You can drag the mouse over the strings or […]
Musical Boxing – Success vs. Excellence
Recently, I was talking with someone about my desire to become a professional boxer as a child. My father had a heavyweight prizefighter as a friend, and after watching him live, followed by hounding my parents for tickets to fights and going to a few more, I was hooked. I asked my parents time and […]
Sight-reading isn’t for sissies!
In my first year of college at Wayne State University, I noticed a comic strip in my guitar instructor’s office. The drawing was of a conductor holding his baton in a room of flames, surrounded by a pitiful-looking bunch of guitarists and banjo players. The caption read, “Conductors Hell.” After mentioning this to friends for […]
Pave the way with music
This past July, I attended the The Guild of American Luthiers’ Twentieth National Convention/Exhibition in Tacoma, Washington. Beyond learning a plethora of new and interesting information, I discovered something very simple that I keep thinking about. The convention was held on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University (for that week it became Pacific Luthier University), […]
Pre-Piano Group Classes for ages 4 and 5
Welcome to Piano Transitions! The purpose of this class is to further the development of skills in music and piano in children 4 and 5 years of age. Children at this age learn best through play, exploration, and creativity, which is reflected in the structure of the class. There will be times for playing […]
Join the Guitar Ensemble at Grosse Pointe Music Academy
Metro Detroit guitarists now have the chance to play in a group with other six-stringers. You can have the same experience that middle school or high school band and orchestra students so vitally benefit from. Guitar Ensemble class is not designed to replace your private lesson instruction. Instead, it is meant to be a supplementary […]
Social Network for written music
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. […]
All about Drumming
Did you know that late night talk show host, Craig Fergueson, is a drummer? So is actor, Billy Bob Thornton and the Mindfreak himself, Criss Angel. It seems keeping steady rhythm on a set of skins would be pretty easy if Criss Angel can pull it off without the aid of mirrors or camera tricks. […]
Extras needed for a Movie Starring Ethan Bortnick 10 yo Piano Prodigy. Attend concert for Free
Hey Everyone, The staff, parents, students, and friends of Grosse Pointe Music Academy have been invited to a free concert by the producers of a movie starring Ethan Bortnick. I received a call this afternoon from the movie set of Ethan Bortnick’s new film. He is having a concert at the Redford Theater on Thursday […]
Sing Like You Mean it
Sing Like You Mean It Karaoke is a great way to expose yourself to singing. A microphone and a karaoke machine turns a typical party into American Idol. It seems like everybody thinks they can sing when they get behind the mike and have a full Karaoke band behind them. Truth is, not everyone […]
Use What Talent you possess
“Use What Talent you possess: The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best” Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) American scholar, educator, lyricist What do you think the quote means? I like this quote because I think he’s telling you to open up and let it out. Don’t wait […]