Blog
By Jason Jackowich
I owe everything to my drumming instructor for opening the world of paradiddles to me. I work very hard to get my students to the point that we can open this sacred box of knowledge. It makes me smile every single time I can get a student to that point because I know they are about to embark on a journey that will open the student up to endless possibilities.
By William Muñoz
If you play trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, or another brass instrument you already know that they are by far the coolest of the musical instruments (says the brass player writing this). In all seriousness, one of the greatest aspects of playing a brass instrument is that they are extremely versatile. A brass player can play all kinds of musical styles including: Pop, Jazz, Funk, Symphonic music, Concert Band, Marching Band, and the list just goes on.
We are privileged to live in a part of the world where learning an instrument is an easily accessible and enjoyable thing we can take part in. Growing up I often thought, I wonder what it’s like to play this instrument, or that instrument, and while my parents afforded me the opportunity with many instruments there’s still more I want to learn!
You probably just read that sentence and paused at "harp". Most people are surprised and intrigued when I tell them I am a harpist. Perhaps you have some questions about this elegant instrument. So I am dedicating this post to answering the most frequently asked questions about the harp and my experience as a harpist.
n my January 2016 blog, “Discovering Your Musical Purpose”, I wrote:
“As a long-time music teacher and performer, I believe that a well-rounded musician needs to be able to do the following:
By Jesse Sullivan
My name is Jesse Sullivan and am a new member of the AWSOM team! I graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelors of Arts in Music. I learned a lot about performing and teaching music while in college and the biggest lesson I learned regarding teaching is Quality over Quantity.
One of our outstanding 12 year old piano students is about to take his Grade 7 on the piano. Andrew Shi, has taken his top 5 tips and formulated them into an excellent blog to help all current and future exam students know how to best prepare when taking a music exam! Well done on this great post Andrew!
By John Hart
Every subject, including sight-reading, has its grammar, logic, and rhetoric. (These 3 terms are referred to as the “Trivium”, a term often used in classical education.) The “grammar” of a subject is the knowledge base—a pool of facts. The logic stage is where we put those facts together in an orderly way, and the rhetoric phase is where we put it all together and so something meaningful and creative.
