Must Reads!

Pianos vs. Keyboards

by David McCormick January 1, 2011

Parents and adult beginners often ask whether it’s necessary to invest in an acoustic piano before starting lessons. In our experience, the answer is definitely not. True, nothing beats the sound quality and expressiveness of a good baby grand piano. I know – I used to own one. But I got tired of having to […]

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Music Theory: Your Friend!

by David McCormick September 26, 2010

I’ve been teaching music for 16 years and I hear the same questions every day: How are you able to hear a song for the first time and immediately know how to play it? How do you keep so many songs in your head and never look at sheet music? How do you start to […]

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Choosing an Orchestra Instrument

by admin September 14, 2009

So there I was, a soft-spoken, awkwardly tall sixth-grader sitting amongst a sea of children on the floor of the multi-purpose room. We were there to see a demonstration to assist in our decision of whether to join band or orchestra that year. Standing in front of us were the resident music teachers. Their rivalry […]

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Learning to play by ear

by Lia Zito June 5, 2009

Playing by ear is just another skill that has to be developed. I was terrible at it when I got out of high school (after 10 years of private violin lessons, Suzuki even!) and tried to play at the local jam. The first tune or two I learned from CDs were tortuous. The next few […]

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