What Can Classical Music do for You?
March is Music in Our Schools Month. Sometimes when I take on a private student who has previously given up on, or has never had music lessons, they can very fearful. Grown men who tower over me tremble when they Read More …
An English composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor has a Wikipedia entry. . We have a few (not nearly enough) recordings on Amazon: He was a prolific composer, again surmounting incredible odds, and was often referred to as “The African Mahler.” There is Read More …
In Music of the Heart. a film about violin teacher Roberta Guaspari, Naeem’s mother, Mrs. Adisa, pulls Naeem out of Guaspari’s violin class, and the following dialogue ensues: MRS. ADISA My son’s got more important things to do than learn Read More …
We’ll start off the month with one of my favorites, Edmond Dédé. He’s got a Wikipedia article that has some detail. But to really understand his legacy and the odds against him, look at this article from New Orleans Public Read More …
Times change. Two hundred years ago, at the time of Jane Austen, every young lady who had any aspirations of a middle-class or higher life was expected to have “accomplishments,” among which was included music, especially singing or playing an Read More …
If you haven’t been keeping up, the Fort Worth Symphony musicians are on strike. Performances are cancelled until the strike is resolved. If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, in a nutshell, the musicians took a pay cut Read More …
If there’s one thing that almost everyone can agree on, it’s that you should study the plot of an opera before you see it or listen to it. Let’s face it: operas have plots so convoluted that even people who Read More …
I’ve made several posts for Blog Action Day, and today’s topic is inequality. In the U.S., there is a staggering inequality of access for music education, and more importantly, for classical music. This is a conscious decision made by hundreds Read More …
There is a general feeling among teachers that in order to succeed, you must offer every style of music, and teach every instrument from accordion to zither, in order to have a viable studio. However, having subsequently accepted students from Read More …
With all the unemployment and economic issues in the USA today, I thought I’d chime in with my own two cents’ worth of ideas. Not that I don’t want to get back to reading research, but the economy has been Read More …
