Director of McGill University’s Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition and Expertise and best-selling author of “This is Your Brain on Music,” Daniel Levitin blends cutting-edge scientific findings with his own experiences as a former record producer and still-active musician.
Detroit
That’s what she said: Quotes from Famous Female Songwriters
Quotes from Famous Female Songwriters: We all have someone to look up to; these can be people who are part of our daily lives, or someone we’ve met briefly but left a lasting impression. They can also be someone famous like a celebrated musician, composer or vocalist. Let’s read and learn from these inspiring quotes […]
Don’t let your children quit playing music
Children will often take up a musical instrument with high hopes of becoming great at playing the instrument or great at singing. Typically the first few lessons are a lot of fun and it’s exciting to learn a few things about how to play and sing. Beginning music lessons need to be set up so […]
Balduck Mountain Ramblers
Greetings Everyone! Ben Steel will return to the Wildwood Friendly Tavern this coming Saturday, the 11th, from 8 pm to 11 pm. As always, this venue […]
Music makes things worthwhile
A week ago or so I wrote about how music and art are always the first thing to go whenever the public school system needs to cut back on things. I think of this again on Superbowl sunday because I think what would football be without the art and music that sell it. The Superbowl […]
Songwriting classes at GPMA
Songwriting is something that all musicians can engage in regardless of the instrument that they play and what level they are at. It is certainly helpful to know more and be well practiced on your instrument when writing songs, but learning the skills of songwriting can begin at anytime. Some of the most popular songwriters […]
What makes instruments sound different from one another?
When you listen to music, there are generally multiple instruments playing at the same time during part of or all of the song. Sometimes there might be two different instruments such as the guitar and piano, both playing the same note in the same octave at the same time. Each instrument has a unique sound […]
The Music Together Difference
If you’ve been searching for a music class for your young child, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to Music Together of Grosse Pointe, held at the Grosse Pointe Music Academy. We are music and movement program for children ages 0-5, and the grown-ups who love them! We offer research-based music education, in a […]
Temperament: Information for real musical nerds
You would think that the ideal way to tune your piano would be to make each of the consonant intervals sound exactly in tune, so that no beating could be heard. Indeed, many musicians have long regarded this as sort of ideal, but it doesn’t work out very well on a keyboard with only twelve […]
Don’t cut music and art from our schools.
It seems like I hear every couple days that a school somewhere in Michigan just cut all of their funding for the music program and the art program. I understand that decisions have to be made and people often assume that music and art are not subjects that are necessary. I am someone who has […]
Guitar Theft – Protect yourself.
We all love and cherish our instruments. Musicians often feel a unique connection with the instruments that they play. That is why it is such a tragedy to us when we have an instrument stolen. Having anything stolen is a terrible thing, but having something as personal as one’s guitar taken from them so callously is […]
Eight Year Old Plays Stratosphere On Guitar
It’s always impressive to see young children to play with virtuosity on their electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano or any other instrument. The 8 year old in the video has some very remarkable talent on the electric guitar. There are many young musicians who play masterfully, but I was still astonished when I saw it. […]
Can I convert my guitar to left handed?
In most cases a right handed instrument can be easily converted to a left handed instrument. In fact, on a classical guitar, the conversion may be as simple as restringing it. The saddles on classical guitars typically have no compensation angle, and the nylon strings are close enough in diameter that the nut slots are often […]
Releasing tight or stuck bridge pins
Often times a player will go to restring their guitar, and discover that the bridge pins wont budge. This can be a frustrating experience, and can turn a simple procedure into a struggle. Luckily, there are a few tricks that can be used to make bridge pin extraction as painless as possible. The first thing […]
What are scalloped frets?
Scalloped frets are most commonly used by “shred guitarists.” The concept is that by “scooping out” a portion of the fingerboard wood between the frets, the players fingers then never make contact with the wood, thus eliminating friction between the guitarist’s finger tips and the wood. This allows the player to run scales with more […]
Just a few general maintenance tips for players
There are a few things that guitar players can do to keep their guitars in good condition. These are very simple things that can make a world of difference for the longevity of your instruments life. First and foremost, most novice players do not change their strings often enough. A string’s life begins its process […]
Grosse Pointe Music Academy Helps Crossroads Reach New High
2011/Crossroads East Giving Reaches New High We’re happy to report that once again, we have set a new record by giving 13,044 pounds of food to Crossroads East in 2011. This topped our 2010 total of 10,204, by 2,840 pounds. Here are a few highlights: We continue to be probably the largest supplier of fresh […]
Grosse Pointe Music Academy Teacher Spotlight
Before moving on to attain a Jazz studies degree from Wayne State University, Levi Henson taught himself to play rock and pop music on the guitar. At 11 years old, he wanted to play like Eric Clapton on his Fender electric guitar. Once he picked up the guitar, Levi never put it back down. He […]
10 Commandments of Guitar Playing
In 1976, Moris Tepper joined Captain Beefheart‘s Magic Band as guitarist; a position he held until Vliet’s retirement in 1982. It was during this period that Tepper was handed the “Ten Commandments of Guitar Playing,” as written by Beefheart himself. The list read as follows. (Source: Rolling Stone’s Alt-Rock-A-Rama; Image: Guardian.) 1. Listen to the birds. That’s […]
Considering compensation for twelve string guitars
So, do you calibrate a twelve string guitar or not? It is a common question and a very valid one. With fretted instruments we are always battling the limitations of the equal tempered scale. I’ve discussed in previous posts how intonation and calibration works. Basically, frets are placed at a place where a mathematical compromise […]