Grosse Pointe Music Academy Spring Recital 2012 and non-perishable food drive to help feed the hungry. Location: Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church 17150 Maumee, Grosse Pointe City Time: Session 1: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Session 2: 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Date: Friday June 8th View Larger Map Please be generous and bring your […]
Guitar Lessons
Powerful Music Quote
“I always loved music; whoso has skill in this art is of good temperament, fitted for all things. We must teach music in schools; a schoolmaster ought to have skills in music, otherwise I would not regard him.” -Martin Luther (1483-1546) The above quote clearly expresses […]
PRINCE DISCOVERS THE CURE FOR BALDNESS… GUITAR PLAYING
According to the Times of India… LONDON: Pop superstar Prince believes playing the electric guitar his entire life has stopped him from going bald. The 52-year-old pop legend, who can play 27 different instruments, is convinced the electricity that flows through a guitar when he strums it is the reason he still has luscious locks, Daily […]
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. […]
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 […]
More about Tablature
Now that Wikipedia is done with it’s 24 hour blackout I had a chance to research more about the topic of tablature. I know how many of you were absolutely enthralled with yesterday’s tablature article so I’ve decided to write another one. The first known occurrence in Europe is around 1300, and was first used […]
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 […]
Is it too late for me to take music lessons?
Many people have a preconceived notion about which age someone is to begin taking guitar lessons, piano lessons, voice lessons, and other instruments. Minimum age recommendations are based on general observations and for the most part should be adhered to. There is no such thing as maximum age requirements when wanting to learn a musical […]
Playing by ear
Musicians like to classify themselves in many different ways including whether or not they “play by ear”. It’s funny to me that so many are quick to say that they “play by ear”. I think that it is a defensive attitude which really means “I can’t read music”. The reason I say this is because […]
Musical Intervals and their names
Musical intervals can be likened to measurements that we learn early in life like the inch, the foot, the yard and so on. Music notes are are also given names for the space that exists between two points. In the most basic way, intervals can be defined as the distance between two musical notes. Musicians […]
Spelling your scales
A scale is a series of notes that can be used to create chords and play melodies. When a musician first begins to understand scales and their purpose there are a number of ways to go about it. The process of learning the scales includes learning to write and identify notes on staff, playing the […]
Tertian Chord Harmony
Tertian chords sound like they might be chords that reside on an alien planet somewhere in the universe. While the word is not typically used, tertian chords are the fundamental chords that are used by all popular american music and most music from around the world. Tertian harmony is so common that most musicians assume […]
Do I have to learn scales on the guitar?
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Stocking stuffers for that special guitar player
With Christmas fast approaching, I am having more and more people ask what my suggestions for “stocking stuffers” are. Most people are already aware of the standard small gifts to get for that special guitar player in your life such as picks, and strings, but there are some other gift ideas that they might not […]
The Guitar: A Functional Sculpture
An instrument can be seen as an extension of one’s own self to many people. Guitar players are certainly no exception to this. Guitars are more than they appear to many players. The instrument is not only a tool by which a musician can create their music, but also an extension of their own bodies. […]
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 […]