Delivering a message is one of the most important accomplishments in music, because it’s not just about saying something, through music you create something that is not just understood, it’s about something that can be felt, and in some ways establish a connection between the composer and the listener. In the end this is one of the most honest goals of a musician, to be able...
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There was a time when musicians filled this role, and it offered a certain stability and status, with time this has become more complex, one of this complexities come from a series of cultural movements and events which defined the way some people express themselves, but also disturbed the status as specialists in the giant machine....
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It’s never too early to think about warmer weather and planning for summer vacation travels – why not plan a trip to one of Virginia’s music history sites? Virginia is full of folk music traditions that are being preserved throughout the state. We may not have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but there are plenty of neat places to listen to and learn...
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Every instrument comes with a system of fingering to help the composer illustrate how the piece should be played. This goes beyond tempo markings and dynamics and tells the performer exactly which finger to use to play a note, what position the student should be in, and what string the note goes on. All of this affects the sound/tone of the note. Fingerings are important for...
Read MoreAn inevitable part of being a musician is performance anxiety. From accomplished performers and teachers to beginning students we all experience it to some degree. Even those who say they do not deal with it still have a physiological reaction when performing. It is important to have techniques ready to teach students how to deal with the anxiety they are experiencing. One of the first things...
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