Blog

You know how there are just some songs that no matter when you hear them, you instantly have memories pop up and feelings that bubble up? The ones that you have to stop in your tracks, turn up the volume and take a moment? Jann Arden’s Good Mother does that for me. I know a lot of it has to do with when it was released – 1996 was when I was graduating highschool and heading off to university. We know that songs released in our late teens/early adulthood that we listened to a lot are the ones that stick with us for life – our life soundtrack if you will. It's also the composition of the song - the melody lines, the production - it's a work of art. As Mother’s Day quickly approaches, I find Good Mother is constantly in my musical mind. Relationships with mothers can range from simple to...

Spring has arrived here in our lovely area and you can feel everyone breathing a little lighter. It’s been a hard year – there’s no other way to say it. Just the other weekend I was speaking with some friends and they were commenting on how tired they are feeling these days. The reality is, we have been living in a very different emotional and mental state than what we have become accustomed to. Our internal systems are bound to be tired. We have been on a sort of “high alert” for over a year now, and there’s still a long way to go. Our bodies are not used to this and I find as a parent, we are doing our best to protect our children from too much stress and trying to make things “normal” when there’s nothing really normal anymore. Our bodies and minds need a break; a reset…maybe a bath ....

It’s no secret to those that know me – I love teaching music. Sharing all of the knowledge and passion I have learned over my formative years to the next generations, and also to adult learners is my true calling in life. I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by music on a daily basis: my music studio is full of inspiring educators, children, youth and adults sharing in the music making process. It’s truly a joyful, magical place. If you've never gotten a chance to make music with a parachute...just do it! But with making music comes music practice. And that word – practice – has such a heavy load with it. Right now my middle child, who is 8 years old, is going through the heavy load. The minute I ask him to practice, I see a big sigh, shoulder sagging, and his face turns down. The...

In my house right now, Frozen and Frozen II are never far from mind or ear. My sons, now 11 and 8, enjoyed watching the first movie when they were younger. When Frozen II came out last winter, our daughter was 4 at the time, and the perfect age to catch “Frozen Fever”. Last winter, we had our car packed for a family trip to Florida on March 12th 2020. We had a brand new copy of the Frozen II DVD ready for the 30-some hour drive. And then the world stopped spinning. “I’ve seen dark before, but not like this” In a matter of hours, we went from the excitement and anxiety that goes with planning an extended family trip to a complete deflation and sadness that comes with an abrupt and dramatic change. I am sure many of you can relate. It was a common occurrence during those winter/spring...

With February upon us, we are feeling the love inside and outside the studio. Our community is always so supportive of our adventures and we have decided that it's time to "BBTB" - Bring Back the Blog! It's been well over a year without a post, and our new goal is twice a month. Want to hear about something? Let us know! This month is full of fun activities at the studio, but there's one special Outreach Program we do that portrays love in a way nothing else can: Kindermusik with "Grandfriends".  

Your son or daughter is so excited to have an instrument, they love their teacher, and they promise to practice every day. But for some reason it feels like pulling teeth to actually get them playing at home! Here are 7 ways to get the most out of each lesson and get in the habit of practicing.

Whether you've always wanted to take a crack at playing the fiddle, or you just signed your son up for drum lessons - how are you going to take your music lessons home and grow? You need an instrument to play! The best way to get an instrument depends on a lot of factors: your commitment level, whether you are going to perform, your budget, and in some cases what kinds of music you want to play. Luckily, there just as many ways to go about getting an instrument in your hands!

 Does criticism wash over you like water off a duck's back? Or does it keep you up all night? How well do you handle failure? Most of us face these challenges to our resilience daily. What if there was something that focused on training mental toughness as precisely and effectively as a bicep curl? Teaching the kind of grit that will get you through the tough moments in life is one of the most valuable takeaways of music education, and here is how it works. How Music Lessons Teach Resilience “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein A music lesson provides the student with new material to read and new techniques to master. New challenges. It also provides coaching when the student struggles to understand the music or can't execute the new...