Students will be returning to music after trying their heart out during the long holiday, don’t despair, look at this way of practicing. Have you ever been frustrated by the fact that you can take a difficult passage, work on it for a bit, get it sounding pretty good, but return to th

I often use old fashioned Cuisenaire Rods to demonstrate rhythms, but this blog by Tom MacPherson is very cute and effective as far as I can see. I am dying to try it out.   RHYTHMIC NOTATION IN LEGO Understanding time values can be a bit of challenge for some students. Sometimes

      Music Lessons Were The Best Thing Your Parents Ever Did For You CLASSICALINSPIRATIONALMar 17, 2015 If your memory of music as a child is of your parents forcing you to go to that dreaded piano lesson every week, now you know why they did it. A variety of scientifi

A very insightful article. Compulsory reading for all people learning an instrument.   8 Things Top Practicers Do DifferentlyBy Noa Kageyama, Ph.D. | Mar 11, 2015 86 10 Share SynopsisWe’ve all heard the phrase “practice smarter, not harder,” but what does that r

As of 2014 St George Players has been teaching contemporary music theory alongside ensemble performance in order to give students a taste of the skills needed to be able to compose. This has been very successful and the participating students have been very enthusiastic about their ne

 I am starting a new early childhood class next week and am very excited. I love working with fresh little people and discovering the whole world of music with them.  This has started me thinking on what I find is a vexed problem. We know children should be encouraged to explore their

Modern computers with the tablet and iPhone spin offs are wonderful tools. I am always asking my private pupils to get new apps I find and some have proved to be invaluable new tools. I went through some of the best apps on my iPad and have listed them here.Most of these apps are free

A wonderful article which appeared in the Los Angeles Time I have copied in full for you. It really demonstrates that no learning is ever wasted.   Mental benefits of music lessons echo years after practice ends Lapsed musical instrumentalists (and their disappointed parents): Take he

People are always asking about tricky musical terms. Things like the difference between ritardo and rallentando sends the average music student into a head spin and they are not in English.  There is however, no excuse with all the net resources. Never again should I hear ” I do

 El Systema is a music program developed in Venezuela about 25 to 30 years ago. It  is  a music program which dramatically change the life of needy kids within their country as well as successfully creating many great musicians. What I find amazing is that St George Players started 20