You know the sound of Rock guitar: loud, crunchy, sustained, saturated, and distorted. This effect has been around as long as guitars have been plugged into amplifiers. How was it achieved? They took a small amplifier and cranked the volume until the sound started to “break up,” producing a loud, warm, crackly sound; Perfect for … Continue reading “Getting Started: Overdrive / Distortion / Fuzz Pedals”
Deciding on how long your child’s lesson length is can determine how well they will learn their instrument and stick to it! Many factors can determine how long a lesson should be, so consider these factors before scheduling your child’s first lesson. 30 Minute Lesson Great for younger children (elementary and younger) Students who have … Continue reading “Are 30 Minute or 60 Minute Music Lessons More Beneficial?”
The Benefits of 60 Minute Music Lessons Most music studios offer either 30 minute or hour-long music lessons. These two lesson types each make for a completely different experience. Younger children with shorter attention spans are better suited for 30-minute music lessons. Older children tend to be better at focusing, listening, and sticking … Continue reading “The Benefits of 60 Minute Music Lessons”
I conducted a survey asking parents three questions pertaining to their attitudes and expectations of music lessons in relation to other enrichment activities (i.e. team sports, karate, and dance). What I learned is that parents judge their child’s success in music with different criteria than all other enrichment activities. When it came to sports or … Continue reading “How To Cure the Practice Problem: Part One”
We are frequently asked our opinion on which is better between private or group lessons. The short answer is that there is no one right answer. But the reality is, there are benefits to your child’s musical and overall development in both. And many times, when kids participate in both, we’ve seen it have an … Continue reading “Deciding Between Private or Group Lessons”
Rock school vocal instructor Emmoe Doniz provides a quick singing lesson in this short video. She shares a quick tip with this singing exercise to warm up your vocal chords and improve vocal accuracy. In this video, she will lead you through a few quick exercises from Page 17 of the “Sightsinging” vocal instruction booklet. … Continue reading “Quick singing lesson exercise”
Should I Purchase or Rent a Piano? So your child just started piano lessons at Dave Simon’s Rock School and you’d like to buy a piano to practice, but you’re overwhelmed by the choices out there. If you’re looking at acoustic pianos, there are fewer things to consider: -Upright vs Baby Grand/Grand Piano: do you … Continue reading “How to Choose a Piano”
Why Doesn’t My Guitar Sound Like The Recording? One of the most time-consuming aspects to playing the electric guitar is the different ways you can affect your guitar’s sound. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending countless hours adjusting and tweaking my guitar’s sound. But for a beginner, trying to perfect your sound can be … Continue reading “Guitar Lessons – Working with Guitar Music Effects”
In this blog I will be reviewing two pedals on my guitar pedal board which I believe make my set-up very unique. These two guitar pedals are the Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay from Vox, and the Super Shifter PS-5 from Boss. These two pedals are very easy to over abuse because of simply how … Continue reading “Guitar Lessons: Guitar Pedal Review with Matt Maher”
Every vocalist should know how to breathe correctly, protect their vocal chords, and find correct vowel placements. Breathing is one of the most important things to be mindful of when singing. Be sure to breathe in by expanding your rib cage outward. Creating this space allows you to take bigger breaths. Your breathing determines how … Continue reading “VOICE LESSONS: Proper Breathing Techniques for Singing”