Pianos vs. Keyboards

by David McCormickJanuary 1, 2011

Parents and adult beginners often ask whether it’s necessary to invest in an acoustic piano before starting lessons. In our experience, the answer is definitely not. True, nothing beats the sound quality and expressiveness of a good baby grand piano. I know – I used to own one. But I got tired of having to [...]

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Music Theory: Your Friend!

by David McCormickSeptember 26, 2010

I’ve been teaching music for 16 years and I hear the same questions every day: How are you able to hear a song for the first time and immediately know how to play it? How do you keep so many songs in your head and never look at sheet music? How do you start to [...]

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Welcome! And please join in…

by David McCormickFebruary 14, 2010

We have a lot of thoughts we’d like to share about music, and we’d like for you to share your own ideas and questions too. So we’re collecting them all here. Have an opinion to offer or a question to ask?  Just click on “comments” below and send it along.

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One Click to Your New Blues Nickname

by KevinSeptember 14, 2009

Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broonzy, Lightning Hopkins, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Blind Willie McTell … you may be eating their dust when you try to play the blues, but you don’t have to suffer the added indignity of having a name that nobody will remember after the open mike is [...]

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Choosing an Orchestra Instrument

by AmandaSeptember 14, 2009

So there I was, a soft-spoken, awkwardly tall sixth-grader sitting amongst a sea of children on the floor of the multi-purpose room. We were there to see a demonstration to assist in our decision of whether to join band or orchestra that year. Standing in front of us were the resident music teachers. Their rivalry [...]

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Where to jam in Anchorage

by David McCormickJuly 12, 2009

MONDAY The Arctic Roadrunner hosts a monthly bluegrass jam at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of the month. 5300 Old Seward Hwy TUESDAY Taproot Cafe Open Mic: 8-10:30p 345-0282 1330 E. Huffman, Anchorage alaskataprootcafe@yahoo.com Middle Way Café: Acoustic Irish seisiun w/Irish dancing 7-10p, all ages, 1200 W N. Lights Anch 272-6433 www.middlewaycafe.com Last Frontier [...]

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Student jam sessions

by David McCormickJuly 5, 2009

We organize regular jam sessions for our students who are ready to play together in groups. Some are held here, others at students’ homes. Ask your teacher if you’d like to prepare to participate.

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2009 Spring Recital

by David McCormickJuly 1, 2009

Our annual recital was held this year in May at the Wilda Marston Theater of the Loussac Library. All of our teachers’ students were welcome to perform both in groups and as soloists, and enough of them turned out to fill the hall. Here are some photos. Most of the evening was guitar and piano [...]

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Buying a first violin

by Lia ZitoJune 21, 2009

I sometimes get sent Craigslist postings from students asking me whether they should buy an instrument based on the label information provided in the seller’s post.

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Playing viola in Irish music

by Lia ZitoJune 13, 2009

Every so often I get asked to teach a viola player Irish music. I usually talk them into playing fiddle instead, and here’s why: Mostly, this music is pretty much set up around the keys of D and G and their relative modes. To play in those keys on viola involves a lot of stretching to [...]

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