Music

I offer both group and private lessons through my teaching studio. Which is better? Well, as with so many questions, it all depends on what you want from your lessons. Group Lessons – Pros Social aspect – It can be nice to learn in an environment where you get to interact with other people instead […]

I recently heard a 5 year old student of mine talking to her mom as she walked away from lesson one day. Her lesson that day had not gone as well as usual, possibly because she was tired and possibly because she had not managed to practice as much as usual during the week. “I […]

I happen to love Christmas. There are a lot of commercial aspects that I don’t like, but I love the decorations, I love the fact of getting to see my family, and I love the music. Yes, I love the music. I know that I have heard, and taught, Silent Night many times over, but […]

I was recently teaching one of my adult classes about playing double stops. My students told me that they were finding it difficult, and that they found that their violins did not sound very good. I asked them to play (together, not individually) while I listened. They looked panicked as they realized that I was […]

I have recently been nominated for 5 Music NB Awards. The last time I was nominated for an award, a columnist called me to get a reaction and I was stumped. “What does this nomination mean for you?” That was the big question. Since getting the news about these most recent nominations I have been […]

What is defined as Folk Music? Folk music includes both traditional music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century but is often applied to music that is older than that. Some types of folk music are also called world music. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: […]

History of the Fiddle: The medieval fiddle emerged in 10th-century Europe, deriving from the Byzantine lira (Greek:λύρα, Latin:lira, English:lyre), a bowed string instrument of the Byzantine Empire and ancestor of most European bowed instruments. The first recorded reference to the bowed lira was in the 9th century by the Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 911); in his lexicographical discussion of instruments he cited the lira (lūrā) […]

This week I am headed to the studio for my 4th recording.  I thought in this blog post that I would share with you have I have learned over time!  Some of these 6 tips were advice that I got before recording my first CD, and some of them are lessons I learned along the […]