Tag: Chicago Piano lessons

  • Serious Sinatra

    Did you know that Frank Sinatra, after somewhat neglecting his voice, started doing warm-ups and exercises once he had Quincy Jones as his arranger and the orchestra of Count Basie to back him up? A wonderful recording is “Frank Sinatra at the sands”, a legendary album that needs to be discovered or re-discovered.

  • Not a word!

    Music is not a descriptive art. Unlike painting or photography, it cannot carve the lines of a city or display the face of a stranger in a crowd. Music cannot paint with pictures, instead it is forced to evocate or to suggest. And when you have a very precise mental picture of what you want…

  • Children songs 2

    This was the trivia question: Which composers composed themes based on children songs? Answer: Beethoven and Miles Davis. Now, for Beethoven, we all know which piece of music I’m talking about. You don’t? Yes, you do. Did you play the recorder when you were in school? Did you ever try to blow “Ode to joy”…

  • Children songs

    Trivia: which composers composed themes based on children songs?   Do you want me to give you some time to think about it?   All right. The answer is in the next blog.   Here’s a clue:

  • Community

    Some festivals have a lot of band in one day, especially during the weekend. That’s where you meet some of your fellow musicians, those guys that, just like you, crisscross the territory to entertain the crowd. Some are great, with an impeccable act, tight as a .. drum (pun intended). Some are just starting, grabbing…

  • Gimmicks

    Learning an instrument is not easy. People look for lessons everywhere, and, more likely than not these days, on the internet. The grand wide web has, so far, answered most of their questions about life: learning to play them drums should be no exception. They look for lessons. They are usually expecting something that will…

  • Instruments wrecking team.

    Trivia: Who were the guys in piano and drums who used to destroy instruments just for the fun of it?   Answer: Ludwig Van Beethoven and John Bonham.   Both of these gentlemen, when they were young, took a sick pleasure in playing so hard the piano or the drums would fall apart. Beethoven would…

  • The first rock band

    If we look up the name of the first Rock band, we find Bill Haley and the Comets. Google might be a mighty force, but in this case it seems to be mistaken. I was reading a book on the origins of the drum kit and the first trace of a bass drum pedal can…

  • Easy or difficult?

    Today we’re talking about the simplicity of music. There is an enduring myth out there that music is difficult. It has to be, because if you’ve been on this earth for awhile, chances are you will meet someone who tried to become a professional musician and didn’t succeed. By the same token, when you turn…

  • The surge.

    Are you like me? Are you fed-up of being cooped up? Are you sometimes thinking it would be nice to be able to go to the restaurant and leave the dishes to someone else? Do you long to see your family, your friends without asking for their medical records or probe into their lifestyle? And…