Blog/News

Apr 9
AW

arts education discussionAmericans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. Once a year they put together National Arts Advocacy Day, which brings together thousands of people to advocate for arts and education in front of Congress.

This year's National Arts Advocacy Day took place on April 8-9 and featured a lecture from Yo-Yo Ma on Arts & Public Policy. The following morning Ma was joined by a panel of arts advocates that included ArtistWorks instructors Jason Vieaux (classical guitar lessons) and Nathan Cole (violin lessons); as well as Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum, former dancer Damian Woetzel, and author Lisa Phillips. The event streamed live on Google + this morning and was moderated by Bob Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts.

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Apr 5
AW

barcelona tvBarcelona TV has featured ArtistWorks in a new segment that talks about the rise of online music lessons. As it turns out, there are not too many bluegrass musicians in Spain. But times they are a changing, and for bluegrass guitarists like Juan Pablo, they can connect to bluegrass musicians around the world using online music lessons. This opens the possibility to not only have contact with artists who specialize in their favorite music, but in the case of ArtistWorks, they have access best musicians in the world as their personal teachers.  Using ArtistWorks, Juan Pablo can learn bluegrass guitar online with Bryan Sutton - who's regarded as the best flatpick guitarist since the late Doc Watson pioneered the style.

online music lessons

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Apr 3
AW

For the first time ever in the history of ArtistWorks, each of our 6 guitar teachers have collaborated via Video Exchange™ for a blues guitar jam. That's 6 different players in 3 different countries across 2 continents all jamming on the same blues backing track: Martin Taylor (fingerstyle guitar lessons), Andreas Oberg (jazz guitar lessons), Andy Hall (Dobro lessons), Jason Vieaux (classical guitar lessons), Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar lessons), and Paul Gilbert (rock guitar lessons).

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Mar 20
AW

When we started ArtistWorks, we knew that learning and playing music was so much more than sounding notes and perfecting form.

It’s the feeling that is given and received through the joy of striking a resonant chord and evoking an emotion - both within ourselves and within the listener.

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Mar 11
AW

The Peter and the Wolf opening flute solo is a standard orchestral excerpt for flute auditions and competitions. 
 
It is essentially a character study of a bird.  As good classical musicians, we perfect these pieces with a metronome.  In this case, the natural variations of a bird call can get minimized if they're played too rigid.  

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Mar 1
AW

van cliburn

American piano legend Van Cliburn has died at the age of 78. He is best remembered for winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the height of the cold war. He was 23 at the time and became an overnight sensation, celebrated across the world. Click on the image to read a stirring tribute from the New York Times.

Posted in classical, Piano
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Feb 28
AW

philadelphia orchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra has released their new lineup for the 2013-14 Season. This will be the second season for their music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and we're proud to announce that our own Jeffrey Khaner will be a featured Flute soloist. 2014 marks the 150th anniversary of composer Richard Strauss, which will be one of the themes of the new season.  Watch the below video for more of what the new season will bring! 

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Feb 7
AW

clarinet lessonsRicardo Morales has worked a lot with Backun Musical Services, whose mission is "Reinventing the Clarinet One Piece at a Time".  In their latest edition of Clarinet Concepts, Ricardo Morales tells us about his own clarinet, which he worked with Morrie Backun to develop. Ricardo's clarinet is made from Cocobolo wood which produces a "very gentle beautiful sound". 

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Jan 24
AW

piano lessonsHere's a great tip from Christie Peery for anyone learning to play piano, or any other instrument for that matter: slow down.  We all know fast playing can be a challenge, but so can playing slow because it forces you to really be deliberate in your playing and hear each note.  When playing a piano scale slow, you'll hear which fingers are weaker so you can focus on them to make sure each has an equally rich tone and attack.  

As Christie says, "one of the best ways to learn to play fast is actually by playing slow, because that's what's going to develop your muscles." So it's important to take the time to practice slow on your instrument; over time your muscles will strengthen and your playing (and speed) will improve! 

 

piano lessonsHere's a great tip from Christie Peery for anyone learning to play piano, or any other instrument for that matter: slow down.  We all know fast playing can be a challenge, but so can playing slow because it forces you to really be deliberate in your playing and hear each note.  When playing a piano scale slow, you'll hear which fingers are weaker so you can focus on them to make sure each has an equally rich tone and attack.  

As Christie says, "one of the best ways to learn to play fast is actually by playing slow, because that's what's going to develop your muscles." So it's important to take the time to practice slow on your instrument; over time your muscles will strengthen and your playing (and speed) will improve! 

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Jan 23
AW

In this excerpt from his online classical trumpet lessons, David Bilger analyzes the signature phrase from "Pictures at an Exhibition".

The difference between good technique and great technique when it comes to requisite orchestral excerpts for auditions or competitions, can be a fine line.

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