Improvisation is everywhere. I hear it referenced when talking about sports, music, cooking, business, basically everything that requires creative thinking. And I believe we all have the capacity for creative, improvisational thinking, albeit in slightly different contexts (such as improvising in jazz vs. improvisation in writing a rock song) but there is use of improvisation […]

Have a dedicated practice area at home It’s impossible to develop a good technique on your instrument if you don’t have a good setup at home.  Aim for a dedicated area, and try to keep the instrument in plain sight if possible.  For example, a guitarist would have a chair, a music stand, and a […]

by Joshua Carruthers, Drum Instructor, Allegro School of Music I have seen this a million times. A student struggles with a particular exercise, and after a bakers dozen or so attempts, they get one or two repetitions right. Then they look up at me with a face that says “Well, I’m did it! I’m done!”  […]

Many parents believe that music and learning musical instruments can enhance children’s intelligence and academic performance. Some pregnant women even play Mozart for their unborn babies in hopes that classical music will give their children an academic edge. It turns out that learning a musical instrument indeed benefits the development of a child’s brain. Ample […]

If you’re like me, you struggle with your kids’ usage of phones and tablets.  My son just turned ten on July 4th, and he did everything he could to convince me to get him an iphone.  “But Dad, my friends all have them”, etc etc.  I also have a 5 year old, and even she […]