Ah, St. Patrick’s Day – what great fun, even if you are not Irish. Now, you might think that this holiday, which falls on March 17, is all about eating, drinking, dancing, parading, and lots of merriment. That it is, but there is so much more to St. Patrick’s Day that you may not know about.

Before he became patron saint of Ireland (which is called “Eire” in Gaelic, Ireland’s native language), Patrick was credited with bringing Christianity to his native land in the 5th century AD. Throughout centuries that followed, his life has been shrouded in legends and mysteries –including the famous tale about Patrick banishing all the snakes from Ireland. This and many other stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick are just part of the folklore, as well as rich storytelling traditions the Irish are known for. What history does tell is that Patrick, a son of the wealthy British, was kidnapped at 16 by Irish outlaws and brought to Ireland, where he was a slave until his escape to France six years later. However, he later had a vision in which he preached gospel to the Irish, so he eventually returned to Ireland, where he built churches and spread the Christian faith.

True colors

When we think of St. Patrick, we think of green. After all, leprechauns and shamrocks are green, right? And, Ireland is also known as The Emerald Isle, all of which may explain why we believe that green is that country’s national color. It is not! In fact, it is royal blue, though the green is the color of Irish Catholics. As legend has it, St. Patrick supposedly used a three- leaf clover to teach the Irish about the Trinity, so the shamrock’s shape and color came to symbolize the Irish Christianity and became associated with St. Patrick’s Day. As for the explanation behind the name “Emerald Isle,” it has more to do with Ireland’s climate than with history. Relatively mild winters and plenty of rain turn the country’s abundant pastureland a bright emerald green color. So now you know!

When Irish eyes are smiling

As New Yorkers, we at Hey Joe Guitar love the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. That’s because a significant number of our fellow NYC residents are of the Irish descent. Although the biggest wave of Irish immigration to NYC occurred in the late 19th century, when Ireland suffered a devastating famine, the first Irish immigrants arrived here during the colonial era of the 18th century. In fact, New York’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade dates back to 1762. According to the official website of NYC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, that first event “was held on lower Broadway by a band of homesick Irish ex-patriots and Irish military, who served with the British Army stationed in the American colonies. This was a time when the wearing of green was a sign of Irish pride and was banned in Ireland. The parade participants reveled in the freedom to speak Irish, wear the green, sing Irish songs and play the pipes to Irish tunes that were very meaningful to the Irish immigrants who had fled their homeland.” What a difference three centuries make: today, our city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is the largest in the world – bigger than even in Ireland!

Celtic thunder

Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter Lullabies, dreams, and love ever after. Poems and songs with pipes and drums A thousand welcomes when anyone comes. That’s the Irish for you! Talk about the luck of the Irish! You didn’t think we’d talk about St. Patrick’s Day without mentioning music, did you? Numerous musicians of Irish descent have made their mark on the American music scene: bandleader Tommy Dorsey, and singers Judy Collins, Alice Cooper, Sinead O’Connor, and Kurt Cobain, among many others. What about the traditional Irish songs? Many typical ones are ballads and folk songs, and quite a few are…drinking songs! All of us have probably seen images of hearty Irish town or village folk sitting in a pub and belting out tunes while raising their glasses of frothy Guinness. It’s possible that one of those songs is “My Wild Irish Rose” or “Danny Boy” , which are among the best known in the United States. Are you a fan of Ireland’s music? With our Manhattan, Brooklyn and Riverdale music teachers, you can learn to play any Irish song on any instrument, and be the life of the party by the time next year’s St. Patrick’s Day rolls in. In the meantime, we wish all our Irish friends Lá Fhéile Pádraig shona dhui!

Photo by unknown, available under Creative Commons License

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What’s in a name? A lot, actually. Whether it’s old-fashioned and traditional or unusual and funky, each one reflects who you are – or, in the very least, your parents’ taste at the time of your birth.

Often, newborns are named after a member of the family but at other times, names are figments of their parents’ imagination and creativity – maybe derived from places they had lived in, like Brooklyn, or cities they visited, such as Rio or Paris (we don’t know of anyone named Cincinnati, do you?)

Of course, you can end up with a name that lands you in trouble , or, even worse, with no name at all!

Speaking of unusual names, we like – which should come as no surprise to anyone – the ones that derive from music. Let’s look at some of them.

Not just Tom, Dick and Harry

One of the more popular music-related names for baby girl is Melody. It needs no explanation – it sounds soft and…melodious.

Then there is Allegra, which, in musical terms means a brisk movement. So it is easy to imagine that a girl named Allegra would be active and happy. And you may be interested to know that this name has become more popular in the United States in the past few years.

Another one we really like is Aria. It’s easy to imagine that any female lucky enough to have this name has a beautiful singing voice. And even if she doesn’t, it still sounds light and sweet.

Then there is Octavia. In music, an octave is the interval between one pitch and another, so we are guessing that an Octavia would have a strong voice. What about Viola? It comes from Latin and means “violet.” We really like this one too.

Let’s go to boys’ names. There is Rock, Piper, and Reed, all of which impart strength of character (at least in our interpretation). And, believe it or not, Banjo is also a real name – actress Rachel Griffiths gave it her son.

Do you want to see more music-related names? You might be surprised to see how many there are.

We are a household name

Musical-themed names are great fun, but even if you were given the most ordinary name, you can still have an extraordinary ear for music. After all, who knew from day one that a boy named Wolfgang Amadeus would become a musical genius, as had Johann Sebastian, Ludwig, and scores of others.

What we are saying is this: your name defines your identity, not your affinity for music. After all, our school is called Hey Joe Guitar, and not Hey Rock or Hey Banjo.

The same goes for our teachers: some of them have quirky names and others don’t. But you can be certain of this: the one who shows up at your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale doorstep deserves to have his or her name in lights!

Photo by unknown, available under a Creative Commons License.

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September is here

And so is fall.
So welcome children,
 welcome all.

I hope vacation 
was real fun

And that you’re glad 
school has begun.

-Anonymous

This little ditty is a dead giveaway about this blog’s topic: it’s back to school time in New York City! We are always a bit sad to say good-bye to the lazy, hazy days of summer but, with any luck, we still have plenty of warm and sunny days ahead.

What about the children? Chances are not all of them are eager to start school (and who can blame them?) Maybe your youngsters have mixed feelings – happy about reconnecting with their old friends(and making new ones) but not so happy about homework and climbing up that tricky rope in gym class.

Of course, as adults who have been there, done that, we know that school and all the extracurricular activities can be fun. We’ll tell you about in a little while. But first, let’s listen to some back-to school songs – many of them may even remind you of your own school days way back when.

Classroom classics

“School Days” – Chuck Berry

“We’re Going to be Friends” – The White Stripes

“Rock & Roll High School” – The Ramones

“To Sir With Love” – Lulu

“Be True to Your School” – The Beach Boys

Let the music play!

As mentioned above, beginning of the academic year is synonymous with all the great after-school activities your child can get involved in. If you think we are going to bring up music lessons just about now, you are right!

There are many compelling reasons why music education is a great and wholesome activity for your son or daughter, many of which we already covered.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, here, in a nutshell, are some of the many benefits children will draw from music lessons: better academic, intellectual, social, and emotional development; improved concentration, language and reasoning skills, as well as boosted creativity.

Once your child shows interest in starting music lessons, there are two things to consider: what instrument will he / she will play and who is best qualified to teach your son or daughter.

We have answers to both these questions.

At your service!

The choice of an instrument depends on factors such as age and size – the child should be able to handle the instrument with ease and feel comfortable holding and playing it. In case of a young child, good options include the recorder, flute, violin, or child-size guitar. Larger and heavier instruments like double bass or tuba may have to wait until your child is able to handle them!

Whatever instrument you pick out, chances are we teach it:
guitar, piano, drums, trumpet, trombone, brass, reeds, saxophone, clarinet flute, violin, viola, cello, strings, accordion, ukulele, banjo, recorder, and mandolin. And, we also give voice lessons.

As for finding awesome teachers for your youngster – no worries! Our Hey Joe Guitar instructors (all of whom are graduates of top music schools and conservatories) are highly experienced in teaching people of all ages, including children. Before we send them out to your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office, we screen them very carefully to ensure they will patiently teach your kids proper techniques, adapted to their age and level.

So welcome to the brand new school year!

Photo by misst.shs

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