The day after tomorrow, New York will be, almost literally, a ghost town! That’s because Halloween’s traditional creepy and spooky creatures will take over the city – ghosts, of course, but also monsters, mummies, zombies, witches, goblins, black cats, and other scary apparitions that will go bump in the night. Once the kids are back from trick-or-treating and are getting their sugar rush from all the candy, you can have a Halloween celebration of your own.

It doesn’t require costumes, a witch’s brew, or howling sounds . All you need to create a Halloween-ish environment in your own home is some classical “mood” music!

On the edge of your seat…

Long before the custom of trick-or-treating appeared in the United States in the 1950s, several classical composers wrote some pretty scary music. We can’t think of anything more appropriate for a dark Halloween night! For instance, in 1886, Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky wrote a series of compositions titled “Night on Bald Mountain.” His frightening ghouls wreaking havoc on a mountain village in the middle of the night were depicted in Disney’s 2009 movie “Fantasia” Watch, listen and shudder! Then there is no less scary piece called “Dreams of a Witches' Sabbath” the final movement of “Symphonie Fantastique” written by French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. If you can stomach allusions to witches, sorcerers and monsters assembled at a funeral, this piece is for you! Okay, let’s move on. By some accounts, Hungarian composer Franz Liszt was obsessed with all things macabre, as is evidenced in his ominous-sounding “Totentanz (Dance of the Dead)” . The piece was several years in the making and finally completed in the mid 1800s. Are you sufficiently spooked yet? We hope not, because there are two more pieces of music you absolutely must listen to on Halloween night: Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov’s 1908 work “The Isle of the Dead” and Camille Saint-Saëns sinister tune “Danse Macabre” which the French composer wrote in 1874. We hope all this music will not give you nightmares!

We are harmless!

No matter how frightening it is, Halloween only lasts one night. By the time you wake up on November 1, you will hopefully be fearless! Of course, most classical music is not scary at all; in fact, it is soothing and uplifting. Another thing you should never be afraid of are our teachers. That’s because when they come to your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office, they will never use scare tactics!

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It happens every year: come September, school is back in session! We do hope you took our advice and kept up your music lessons during the summer, so that your skills have not gotten rusty. But if you (or your child) are just starting your music training – welcome! We are happy to have you on board and will do our best to make your musical journey as fun and exciting as possible.

But before we start, there are some things you should know: our excellent teachers  love excellent students! What we mean is this: if you (or your child) are disinterested, indifferent, or unmotivated, then you will probably not enjoy your music lessons (of course, there is always a chance that, given time, music will grow on you). Ask yourself: do you or your child have what it takes to be a good student? Obviously, we hope the answer is a resounding “YES!” You may think that in order to master an instrument or sing beautifully you have to be musically gifted. Talent is nice, of course, but that is not the most important requirement. So what makes a good music student? Let’s have a look.

Our wish list

We realize that there are no “perfect” students. That’s fine. But we love pupils who are as close to “ideal” as humanely possible (again, we are not talking about talent here. It’s more about the attitude!)

• First and foremost, we like students who are enthusiastic – about music in general and their instrument of choice in particular. It doesn’t matter whether they choose the guitar, piano, voice training, or even the tiny harmonica . What counts is that they play that instrument with passion.
• As we said, we like the students who play their instruments – not hooky! This means you have to stick to a regular lesson and practice  schedule. Don’t cancel and miss your sessions unless you really must. If that’s the case, reschedule as soon as possible to keep the momentum going.
• Stay focused during lessons! We know – it is sometimes difficult to concentrate on just one task when your brain is going in all directions. But if you are not going to be mentally present and attentive, then what’s the point of having a lesson?

To sum up, we’d love our students to be enthusiastic, disciplined, and focused. Hey, it’s not too much to ask for, is it?

We solemnly swear…

Now that you know what we are looking for in a student, you may be wondering what to expect of our teachers. When a teacher of ours comes to your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office, he or she will:

• Help you develop your skills and improve the mastery of your instrument.
• Teach you the right playing technique  by making sure you handle the instrument correctly, have a good posture, etc.
• Ensure that you make steady progress.
• Inspire and motivate you to stay on course!

If you keep to your checklist and we keep to ours, we will make such beautiful music together!

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Let us give you some cryptic clues about the topic of this week’s blog: “here today, gone tomorrow;” “tempest in a teapot;” and “if you blink, you’ll miss it.” What are we talking about? If you know the answer, raise your hand! Okay, okay, here it is: we are referring to musical hits that sizzled and soon after, fizzled out!

This is a good time to talk about these songs because this coming Friday, September 25, is the National One-Hit Wonder Day. See, you always learn something new and interesting here!

No staying power

Just to make sure we are on the same page, a one-hit wonder is defined as “a group or singer that has only one hit record before returning to obscurity.” An interesting thing about these one-hit wonders is that they are not only a modern phenomenon. Long before music charts came into existence, there had been many undoubtedly talented classical composers who, sadly, didn’t leave behind a lasting musical legacy. For instance, the mere mention of the name Pachelbel evokes the sounds of his best (and only) known work, Canon in D . But most people would rack their brains if asked to name other famous works by this Baroque composer! There are plenty of other examples of composers who became known for one specific work, only to be forgotten afterwards!

In and out

A more recent (century-wise) list of one-hit wonders is also long. For example, Tina Sinatra made it big with her 1966 smash, “These Boots Were Made for Walking .” But even though she continued to perform, Frank’s daughter never reached this degree of success again. Let’s continue: most people remember Tiny Tim (the one with the falsetto voice, not the character in Dickens’ Christmas Carol) for his 1968 rendition of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips .” Chances are, you can’t name any of his other songs without doing the Internet search. Now, if you say “Bobby McFerrin,” his 1988 hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy ” jumps to mind. But do you know, off the top of your head, what other famous songs he performed? And do you remember all the hoopla around the 1993 single, “Macarena ?” We are not stretching the truth when we say that the band, Los del Río, never again had a hit of such magnitude. These are just a few examples of one-hit wonders. Rolling Stone Magazine has a more comprehensive list.

In for a long haul!

One thing is certain, no musician can know in advance whether he or she will achieve lasting (or merely fleeting) success. But you can predict your musical progress by how regular your lessons are and how well you practice in between. With the help of our talented and experienced teachers, each lesson at your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office will leave a truly lasting impression!

Photo by unknown, available under Creative Commons License

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“I see trees of green, red roses, too, I see them bloom, for me and you. And I think to myself What a wonderful world.” What better way than Louis Armstrong’s famous tune to remind you that in a couple of days, on April 22, we will be celebrating the Earth Day – an annual event that brings global attention to the importance of protecting all our natural resources.

Chances are that, like most people, you care about certain issues more than about others. But we all have a vested interest – and a role to play – in preserving and improving our environment. There are countless ways in which everyone can contribute to a “greener” and more sustainable lifestyle – even those of us who live in a notoriously polluted city like New York. Although written in 2008, this article outlines how each individual can make a positive and meaningful difference on the environment. Having said that, we’d like to commemorate the Earth Day in a way that is befitting a music school – by bringing you Mother Nature’s own music. What does She sound like? The answer, my friend is blowin’ in the wind – literally!

Earthly sounds

When we think of music, we think of man-made melodies. Many of us are not attuned – so to speak – to the sounds of nature. For instance, the chirping of the birds – though raw and unscripted – is truly amazing. Then there is the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and waves crashing against the shore . Many people don’t take the time to listen to and enjoy this “natural” music, and that’s a pity. But here’s something you may not have known: natural phenomena like the wind, waves, and even rock formations, produce beautiful music of their own. Take the soothing sounds of a wind chime , for example – how cool is that? You might say that a wind chime is a “natural” musical instrument, in the sense that it needs no human intervention – just the forces of nature – to produce sound. But it’s not the only one. For example, over in Croatia, there’s an organ that is played by the sea – its pipes are under the water’s surface, so the waves and wind create random – but beautiful – harmonic sounds . Another organ, which, by the way, is the world’s largest musical instrument, is located deep under the ground in Luray Caverns in Virginia. Called the Great Stalacpipe Organ, it produces music when its rubber-tipped mallets tap the cave’s natural mineral deposits. And what about the aforementioned musical rock formations? This geological phenomenon occurs at Ring Rocks State Park in Pennsylvania. When struck by a hammer , these “magic” stones make some real …“rock music!” These are just a few examples of what Mother Earth is capable of. Isn’t She marvelous?

Worldly music

Like every holiday, Earth Day comes and goes, but we believe it’s important – crucial really –to take care of our natural resources each day of the year. How can you and your family celebrate Mother Nature with music? You could learn to play a woodwind instrument of your choice – the flute or recorder, for instance. But any music on any kind of instrument will be a fitting tribute because music is – in one form or another – everywhere in our environment. One of our teachers will be happy to come to your Manhattan, Brooklyn or Riverdale home and office and give you or your child fantastic lessons. After all, teaching music is …second nature to us!

Photo by unknown, available under Creative Commons License

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During the month of April, we’ll all be in a jam. We hasten to add, however, that – in the context of this blog – there is no negative connotation to this phrase. To the contrary – it’s all good!

Let us explain: the National Museum of American History, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as several other national organizations, designated April as the Jazz Appreciation Month – JAM!

The celebrations will culminate on April 30, which UNESCO proclaimed as International Jazz Day. As the organization notes, “this international art form is recognized for promoting peace, dialogue among cultures, diversity, and respect for human rights and human dignity, eradicating discrimination, promoting freedom of expression, fostering gender equality, and reinforcing the role of youth for social change.”

Roaring ‘20s

JAM is, of course, a wonderful tribute to this uniquely American style of music, but it’s interesting to note that jazz had not always been so highly regarded. In fact, in its August 1921 issue, Ladies Home Journal claimed that this new genre invoked “savage instincts” and was “an influence for evil.”

For the older generation of the 1920s, which was accustomed to a more structured and rhythmical music based on the chords and harmony, the chaotic and pulsating beats of jazz were a shock.

But it wasn’t only the music that was seen as evil. The jazz also ushered in the wild and crazy lifestyle propagated by the new pleasure-seeking and rebellious generation, which broke all the Victorian rules of earlier eras.

It is worth noting that somewhat similar reactions had greeted other music forms that developed in the 20th century – like rock’n’roll for example. In the 1950s, crooner Frank Sinatra called this new music genre “the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear.”

But, we digress. Let’s go back to jazz.

Born in the USA

Jazz sprang up in New Orleans in the early part of the 20th century, having developed from another uniquely American music genre – ragtime.

And despite the outrage sparked by the advent of the jazz age, this music form continued to gain popularity and, gradually, acceptance. Dances – including the Charleston, Black Bottom, Tango, Shimmies, and the Trot – were part of the craze. A new generation of young and liberated (for the era) women, called the flappers , embraced the jazz – not just the music itself, but also the newfound freedoms that came with it.

With time, legendary artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Miles Davis – among many others – developed new jazz forms, including Dixieland, big band, bebop, and cool.

What’s the best compilation of jazz music? Well, “best” is subjective and relative, but here are a few examples of some excellent performances to celebrate the Jazz Appreciation Month – every day of the year!

Live – from New York City!

Some of the instruments associated with jazz are the saxophone, trumpet, guitar, clarinet, piano, drums, and double bass. It so happens that we teach all of them – and then some.

One of our teachers will be happy to come to your Manhattan, Brooklyn or Riverdale home or office and jazz up your music lesson. Just contact us and we’ll start …jamming together!

Photo by unknown, available under Creative Commons License

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T.S. Eliot claimed that April is the cruelest month, but he may not have been aware of the research suggesting that, in fact, January should be claiming this title.

Studies done over the years indicate that January is the “blues” month, which has nothing to do with the music genre, but, rather, with the funk many people are in.

Why January? There are several reasons: Christmas and Hanukkah are over and the withdrawal from the cheer, comfort and joy is not easy. And if you have gained a few extra pounds – as many people do during the holidays – then you might be down in the dumps. Also, January in New York is often cold and gray, with the prospect of several more bleak weeks ahead. It is a well-known fact that many people are affected by the weather, a phenomenon aptly called “SAD” – Seasonal Affective Disorder.

The combination of some (or all) of these factors can indeed make you feel listless and “out of it.” But there IS light at the end of the tunnel: all that gloom and doom are temporary.

Beat the blues

Experts tell us (and who are we to doubt them?) that there are some effective ways to lift your spirits when they are low. Different things may work for different people, but generally speaking these activities have proven to be real mood boosters:

• Get moving: When you are feeling blue you probably don’t want to get off your comfy sofa and venture outdoors. But physical activity is one of the best cures for winter “blahs,” so c’mon – bundle up and go for a walk. Or how about skating in Central Park’s Wollman or Lasker Rinks? There is also the annual Winter Jam sports festival in Central Park, which takes place on January 25 from 11 am. to 3 pm. You can snowshoe there, do Nordic skiing, and other fun activities that are healing for your body AND soul.
• Be a culture vulture: New York is a treasure trove of arts and culture. Get out there and enjoy the concerts, exhibits, and whatever other events strike your fancy.
• Relax: Yes, but don’t just sit there staring at the wall. Instead, practice “active” or “mindful” relaxation, which helps relieve stress, as well as find serenity, inner peace, and emotional balance. Here are some techniques to help you get to that “happy place.”

Don’t forget the music!

You knew we’d say it, didn’t you – music has been proven to be a very effective “picker-upper” for January (and other) blues. By releasing endorphins in the brain – “the feel-good” hormones that make us happy – music provides an emotional release from all the tensions and stress factors.

Of course, if you are feeling low, you probably shouldn’t listen to or play a piece that will make you even sadder. What you want is music that is upbeat and has uplifting lyrics. For instance:

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

“What a Wonderful World,” by Louis Armstrong

“Smile,” by Harry Connick Jr.

Tune in!

One way to turn January into a “happy” month is to start an enjoyable and mood-boosting activity. We are talking, of course, about music lessons.

Fact is, music training provides a multitude of benefits for people of all ages.

When it comes to teaching guitar, piano, drums, or any other musical instrument, our teachers are true miracle workers. No, they won’t come to your Manhattan, Brooklyn or Riverdale home or office with a magic wand, but they will use their professional experience, patience, kindness, and sweet personalities to make sure your music lessons lift your spirits. And who knows, the first song they’ll teach you to play could be this one .

Photo by unknown, available under Creative Commons License

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