How many times have you heard people say that no words can express how they feel? Or maybe, at one time or another, you have found yourself at a loss when trying to verbally convey your thoughts and emotions?

Fortunately, as Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen noted, “where words fail, music speaks.” It’s true: music not only has a profound effect on our emotions – lifting our spirits when we are blue and relaxing us when we are stressed out – but it also has an amazing ability to give us hope, inspire and motivate us. We call it the “feel-good” or simply “happy” music.

As John Lennon sang in “Intuition:”

As I play the game of life
I try to make it better each and every day.
And when I struggle in the night
The magic of the music seems to light the way.

Creative expression

Fact is, we can’t listen to music without feeling some kind of emotional feedback. Even if we play it in the background while working or doing other activities, the sounds we hear affect us in many ways.

Studies show that playing or listening to “happy” music will have a positive impact on our thoughts, feelings, and general outlook on life.

The key – no pun intended – is to choose pieces that are upbeat and uplifting. Generally speaking, the more up-tempo the music, the more happy emotions it will generate. The same holds true for lyrics – a sad song will bring us down, while a cheerful one will make us feel good.

That’s the magic of music!

Happiness playlist

What pieces of music will make you feel positive and optimistic? We can’t answer this question unequivocally because personal tastes and preferences vary. However, we feel pretty confident about the following choices – they are cheerful and upbeat enough to put most people in a good mood:

Ninth Symphony “Ode to Joy,” Beethoven (By the way, one of the most eloquent descriptions of feelings evoked by this piece came from the famous philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. A listener, he said, “might feel that he is floating above the earth in a starry dome, with the dream of immortality in his heart; all the stars seem to glimmer around him, and the earth seems to sink ever deeper downwards.”)

“Happy,” Pharrell Williams

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” Bobby McFerrin

“Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen

“Dancing Queen,” Abba

“Soul” music

Just as listening to music is a deeply emotional experience, so is playing an instrument or singing a song. Very few people (we personally don’t know any) can detach themselves from the music they are making and remain “neutral.” We can only imagine that this kind of rendition would be totally flat and lifeless.

Being a good musician – even if you are just starting out – means that you can convey your own musical emotions to your listeners. That’s an art, but the kind of art you can certainly master.

That’s where our wonderful teachers come in. Accomplished musicians in their own right, they will teach you or your child not only the right techniques, but also how to convey your feelings through music (and yes, even children have the ability to connect with their audience on a deeply emotional level). It doesn’t matter whether you are looking for guitar or piano lessons (or any other instrument), just contact us and we’ll send an emotionally aware teacher to your Manhattan, Brooklyn or Riverdale home or office.

And here is another quote to inspire you on your “emotional” musical journey. It comes from Plato: “Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”

Photo by unknown, available under Creative Commons License

The post At New York Music School, You can “Feel” the Difference appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

“Mom, Dad, I am BORED!” Ahhh, the sounds of summer, when school’s out and kids are footloose (and underfoot as well). How can you keep your young’uns productively busy?

Good news is that New York City offers a wide variety of exciting summertime activities for youngsters of all ages http://mommypoppins.com/newyorkcityfamily/new-york-city-kids-summer-activities-guide, so no child should be bored and whining.

Summer holidays also provide a wonderful opportunity to introduce your kids to music. They will have lots of free time to take lessons and practice, and Hey Joe Guitar with its Manhattan music lessons will be pleased to help them along the way.

Don’t forget the music!

Now, we don’t mean to say that playing an instrument and improving your child’s musical skills should be all-consuming. Children need a variety of fun activities in their spare time – visits to the zoo, swimming, monkeying around on a playground, and learning all sorts of cool stuff.

But summer days are long, and, with a little creative thinking and advance planning, music lessons will fit snugly into your child’s (and your) schedule.

In case you are wondering why it is important to initiate your son or daughter to music, we can give you numerous compelling reasons. There is a wide body of scientific evidence showing that starting music training early in life has multiple benefits on the children’s character and development – academic, intellectual, social, and emotional. Music education also helps youngsters develop concentration, discipline, and become better team players (no pun intended) – all the skills and abilities that will serve them well throughout their lives. Remember: a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and that first exposure to an instrument will hopefully launch a lifetime passion for music!

Hey Joe Guitar at your service!

Your children are off for the summer, but our NYC music lessons never take a break. Here are some of the advantages our school can offer during the summer and at any other time of the year, for that matter:

• We have excellent, well-trained, personable and patient teachers, all of whom are graduates of top music schools and conservatories, and the majority hold master’s degrees in music and/or teaching.  They are carefully screened to ensure they will teach your children proper techniques, adapted to their age and level.

• We teach 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.

• We come to you! As New Yorkers ourselves, we know just how hot and humid our city is in the summer and we would never ask our students to venture outside with their sometimes-sizeable instruments. That’s why our teachers will “deliver” the lessons to your air-conditioned Manhattan or Brooklyn home or office – they don’t mind breaking a sweat so your kids don’t have to!

If you want to get a head start on summertime music training for a child (or a young-at-heart adult), or if you need further information about our in-house Brooklyn and Manhattan music lessons, please contact us.

Music – this is what’s HOT this summer!

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Photo credit:  Don O’Brien

The post No Need to Cut Class this Summer – with Manhattan Music Lessons appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.