Do rainy days and Mondays always get you down? Welcome to November, which, on average, dumps about 4.5 inches of rain on New York City. When you are wet and cold, you are probably not seeing much beauty in the rain . All you want to do is go indoors, get warm, and stay dry.

And you can always cheer yourself up with the thought that it could be worse – you could be living in Seattle! But if you have an artistic streak, you might appreciate these words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “How beautiful is the rain! After the dust and heat, In the broad and fiery street, In the narrow lane, How beautiful is the rain!” You don’t agree? Well then, continue reading.

The sounds of nature

You might find all that H2O irritating while you are getting wet outside, but once you are warm and cozy indoors, you are in a better position to appreciate the unique kind of music that the rain creates. The steady drumbeat pattern of falling raindrops has a calming and soothing effect that can help you think, contemplate, and reflect. You can just as well relax and fall asleep as concentrate on a task like reading or studying. The same effect, by the way, can be achieved by other nature water sounds as well – for instance, the ocean , river , and waterfall .

Rainy day songs

In pop music, there are a number of songs about the rain as well. Interestingly, none of them are somber; rather, they are upbeat and have a good vibe to them. Perhaps the best known one is from the movie “Singing in the Rain.” Then there’s the Beatles’ rendition of “Rain” Eric Clapton’s “Let it Rain” , “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” by BJ Thomas, Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain Gonna Fall” , and perhaps the most fittingly named of all, “November Rain” by Guns’n’Roses. Of course, one song you may not want to hear right now is Albert Hammond’s 1972 hit “It Never Rains in Southern California.” Oh well, you can’t be everywhere!

We’ll “drop” in on you!

Our Hey Joe Guitar music teachers don’t mind a bit of precipitation, so even if it rains, they will still make it to your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office for a music lesson. Whatever instrument you play – the guitar, piano, voice, drums, trumpet, trombone, brass, reeds, saxophone, clarinet flute, violin, viola, cello, strings, accordion, ukulele, banjo, recorder, or mandolin – we’ll never, um, rain on your parade!

The post Come in Out of the Rain and Enjoy Brooklyn Music Lessons appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

What kind of fool are you?

No, we don’t mean to offend you. But, you have to admit, this is a very pertinent question to be asked in a blog about April Fool’s Day.

Fortunately, April 1 comes but once a year so being silly or quirky for a day might be fun (and there is no age limit for silliness – anyone can do it!)

The message here is this: act the fool! There is actually some scientific evidence suggesting that people who are intentionally silly on occasion live longer. So, if you ever wanted to engage in a bit of buffoonery such as kissing the rain, chasing a flock of geese (probably difficult to do in New York) or carving your initials into a tree, go ahead – on April 1, nobody will fault you for being wacky. But please, please, don’t use April Fool’s day as an excuse to get a tattoo of snakes and dragons on your arms!

Do you feel foolish yet?

It had to start somewhere

The origins of April Fool’s Day are not known, though historians suspect that a fool initiated it. Seriously though, some theories have it that it started in 1582, the year France adopted the Gregorian calendar, shifting the observance of New Year’s Day from the end of March to January 1.

However, some traditionalists boycotted the revised schedule and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1, becoming the laughing stocks of their entire villages (we are not quite sure, so don’t quote us on that, but we suspect that’s how the expression “which village is missing its idiot” started).

These holdouts became the butt of jokes, and the name “April’s Fool” stuck. Needless to say, this was not a politically correct era!

It’s no joke!

The only “celebrations” that take place on April 1 are assorted pranks, hoaxes, and other tomfoolery. As long as they are funny and harmless, it can be great fun.

Of course, NYC is not immune to a bit of foolishness, as evidenced by the annual April Fools’ Day Parade, which starts at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street and winds down at Washington Square Park. The only rule is to dress and act as foolishly as possible.  This is, after all, New York!

Now, you might think that you will never be on the receiving end of an April Fool’s prank because you are too clever.  However, many people have been “hoaxed,” not necessarily because they are gullible, but some of these fictitious tales are so elaborate and, at least on the surface, credible, that lots of people are fooled.

There are too many of these “tall tales” to mention here, but one famous one dates from 1957. A British TV station produced a short documentary about spaghetti harvest in Switzerland.

Unless you know for a fact that pasta doesn’t grow on trees, it’s easy to get caught in this plot.

Tricks AND treats

Are you in the mood to have fun on April 1? If you are, here’s a suggested playlist for your celebration:

“Guess I’m Dumb’” Glenn Campbell or Beach Boys

“What a Fool Believes,” The Doobie Brothers

“I Started a Joke,” Bee Gees

“Seven Day Fool,” Etta James

“How Sweet to be an Idiot,” Neil Innes

Do you want to learn more “foolish” songs? With our Manhattan music lessons you can. Even though our repertoire includes serious pieces of music as well, we’ll be happy to come to your home or office and …play the fool! (Remember though – this is your idea, not ours).

Oh yes, one more thing: in the spirit of this holiday, we’ve inserted a little hoax in this blog. Can you spot it?

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Photo Credit: www.Photobotos.com

The post Just a Silly Love Song? You can Play or Sing it, with Manhattan Music Lessons appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

In New York City, the week leading up to Easter (unlike the days before Christmas) is mostly quiet and laid-back. Not so in Spain and Latin / South America, where the Semana Santa, which commemorates the last week of Jesus’ life, is a big and jubilant celebration.

In fact, the Semana Santa (the Holy Week), which starts on Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) and ends on Easter Sunday (Pascua), is one of the most important religious observances in the Spanish-speaking Catholic countries. There is plenty of food, music, dancing, colorful costumes, as well as elaborate processions with ornate floats, which depict scenes from the Bible.

Since the Semana Santa, which dates back to the 4the century AD, is such an important holiday, many New Yorkers of Latin and South American descent head south of the border to celebrate this event and take part in all the festivities.

Any way you look at it, the Semana Santa is a very special fiesta!

Pomp and circumstance

In nearly every community in the United States, Easter Sunday is associated more with Easter bunnies, elegant bonnets (as seen in NYC’s annual Easter parade), and egg hunts, than with religious celebrations.

In South America, however, the emphasis is on the religious context and significance of this holiday, which is one of the most important ones in the Roman Catholic Church because it commemorates Christ’s resurrection.

But even though the Semana Santa is celebrated in a similar festive fashion throughout the entire region, each individual country has its own unique twists. For example:

• During the Semana Santa, Ecuadorians eat a special soup called fanesca, made from a fish base, beans and grains.

• Young girls in the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende, wear bride-like white dresses for the procession that takes place on Good Friday. In another city, Cadereyta, boys carry streamers during the procession.

• In Peru and El Salvador, rugs beautifully made from colorful flowers decorate the streets.

Sacred music

When we think of Latin and South American music, we think of salsa, calypso, rumba, merengue, tango, as well as other  “hot” and often fast-paced rhythms. Or, maybe we conjure up images of a traditional Mexican mariachi band.

But the Semana Santa music is different – it’s both joyous and sad. During the processions, musicians often play slow brass tones interspersed with heavy drum sounds, aptly expressing Easter’s solemnity and its religious meaning .

If you are not heading south in the week before Easter, but would like to learn to play some of the hymns and other sounds associated with this holiday, our Manhattan music lessons will help you get started. Whether you would like to try typical tunes of the Semana Santa, or any other music on any instrument, we will be happy to come to your home or office and teach you.

We can also help you play Easter-related music from this side of the border, including this classic!

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Photo Credit – Mind’s eye

The post Celebrate Easter in Latin American Style – with Manhattan Music Lessons appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

You’ve heard the saying “music is universal,” but can you come up with names of famous musicians who have actually proven this to be true?

One person who immediately springs to mind is the Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, who passed away last month. Maybe we wouldn’t even know what the sitar looks or sounds like if it weren’t for Shankar.

We also might not have had many opportunities to hear Indian music which is, both literally and figuratively, worlds apart from the Western sounds that most of us are familiar with.

As Shankar himself explained the difference, “Indian classical music is principally based on melody and rhythm, not on harmony, counterpoint, chords, modulation and the other basics of Western classical music.”

And the sitar, with its light and delicate sound, is the most popular string instrument of Indian music.

A different kind of sound

The instrument that Shankar played so beautifully is, to put it plainly, a long-necked lute with movable frets, played with a wire pick.

Its origins can be traced to the 10th century, when northern India fell under the Persian rule. As Persian culture and music were brought to the conquered land, a sitar-like instrument, most commonly played during religious festivals, appeared on the scene.
Throughout the centuries this instrument had undergone many changes, eventually emerging in its present form in the 18th century.

Over the years, the sitar has crossed over to the Western music. Shankar’s pupil, the Beatles’ lead guitarist George Harrison, introduced this instrument to pop music, playing it on the song “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown”) and on the LP “Rubber Soul.”

Harrison’s sitar playing inspired Rolling Stones’ guitarist Brian Jones to learn this instrument as well, and he played it on the song “Paint it Black,” in 1966, and then a year later with Jimi Hendrix while recording the song “My Little One.”

Drumming it up

While the sitar is the principal string in Indian music, a two-piece percussion instrument called the tabla provides the main rhythmic accompaniment. Unlike the more conventional western drums, the tabla is quite delicate and can only be played with hands, rather than with sticks.

In its present form the kettle-drum-like tabla is a relative newcomer on the Indian music scene and is probably less than 100 years old, though a more primitive version is believed to date as far back as 200 BC.

Do the sitar and tabla play well together? Shankar, who was probably the best judge of the compatibility of these two Indian instruments, thought so. As he said, “the dazzling and rapid dialogue between sitar and tabla has the power to enthrall even the most uninitiated listener with its thrilling interplay.”

East meets West

We get it – the sitar and tabla are not exactly as popular (or well known) in New York City as they are in their native India.

But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t aspire to play either of these instruments or that you won’t find anyone to teach you.

We at Hey Joe Guitar are not limited to just a few most popular instruments. We can come to your home or office and teach you any of the dozens of instruments out there, regardless of how well known they are.

Look at it this way: with New York City music lessons, you can be the first on your block to play the sitar or tabla like the Indians do!

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Photo Credit: Bradley Loos

The post The Sitar: From India With Love appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”  
~Oprah Winfrey

So let’s talk about New Year resolutions. Yes, again! Doesn’t it sound like 2011 all over again – and each year before that?

You know how it goes: you make a list of things you commit to do (or quit doing) in the New Year.  But, by the time Easter comes – or maybe even earlier – all these promises are forgotten.

We are not making it up. There are actually studies showing that only about a third of people stick to their resolutions.

And, in case you are wondering what other people resolve, there’s a government website  that lists the most popular resolutions. Not surprisingly, drinking less, eating healthier, improving education and career, as well as getting fit are at the top of the list.

We are sorry to see that learning to play an instrument is not anywhere on this list. This is not exactly music to our ears!

Be realistic!

One of the reasons that so many of us don’t follow through on our commitments (other than lack of motivation) may be that we are setting the bar too high.

For example, if you decide that in the New Year you are going to climb the Everest, when your physical condition doesn’t even allow you to climb a flight of stairs (and you don’t have any immediate plans to start exercising), then it is clear that you have been too ambitious, not to say unrealistic, in setting your goals.

The message here is that in order to bring your New Year’s resolutions to fruition, you should stick to commitments that are doable.

And of course, you should only plan to accomplish activities that are healthy, pleasant and enjoyable – take up a new hobby (like playing music or singing, for example), participate in a sports activity, visit more museums – whatever strikes your fancy and makes you happy.

That’s the best way to ensure that your resolutions for 2013 are kept.

Music rules!

You knew we would be talking about music here, didn’t you? We genuinely believe that music training is a terrific activity for people of all ages.

Why do we love music? Let us count the ways:

It makes us happier: A number of studies have shown that music reduces stress and anxiety because it releases the “feel good hormones” like endorphin and serotonin in the brain.

It makes us smarter: There is plenty of scientific evidence demonstrating that children who play an instrument not only score higher on academic tests and generally have better verbal and intelligence skills, but their emotional development is also boosted.

It makes us fitter: Yes, that’s right. Playing an instrument for one hour can burn as many as 204 calories (drums), 170 calories (trombone), 136 (rock-n-roll guitar), and 102 (piano).

It makes for a better world: Music has been shown to be a great “people connector,” bringing together hostile nations and communities in peace and harmony.

Have we convinced you yet?

We’ll let you in on a secret: we at Hey Joe Guitar have a resolution too – to continue bringing music education to people in our community in 2013 as we have done in the years past.

We’d be pleased and honored to bring our Manhattan music lessons to your home or office – all you have to do is call us.

We may not be able to motivate you to climb the Everest, but we will teach you a few crescendos anyway!

Have a happy, healthy, peaceful and MUSICAL New Year!

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Photo credit: Abhisek Sarda

The post In 2013, Bring Music Into Your Life – with Manhattan Music Lessons appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

“Ring out the old, ring in the new, ring, happy bells, across the snow. The year is going, let him go. Ring out the false, ring in the true.” ~Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1850 Christmas and Hanukkah are behind us, and the New Year is almost here. This is not exactly a news flash -we are not really telling you anything you don’t already know, are we? But here’s some happy news: December 21 came and went, and all of us are still here! The Mayan predictions didn’t come true, the end of the world is officially postponed, so we have every reason to rejoice and ring in the New Year in style. Whatever plans you have for the New Year’s Eve, whether it includes watching the ball drop in Times Square, partying into the wee hours of the morning, or spending time with friends and family, you will likely have a wonderful time. And chances are that some form of music will enliven your celebration.

Years come and go, but music is eternal! Fact is, live music has long been a part of New Year’s Eve revelries and some concerts have become legendary. Some of you may be too young to remember this, but for almost half a century (from 1929 to 1976), bandleader Guy Lombardo’s orchestra performed New Year’s Eve concerts, initially at Manhattan’s Roosevelt Hotel and later at the Waldorf Astoria. Broadcast first on the radio and later on network TV, these concerts – Big Band music and couples dancing cheek to cheek – have become a major part of New Year celebrations across the United States. In the mid-1970, in an effort to “rejuvenate” Guy Lombardo’s concerts, music icon Dick Clark, host of the American Bandstand, started his own program, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Even though Clark passed away earlier this year, the show, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, is still part of NYC’s annual Times Square celebrations and is aired on television in prime-time. Millions of people have danced to Lombardo’s Big Band and Clark’s pop music over the years, but one of the most grandiose – though less known in the U.S. – musical performances has been the traditional New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic, which is broadcast from Austria to an estimated 50 million people in 73 countries (in America, it can be seen on PBS on January 1). The classical tunes, which always include “The Blue Danube Waltz,” are accompanied, in selected pieces, by dancers from the Vienna State Opera Ballet. It may not be a piece of Americana in the same way as Lombardo and Clark’s concerts were, but you can’t beat these performances for classical music, Old-World charm and elegance. Sing, dance, and be merry Of course, when we think of the New Year’s music, the first song that probably comes to mind is the old tune, “Auld Lang Syne.” Penned by Robert Burns, an 18th century Scottish poet and lyricist, it is the last (and the first) song we sing as the clock strikes midnight. It is said that Burns did not intend this tune specifically to mark the New Year, but it’s title, which means “old long since” or “for old time’s sake,” as well as its lyrics, are especially appropriate for marking the end of the old year and the beginning of the new: “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? 
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne!” While “Auld Lang Syne” might be the most popular and certainly the oldest known New Year’s song, it is not the only one. If you are in the mood for something more recent, you might want to listen to these tunes:

• “Happy New Year,” Abba
• “New Year’s Day,”
U2
• “Another Year Has Gone By,”
Celine Dion
• “Bringing in a Brand New Year,” Charles Brown
• “Funky New Year,” Eagles

Renew your commitment to music “We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called ‘Opportunity’ and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce What opportunity will you seize once January 1 rolls in? We are Hey Joe Guitar hope that learning to play an instrument is at the top of your “to-do” list for 2013. Just as we have done in the years past, in the new one we will continue bringing beautiful music right into your home or office.  And, unlike the “Opportunity,” we will knock on your door more than once! So let’s begin the countdown: TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE… HAPPY NEW YEAR – with Manhattan music lessons!

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Photo Credit: kw~ny

The post Ring in the New Year in Style appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

In the small Austrian village of Oberndorf stands a little, quaint chapel. On a cold and snowy December day in 1818, a local minister and a schoolteacher wrote a song there, which was to be performed at the Christmas Eve Mass that year; it was entitled “Silent Night, Holy Night.” Since that day nearly 200 years ago, this song has been translated into nearly every language and has conquered the world.

Some three decades later, across the big pond, Edmund Hamilton Sears, an American Unitarian minister in Wayland, MA wrote a poem, which he called “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” When the composer Richard Storrs Willis set it to music, it too had become a much-loved Christmas carol.

And in 1865, after a trip to the Holy Land, an Episcopalian rector Phillips Brooks wrote the words to “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” which was then set to music by his organist, Lewis Redner.

And here’s one more interesting tidbit, something you might not have known: James Lord Pierpont wrote “Jingle Bells” (originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh”) in 1857. Though it was intended as a Thanksgiving song, it had become associated with Christmas instead – perhaps because there isn’t much snow for horses to dash through in November.

Why are we bringing up these seemingly disparate pieces of information? Because, even though we tend to refer to these songs in general terms as “Christmas carols,” each one has its own unique history. But no matter how they came to be, they have survived and transcended centuries, and continue to bring us glad tidings each holiday season.

The happiest season of all

These and so many other songs that we sing or listen to year after year are an integral part of the Christmas celebrations.

Whether they are religious or secular, solemn or lighthearted, holiday songs have never lost their popularity or magic. The same old standards re-emerge each year, in good times and bad, among people of all age groups. There are some things that never change!
We bet that nearly everyone has his or her favorite Christmas song, even if it’s comical, like “Grandma Was Run Over by a Reindeer ” (seriously, how often does that happen?)
We hasten to say that choosing the all-time favorite holiday song is not a precise science (actually, it’s not a science at all), but just for the fun of it let it be known that the biggest selling Christmas single of all time is … TA DA!!!!…Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.” More than 30 million copies have been sold in the past 58 years. Now, that’s what we call a classic! (Interestingly enough, this song was written by Irving Berlin, who was Jewish).
While we are on the subject of holiday music, you might be wondering what are some of the popular Hanukkah songs? We’ll give you a hint: a song called “Chanukah Bamba” is among the top 10, at least on this list:

Do you hear what I hear?

Whatever holiday songs are your favorite, we have good news for you: if you start learning to play an instrument or take voice lessons right now, by this time next year you’ll be able to play or sing Christmas carols for your friends and family.

Of course, playing an instrument or singing is an enjoyable and relaxing activity all year round, not just when it’s time to rock around the Christmas tree.

Our Manhattan music lessons make it easy and convenient: we will come to your home or office and teach you – comfort and joy all in one!

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Photo credit: Kyle Taylor

The post Joy to the World – With Manhattan Music Lessons appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air
There’s a feeling
of Christmas.”

— “Silver Bells”

True, most cities big and small exude their own special charm during the holiday season, but there is no denying that Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years’ Eve in New York is truly magical.

It is not only because the city glistens and glows with millions of sparkling lights and vibrant colors. Whether you are ice skating under the giant glitzed up spruce in Rockefeller Center, or taking a leisurely ride through Central Park in a one-horse open sleigh (which, needless to say, is jingling all the way), holiday time in the Big Apple is as enchanting as a fairy tale.

While we at Hey Joe Guitar love our city at any time of the year, we are partial to the Christmas season. One of the many reasons we love New York during the holidays is because its concert halls, churches, and other venues resound with beautiful music.

No doubt about it, holiday season in New York is the most wonderful time of the year!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

If you love music – as we do – then New York is your kind of town. There is no way we can fit all the wonderful musical performances into this one blog, so we are mentioning just a few to whet your appetite:

• No holiday season would be complete without the legendary Rockettes and Radio City Music Hall’s traditional Christmas Spectacular show (1260 Sixth Avenue). Lavish sets and costumes, as well as magnificent performances, are the quintessential part of New York’s Christmas celebrations.

• What would Christmas be like without the Sugar Plum fairies and other magical creatures? At holiday time, this enchantment comes alive with The Nutcracker. Performed each year by New York City Ballet, it evokes the spirit of old-fashioned Christmases. Lincoln Center, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza.

• The West Village Chorale will perform a number of Christmas concerts during December, including its annual Messiah Sing and Caroling Walk at Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South.

As we said, these are just three of literally hundreds of musical events that take place all over the city during the holidays, which goes to prove that Christmas and great music go hand-in-hand.

The best stocking filler

All you want for Christmas are your two front teeth? Or maybe you prefer two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree? Wait, we have a better idea!

How about a gift that – as the saying goes – keeps on giving, long after the holidays are over? We are talking about Hey Joe Guitar’s gift card for Manhattan music lessons. The recipient of this gift card can have voice or songwriting instruction, or learn to play an instrument. And, leave the traveling to us – we’ll go anywhere in Manhattan to give in-home or in-office lessons (but we’ll ring the doorbell, NOT come through the chimney!)

No matter what holiday you celebrate, this is a useful and practical gift that can be enjoyed the whole year round. And, no batteries are required!

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The post Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – With New York City Music Lessons appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

The post During the Holidays and All Year Round, Generosity is “The Greatest Gift of All” appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

“Give thanks, all ye people, give thanks to the Lord,
Alleluias of freedom, with joyful accord,
Let the east and the west, north and south roll along,
Sea, mountain and prairie, one thanksgiving song.”

If you don’t recognize this tune, don’t worry – most people of our generation do not. It has, however, a historic significance, which is all the more relevant and meaningful with the approach of Thanksgiving.
Called “The President’s Hymn,” the song was written in 1863 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation issued that year that National Day of Thanksgiving be celebrated every last Thursday of November.

Politicians’ promises are notoriously fickle, but this particular tradition has survived to this day: Thanksgiving is still celebrated in homes across America as a time to be grateful for all the blessings we have in our lives.

We at Hey Joe Guitar are thankful for so many blessings – people, events and experiences that fill our lives each day. And, needless to say, music and our wonderful customers are among the joys that we are always grateful for.

Songs of gratitude

Thanksgiving’s origin pre-dates Lincoln’s proclamation by over 200 years. It goes back to December 11, 1620, when 102 Pilgrims – English and Dutch separatists sailing on the Mayflower – landed at Plymouth Rock.

As history books tell us, the first winter in the New World was harsh, and many newcomers did not survive. But by the following autumn, with the help of native Indians, the Pilgrims learned to hunt, fish, and grow crops. The feast to celebrate their good fortune marked the first, though unofficial, Thanksgiving.

As they established their colony in Plymouth, MA, these early settlers expressed their thanks though hymns, proving that even back then, music played an important part in people’s lives.
At that time, Baroque music was gaining popularity in Europe, but the Pilgrims who sailed to the New World were not – as far as we know – Bach aficionados.

According to historical accounts, they may have brought with them instruments such as wooden flutes, oboes, and virginals (very small keyboard instruments). And their songs of choice included the 16th century Dutch hymn, “We Gather Together,” as well as the ones from The Book of Psalms, written by Henry Ainsworth in 1612.

Sing, sing a song

Today, many families have Thanksgiving rituals of their own – and we don’t mean just turkey and football. We are referring to the “thanks giving” part of the holiday – taking note of and appreciating all the good things that had happened to us, and great people in our lives.
If you don’t have favorite Thanksgiving tunes of your own, these are some of the songs that will bring the true spirit of Thanksgiving to your celebration:

• “Thanksgiving Song,” Mary Chapin Carpenter
• “Be Thankful,” Natalie Cole
• “Give Thanks and Praises,” Bob Marley
• “Gratitude,” Paul McCartney

…and let’s not forget this beautiful classic,

• “What a Wonderful World,” by the great Louis Armstrong.

Let’s talk turkey!

Would you like to be able to express your gratitude, as well as all the other emotions, through music? Our Manhattan music lessons offer a wide range of instruments to choose from

Once you decide which instrument is best for you, we will come to your Manhattan home or office and give you lessons.

As we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving, let’s remember this quote by the 16th century scientist, Konrad von Gesner:

“Let there be for every pulse a Thanksgiving, and for every breath a song.”

The post At Thanksgiving, Manhattan Music Lessons Go Beyond the Turkey Trot appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

These cheerful words were spoken by former President Ronald Reagan, and he certainly knew what he was talking about because he was an avid harmonica player.

The 40^th president of the United States reportedly learned to play this instrument while recovering from the assassination attempt in 1981, and his repertoire included songs like “Git Along Little Doggie” and “Streets of Laredo.”

Perhaps his playlist choices were not exactly presidential but, when it comes to music, Mr. Reagan was in good company: many of the former U.S. commanders-in-chief enjoyed playing an instrument too.

As the Election Day 2012 is getting closer and the contentious campaign is gaining momentum, the two current contenders for the Oval Office are facing a different kind of music: mutual accusations, criticism, and mudslinging.

But politics aside, a lot of U.S. presidents – Democrats and Republicans alike – had at least one point in common: they loved making music.

Hail to the chiefs

Let’s start with America’s first president: it is said that George Washington played the zither. We have no proof of this other than hearsay, but given that Mr. Washington could not tell a lie, we are assuming that he did indeed play this flat stringed instrument and that it was not made from the cherry tree he reportedly chopped down.

Drafting the Declaration of Independence apparently still left Thomas Jefferson enough time to play not one, but three instruments: cello, clavichord, and violin.

John Quincy Adams studied the flute at Harvard but, by his own admission, he wasn’t exactly a virtuoso. In his dairy, he conceded that he was “extremely fond of music, and by dint of great pains have learnt to blow very badly the flute. But could never learn to perform upon the violin, because I never could acquire the art of putting the instrument in tune.”

We are happy to report, however, that Andrew Jackson, the commander-in-chief- who was elected after Adams, was quite proficient at both guitar and banjo.

As for Abraham Lincoln, saving the Union and freeing the slaves – not to mention his daily four-mile walk to school as a boy – still left him enough time to learn a harmonica-like instrument called the jaw or mouth harp. It is said that he played it during the 1858 Illinois state election campaign (which he lost).

Other presidents also had their favorite instruments: Woodrow Wilson played the violin, while Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Harry Truman were partial to the piano.

And talk about being prolific: it was said that Warren Harding could play any instrument with the exception of the trombone and clarinet.

The most recent president whose musical skills are renown is, of course, Bill Clinton. His mastery of the saxophone is legendary. When asked why he continued to play the sax during his presidency, he replied: “Well, I don’t have much job security.”

No, he can’t!

By now you might be wondering what, if any, instruments the present occupant of the White House plays. Alas, while he is an ace on the basketball court, music remains on Barack Obama’s “to-do” list. As he said in a December 2011 interview with ABC-TV, he “would love to be able to play an instrument.” (We take it to mean that he currently doesn’t).

So it must be a measure of relief for the President that his opponent, Mitt Romney, is not known to play any instruments either, although the company he created, Bain Capital, owns the Guitar Center – the largest retail chain of musical instruments in the world.

That should probably come as good news to the voters, since both candidates in the 2012 election appear to be on equal footing when it comes to musical skills – or lack thereof. So it is safe to assume that musical tastes will not be a divisive issue in this race.

Act presidential!

Why do so many presidents enjoy playing an instrument? At least part of the answer may be that this activity has been shown in various studies to reduce stress and soothe the soul.

Nobody can deny that the presidency of the United States is one of the highest-pressure jobs on the face of the earth, so we can only hope that the above-mentioned presidents were able to harness the beneficial effects of playing their instruments.

But listen – you DON’T have to be a president (or, for that matter have a stressful job) to enjoy playing an instrument. If you would like to learn any of the instruments -or their modern versions – that our presidents played, we’ll be happy to come to your Manhattan home or office (even if it’s not Oval), and give you music lessons.

Because no matter which party you belong to, playing an instrument is always politically correct!

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Photo Credit: Theresa Thompson

The post NYC Music School | Presidents Who Struck the Right Chords appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.

“When you work, you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.”

Mostly Wind

The post Manhattan Music Lessons Bring Magic to the Flute appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.