Music Lessons in Burbank CA | Los Angeles Music Teachers

In the musical family, the strings are the most versatile group. Listen to your favorite movie score and you will probably notice the most beautiful parts, other than individual instrument solos, are string passages. The power of an orchestra string section is unsurpassed.

So no wonder your child wants to start lessons on a string instrument in Los Angeles! Violin is the most popular of the strings, but is it the best choice? As a violinist myself, I do not recommend it as a first instrument. It is one of the hardest, if not the most, to play in general, which means starting on it is also an extreme challenge. It takes a year or two just to develop a decent sound, let alone any more advanced techniques and being comfortable enough to play music by ear or a handful of pieces that led you to want to play it in the first place.

The viola is simply a bigger version of the violin, and as such presents many of the same challenges, even if on a somewhat smaller scale. Due to its sheer size, the bass is not recommended for small children, and even though there are small sizes to start out with, it is still an awkward instrument to get around because of the amount of arm movement and shifting needed to get to different notes and strings. The cello is the winner in the category simply because it combines the best of both worlds; it is able to provide a bass line for any ensemble it’s part of while also being able to hold its own as a solo melodic voice.

Any beautiful violin melody can be easily transposed to cello, and it is a much more comfortable position than the violin. You are sitting down and the way you place your hand on the instrument feels a lot more natural. Moreover, because of the thickness of the strings, it does not sound nearly as scratchy as its soprano counterpart.

I hope I was able to shed a little bit of light on the different members of the string family and helped you make your decision. As always, we are here to help! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to give us a call! For more information, please visit our website at http://www.losangelesmusicteachers.com or give us a call at (818) 902-1233.

Are you thinking of learning how to play the guitar? When learning something new, you must start from the beginning. The guitar is a wonderful instrument to play as it can help you improve your memory and concentration. 

When it comes to learning how to play guitar, you might need an expert help. Many beginners give up learning to play guitar after some time because it is frustrating. Learning a new skill is never easy, you will have to work hard to master it. 

However, with our help, you can learn how to play the guitar without any hassle. In this article, we have listed the things that every guitar player must learn. Have a look!

Know Everything About the Guitar

The first thing you must learn is the guitar anatomy. It is crucial for you to know what the components are and what they do. There is no need to hurry, you should take your time to get familiar with everything, from head to bridge. 

There are different types of guitar; you must understand how every part works. This is to make learning how to play guitar easy. If you don’t know which string is the A string, it will be challenging to learn how to play guitar. 

So, to successfully learn how to play guitar, you must get to know every part of the guitar. 

Holding the Guitar Correctly

In order to play the guitar easily, you must hold it properly. Though many people think there is no rocket science, it can be difficult for someone who has never held a guitar before. To be able to produce the best quality sound, you must hold it correctly. Your left hand must be on the neck of the guitar while the other hand must be over the sound hole. 

In case you are left-handed, there are two solutions. You can flip the guitar without restringing or you can reverse the strings. This means you will have to position your right hand on the neck. You can try playing guitar in both ways and choose the one that you are comfortable with. 

Tuning the Guitar

Tuning the guitar is a crucial step in ensuring the best sound quality. If you don’t know how to tune the guitar, you will have a challenging time learning how to play it. Your guitar can fall out of tune because of regular playing, environment, and temperature. Playing a tuned-out guitar will produce an off-key sound.

Since the strings do not fall out of tune at the same rate, you must know which string to tune. So, it is crucial to know how to tune your guitar. 

It is suggested to get a tuner; you can even use online guitar tuners. If you don’t have a tuner or a phone, you can use the 5th fret technique. 

Restring the Guitar

The strings of your guitar will lose their shine when you play it regularly. It means that you need to change the strings. Knowing how to replace the strings is a great skill for a guitarist. So, how do you when to restring your guitar. You will know when the strings will be discolored, or the sound will be off or flat. By restringing your guitar, you can make sure the sound produced is of excellent quality. 

Not all the strings are made equal, you can ask the professional at the local shop to help you choose the right string for you. 

Holding a Pick

If you are wondering what a pick is, then you are the right place. A pick is a small plastic that is used for strumming the strings. Though you will not be using it every time you play the guitar, learning how to hold a pick is a vital skill. You must hold the pick in between the tip of your thumb and first finger. Once you get to know how to play, you can figure out your own style.

There are several types of picks available on the market, from thick to thin. In the beginning, it is advised to start with a thinner pick. Since it is made of plastic and is small, it is recommended to get many picks. It will not cost you a lot as they are inexpensive.

Reading Chords and Tabs

Many people think reading tabs and chords is difficult. This is a misconception; it is very simple. When learning how to play the guitar, it is recommended to start with simple songs. To make it easy to play chords, you can start with songs such as Bad Moon Rising. Moreover, it is better to start learning with a cover. This will help you get familiar with reading the chords and help in practicing transitioning between chords. 

Playing Open Chords

In open chords, not all the strings are pressed down. One of the first skills the guitarist will learn is playing open chords. You must start with a basic open chord such as G and strum the string to ensure you hear a clear chord. After you have successfully learned a single open chord, you can move on to the second open chord. This will help you practice transitioning between the chords. 

It is suggested to keep on creating the library of chords until you can transition between key chords without any trouble. 

Playing in Rhythm

After learning a chord, many beginners, call over their friends to impress them with their newly learned guitar skills. It is then, they understand they don’t know how to play in rhythm. This is something every guitarist goes through. 

It is crucial to practice strumming the chords in rhythm. For this, you must use a metronome to strum in rhythm. Once you master strumming one chord in rhythm, you can try with two chords. 

Playing Power Chords

Power chords are used in rock music; it is two note chords. Power chords are dyads consisting of fifth notes and root. They are not minor or major because they don’t have the third. 

When playing power chords, you will only need two or three fingers on the frets. They are easy and fun to play. Since many songs are composed on power chords, there are many songs for you to cover.

Playing Guitar Songs

You can choose a song that is your favorite and learn to play it on guitar. This is an exciting and thrilling for new guitarists as it will be the first song they learn. 

Therefore, you need to be patient when learning new skills. You can’t learn to play guitar overnight, you have to practice regularly to master the guitar skill.

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The Birth of Jazz was somewhere around the 1910’s. The saxophone was patented in 1846 and by the 1850’s lots of saxophonists began to play the instrument in the European military bands because of the considerable volume it could produce compared to the other woodwind instruments. At the same time, classical musicians, picked up the new woodwind instrument and began to write for it and play it in a classical style.

One of the earliest classical pieces written for the saxophone was in 1860, called “Fantasie for Saxophone and Piano”, by Jules Demersseman, who was an early virtuoso on the instrument. It took a while for more serious classical composers to begin to use it in their works, but Debussy used the saxophone in 1901 and Ravel in 1903, which was several years before jazz was born.
Besides Adolphe Sax himself, there were a number of saxophone players who made the saxophone famous before jazz. For example, this is rare footage of a couple of saxophone virtuosos (Rudy Wiedoeft and Benny Krueger) who were playing saxophone in a Classical/Ragtime style. For anyone who has an interest in the beginning stages of the saxophone, this is guaranteed to make you smile!
https://youtu.be/Db9P-u1_2bE