HoustonGuitar’s Practice Video Library Now On YouTube!
HoustonGuitar's practice video library of more than 500 videos has a new home on YouTube, to ensure a better customer experience for my online guitar students. My visual, play-by-ear approach…
Guitar Dots Make Online Lessons Easier
I've been using Guitar Dots with my face-to-face students for more than 20 years. Now I'm also using the Guitar Dots system with my online students. Guitar Dots are the…
Keeping the Lights On in Texas
In June 2012, I wrote an article for NBIZ Magazine where I described Texas' "Energy-only" power market structure, quoted industry officials explaining their business model, and warned of failures like…
Gene Taylor’s Sacrifice
From Wikipedia: [[ Gene Taylor (July 2, 1952 – February 20, 2021) was an American musician. Taylor began his musical training as a drummer at age eight but two years…
Scheherazade Done Right
Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade - San Francisco Symphony Orchestra 1942, Pierre Monteux conducting. Originally released by RCA Red Seal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e7C4DugjyI
Did the Beatles Know Theory?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmjRM3AziTY One of the first points the narrator makes is that the Beatles didn't read or write sheet music. The sheet music of their songs that you buy was all…
Not All Kids’ Music is Lame
Blitzen's Boogie is a great introduction to blues, jazz and big band tonalities for kids. Just in time for the holidays. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KbG1NEpKZw For non-classical musicians, the best predictor of whether…
A Parent Explains Why “Violin Lessons Are Pointless”
https://www.newstatesman.com/music-and-performance/2013/09/deal-it-parents-violin-lessons-are-pointless Mark Oppenheimer's 2013 article proposes an informal test: Go on Facebook and ask your friends to chime in if, when they were children, they took five years or more…
Every Piano Teacher Should See This Scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT7bd1G8i9M The "piano scene" from the movie Ray, where young Ray Charles is taught how to improvise a solo using just three notes. This scene is based on a real…
Play By Ear Piano School
A school in Singapore has an unconventional, but enlightened approach to teaching piano. This is a glimpse into the future of music education.