Bringing music back to your home.

Lets say that you just enrolled in guitar lessons and you need to buy a guitar. Most new students they buy their first guitar before even shopping around.

Pre-guitar shopping is the best route to take. This means that you should find out what genre or style you want to play and buy a guitar that matches that style.  Most new students come to their first lesson and have no idea what their goals are or what type of music they would like to play.  This is fine for kids but if you are an adult you probably know what you want to play and you need to have a guitar that is going to match that desire.

Do your research before buying a guitar. Before your first lesson you should figure out what kind of music you like to listen to and what you would like to play. Then maybe write down a few of your favorite bands or songs. Look up what kind of guitars your favorite bands/guitarists play. Remember, your first guitar purchase does not have to be a hefty one. Guitars range from $100 to $30,000 and up. This guitar is probably going to be the only guitar that you play on for a couple of years, so make sure that it is one that you are going to enjoy playing on. If you are a parent looking to buy a guitar for your child, remember that they are going to grow into it. We advise not buying the 3/4 size “Baby Taylor” guitar (unless totally necessary), but to buy a small full sized guitar. A couple of brands that you should look into are: Fender – they make a great beginner electric guitar, usually these are labeled as “Squire” and are very affordable and very reliable. Greg Bennett makes a great beginner acoustic guitar for great prices. These are just a couple of brands out of many, with these kinds of guitars you can find a solid beginners guitar for $150 to $200.

Now that you have an idea of the guitar you want, it is time to go shopping. Make sure that it is easy to push down on the strings and will hold it’s tune for more than a couple of minutes. This will make a huge difference in the breaking in period for your fingers and your overall enjoyment on the instrument.   Go and check out the local used guitar shop because they will have quality, ready to play guitars that are pre-owned. Don’t be afraid to purchase a used guitar, they are equivalent to a new one and you can often find a better deal.  If you are still confused or unsure of what guitar to buy, ask the guitar tech that works at the shop which guitar would be best for you. Talk to friends who have guitars themselves and your guitar teacher.

The most important thing is that you have a guitar you are going to enjoy playing.

Happy shredding!

EntreLeadership Scholarship Contest Entry: Mobile Music Academy.

Happy Birthday to Mobile Music Academy! Mobile Music Academy has officially been in business for 2 years and has quickly become Middle TN’s premier option for Music lessons. With a broad range of offerings such as In-home music lessons for piano, guitar, drums, voice, violin, sax, and many more, online music lessons, and group guitar lessons, MMA has become the place to learn a musical instrument. MMA has already won multiple awards for Best Music lesson company in Nashville and has earned an A- rating with the BBB.

Mobile Music Academy has just won the 2009 “Best of Parenting” award for best music lessons company in Middle TN. MMA swept this award category in each magazine that it was voted on: Nashville Parent, Williamson Parent, Rutherford Parent, and Sumner Parent Magazines.  MMA’s dedicated teachers and innovative In-Home music lesson service has quickly made this company the top choice for music lessons in Nashville.

So, I read this story the other day.  I found it to be very interesting.  To me, the most interesting part is how the reaction differed depending on the age.  It seems the old man in the story saw value but did not have the time.  The adults, were too busy to even notice.  The children however were drawn to it.

At what point do we lose the ability to simply see greatness?  At what point does the hustle and bustle of our lives cause us to miss out on the beauty of life itself?

May we learn to see and hear as children do again.
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.  A man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:  the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time.. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes: The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:  He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:  If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…. How many other things are we missing?