Each musical instrument is known for its distinct tone qualities and/or abilities: the haunting sweetness of the violin, the circus-like slide of the trombone, the patriotic tattoo of the snare drum, the smooth vivacity of the saxophone, and others. All have concertos or other solo pieces written specifically for them, and we recognize their sounds […]
Discover Your Music Connections
I just had a very cool discussion about music with my relatively new boss. When I told him I play trumpet, he told me about a couple of his family members from earlier generations, one of whom performed with Louis Armstrong. My boss also played alto sax in his school jazz band, and his daughter […]
Homophone Harmony
A had an epiphany yesterday morning. Father and idea are doing fine. But seriously… For the past handful of years I’ve been updating Word Sound Guide, a website that explains the basic differences between various homophones (words that sound the same but have different meanings). It occurred to me that I could sort of “massage” […]
Music Memories
Hey music lovers! I thought I’d go in a different direction this week and pull together some real-life examples of the potentially awesome gigs, events, and non-musical merriment you could be part of when in a community music group. This post is very personal, since I’ve created this list from my own life experiences, and […]
Rock Bands with Horn Sections
Mainstream bands with horn sections (rock, pop, swing, funk, etc.) are becoming more popular, thanks to the public’s increasingly eclectic musical tastes. This expansion of wind instruments into rock and related sub-genres has evolved for many decades, ever since David Mason played piccolo trumpet for The Beatles’ hit Penny Lane in 1967. Bands with a lead […]