CMusicBlog

Happy New Year everyone!  Haven't posted much lately, being an independent music store at the holidays kind of takes up all your time.  Got some cool things in the works for the store, more products, new lines, more accessories so I'm looking forward to adding more reviews and videos in the coming weeks.  I always look forward to being busy at the holidays but I'm also relieved when they are over and we go back to normal. 

Got some cool, limited edition ESP's coming in the next few weeks.  Keep an eye out.

Bob

Why do we love music?  Think about it, it is extremely rare to find someone that doesn't like some kind of music.  I'd be willing to bet that in those few cases that the person may have a hearing problem, not allowing him to hear music properly.  For the rest of us, we love our music.  A lot of us even get rabid about our listening choices, be it classical, heavy metal, country, blues or whatever.  For every style of music, there are fans and I think that is great. 

So, why do we love music?  What is it about music that it is such a large factor in our lives?  Recent studies have shown things like improved academic skills and lower instances of substance abuse in children involved in musicmaking.  Other studies have shown a reduction of the severity of Alzheimer's amongst patients that played music.  I know firsthand, ...
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....and if elected, I will.....

The election is over, and if you are like me, you're glad that you don't have to see another political ad for a while.  Regardless of who you wanted to win, we're on to a new chapter in our history, let's hope for the best.

Of course, the big buzzword this year was the economy.  I don't know about you, but I get overwhelmed by the figures thrown around.  'Hey, how about a little of that money over here?'  I'm a firm believer in the trickle up theory.  Get some money into the hands of regular folks and we'll spend it.  Where we spend it though, is more important than ever.  We've seen how major banks and corporations have handled their millions of dollars we send their way.  Does the money spent at a 'big box' store help the local economy?  Does the taxes paid go to ...
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Music making.  It isn't a competition, though you can make it one.  Sure, you can try to top the skills of another musician but most serious musicians are more interested in being better players for the reward of being able to play what you want, not to outdo someone else.  In fact, I generally see more respect in musicians for other musicians than in other groups of people.  We tend to be more healthy in attitude when we see someone better than us.  Maybe it is because we know how much effort it takes to achieve proficiency in an instrument.  We admire someone's tone because it, to us, reflects some of who they are.  Watching someone tear it up on an instrument makes us want to try harder.

Making music isn't a race or a game where an end is in sight.  No, music making is a journey without end and ...
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A while ago I posted music truths.  Now, let's expose some myths.

• You have to learn on acoustic guitar before electric - simply not true.  In fact, electric is easier due to the lighter strings and lower action and in the end, what we want is to make playing music easy for the beginning student.  There is no benefit to making things hard.  That being said, there is also nothing wrong with starting on acoustic.  Start on the instrument that the student is most interested in, keeping their interest is important.
• On a related point: You have to know another instrument (usually piano) or have some prior musical instruction before starting lessons - Nope, we take 'em from complete, never touched an instrument before.  No bad habits to overcome!  Bottom line, come as you are, a good teacher will take you where you want to go.
• American instruments are more handmade than ones ...

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