This is the last installment of Music Theory Basics. Why? Well, beyond this you are getting into more intermediate and advanced concepts of music theory. Even this entry is pushing the limits on what is “basic,” which is why I strongly recommend taking sometime to review the previous three entries before reading this one. In …
Tag Archive: education
Jan 07
Music Theory Basics Part 3: Key Signatures
In the first two parts of Music Theory Basics, we covered a lot of topics. Today we will only be focusing on one topic: key signatures. There are, however, several layers to this concept. I will try an lay it out in a way that makes it a tasty parfait and not an onion. Let’s …
Nov 19
Music Theory Basics (Part 2)
In Music Theory Basics (Part 1), we discussed the musical staff, clefs, and note names. Today, we will cover the basics of rhythm and note duration. There are lots of charts in this one! The term rhythm has come to mean several different things in today’s culture, but for our purposes, we will use the …
Nov 05
Music Theory Basics (Part 1)
Music is a language and like any other language it has a written form. The parts that make up the written form of music and the rules for writing is are know as music theory. No matter your age or experience level, reading music and understanding music theory is a valuable skill. Not yet music …
Oct 19
KV and the Stephen Foster Old-Time Music Weekend
The Stephen Foster Old Time Music Weekend has been held annually since 2005 at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, FL on the banks of the beautiful and historic Suwannee River. Each year SFOTMW holds classes and jams on fiddle, banjo, guitar, and singing. To teach and lead these sessions, …
Oct 08
Online Music Lessons: Helpful or Hurtful?
We live in an interesting age, musically speaking. Through the avenue of the internet, so much is available to us in the way of recordings, videos, articles, pictures, etc, etc. From this sea of information, any aspiring musician with a computer can find tools and resources for online music lessons and often times for free. Learning …
Aug 16
Rent or Buy? That is the question!
Around this time every year, as the musical season gears up again, we see a lot of new string players preparing to start a new adventure. There are inevitably A LOT of questions, and we are happy to address them. In the past, on the blog, we have covered many topics about Beginner Basics. One that …
Jul 30
Taking the First Steps
At Kennedy Violins, we have always been proud of the fact that all of our employees, no matter their role, are active musicians and teachers and all of us have been where you are. Whether you are just starting out learning the basics or finding your own voice or personality musically. Today, I’d like to …
Jun 19
Rasika School of Music and Arts Receives Kennedy Violins Award
In February of this year, Kennedy Violins announced that it was seeking a local music teacher to award with a prize package including a violin outfit and accessories to beef up their resources. The deadline to apply ended May 1 and the selection process began. Out of all the applicants, there was one organization that …
May 20
The Fine Art of Tuning
In high school at the beginning of each concert, like all orchestras, we would take some time to tune. Once the squeaking and squawking settled into a common A natural, our conductor would say, “Thank you very much. Our first song was ‘The Fine Art of Tuning.’” The audience, slightly confused, would laugh and we …
