Jan 18
Happy Friday! This is no time for serious business. Here are a few original poems by yours truly, pulled off the shelf and brushed off just for you. ______________________________ The Vegan Violin I’d like a violin please, that doesn’t involve the murder of trees. No spruce, no maple, no ebony, or use of animal gut …
Nov 19
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 …
Oct 23
I recently began a new project: putting together an old violin that had fallen completely apart. The instrument is an older German violin, probably made around 1930 – 1950. Violins are similar to puzzles, in that they have many small parts that fit intricately together. They are also similar to puzzles in that they are …
Aug 16
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 23
Looking for something to do this summer? Take part in Kennedy Violins first official video contest. The theme of the video contest is: “Play.” We want to see how you play, why you play, where you play, your favorite way to play, anything! We will choose a winner based on their ability to best embody …
Jun 19
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 30
Which instrument you play (or even want to play) somehow becomes an indelible part of your identity. Even now when I talk about my musicianship with strangers, I often hear, “Oh, I played the cello growing up,” or “I’ve always wanted to learn the guitar.” To the former I say, “Do you still play?” to …
May 20
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 …
Apr 23
So you’re at Grandpa’s house helping him clean out his attic. While cleaning, you stumble across a dusty trunk and inside you find some old books, a quilt, and a violin. At first, it doesn’t look like much, the bridge is missing and who knows the last time the strings were changes. But wait! Something …
Feb 01
Roses are Red… We are trying to get into the Valentine’s spirit here are Kennedy Violins by writing a lovely little poem about how much we love violins, violas, cellos, and music but, we have writer’s block! Maybe you can help. Submit a Valentine’s Day poem to our facebook page! We’d love to hear your sonnets, …
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