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Guide to Piano Care & Tuning

Categories Buyer Guide Piano

At a glance… 1. Reasons why pianos go out of tune 2. Importance of tuning your piano 3. When you must tune your piano 4. How often you must tune your piano 5. Prices 6. DIY Piano Tuning 7. Care for your piano What is the importance of piano tuning? When should I tune my piano? Is piano tuning really necessary? If you’re a pianist or intending to purchase a piano, you’ve most likely asked yourself these questions a couple of times. Many seasoned pianists don’t give much thought to these questions and simply have their pianos tuned twice a … Read more

Meet the Teachers: Michelle Huang, our Piano Teacher

Categories Piano

Michelle is our lead piano instructor at Liberty Park Music. She started learning piano at six years old! Her two older sisters were already learning and helped inspire her to want to learn and get better. And can you guess who Michelle’s first piano teacher was? Watch Michelle’s Meet the Teachers video to hear what silly thing her teacher would do to make sure she was playing the correct notes! Michelle has performed piano throughout the U.S., the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, and Taiwan, and taught classes and workshops in the Southeast United States and Taiwan. When she’s not traveling … Read more

Academic Benefits of Music Lessons for Children

Categories Music in General Music Practice

At a glance… 1. Relationship between music and intelligence 2. Jamming versus reading 3. Music and speech 4. Importance of active participation 5. Patience, diligence and discipline Many parents believe that music and learning musical instruments can enhance children’s intelligence and academic performance. Some pregnant women even play Mozart for their unborn babies in hopes that classical music will give their children an academic edge. It turns out that learning a musical instrument indeed benefits the development of a child’s brain. Ample evidence suggests that taking music lessons at a young age can improve intelligence, cognitive and social development, and … Read more

How do I choose the right musical instrument for my child?

Categories Buyer Guide Music in General Music Practice

If you’re reading this, you’re likely a parent who’s concerned (and rightly so) about choosing the right instrument for your child. While the key to mastery of an instrument lies in copious amounts of practice, you and your child could have a much easier and more enjoyable time learning music if you help him or her select a more suitable instrument. In this article, we share some tips to choose the best instrument for your child by considering age, physical features, personality, instrument popularity, interest, and your financial position. Age With age comes increased physical strength and height. Both of these … Read more

Guitar Solo Transcription: Gone With the Wind by Wes Montgomery

Categories Guitar Music Practice

This latest transcription is a solo I have always loved.  Wes Montgomery’s feel on every 8th note line is effortless, and the tempo suits him so well. He has access to so many subdivisions that groove on a medium swing like this: 8th notes, triplets, double-time. For those who are interested-my particular recording of the head and first chorus of this has some makeshift drums-played on my trousers-supposed to emulate the brushes on a snare drum. I included the head as well as the first chorus of solo in this transcription because I think it’s worth noting how much embellishment … Read more

The Guitar Jedi Workout for Speed and Accuracy

Categories Guitar Music Practice

At a glance… 1. Metronome 2. About speed 3. Chromatic exercise 4. Scales 5. Finger gym 6. The spider Most guitarists wish they have more speed and accuracy, and with good reason too. Although it’s not necessary to play extremely fast for effective expression of musical ideas (Eric Clapton and B.B. King for example don’t play at ridiculous speeds), it definitely is a good tool to have! In this article, we will explore a couple of exercises and ideas to help build speed and accuracy. Metronome Unless stated otherwise, all of the following exercises require the use of a metronome. … Read more

4th of July BBQ Playlist

Categories Arts and Entertainment Music in General Seasons and Reasons

There is nothing more American than celebrating the 4th of July with a day of hanging around outside, throwing some meat and/or veggies on the grill, and chilling with friends and family. We know you’ll need some tunes to accompany your beautiful summer day, so we at Liberty Park Music have prepared a Spotify playlist to entertain you and your guests. Below, we explain our picks. Some tracks are decades old, some were released last year. Some are American-themed, some are just good for the summer. One thing is certain, ALL of these songs are perfect for a 4th of … Read more

Am I Too Old to Learn Music?

Categories Music in General Music Practice

The short answer is… NO! If you’re reading this article, you might be an adult who’s interested in learning an instrument, but have fears that you’re too old. We’re often told that music is something best learned as a child and that adults have a much harder time mastering an instrument. What we’ve been told isn’t very far off the mark. Children typically do learn faster than adults. They are capable of amazing feats. Videos of five year olds rocking out to System of a Down’s “Toxicity” (see video below) or playing lengthy sonatas are aplenty on Youtube. What might … Read more

Meet the Teachers: Ze Wen Seah, our Guitar Teacher

Categories Guitar

Born and raised in Singapore, Ze’s parents made him play several different instruments before he settled on the guitar at the age of 15. While at first just playing top 40 pop songs around popular venues, Ze fell in love with the music of John Mayer and dove deeper into the genres of blues, soul, funk, and R&B. Ze looks to legends of guitar like Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and John Coltrane as inspirations. After being introduced to the improvisational form of blues guitar, he took a break from performing to learn the skills needed to improvise … Read more

Beginners Guide: Drum Kit

Categories Drums Music Practice

“Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that’s what we are.” – Mickey Hart Here at Liberty Park Music, we’d like to congratulate you for embarking on this musical journey to play the drums. This instrument plays an integral role in setting a song’s rhythm and mood, and is the backbone of any music band. Knowing your drums inside-out is vital to all drummers, and for those of you at beginner level, you need a starter kit to get you going. We present you with all the essentials of drums in this … Read more