Great Jazz Pianists and Their Contributions to Music
Posted by admin in Jazz Music on July 3, 2011
Some of the greatest piano players in history became known for their proficiency in jazz. Technicality and a heavy reliance upon the ability of the musician to improvise makes jazz piano one of the hardest styles to learn. That does NOT mean, however, that it can’t be learned, but to get to the highest rungs a pianist must have lots of talent, a great ear, and the ability to improvise.
The birth of jazz music in the early 1900s was a significant period in musical history. Many of those who are considered among the greatest jazz pianists of all times were pioneers of the genre during this period. Jazz evolved from musical styles that African slaves brought to America. Therefore, its inception can largely be attributed to the early African-American community. African-American pianists, such as Scott Joplin and Ernest Hogan, are considered to be among the fathers of ragtime music. Although the ragtime era only lasted a few years, it was a precursor to, and contemporary of, the jazz era.
Many of the earliest and greatest jazz pianists were African American. For this reason, jazz music had something of a hurdle to overcome. While many embraced jazz as a new and exciting genre, others didn’t. The emancipation of African slaves was still a fresh memory, and many people still carried strong attitudes of racism. Read the rest of this entry »
Fun Piano Lessons For Kids
Posted by admin in Music Lessons on July 3, 2011
If your child has expressed an interest in learning to play the piano, you may be thinking “how long is this going to last?” On one hand, of course, you want to encourage your children to improve themselves and become involved in extra curricular learning.
On the other hand, however, music lessons can be incredibly expensive. And the truth is, most kids give up music lessons after the first few weeks or months. Therefore, if you are looking for piano lessons for kids, you need to search for classes that will be fun and will increase your child’s enthusiasm for music.
Why Children Become Bored with Piano Lessons
Let’s first look at some of the reasons that kids so quickly fall out of love with piano lessons.
One of the main reasons is that structured piano lessons with a teacher can be incredibly boring. In most cases, beginner lessons consist of repeating scales and finger exercises that are enough to bore anyone to tears. Read the rest of this entry »