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Summertime

April 26th, 2012

“Summertime and the livin’ is easy…”. What a great song, and great time of the year! Summer is that magical time of the year, where time seems to stand still.  Summer often evokes fond memories for so many people. I know for me, I have great summer memories of family road trips to visit my grandparents who lived in Spearfish, SD. I spent many summer days tubing down Spearfish creek, as well as fishing for trout. Summer, for a kid, is a time where almost anything seems possible, and you wish it would never end!

Summer at Matt Burk Music Studio is a great time to make some really good progress on your musical journey! What better time of the year is there to pursue music than when the pressures and deadlines of school are over for a few months! We have some really great summer activities you can be a part of! If you’re a current student, this might be the perfect opportunity for you to add another instrument to your lessons you’ve always had an interest in. Or, you might want to bump your 30 min. lesson up to a 60 min. lesson in order to really make that extra progress. If you weren’t able to take lessons during the school year, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to start as well!

We have a lot of fun stuff happening at the studio this summer, such as private lessons, camps, live gigs, and jam sessions! We offer private lessons in piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, voice, http://www.wannalearnmusic.com/lessons/songwriting-lessons/, and audio production. We hope to hear from you soon!

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The PERFECT Gift: A Holiday Recording Package!

December 13th, 2011

Are you looking for something unique and fun for a singer this Hanukkah and Christmas season? Thanks to our new recording booth and incredibly talented in-house producer, Matt Burk Music Studio is offering a special holiday recording package! This great gift includes:

  • One or two songs of your choice – performed to a track
  • Professional recording, mixing, and editing of vocals
  • Five CDs (additional CDs can be purchased at $5 each)
  • Original CD-cover graphics

You can choose whether a one or two-song package. The one-song package is $200, and the two-song package is $325.

Not only will your loved one be able to experience the fun of singing in the studio, but at Matt Burk Music Studio, our audio engineer is much more than an engineer. He is also an experienced producer and vocal coach, and can help coach your loved one during the session.

So if you are looking for something creative for the holidays, try a professional recording session! You can find all the details of this great gift here!

Has someone in your family been talking about learning to play an instrument or hone their singing voice? Music is a great gift that lasts a lifetime! We offer piano, guitar, bass, drum, voice, songwriting, and audio production lessons as well!

You can find more on our Lessons page, call us at (972) 207-9353, or email us to get started today!

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A Career in History and Music

June 27th, 2011

At Matt Burk Music Studio, we not only build musical skills, but we also add value to our students’ futures. Students of ours, whether enrolled in voice lessons, piano lessons, bass guitar lessons, guitar lessons, drum lessons, or voice lessons, acquire the skills needed to pursue a career in music. Today, lets take an in depth look at a curious musical career with a funny name: Ethnomusicology.

Culture + Music

It’s no surprise that with each emerging culture, a musical sound is developed within that same region or culture. Historians know and value the musical heritage of the cultures and communities around the world. The merging of history and musical sound equals Ethnomusicology. When you think of Jamaica, you may automatically think of the Rasta movement and Reggae.  If this kind of education is intriguing, visit Nat Geo’s World Music Page. But beware! This entire site dedicated to learning more about the musical cultures around the world can capture your attention for hours if this is your idea of interesting, as it is ours. Music lessons automatically instill an empathy and awareness of cultures other than the pupil’s. This career path blows the doors wide open on that subject.

The Journey

As a student of Ethnomusicology, you will study what socioeconomic, geographic, and government related influences built the Reggae sound by studying the history of Jamaica and specific regions within the country (we’re using the Reggae sound as an example here). Most ethnomusicologists will closely follow the path of an anthropologist and will require a masters or Ph.D. in order to make the most of their work. The life of an ethnomusicologist is far from traditional. Most will use their musical talent and knowledge to follow those cultures that capture their attention most. This includes spending months and years with those cultures. Learn more about the Society of Ethnomusicology. What colleges offer degrees in Ethnomusicology? Take a look at the big list below. Many Texas schools are included.

We’ll continue to highlight musical careers on our blog, so stay tuned for other interesting career paths.

Do you Wanna Learn Music? Click here to learn about our awesome programs.

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8 Reasons to Enroll your Child in Music Lessons

June 8th, 2011

High school orchestra directors, music teachers, and musicians alike scream from the rooftops about how learning music as a child far supersedes the immediate outcome of learning to play, sing, and read music. Several studies by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is based at Brown University, explored the effects of art and music education on young children’s learning. The conclusions of these studies support the theory that music instruction can help build intellectual and emotional skills, facilitate children’s learning and strengthen other academic areas, such as reading and math. Also, these studies indicate that music can positively affect children and adults of all ages. Read more about these studies and view specific statistics here.

Brain Power

  1. Ability to learn foreign languages: Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds.
  2. Problem Solving through creativity: There is a causal link between music and spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things). This kind of intelligence, by which one can visualize various elements that should go together, is critical to the sort of thinking necessary for everything from solving advanced mathematics problems to being able to pack a book-bag with everything that will be needed for the day. Students of the arts learn to think creatively and to solve problems by imagining various solutions, rejecting outdated rules and assumptions. Questions about the arts do not have only one right answer.
  3. Higher grades and standardized test scores: Recent studies show that students who study the arts are more successful on standardized tests such as the SAT. They also achieve higher grades in high school and typically have higher reading and math scores than those students that do not study music.
  4. Social interest: A study of the arts provides children with an internal glimpse of other cultures and teaches them to be empathetic towards the people of these cultures. This development of compassion and empathy, as opposed to development of greed and a “me first” attitude, provides a bridge across cultural chasms that leads to respect of other races at an early age.
  5. Discipline: In music, a mistake is a mistake; the instrument is in tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not. It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible. Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards of hard work. Students of music learn craftsmanship as they study how details are put together painstakingly and what constitutes good, as opposed to mediocre, work. These standards, when applied to a student’s own work, demand a new level of excellence and require students to stretch their inner resources.
  6. Emotional/spiritual benefits: Music provides children with a means of self-expression. Now that there is relative security in the basics of existence, the challenge is to make life meaningful and to reach for a higher stage of development. Everyone needs to be in touch at some time in his life with his core, with what he is and what he feels. Self-esteem is a by-product of this self-expression.
  7. “Life” prep: Music study develops skills that are necessary in the workplace. It focuses on “doing,” as opposed to observing, and teaches students how to perform, literally, anywhere in the world. Employers are looking for multi-dimensional workers with the sort of flexible and supple intellects that music education helps to create as described above. In the music classroom, students can also learn to better communicate and cooperate with one another.
  8. Risk-taking: Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. A little anxiety is a good thing, and something that will occur often in life. Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem later. Risk-taking is essential if a child is to fully develop his or her potential.

A special thanks to TheOddNote for the photo.

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The Bass: Instrument Selection, Part 2

June 1st, 2011

Choosing the neck of the bass that fits you best is just as important as the body of a bass guitar.

Neck Knowledge

bass guitar lessons

Tuning Pegs: located on the headstock, at the furthest end of the guitar from the body. Function: anchor the strings and tuning the bass.

Nut: located at the very top of the fretboard. Function: contains grooves to hold the strings in place and evenly spaced.

Fretboard: extends from the nut all the way to the body of the bass. Function: contains the frets, where fingers are placed to change the pitch of the strings. Most bass guitars have between 20 and 24 frets.

Beginner Tips

The type of wood used for the neck will affect the sound of the bass guitar, just like it does in the body of the bass. If all of this wood talk has you confused, focus on this: choose a bass made of real wood instead of plywood, and get hands on with different makes and models. How well the player’s hand fits the neck is imperative for successful practices and performances. We all have different hand sizes, finger and thumb lengths, etc; this is not One Size Fits All. Similarly, the contour of each bass body may be different. Hold the bass and really make sure the one chosen is the one that will be most comfortable to the musician, keeping both the neck and the body in mind.

cc license from Symic on Flickr as of 5/31/2011

Lessons with Matt Burk Music Studio

Our studio offers bass lessons from a thorough and well versed bass guitarist, Art Struck (learn more about Art here). Not only is he available for private and group lessons, soon, at home bass guitar lessons and Skype lessons will be available to our students as well!

In preparing to enroll in lessons, many prospective students need a one-on-one interview with an instructor to answer specific questions, learn more about lesson plans and student progression, commit to a practice schedule, and more. We offer complementary interviews for all prospective students and are happy to meet with you as soon as your schedule allows. Simply click here to schedule a time. We can’t wait to watch your musical talent blossom!

<–Part 1

Thanks to Fern R and Symic for the bass photos!

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Thanks for Your Help!

December 18th, 2010

We just wanted to post a quick note with a BIG THANK YOU to all of the students of Matt Burk Music Studio who contributed to our coat, blanket and sleeping bag drive for the homeless this Christmas. I took a couple of quick photos with my phone at the event at the Dallas Convention Center this morning, to share with you guys. These don’t even begin to capture how many people were there – inside and lined up around the block waiting to enter the building.








We are looking forward to teaming up with you guys and Operation Care Dallas again next year to help with this event.

Thanks again to all who donated!

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Christmas Break!

December 17th, 2010

We’re looking forward to the Christmas holiday, and hope you guys are as well! We’ll be closed just one week for Christmas (December 20th – 25th), but will be back to teaching as usual beginning Monday, the 27th!

We’re excited about the new year, and have some new exciting things planned for it! So keep an eye on this blog for all the most up-to-date news!

If you’re interested in piano, voice, drum, bass, or guitar lesson with us, we’d love to talk with you! Just give us a call (972.207.9353) or send us an email (info@mattburk.com) and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, schedule a complimentary interview for you, and/or get you enrolled to get started asap!

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Thanks & Giving

November 25th, 2010
We thought it would be appropriate for our first blog post to be on Thanksgiving Day. We truly have so much to be thankful for!

We’re thankful that this music studio has led us to meeting so many amazing people, in the pursuit of sharing the joy of music with others. We’re thankful to have the opportunity to work with so many great piano, guitar, bass, voice and drum students every week, and to have a great group of instructors who really care about our students! We’re thankful that we’ve continued to grow – even in a difficult economy. We could go on, and on…

We’re also really thankful for the opportunity to give back. In the spirit of thanks and giving, we are teaming up with students of Matt Burk Music Studio and their families, to help provide coats, blankets and sleeping bags for the homeless this holiday season, through an organization called Operation Care Dallas.

Each year, Operation Care Dallas organizes the nation’s largest Christmas party (called “Christmas Gift”) for the homeless. Christmas Gift 2010 will be held at the Dallas Convention Center on December 18th, and will again honor all homeless guests, with special recognition given to our homeless veterans.

At Christmas Gift 2010, Operation Care will have approximately 3,000 volunteers and more than 10,000 homeless guests. For these guests, Operation Care provides food, clothing, shoes, blankets, sleeping bags, and personal items. They also provide haircuts and make-overs for guests, as well as some medical and additional services. Operation Care makes this Christmas party something really unique for their guests – it is intended to help provide for some of their needs and to make them feel special and honored!

At Matt Burk Music Studio, we will collect coats, blankets and sleeping bags for Christmas Gift 2010 beginning Monday, November 29th. We’ll only have 2 weeks to collect coats, blankets and sleeping bags for this event, so we’ll need to hurry! In order to get all of our items to the warehouse in Dallas and ready for the big party on December 18th, our collections will end on Friday, December 10th.

If you can help, we’d love to have you drop a coat, blanket or sleeping bag by any time during our regular studio hours (2:30 pm to 8 pm Monday thru Friday) no later than Friday, December 10th. Operation Care asks that these items be new, as this may be the only chance some of their guests have to receive something brand new!.

Thank, thank, THANK YOU!

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Welcome

November 21st, 2010

Welcome to our new site and blog. Check back soon for updates!

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