Too Old? Too Young? To the Contrary!

As a teacher I have been asked on more than one occasion, what age is a good age to start taking lessons? Am I too old to learn a musical instrument? Well,  I have seen students as young as 4 years and as old as 76! It is never too late or too early to start learning an instrument! Now, don't get me wrong; starting music lessons at an early age definitely gives those a bit of a leg up when it comes to band, orchestra, or personal pursuits! As adults, learning an instrument can be therapeutic and a great stress-reliever. I've had many an adult student come to me to learn songs they can play by the camp fire while the rest of the family sings along. And if you're already playing an instrument, it never hurts to learn from someone at the next level. This is what we do at Matt Burk Music Studio! We offer private lessons for piano, drums, guitar, bass, voice, songwriting, and audio production. All levels, from beginner to advanced, are welcome here; we customize our lessons to you! So remember that it is never too late or too early to start taking music lessons, especially here at Matt Burk Music Studio: Learn, Create, Perform!   

Music Makes You Smarter?

 

I have heard that learning to read and play music at an early age can make certain academic enterprises later in life easier to accomplish. Whether or not this is true is up for debate. In my own experiences I have found that it helped foster an ease with communication, working with others for a common goal, and has made me much more open to learning new things such as songs, chords, rhythms, and ideas. Having a musical background can help with your college admission and finding friends with common interests (I know of a group of doctors that play together in a jazz combo for stress relief). Time and time again I have heard from adult students, "I wish I would have started lessons earlier if I knew how positively it would affect my life!" The best part is, it is NEVER too late to start! We here at Matt Burk Music Studio can help you reach your goals musically. We offer many private lessons, such as piano, drums, guitar, bass, and voice. If you're interested in songwriting and audio production, we've got that covered too! In fact, we can help you write, perform, record, and produce YOUR music! Does music make you smarter? Why not find out? Sign up today! Matt Burk Music Studio: Learn, Create, Perform!

Creativity and the "Outside" Perspective

There is nothing quite like writing music with others that gets the creative "juices" flowing. Sometimes we as composers and performers can get stuck in a writing rut, playing the same chord progressions, repeating the same rhythms, hearing the same melodies! We have to escape "the box" and one of the best ways to do so is to get an outside perspective. Remember, even the Beatles had Brian Epstein to help them write and record some of the most popular songs worldwide! We here at Matt Burk Music Studio can help you do the same! Whether it is vocal coaching, songwriting, learning "killer licks", awesome beats, bringing the low end, or how to "tickle the ivory"; we can give you the positive reinforcement and help you to advance to the next level with your musicianship!

Metronome: Metro-NOPE!? Keep it Between the Clicks!

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK. Every musician knows that feeling. . .  We've completed our weekly assignment at our own pace, keeping in mind everything our instructor talked about, and it went swimmingly! And then it happens; we turn on the metronome and attempt the same result only to find frustration between the clicks. Many students find it to be such a daunting task that they simply do away with it. Worry Not! Developing a sense of rhythm takes time! If we allow ourselves to understand that perfection is not necessary (at least to begin with) and that the click is a must when practicing any exercises or songs, it becomes commonplace. Depending on whether you take private drum, guitar, bass, voice, or piano lessons, you can always find ways to involve the metronome. In my lessons, we use it for warm ups with drums, for counting measures when learning chords for guitar, and following the downbeat when playing bass. I have the metronome on so much that I barely hear it anymore! But when I need to, I can sync up instantly with it because I hear it on a consistent basis. The metronome helps us to "see" whether we are lagging (slowing down) or rushing (speeding up). At first the "feel" of playing with it can be off-putting, especially if the student is a beginner. One thing I can guarantee: if you use it daily, you WILL get better at keeping between the clicks! Keep at it and soon you'll see that it wasn't as big a challenge as you may have previously expected. We here at Matt Burk Music Studio can help you straighten out those rhythms, no matter what the instrument! Matt Burk Music Studio: Learn, Create, Perform!

Mixing the Old and New

I've stated before how many different genres of music that I hear throughout the week at Matt Burk Music Studio. I think the eclectic nature of the lessons keeps interested minds open to sounds and melodies that they might not initially enjoy. This can be seen particularly in the song choices for our student Jam Sessions. The instructors are involved with the decisions and take heavily into consideration the requests and interests of the students. We perform one modern pop song and one classic pop/rock song. This helps the student identify common progressions, repeating  patterns, and influences that perhaps are overlooked during the intense focus of the lesson. The atmosphere during the jam session is very relaxed:  The teachers are there to support our drum, keyboard, bass, guitar, and vocal students. Students are there to develop ensemble awareness, meet new players/peers, and have a good time! Learning from the experience is just a side effect of the overall goal; something I discussed in my last post, "Performance Panic".  The main thing to remember is that we always have something to learn from music from any era!

{BOOKED} Matt Burk Music Studio Spring Recital and Showcase!

We are excited to announce that we have confirmed the dates for our upcoming spring recital and showcase! Students of Matt Burk Music Studio will get to choose whether they perform at:
1) McKinney Performing Arts Center in a traditional "recital" on Sunday, May 1st, or
2) House of Blues in a less-traditional "showcase" on Sunday, May 15th.

At both venues, all the instruments we teach will be represented - piano, drums, bass, guitar and voice. Also at both venues, performances will begin in the afternoons (around 1:30 pm or later). Exact performance times will be finalized as we get a firm headcount of the students performing at each venue.

Students will receive an email soon with all the details regarding each performance, as well as an opportunity to register online to perform in one of these exciting events!