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Children in piano lessons need opportunities to perform, but all of these don’t need to involve a formal recital with kids dressed in their Sunday best and all their relatives present. Piano recital parties can be rather spontaneous events that allow children to enjoy sharing their music with other kids in a relaxed way. Here’s a great piano party idea that kids love because it’s just for students! If you’re a parent, share this idea with your child’s piano teacher and offer to be a helper at this fun event.

The Mini Harvest Recital - The Fall Harvest Mini Recital is a piano party just for students to share the progress they have made with other kids. Emphasize the harvest recital as a time for students to practice sharing their talent and the fruit of their hard work with others. Decorate with pumpkins, scarecrows and fall leaves.

Begin the recital with a scavenger hunt. Give each student a paper treat bag and let them find candy and small toys hidden around the piano room.

After the scavenger hunt let students enjoy their treats while they play their songs for each other on the piano. The songs students play for this recital can be the pieces they have currently been playing in their lesson books. Remember the idea is to create a piano community and to let kids learn to share their music with others in a relaxed way that will break down any walls of worry that students often have about performing. There is no need for formal seating since parents won’t be there. Just put some big quilts to make a cozy place on the floor where the children to sit while they are waiting their turn to play.

After the students have played their pieces have enough board games on hand for everyone to grab a partner and get to know each other better. They don’t have to be games that every can play at once. You can have Chess, Checkers, Boggle, Musical Bingo, Chutes and Ladders, whatever you think your students would enjoy. Remember the games don’t all have to be about music, they just need to support your child’s or your student’s musical experience.

Remember to take some photos of this fun event and put them in a special piano party memory book. If you are a parent helping at this event you could offer to help the teacher make a memory book to have available at formal recitals so all the students can show their parents how much fun they had at their piano party.

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com

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Bending strings is used to give the guitar a more personalized and harmonic quality. The technique is used mostly by lead guitar players but is also applied in all styles of playing. String bending and vibrato techniques are two large components in making up a guitar player’s style. The combination of these skills more or less defines a considerable part of what makes your playing different than the next guy.

Bending the strings far enough to reach a desired pitch is the goal. One of the keys is to use three fingers to bend the string, instead of just one finger. Use your third finger on the fret you’re bending and place your first and second fingers on the frets behind it, and use the strength of all three fingers when you do a bend.

Fret the note on the 7th fret of the third string with your third finger. Your other finger should follow on the 6th and 5th fret. Our goal is to bend this note up one step (the equivalent of two frets) and then release the note to its original pitch. Before you do your first bend hit the note on the 9th fret, this will be your reference note. When you do your bend the goal is to make the tone of your bend “reach” the tone of the reference note. Repeat: hit your reference note, then immediately jump to the correct position and play a bend until to can consistently match the reference note.

The length you hold the bend, how quickly you release it and any vibrato you add to the bend will define a large part of playing your style. It’s good to just have fun and try doing a number of bends and releases to hear all the different sounds you can generate. Try bending the note before you strike it so you just hear the release, or try using a wide or narrow vibrato so act character and color to your bends.

Be patient you haven’t used these muscles before, and is will take time to strengthen. Keep practicing, and you’ll get the hang of it eventually.

Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques. Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.

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“How do I buy a violin, (or fiddle)?”

That question has risen to the top of the fiddle FAQ list, even above “What’s the difference between a violin and a fiddle?”

This is an account of how Richard Blackwell, my student, actually purchased a violin.

He had been using a good quality student violin on loan from his sister. He was ready to upgrade to a better quality violin when his sister asked for her violin to be returned.

A violin was already on its way to him from a shop in Philadelphia, when he scheduled an appointment with a violin dealer in Plant City, Florida. Royce Burt, the part-time dealer had a good inventory of instruments ranging in price from about $500 to $8000.

He has a regular job as an accountant and does this other business part-time from his home. Aubrey Haney, a prominent Nashville session fiddler, buys violins from him when he is in Tampa visiting his folks.

Richard brought me along to hear the violins with him and also to play them. Many players recommend having an other violinist (or fiddler) with you when trying out instruments. Violins often sound quite different right under the ear, as compared to a few feet away.

He also had his current instrument with him to keep the base line of comparison.

This turned out to be a very good move.

When we got there we went right into the violin room. Royce began to hand Richard violins, making just a few comments about them. I kept Richard moving from violin to violin, not getting hung up on any one instrument. Then he would circle back and retry ones he had played earlier.

In between I played them and made comments about their sound and appearance. There was one that I found really intriguing, with a certain mystery quality to its sound. I wanted to keep playing it until I solved the mystery.

At one point Richard seemed to hit an indecisive stall in the process. It was at this point that he pulled out the fiddle he’s been playing. The comparison made Royce’s violins stand out. He could hear the superior quality of tone immediately.

That gave him fresh encouragement as to his inclination. And he was drawn to one violin in particular. It was a truly fine instrument suitable for a professional player.

By this time it had come down to choice of two fiddles. Going back and forth settled the matter. Even though the one he chose was much more expensive, he made his decision. He knows he has a violin that won’t let him down as his ability improves.

There is one thing about Florida that you should know. Land may be pricey, but moveable goods are not. Almost everything costs less here than it does up north or out west. Royce’s prices are on the low end of the spectrum.

When Richard was clearly gravitating towards the one he chose, Royce reminded him of his complete satisfaction guarantee. I don’t believe I would buy a violin without such a guarantee.

Richard left with a violin he really liked. He also knew that he would be receiving on trial one more instrument to compare to it. That trial violin did not displace his choice.

This is not the only way to find a better violin to play. You might know a fiddler who has more than one violin and would be ready to let one go.

In some cases you might even be able to take the violin home for a week or so.

You could find a sleeper in an estate sale. Or, even a yard sale.

When it comes to trying out violins, there are three factors from Richard’s experience that are key in making a wise choice.

1. Take someone with you who can also play, as well as listen. If you can find someone knowledgeable, that’s ideal.

2. Take your current instrument with you. At some point, take it out and compare it to the violin or violins you have been playing.

3. Make your evaluation in a stress free, no pressure setting.

If the dealer brings out a violin exclaiming, “I have just the violin for you!” and he proceeds to rip off a few cadenzas, then hands it to you, make a quick exit. I was with one of my students when a “respected” dealer pulled this stunt.

Noticing how echoey the room was, I asked him if he practiced in this room. He said he didn’t.

You should also play the candidate violins in a room with normal acoustics. That’s another aspect of stress free environment.

One last point may be: know what your budget is. Don’t sell the cow to get a violin. There are more violins down the road.

Elan Chalford, MM.
Learn How to Play Fiddle without Reading Music

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