OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
In this issue
• Our New Location!
• Fall Guitar Lessons
• Fall Guitar Lesson Sale
• Pet of the Month : Stewie
• Music is Good for you Series
• Practice Tip of the Month
• Refer a Friend & Get A Free Lesson!
In this issue
• Our New Location!
• Fall Guitar Lessons
• Fall Guitar Lesson Sale
• Pet of the Month : Stewie
• Music is Good for you Series
• Practice Tip of the Month
• Refer a Friend & Get A Free Lesson!
|
Our New Location
The Providence Guitar Academy has been settling in nicely at our new location! We’ve registered over 10 students in September alone, with new registrations coming in almost every day. Since August we have been sharing a building with Angel Care Montessori School located at 150 Waterman St., on the east side of Providence just minutes from Wayland Square and Thayer street. It’s been both exciting and rewarding to be a part of the east side community. We continue to look forward to bringing value and positivity to the local community through teaching and promoting the love of music. Providence Guitar Academy couldn’t be more excited and happy to be sharing a space with the kind folks at Angel Care Montessori School on the East Side! |
|
Fall Guitar Lessons!
October is here, which means kids are getting comfortable with their new routines and schedules! Parents are now helping plan activities such as sports, dance, art, and clubs coordinate with school. This makes October a perfect time to schedule your guitar lessons to make sure you have the best available time slot this Fall! Your child will be excited to begin a new fun and enriching activity now that the hectic first month of school has passed. Lesson spots are filling up so reserve your spot soon!
October is here, which means kids are getting comfortable with their new routines and schedules! Parents are now helping plan activities such as sports, dance, art, and clubs coordinate with school. This makes October a perfect time to schedule your guitar lessons to make sure you have the best available time slot this Fall! Your child will be excited to begin a new fun and enriching activity now that the hectic first month of school has passed. Lesson spots are filling up so reserve your spot soon!
Fall Guitar Lesson Sale!
|
Our Fall Music Lesson Sale starts now. Enroll for at least a month of lessons and receive $25 off. Be sure to take advantage of this before it's too late - the sale ends 10/25. Lesson spots will be filling up so secure the best available time and save $25!
|
|
|
Pet of The Month
Meet Stewie, one of most friendly and goofy dogs to walk on four legs. Stewie belongs to Phil’s mother and father in-law, so Phil and his wife Carla are fortunate to watch his crazy antics regularly. Stewie enjoys wrestling with his dog bed, laying on his back and kicking the air, as well as greeting everyone with a warm dog-hug. Enjoy this festive picture of Stewie with Providence Guitar Academy Director, Phil Mazza! Do you have a cool, funny, or peculiar dog, cat, or critter? Send us a picture of your pet, and you could be featured in an upcoming newsletter! email info@providenceguitaracademy.com |
|
Music is Good for You: Full-body workout for the Brain
Imagine how many connections the brain makes when your listening to music, let alone playing guitar, or even improvising on an instrument! Whether you're playing by ear or performing in an orchestra, the brain is rapidly processing new information and multitasking. Musicians are faced with split-second decisions that involve multiple senses, trained reflexes, and an encyclopedia of information that can be accessed at any given moment. I’m certainly no scientist, so I can’t even begin to understand or explain how beneficial this is… But it’s hard to imagine music as being anything less than a well-rounded workout for the brain! As a jazz guitarist and composer, I’ve always been interested in how the left and right brain function when playing music, which is why I found this TedEd video so enlightening and enjoyable. The video explains the results of a research study where brain scans were performed on musician’s while they’re playing music. The researchers found that multiple areas of the brain are being used at once when playing music! But playing music uses nearly the entire brain, while also strengthening the muscle that bridges the functions of the left and right hemisphere of the brain. Check out the video below – it’s short, informative, and a fun watch!
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-playing-an-instrument-benefits-your-brain-anita-collins
Imagine how many connections the brain makes when your listening to music, let alone playing guitar, or even improvising on an instrument! Whether you're playing by ear or performing in an orchestra, the brain is rapidly processing new information and multitasking. Musicians are faced with split-second decisions that involve multiple senses, trained reflexes, and an encyclopedia of information that can be accessed at any given moment. I’m certainly no scientist, so I can’t even begin to understand or explain how beneficial this is… But it’s hard to imagine music as being anything less than a well-rounded workout for the brain! As a jazz guitarist and composer, I’ve always been interested in how the left and right brain function when playing music, which is why I found this TedEd video so enlightening and enjoyable. The video explains the results of a research study where brain scans were performed on musician’s while they’re playing music. The researchers found that multiple areas of the brain are being used at once when playing music! But playing music uses nearly the entire brain, while also strengthening the muscle that bridges the functions of the left and right hemisphere of the brain. Check out the video below – it’s short, informative, and a fun watch!
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-playing-an-instrument-benefits-your-brain-anita-collins
PRACTICE TIP OF THE MONTH
|
My first guitar teacher had a saying that left such a profound impact on my practice. He would always simply say -
“Practice Slow, Learn Fast.” I’ve found this statement so true over the years, and even in activities outside of music. |
|
When we make mistakes, or when we play correctly, our brain recognizes what we’ve done. It then adjusts and learns to either repeat or discontinue what we did. This is commonly known as “muscle memory”. If we play something too fast when first learning it, we end up repeating our mistakes and our brain thinks that's how it's supposed to sound. To properly train our muscle memory, we need to practice slowly so we execute the right movements and information as relaxed and accurately as possible. If we attempt to play fast before spending time playing the music slowly, we will usually play sloppy and tense… which becomes the way we perform (sad face). This is because our muscle memory has been trained to play it that way from the beginning. Practice slow and gradually build up speed, while playing the material as accurately and as relaxed as possible.
Everybody should download a metronome onto their smartphone, or buy a physical one, or find a website. Slow down whatever you’re practicing until you CAN’T make a mistake. Move up from there. You’ll find that you play things up to speed so much quicker, and much more accurate. Your sense of rhythm and timing will improve too, which is a great added bonus! Happy Practicing!
Everybody should download a metronome onto their smartphone, or buy a physical one, or find a website. Slow down whatever you’re practicing until you CAN’T make a mistake. Move up from there. You’ll find that you play things up to speed so much quicker, and much more accurate. Your sense of rhythm and timing will improve too, which is a great added bonus! Happy Practicing!
Refer a Friend & get a FREE lesson!
If you have a friend who might like to take
lessons, if you refer them to the Academy and
they take 1 month of lessons, we’ll give you a lesson for free!
It’s very easy to refer someone. Just visit:
providenceguitaracademy.com/referafriend (or use the form below)
Type in your name, their name and their
e-mail address and we’ll take care of the rest!
There’s no maximum to the amount of
free lessons that you can receive!
If you have a friend who might like to take
lessons, if you refer them to the Academy and
they take 1 month of lessons, we’ll give you a lesson for free!
It’s very easy to refer someone. Just visit:
providenceguitaracademy.com/referafriend (or use the form below)
Type in your name, their name and their
e-mail address and we’ll take care of the rest!
There’s no maximum to the amount of
free lessons that you can receive!