, , Should I sign my child up for the Kids and Teens Winter Recital?

kids and teens winter recital

Should I sign my child up for the Kids and Teens Winter Recital?

The answer isn’t always yes. While we would love to have ALL of our students perform at our recital, this isn’t feasible or realistic. For one, we have limited space and time available. However, the main requirement to perform in a recital is talking to your teacher. Ultimately, they will let you know if they think your child is ready to perform. Below are the criteria our teachers use to determine if you are ready.

If students don’t meet the criteria, we still encourage everyone to attend! Our Winter Kids and Teens Recital is the biggest performance of the year for us, and it is great to see all of your faces in the audience. Hopefully, your child will leave feeling inspired and participate the next time around!

Recital Criteria

Talk to your child’s teacher
This is the first step! Start a conversation with your child’s teacher if they haven’t already mentioned the recital to you. Teacher contact info is available in the student portal if you are unable to have a face-to-face conversation.

Experience
How long has your child been playing music or taking lessons? If it’s less than a few months, they probably aren’t ready to perform.

Steady Beat
Can your child play the song without speeding up or slowing down drastically? We’d rather hear a recognizable ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ than have them struggle through the first measure of Chopin’s Etude Opus 10 No. 4 . No song is too “easy” for a recital.

Good Tone
Good tone can be subjective, but are they able to stay on pitch and play the correct notes consistently? Try to pick a piece that your child is confident in, not one that they picked the week before the recital or one that they can only play accurately on a ‘good day.’

Creativity
We give extra points for creativity. Extra imaginary bonus points, that is, because being creative is its own reward. Ever heard a reggae version of ‘Jingle Bells’ or a punk version of a Taylor Swift song? The best part about being enrolled in private lessons is that you can work with your teacher to come up with your very own unique arrangement! If possible, try to stray away from the stock tunes in your lesson books and seek out fun, new material. We love hearing what you come up with.

Sign up in the Student Portal
If you’ve made it this far, go sign up for the recital in the Student Portal on 11/1. A $10 charge will be added to your December invoice to guarantee your spot, performers will not be charged at the door. Guests can buy tickets in advance or at the door.  We’ll see you at City Winery!

Extra tips…

This is not a competition
I repeat… this is not a competition. Everyone is in a different place on their musical journey.

Schedule an extra lesson!
Chances are you have some makeup credits available at this point in the year. Feel free to use those to schedule an extra lesson in the student portal leading up to the recital to help with jitters. If you don’t have makeup credits, contact the front desk and add an a la carte lesson.

Play with your teacher!
Unless your child is feeling super duper confident, it is probably best to have a teacher accompany your child on stage. Even if your teacher can’t make the recital, we have plenty of teachers who are up to the challenge. They are all very talented professional musicians.

Have some ‘Dress Rehearsals’
Our teacher Mr. Chris is famous for having his students perform in front of an audience of puppets. Although they aren’t animated, having an imaginary audience will help simulate the recital experience. Even better, perform for your neighbors, siblings, grandparents, and pets!

Have fun
Dress up, skip onto the stage, and take an extravagant bow; this is your time to shine!

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, , , It’s the most wonderful time of the year…Oakhurst Porchfest

Oakhurst Porchfest

Once October rolls around in Atlanta, there seems to be an endless amount of festivities packed into one month, all culminating in the biggest holiday of the year for our younger students… Halloween. We used to give out chocolate after each lesson at Guitar Shed. As we grew as a school, our chocolate bill grew, but we also began to take the chocolate for granted. Candy after a music lesson (or any activity for that matter) is a beautiful thing, but wouldn’t it be so much more special if we only had it for one month out of the year? Alas, we have candy at the front desk through the entire month of October. And to tide you over until next October, we’ll have some more candy around Valentine’s Day.

While you are deciding between fall festivals to attend, pumpkin patches to visit, and everything that Atlanta has to offer, I hope you mark your calendar for this Saturday, October 14th, Oakhurst Porchfest. Oakhurst is one neighborhood over from us, and we have several Oakhurstian(?) students offering up their porches this weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, it is a gathering of over 200 bands playing 1 hr. sets throughout the day. There is a level playing field and a true sense of camaraderie between performers and attendees. Teenage garage bands, hipster dad bands, massive Pink Floyd tributes, energetic brass bands, first-time buskers. and seasoned veterans reuniting for a one-off show. Audiences are welcome and encouraging as sound permeates throughout the neighborhood. We have a few performances on our radar this year, but if you know anyone in the Guitar Shed family that is not listed please let us know, and we’ll be sure to spread the word. This is a completely volunteer-run event, with the coordinators, hosts, and musicians all donating their time and talents to one day of musical revelry. Most of all it serves as a reminder that music is alive and well in Atlanta. Check out the Oakhurst Porchfest website for addresses and set times!

Just like the candy, it won’t be here for long, so let’s enjoy it while it’s here.

Keep Shedding!
Parker

Guitar Shed Oakhurst Porchfest Schedule

Christo Case and the Porch Pirates – featuring teachers Chris and George

Max and Maggie – featuring teacher, Max

Cosmik Debris – Guitar Shed Rock Ensemble

In Cahoots – featuring teachers Chris, George, Will, and Parker

Riff Kats – featuring members of our Guitar Shed Blues Ensemble

Oakhurst Porchfest

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, , , , Announcing R&B Ensemble!

Announcing our newest group starting in mid-August, R&B Ensemble. This group is open to adults only, and all of our guitar spots are already full. We are now enrolling keys, bass, drums, and vocals. Tuition is $32.50 per rehearsal and the group is led by Sean McMorris. Contact the front desk today if you are interested in joining!

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, , , , , Piano Shed Returns in August!

We are excited to announce our group piano class, Piano Shed 🎹 is returning in August. Sign up before July 1st, and the first class is FREE!

We have 2 afternoon sections and a dedicated room for group piano lessons. The cost for Piano Shed is $32.50 per class.

No experience is required, we are using a multi-tiered curriculum that is great for complete beginners to intermediate students ages 7-12. One of the things we have learned over the past few years is the importance of playing music together!

In Piano Shed, the students will learn how to use musical structure to inform their improvisational direction, read charts, and learn chords and scales. There will also be opportunities to explore different keyboard sounds and use auxiliary percussion to accompany the jam. Space is limited, so sign up today by calling or emailing the front desk.

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2023 Kids Summer Recital

Another great recital in the books! Bravo and congratulations to all of the excellent performers. We enjoyed sets from two of our teen bands, a variety of string instruments, voice students, and piano performers. As always, City Winery, provided a top-quality performance venue.

We look forward to the next opportunity to see our students play at the Fall Showcase!

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, , Guitar Shed Spring Drum Recital 4/23

 

The Spring Drum Recital will be Sunday 4/23 at 6:30 pm here at the Shed! Check with your teacher about performing and then register online via the student portal.

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, Spring ’23 Student Showcase

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next Spring Student Showcase is in the books for Saturday 3/25 at 2:00 pm at Waller’s Coffee in Decatur!

Registration is open via the student portal. Please confirm with your teacher prior to signing up!

 

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, Guitar Shed Gear Swap Saturday 3/4

Announcing Guitar Shed’s first Gear Swap on Saturday, March 4th, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at Guitar Shed. Swing by to buy, sell, and trade gear or to just hang!

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Lanta Gras Parade

There was a great turnout for Lanta Gras this year and we had a blast! Check out a few photos from the parade below.

Thanks to Lanta Gras and to everyone who supports their awesome initiative!

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, , , , Lanta Gras Parade 2023

 

Our Sunday Teen Band “Cellophane Flowers” will be performing in this year’s Lanta Gras Parade! They’ll be on the float graciously provided by Sara Thurston and the Calavera Krewe.

Lanta Gras provides music scholarships and instruments to kids within the Jackson Cluster and we’re so thankful to continue our partnership with them.

The parade starts at 1:00 pm on 1/28. Hope to see you there! ⚜️ 🎉

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