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Guitar Ensemble is Back! September 13 – December 13

We are excited to announce the return of Guitar Ensemble in the fall of 2017! Students ages 9-14 are encouraged to enroll. During the classes we will focus on ensemble playing, rhythm, dynamics, good tone, and creativity. This is a great way to augment private lessons and give your children the opportunity to make music with their peers. The classes will culminate in a final performance at our recital on December 17.

All sheet music will be provided. There will be no make-up classes, but we are happy to adjust invoices prior to payment if you will be absent. In order to perform in the summer recital, students must attend at least 10 of the 14 classes. The Guitar Ensemble is directed by Alex Gordon and limited to 8 students.

September 13 – December 13 (No class October 18)

Wednesdays from 7:00-7:50 pm

Tuition is $25 per class. To register, either signup in our online portal or send us an email. Tuition will be pro-rated and added to your monthly invoice.

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Fall Calendar 2017 – Important Dates

  • December 17
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Saturday, September 9th – Fall Student Showcase

Join us for an afternoon of music at The Pullman featuring Guitar Shed students and teachers. Limited to 20 perfomers. This is a great opportunity to perform in a relaxed, informal environment.

Sign up by emailing [email protected]

RSVP to the Facebook event here

Kids and families are welcome!

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Practicing Tools – Recommended Software

Many of my students know that I like to utilize a few different software programs in our lessons. Here are the main three that I use on a daily basis.

Metronomics 

Price: $4.99 mobile app $7.99 desktop

This is my favorite metronome to use because it is easy to use and there are several features for the advanced musician as well. Many kids complain about metronomes because the sound of the “click” is annoying. This app is great because you can choose from several different percussion instruments (i.e. bongos, snare drum, wood blocks, etc.). You can also build your own drum grooves to make a drum loop that sounds very realistic. Within each instrument you can control the volume, probability, and subdivision length. All of that at a very friendly price!

Transcribe

Price: $39 desktop only

I tell all of my students “this is what got me through college.” As a music major I had many assignments to transcribe complex pieces. The most important feature of this software is the ability to SLOW things down without altering the pitch. There are several other programs out there, but I have been using this for 10 years and they are continually updating it with improvements. In the “old days” musicians would slow down the speed of a record player to try and learn songs by ear. This is the 21st century version of that same concept, time to get on board and use your ears folks!

iReal

Price: $12.99 mobile app $19.99 desktop

This app is a game changer. A “Real Book” is a collection of charts that has been used in Jazz for decades. This software takes that concept to a whole new level. There are robust play-a-long features, the ability to create your own charts and vast forums online to download songs from. All of the charts in the forums are free and as you can see from the screenshot, my collection includes bluegrass, blues, jazz and more. If you are looking for software and jam tracks to play-a-long too, look no further.

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Summer Recital Recap

Thank you all for attending and participating in our Summer Recital. We had standing room only at the Red Light Cafe and a very supportive audience. I am continually impressed by the poise and stage presence of our performers, many of whom have never been on a stage before! Our recital included nursery rhymes, complicated pieces with shifting time signatures, ensemble pieces, duets, well known covers and original songs. You can view video from the performance on our Facebook page.

Thank you again to the Red Light Cafe for hosting and to Cindy Wnek for her photography. It has been such a joy to see our school come together and perform an entire night of music. No matter how big or small, I believe that there is much to be learned from each performance opportunity. So keep learning, keep shedding and keep performing!

Summer Recital photos are up! Enjoy!

Posted by Guitar Shed on Tuesday, June 27, 2017

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Now Offering Drum Lessons!

We are very excited to announce that drum lessons are starting at the Shed! Zack Albetta will be teaching drums to students ages 8 and up. Lessons are available in 30 or 60 min time slots on Tuesdays starting June 6th.

This has been in the works for a while and now that our remodeling and soundproofing is complete, we are ready to start making some noise. Times are filling up, so register today to guarantee your spot.

Read more about Zack below…

Zack Albetta has been playing and teaching professionally for 15 years. He grew up in Santa Fe, NM, where he began playing drums at age 8. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Music in percussion performance, a Master of Music in percussion performance, and a Master of Arts in jazz and studio performance. From 2003 to 2010, Zack lived in Kansas City, MO and was a first call drummer in that city’s rich and historic jazz scene.

In 2010, he moved to Los Angeles, where he expanded his jazz resume, played dozens of musicals for the region’s top theatre companies, and became a staff musician at Disneyland. In 2016, he and his wife relocated to Atlanta, where he has hit the ground running with top acts such as Atlanta Funk Society, The Equinox Orchestra, and Delta Moon. As an educator, Zack has taught everything from beginning private lessons to college classes with students ranging from ages 8 to 80.

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Jaminals!

We are very excited to announce that you can now signup for Jaminals! Our teachers are on a first name basis here at the Shed, but when I am teaching little guys they refer to me as Mr. Parker.

Before opening Guitar Shed, I taught hundreds of preschoolers music in a school setting. I have always wanted to have my very own early childhood music class and Jaminals is finally here! Jaminals is a group early childhood music class for ages 2-6.

The classes will focus on movement, ear training, instrument exposure and fun with Mr. Parker! This is not a mommy+me class in that adults are not required to be in our “circle.” However, a parent is required to be at the Shed for the duration of the class.

Classes are from 9:30-10:00 am on the following dates and you can register here. Just select “Jaminals” in the instrument field.

7/13, 7/20, 7/27, 8/3

Pricing: One time $25 registration fee + $16 / class

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Now Offering Banjo and Fiddle Lessons!

We are very excited to announce that Max Godfrey is now teaching banjo and fiddle at Guitar Shed. Lessons are subject to availability in 30 or 60 min. time slots. Below is a list of the current times available.

Fridays – 3:00-4:30

Sundays – 1:00-4:00

Read more about Max below…

Max Godfrey is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and music teacher who performs southern roots music with several groups: Max and Maggie, Sourwood Honey, and The New Millennium Jelly Rollers.  He also records as a solo artist, and and has performed and led call-and-response singing workshops at farms, colleges, music venues and community centers all over the east coast.

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Summer Recital – Sunday, June 11

Join us for our 2nd annual Summer Recital at the Red Light Cafe! Featuring Guitar Shed students of all ages playing a wide variety of instruments and styles. Music begins at 5 pm with our youngest students performing first.

5 pm – Kids Set
7 pm – Teens and Adults Set

Free Raffle during setbreak!

$5 at the door for non-performers

Guitar Ensemble will perform at the end of the Kids Set and our Adult Band will perform at the end of the Teens and Adults Set. RSVP here.

Summer Recital

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Songwriting 101 – Sunday, May 21

Want to write songs but don’t know where to start? Anyone with a basic knowledge of music can write a song! Learn how to put together a chord progression, a melody, and lyrics to create a lasting piece of art to call your own. We will discuss common song forms, study some techniques of the great songwriters throughout history, and every student will leave the workshop with their own original song!

Brandon has been writing songs for 10+ years, both as a solo artist and with various bands over the years. He has approached songwriting from both a self-taught perspective and under the systems of the classical tradition. We will learn some of the basic “rules” for songwriting, and in true rock ‘n’ roll fashion, learn how to break them.

$30 for Current Students
$40 for Non Students

Sign up in our online portal at www.guitarshed.wpengine.com or email [email protected]

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