Parents frequently ask Music Junction teachers about the ideal age to begin music education. Given the investment in time and resources,...

Barbershop.org published a great article outlining what the scientific and academic community have discovered about the benefits of...

While Southern California may never experience snowy weather, we’re certainly entertained in the fun and musical ways school principals let parents and children know that school is closed. It has become a trend to sing about school closure and record it for the YouTube world to enjoy.   They almost makes us wishes that we had snow days too. Well, not really. Enjoy!   “ School Is Closed ” Principal Matt Glendinning of the Quaker Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island d

Happy new year!🎉   We hope you enjoyed the holidays and are looking forward to a new year. As you know, this is the time of year when it...

There are few cartoons that have as strong a musical component as the Peanuts. You may not know the name Vince Guarladi or the song’s title “ Linus and Lucy ” but chances are you know the song. It is upbeat and perhaps in your mind’s eye you can see The Peanuts gang dancing to it, jumping and moving their head side from side to side. In so many ways it is difficult to separate the song from the animated characters, especially this time of the year when “A Charlie Brown Christ

By now it should be no surprise to our readers how much we love this time of year with the music, live performances and general goodwill....

Smule advertises their popular app Sing! as a “ Global Karaoke Party ,” which captures the way this app connects people across the world.  This is a wonderful concept that gives anyone the opportunity to sing with others, anytime, without leaving their house.  Singers can sing solos, duets, or group songs.  We like that this app encourages people to make music, and makes it a social experience as well. Often in our culture, we are encouraged not to sing by our family or peers

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and we’re sure you’ve planned the meal, delegated cooking assignments and decorated your table. But have...

Arts organizations and music educators — including us —  have lauded the benefits of music education for several years. It appears that...

This comedy duo from Great Britain combines their incredible concert musician skills with a sense of humor, creating an amazing and impressive routine that makes classical music more accessible to audiences while entertaining the heck out of them.  This video is just an exceptional, amazing performance that personally makes me (Charissa) so happy!  Please make sure to watch it to the end because each segment gets bigger and more ridiculous.  Just when you think they can’t t

Veterans Day is a special day in which we honor the men and women who served in war. There are many ways to remember their sacrifices but...

Nick Pitera belts out high notes that would make Adele proud and Lady Gaga drool. He has been a YouTube sensation for several years, singing both the male and female roles for Broadway musicals and Disney cartoons and, in the process, has amassed fans without being a signed artist. His ability to reach the C5 octave has even caused chatter online with people wondering if his videos are altered. His singing is real and he’s not alone. Pitera is part of a small group of male

They’ve seen the worst of atrocities fighting in a war and returned home after enduring life-changing injuries. Now, they’re moving on...

This is a neat example of overtone singing – a special vocal placement that allows a singer to create a note that actually has a higher 2nd pitch, which is voiced simultaneously with the lower note.  When you listen to it – make sure to listen carefully for the higher note to hear the melody – the lower note never changes.  In this example, the singer, Yuichi Tuba, creates a lower note that stays constant, and then manipulates his inner mouth shape to change the higher note

Happy Autumn! For us, autumn makes us think of the smells of baked pumpkin and warm apple cider and the sights of dark nights and wind blowing through trees. But what does fall sound like? There are no shortage of online playlists focused on this season. You can listen to some here: Hook and Harmony Track Fall Playlist We think, however, that autumn belongs to Antonio Vivaldi, the Italian baroque composer who penned the wildly successful “The Four Seasons.” The violin concert

It doesn’t seem possible to refer to musical prodigies as commonplace or 14-year-old virtuosos as over the hill but Newsweek provides...

Ellen DeGeneres had 7-year-old Elias Phoenix on her show back in January 2014, in one of the best interviews a 7-year-old has ever given.  Even Ellen, after the interview, tweeted “Just finished taping 1 of the most memorable interviews I’ve ever done, with a 7-yr-old. Airs tomorrow. You have to see it to believe it.” I would agree that this is one of the most memorable interviews Ellen has done. Elias is totally comfortable on stage – he doesn’t seem to be intimidated at al

Sometimes the best music can happen inside a concert hall. And other times the best musical moments are unplanned. That’s what happened recently in Texas when an aspiring musician strumming his guitar outside a grocery store was joined by two strangers. A third stranger recorded their impromptu session and posted it on YouTube and Facebook. The rest is Internet history. The video has since gone viral, boosting the popularity of the three men so much that they  were flown to

This is six-year-old Emily Bear’s first performance on the Ellen show , where she shows off her range as a pianist from classical to ragtime – all pieces extremely advanced for even a 10-year-old, much less at age 6.  This child has studied for only a year and three months, learning pieces that are at least high school-level repertoire for most piano students.  Emily’s compositions are also very impressive. Emily started at age four, which is the earliest age for piano lesson

We already know about the exciting neural activity that happens when we play music and how it creates lasting effects that benefit...