Like many of you, we were saddened by reports of the Ebola epidemic that struck West Africa and other parts of the world that caused 4,000 deaths. However, we were encouraged by an NPR report about the role music is playing in containing the deadly virus. Liberia’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has commissioned musical artists to provide information on Ebola as part of its outreach plans. Given that the adult literacy rate in Liberia is 43 percent and there is a deep

As music students and teachers, we love music. We really love music. We’ll sing in the shower and randomly tap our feet to the latest song we’re trying to master. Can there be anyone more musical than us? Well, yes. A TED-Ed video taught us a lot about music in Ancient Greece. According to educator Tim Hansen, the love of music may have been stronger thousands of years ago in a place known as the cradle of Western Civilization. The Ancient Greeks strongly valued creative exp

When you think of the Muppets — from skinny-legged Kermit to the furry Fozzie — do you think hip hop? Well, at least one person (and, possibly, a feline) does. Using the moniker, Mylo The Cat, a young man has culled several old television clips from The Muppet Show and mashed them together to make hilarious music videos. The latest viral hit is Naughty By Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray” and we were impressed with how well the video syncs the speed of the rap lyrics with shots of th

American inventor Roland Lamb has taken the 17th century design of the piano into the future, with his piano, the Seaboard. According to singer/songwriter Jamie Cullum, who’s been invited to demo the Seaboard , it feels like “somewhere between piano and food – in a good way!” Lamb was featured on NPR: “I remember reading about Thelonious Monk, of whom it was said he was searching for the space between the black and white keys,” Lamb says. “So he’d always play these little chr

Regular visitors to this blog know that we love Ted-Ed videos. Not only are they informative but they are brief — no more than 5 minutes long — and animated, which makes learning easy. We’ve collected some of our favorite Ted-Ed music education videos to share with you. Just think, in less than a half hour you could gain a better understanding of music. It’s that simple.   How to read music - Tim Hansen The video provides essential information for beginning students that add

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We were captivated by a viral video of a young woman doing a beautiful rendition of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” She...

Did you know it’s possible to sing two notes at the same time? This video of German singer Anne-Maria Hefele demonstrating this ability...

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John Luther Adams won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2014 and was also named on many critics “Best of” list for his “Become Ocean” with the Seattle Symphony. He continued to receive praise for his work “ Sila: The Breath of The World ” that is performed outdoors without any barrier between musicians and the audience and, in which, performers play apart in groups without a conductor.   So, if you’re looking to widen your musical interests, check out Adams’ work . You can buy,

We have heard about people giving up meat, sugar, even social media for Lent, but music?   That is what one person did.   More of a...

Chances are if you play a contemporary pop song in front of someone from a different generation, they would complain about the state of...

We came across a documentary on Netflix that had us both in tears and full of joy about the power of music. The documentary, “ Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory, ” documents a music therapy program that assists elderly people living with dementia in nursing homes. In the beginning, you see the patients who are lethargic, lacking in emotion and sometimes completely unresponsive. Then, their caregiver gives them an iPod filled with their favorite sounds from their youn

If you’ve ever had a desire to make your own music videos, this website makes it easy and fun. So much fun, in fact, that you may waste...

If you’re like us, you have been listening to Christmas tunes since before Thanksgiving. We can’t help it, getting our Andy Williams, Elvis Presley, and Wham! fix takes more than 25 days. Now, there’s a new song to add to your holiday playlist and we love it for its lightheartedness and accuracy about today’s culture. Performed by “Frozen” and “Veronica Mars” actress Kristen Bell along with a cappella group Straight No Chaser , “Text Me Merry Christmas” will have you laughing

So much great music and live performances fill the Internet, it is almost hard to keep track of it all. From the sounds of hip-hop to the strings of a violin, this is what we have been listening to this week. Enjoy these wonderful sounds and share with us what you’re listening to! “ Glory” by Common and John Legend This Academy Award-nominated song is a great fusion of sounds coupled with moving lyrics. It feels like a gospel but has added layers of hip-hop with the rich soun

As musicians, the Super Bowl halftime show intrigues us but we know it’s filled with hits and, well, some really bad misses. Yet, we can sympathize with the entertainers; bad acoustics prompt many to lip-synch while there is an expectation to do an over-the-top performance with pyrotechnics and it is hard for any one singer to please so many different generations that tend to watch the one of the biggest athletic games in the world. Online news site Vox, has collected some o

It’s no surprise that we love music and we especially love hearing new sounds and a fusion of cultures. When we read about a unique collaboration between an Israeli pianist and a Malian guitarist, we had to search for samples of their music, which you can find here. If you have time, check it out. Their music does not disappoint! The birth of this musical pairing began in 2008 when Idan Raichel ran into Vieux Farka Touré at a Berlin airport. Raichel was a big fan of Touré’s

Even when you are not actively listening to classical music you are still benefiting from it. Does that make sense? Let us explain. The University of Southern California’s news page cited several studies that show the benefits of passively listening to classical music. One study published in Human Physiology found that children who listened to an hour of classical music a day had greater levels of relaxation, even if they were never explicitly told to pay attention to it. A