by Alyssa Cowell, Catoctin School of Music I happen to love holiday and Christmas music, and it is not just that the melodies are so classic and they conjure up wonderful old memories of enjoyable times growing up with my family and church in a rural Virginia farming community. What I’ve discovered as a piano teacher is the power of one of those old melodies to...
Read More
Turn your nerves into your superpower! Tips for handling those music performance jitters. by Robert Fisher, Catoctin School of Music Heightened pulse. Sweaty hands. Shallow breath. Serious gaze. Anxious thoughts… Almost every musician has encountered some form of nerves or the “butterflies” before a performance. Some may even wrestle with a Glossophobia: the fear of social situations in which one is watched or judged by others...
Read More
by Jamey Mann, Catoctin School of Music With all disciplines there are many small/basic items that a student needs to utilize for success. These items are not the glamorous new instrument or sound effect, but the everyday, organizational office items that can make a huge difference in a students’ progress. These items include whole punches, tape, stapler, liquid paper, pencils, folder, sticky notes, etc. However, the most...
Read More
By Alyssa Cowell, Catoctin School of Music Let’s get to know CSM’s Folk Instruments! Today’s instrument is the Bowed Psaltery – a super cool stringed instrument dating back to the 12th Century! What is a bowed psaltery? The bowed psaltery is a hollow-bodied, triangle-shaped wooden instrument set with a series of metal strings threaded through metal string pins. Bowed psalteries come in a variety of sizes to accommodate...
Read More
Choosing a Better Recital Song Recital season is looming on the horizon, and it’s time to make song selections! In the name of fairness, I make a point to give students the opportunity to submit requests for recital songs before we make a final decision. This does not always go the way I would hope – some students need more guidance than “Pick a song you...
Read More