Piano music

“If I hear Jingle Bells one more time I’m going to jump off a cliff!” -Rhiannon Schmitt, December, 1997.

I had just immigrated to Canada one month earlier as a self-employed musician. I made my living by playing hours of Christmas music at malls, craft fairs and parties. I was happy to have the work, but the long hours playing lively violin carols were physically and mentally exhausting.

I started to keep track of how many times I played Jingle Bells that season and lost count somewhere around 200. Every night as I tried to fall asleep, the annoying chorus rang deafeningly in my ears. My digits involuntarily twitched and repeated the irritating fingering patterns incessantly. Then I thought of the

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Children in piano lessons need opportunities to perform, but all of these opportunities don t need to involve a formal recital in a rented hall on a 9 foot Steinway. Piano recital parties can be rather spontaneous events that allow children to enjoy sharing their music with other kids and their family and friends in a relaxed way. Here s a great piano party idea that kids and their families always enjoy. If you re a parent, share this idea with your child s piano teacher and offer to be a helper at this fun event.

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Whether played by a marching band, an orchestra, or a rock group, there are patriotic tunes that everyone in America finds familiar, exciting and uplifting. But how much do you know about how these songs were created? And what do you know about the people who wrote them?

There are some surprising facts behind all of this glorious music.

So, fire up the barbecue grill, look up at the fireworks, and strike up the band as we reveal the secrets behind the most influential nationalistic musical moments of all time.

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While watching Monday night football, on an uneventful evening on December 8, 1980, I was nursing a hangover, when I heard Howard Cosell interrupt the game with a news flash. John Lennon was shot in New York City? Could that be true? It was true. Later, he was pronounced dead. I was in shock. Then my brother, Mark, telephoned me with the news. We both were John Lennon fans.

The Beatles, the fab four of the 60s, were each given character descriptions or nicknames adopted by their fans. John was the smart one, Paul was the cute one, George was the mysterious one and Ringo was the funny one.

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Downloading iPod music always brings thrill to users whenever they manage to find the tune they are searching for. Just not long ago, when radio was the only free source of music, people would stay tuned to their radio or portable receiver. Then CDs came along, followed by music MP3s. It is apparent that the MP3 player has invaded almost all the modern homes of America. Chances are you would find one MP3 player or more specifically an iPod in the homes since it is the most popular MP3 player. More than 21 million iPods were sold in just the last quarter of 2006 alone, boosted by the Christmas sales. Having a nice gadget with such enhanced capacity to hold

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