April 2020 Online Lessons

Hello parents and students!

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As you all know, we have made the transition to online lessons. I’m writing this to hopefully clear up any questions or concerns you all may have.

How do Online Lessons work?

Music & Arts will send out a Zoom link the morning of the lesson. At your lesson time (or a few minutes before), click on the link and it will take you to the lesson session. If you have any issues connecting, please text me and I can text a link from inside Zoom.

How will you get new music to work on?

We will continue to work through any method books that you have on hand. Additionally, I will supplement the method books with solos and etudes that are both fun and challenging. And, as always, if you have any special requests or songs that you want to learn, we will work on those, too.

What if you need to miss a lesson?

If you need to miss a lesson, just as with the in person lessons, please text or email me at least 24 hours in advance and you will receive a credit for that lesson.

What if I need to miss a lesson?

I will reach out via email or text, whichever is your preference, to let everyone know if I will need to miss a lesson. You will receive a credit for the missed lesson.

Tracking Practice

I am in the process of testing platforms that will allow us to log practice time, track practice to develop good habits and keep track of assignments. In the next few weeks, I will introduce the one I would like to use.

Thank you all for being flexible and patient!

Hand Position on the French Horn

One of the most common issues I find with horn players is hand position. Hand position is one of the most important aspects of playing the horn, yet it's one of the last things young horn players think about. 

Here's a quick video that shows where the hand should go and why it's so important. There's a few cameos from my students, too. This was a fun one to shoot. 

Let it Snow by Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight (French Horn Cover)

It's snowing on the east coast today. I'm from Virginia Beach, VA. Growing up, we would get a dusting of snow every few years. Some years, more snow than others. Most of the time, our DOT would be on their job and the major roads would be salted in preparation for the snow. 

Currently, I live in Georgia. I actually moved here during a snow storm in 2011. It's snowed maybe every other year since then. It snowed a few weeks ago. It was beautiful. Good thing I didn't have anywhere to go because they do not know how to deal with the roads here. Everything is so spread out, it's almost impossible to try and salt everything anyway. 

In celebration of the snow, I recorded "Let it Snow" by Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight. One of my favorite groups and my favorite singer come together for the perfect holiday song that I play all year long. Thanks for listening!

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 2

It's day 2 of the music challenge! Today's song is a song you like with a number in the title. This one was a little easier than yesterday's. I was obsessed with both of these songs when they first came out and they're still in heavy rotation. 

24k by Bruno Mars

Get the new album '24K Magic' out now: https://brunom.rs/24kMagic See Bruno on the '24K Magic World Tour'! Tickets on sale now.

I was always a fan of Bruno Mars' live shows. Live band, dancing... he puts on a high energy show. But, I've never been much of a fan of his music until he did Uptown Funk with Mark Ronson. And then he dropped 24K. I love almost every song on the album. This is the one that fit the challenge.

1 Thing by Amerie

Amerie's official music video for '1 Thing'. Click to listen to Amerie on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/AmerieSpotify?IQid=Amerie1t As featured on Touch.

I fell in love with Amerie's music when she released her first single, "Why Don't We Fall in Love" during the summer of 2002. Then she followed up with the 2005 release of "1 Thing". The fusion of go-go and R&B will (almost) always win with me. Amerie and her then producer Rich Harrison make magic together. 

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 1

The other day on Instagram (follow me @jsquaredhorn), Kadeem Hardison posted a pic with a 30 day music challenge. I decided to get in on the fun. Why not?

Day 1

This was actually harder than I thought it would. I must've had brain freeze because it took me at least 10 minutes before I could even think of one song that had a color in the title. Of course, after I posted the challenge on Facebook and everyone started posting other songs, I remembered all of the songs mentioned. I still came up with a good one, though. 

Orange Moon by Erykah Badu

One of my favorites. I remember hearing Erykah Badu perform this song live before the Mama's Gun album came out. I was mesmerized and I usually don't like to hear songs that I don't know. Erykah has been my favorite ever since she came onto the scene with On & On.

Uploaded by Dave Soulchild on 2014-01-14.

Come back tomorrow for Day 2!