November 11, 2017

Chamber Music – The Best Way to Play

There are three basic categories of classical music that performers can choose from – orchestral music, solo music, and chamber music.  Obviously within those categories are infinite sub-categories and genres, but when we perform, we do so in one of those three ways.  I have loved chamber music since the tender young age of 13…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

June 19, 2017

Rock and Pop Ripped from Classical Music

I have always said that without church music there would be no secular music (baroque, classical, etc.), and without classical music, there would be no rock or pop music.  There are so many great rock and pop artists who write great melodies.  Some pop artists are excellent composers in their own right.  Paul McCartney wrote…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

April 20, 2017

Final Four – Tournament of Classical Music

Well, here we are.  I’ve been out of town performing and that’s made me a little negligent when it comes to writing for my blog.  I’m going to fix that with a bunch of posts this week before I go out of town again.  Today, we’re going to get our tournament down to the final…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

March 19, 2017

Another Tournament Update – Bach and Mozart

The other two brackets have completed their games so it’s time to get the results.  If you missed the other results, you can see them here.  Will there be any big upsets like the Stravinsky bracket provided?  Will Mozart and Bach have the same drama as the other brackets?  Let’s find out. Bach Bracket –…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

March 5, 2017

Tournament of Classical Music – The Brackets

March is here, and with it comes the madness.  March Madness to be exact.  My version of March Madness is The Tournament of Classical Music.  This post announces the brackets and the play-in game winners.  For an overview and explanation of the rules, you can read this post.  Finally, don’t forget that this list includes…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

February 22, 2017

The Tournament of Classical Music – Overview

I’ve been wanting to do something like this for many years.  The Tournament of Classical Music.  The NCAA basketball tournament is one of my favorite 3 weeks in sports and it’s coming soon.  Sixty-four teams (not including the play-in games) compete for the national championship.  There is a bracket which works its way down to…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

November 30, 2016

5 Pieces for Holiday Gigs String Players Should Know

Ah, the holidays.  Christmastime is here again (cue Vince Guaraldi).  This is when many string players make a nice chunk o’ change.  In order to be successful, you need to know the standard repertoire of holiday performances, and below are the 5 you should definitely know and know well.  I’ll also include some “honorable mentions”…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

November 21, 2016

5 Music Collections Every Advanced Student Needs

As a violin student goes from cute-for-playing-for-neighbors-and-relatives to serious advanced student, the music he or she needs increases.  Below, I give you the five absolutely essential sheet music collections that every serious violin student needs.  There are no elite violinists in the world that haven’t studied these works or learned these etudes.  If you want…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

November 10, 2016

Arranging Music for Any Ensemble

With the advent of music editing software like Sibelius or Finale, I have had a renewed interest in composing over the last 10-15 years.  Composing is more of a hobby for me, but arranging music has become more than that.  I have started making serious money by arranging different music for different ensembles and now…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy

May 11, 2016

The Mount Rushmore of Classical Music

We often hear about the “Mt. Rushmore of……” when it comes to many things.  Usually it’s sports-related (the Mr. Rushmore of baseball hitters, etc.), or even music (the Mt. Rushmore of bands).  Here is my Mt. Rushmore of classical music composers (rewritten from a lost blog post of a few years ago). I’ve thought about…

Read more

POSTED BY

violinguy