This site focuses on guidance and advice to encourage amateurs who have an interest in learning and performing music for their own amusement and that of their families and friends.
It includes getting children started and involved, taking on challenges as an adult, and the social foibles and pleasures of playing with other people.
I believe that just about all of us can learn to carry a tune or tap a foot, especially if we start early enough, and therefore we are all musicians at some level. If you despair of making a noise that no one else will want to listen to, well, your shower or your car or your basement will always be available as a performance venue, so that’s no excuse for not trying.
We all start our musical lives as amateurs. Every one of us. Many of us never become professional performers or commercial artists, and many of us don’t particularly want to. Nothing wrong with that. Music can be part of our everyday lives, just another language that gives us pleasure. At the very least, it gives us a window as listeners, to help us better appreciate the music of others.
What’s included
- Getting started (kids & adults)
- The fundamentals (rhythm & song)
- Singing with others
- Fundamentals for selected instruments
- Playing with others
- Musical genres & genre history
- Fundamentals on reading music
- Traditional repertoires & sources (North America/Europe)
- Fundamentals of music theory
- Having fun!
What’s not included
- Specific techniques for singing or learning an instrument
- Transitioning from amateur performance to professional or commercial performance
- Specific recorded music recommendations
- Depth in professional & commercial genres: Classical, Popular (modern)
How to use
Every article has one or more categories, and the right-hand sidebar lets you choose a particular category. In addition, articles appear in context in one or more of the menu dropdown subjects.
Questions? Contact me.
Details about my musical background.
