Wednesday 19 October 2016

Brandon Jazz Festival Deposits

As you may already know, we have posted the deposits for the Brandon Jazz Festival on line.  In fact, some of you may have already received an email from School Soft (our on line school account managing program) about it.  Please note that the deadlines are as we discussed at the meeting.  1st payment is due Nov. 9 and the second payment is due December 9 and the final payment will be due on Feb 3.

Funny enough, but we do spend a great deal of time tracking down payments and when we used to post the actual due date in School Soft, it would lock out the deposit on the next day with no grace period.  SO...... to counteract this, we made the due dates in the program for April 21.... obviously that would be long after the event is over. Its just our way of allowing a bit of wiggle room for those who might need it.  That said, you are also welcome to make both payments now if it works better for you.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.

Instrument Rentals

Instrument Rentals are now online and you may have already received an email from school soft about the fee.  Pleas click on the "Rental" banner above for more information.

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Some interesting thoughts about music

THE SITUATION

In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.


 After about 3 minutes: A middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing.  He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar.  A woman threw money in the hat and without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly.  The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time.  This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes:The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over.  No one noticed and no one applauded.  There was no recognition at all.

 No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world.  He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.  Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story.  Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:
Ø In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
Ø If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Ø Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . ..How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

Enjoy life NOW .. it has an expiration date .            

 
 

Sunday 16 October 2016

SUCCESS

With a little bit of patience all of the TABS that you know and love are back with the inclusion of a NEW Nationals tab to gain quick and easy access to that information.

Friday 14 October 2016

Little bit of construction

Thanks to some mysterious errors on our website, I have had to remove the links across the top row that you would usually access to go to the various neat parts of our site., such as the Brandon Jazz info or the Nationals info.  I will do my best to have them back up and running for Monday.

Monday 3 October 2016

Just because you need this in your life

When you think you've done all you can do....... take your game to this level and we will all really have something.


Playing a musical instrument good for brain health

  The study found playing keyboard instruments was particularly beneficial for brain health Playing a musical instrument or singing could he...