Instruments

At S. & K. Music Lessons, students will travel through the examination of themselves, their emotions, their environment, and their health with the practice of Wholistic Singing with their Voice Coach. Being named one of the most complex instruments, the voice is not just made up of breath and vocal cords. Try to imagine an instrument with its own mind, chemicals, emotions, and life experiences. In our voice lessons program students will learn how their speaking voice highly influences their singing voice. With this, they will realize how the interior and exterior parts of their lives are complicated mechanisms for their vocal instrument. They will also learn how to sight-sing, perform with confidence, and lastly, they will learn to eliminate overthinking practices that are stopping them from exploring their own unique voices.

5 Common Lies About Singing

1. “I can’t sing” - This is a lie most people tell themselves. Know that with the right guidance and proper self-reflection, anyone can find their own beautiful Voice.

2. “My Vocal Cords are Permanently Damaged” - There are singers who have done damage to their vocal cords for multiple reasons. But know that occasional vocal cords damage usually heal on its own with healthy maintenance. Unfortunately, after a traumatic experience, vocalists brand their vocal cords as permanently damaged. But It is not their vocal cords that are damaged. It’s their idea that they are broken and can never be repaired is the injury most people carry. Even with irreversible damage, vocalists can still sing into the new voice they have evolved into.

3. “My Vocal Cords are just not made for such high level vocal technique” - No, another lie. Singing is emotion, holisticness, and naturalness. But there is one important part a singer must always add into this mix and that is conditioning through warm ups and Vocal Exercises. With consistent and proper conditioning, like a muscle, our vocal cords can evolve to be what we wish it to be.

4. “My voice is plain and not unique” - This is very wrong. Did you know that the voice is the only instrument in the world that can’t have the same timbre and texture with another instrument? Because of the complex anatomy of the human body where one will not be completely the same as the other, and one can never have the same exact life experiences and emotions, our voices are all very distinct and different from each other. Everybody owns a unique voice that can create a variety of colors and styles.

5. “By simply imitating the technique of great singers and trying to sound like them, I am becoming a good singer” - Unfortunately, some vocal students fall into vocal teachers who teach them the technique of how to sound and sing like other singers, most likely their favorite idols. It is great to have a vocal idol But you can never be who you are not. As I said, everybody is very different with their own unique voices and lives. So by studying other singers' technique and fitting your own unique shape of voice into someone else’s voice box, you are robbing yourself of discovering your own stylistic voice. As a singer, you must explore who you are and embrace your own beauty. We already have a Whitney Huston, a Celine Dion, a Beyonce, an Aretha Franklin, an Etta James and etc. what we need is something new and that is “You”. Unique, New, and True.

Drum Lessons are perfect for anyone with lots of energy! Playing the drums provides a great physical outlet while also sharpening mental acuity. Drums (along with the human voice) are one of the most ancient instruments and have been with us for thousands of years in the form of storytelling, dance ceremonies, as well as recreation. It is a great instrument for young learners because the initial technique required to play is very quick and easy to develop and helps to build a foundation for any other musical studies. S & K drum instructors teach improvisation, reading music notation, fun listening games, as well as technique and theory skills development.

5 SuperPowers for Percussionists:

1. Rhythm plays an important role in nearly every aspect of our lives including: Everyday Communication, Comedy, Public Speaking, and Collaborating with others.
2. Playing drums provides an incredibly effective form of stress relief. The primal nature of hitting drums with sticks gives drummers a healthy outlet for their extra energy.
3. Drums are cool. Everyone wants to be the drummer. Go to any professional live show and look at the stage - you’re likely (95% chance) to see a person behind the drums who looks like they’re having a blast!
4. It’s easy and fun to learn the drums! Children of almost any age can hold a stick and interact by striking different materials and hearing the sounds they produce.
5. Learning the drums stimulates development in every part of the brain which has the effect of increasing the connectivity of the left and right hemispheres as well as localized benefits in each individual region.

The Guitar is an impressively versatile instrument. You can carry it on your back if you want to go out busking or hike to the beach to jam with friends, & at the same time can be seen played with any style in almost any context. It can be used to play chords that you can sing with or plugged in to an amp to create radically unique sounds and textures which bring a lot of style and flavor to musical acts around the world.

5 Historical Moments of The Guitar

1. 1930’s-1940’s: The Guitar replaces the Banjo as the primary string instrument in dance bands and orchestras. The electric guitar was a revolutionary development - not only was it louder than the banjo, but also more durable. When they were first invented around 1930 they were very expensive, but as companies started to manufacture them in larger numbers they soon overshadowed the banjo to become a staple instrument in the American music scene.
2. 1950’s Chuck Berry arrives on the scene and creates a whole new template for how the electric guitar could be used - it was quickly emulated by many other artists during that era and later became known later as “Rock n’ Roll”
3. 1960’s Jimi Hendrix plays Woodstock. Hendrix proceeded to revolutionize the guitar once more utilizing new sounds and effects that had never before been heard. His electric style left an indelible mark on our culture. His rendition of our national anthem “The Star Spangled Banner” is still looked upon as one of the most impactful moments in guitar history.
4. 1970’s Van Halen released their self-titled debut album on February 10th, 1978, setting a new bar for intense and virtuosic guitar playing. His solo track “Eruption” is still hailed today as a groundbreaking achievement. He was perhaps the first guitarist since Jimi Hendrix to invent new techniques and sounds (fretboard tapping, pinch harmonics, and a variety of electric guitar effects) which have since become standard vocabulary for guitarists to use to this day.
5. 2004 Prince plays “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. This is one of my personal favorite moments for the guitar. The solo he takes here is just amazing. His energy is electric & his confidence spills over the stage. At one point he purposefully falls off of the stage and has a Roadie catch him. At the end of the solo you can see him throw his guitar up in the air but never see it come down. Simply a miraculous performance!

The Ukulele is a perfect instrument for anybody starting out with String Instruments. In our Ukulele lessons, learn how to play chords, read music lead sheets, Ukulele tabs, and music theory. Also apply fine to gross motor skills improvement into finger muscles for strumming, picking, and chord formations. With our proficient Ukulele Teachers, students will learn how to multitask by singing and playing at the same time. Our Ukulele instructors will be sure to keep the fun of learning music by encouraging students to find songs they love and learn through those songs instead of assigned songs.

5 Reason Why you should learn the Ukulele

1. One of the first Youtube Videos to go viral featured the Ukulele. Jake Shimabukuro’s rendition of The Beatles “While My Guitar Gently Sweeps” has over 16 million views during the time Youtube started becoming a huge video platform for the world.
2. Childrens’ Fine Motor skills which are composed of their fingers, hands, and wrists, starts development from infancy and continues to develop all throughout their lives. By starting young children with the Ukulele instead of much more complicated stringed instruments like the violin and guitar, children can benefit from smoother and easier muscle development phases.
3. Ukuleles have Nylon strings instead of Metal strings which makes the ukulele a great instrument to start on with string instruments. By playing on Nylon strings instead of Metal strings, students can avoid painful blisters and scabs but still build finger endurance and hardness at the tip of the finger which make playing string instruments with metal strings much less painful.
4. Ukulele Chords and Theory can easily be converted to Guitar Chords, Guitar Theory, Bass Chords, and Bass Theory.
5. Ukulele is a portable instrument you can take anywhere with its light weight, durable wood body, and small size.

The Bass is an instrument of fundamental importance. Bass notes sit on the bottom of the “Sound Pyramid” and support all of the melody and harmony being created by the other instruments in the band. The bass is not always “heard” as much as it is “felt” since the low frequencies it creates can shake the earth. Our bass instructors teach theory and reading skills, as well as practical performance skills & improvisation.

5 fun facts about the Bass:

1. The modern bass guitar as we know it was developed by Leo Fender.
2. It was dubbed the “Precision Bass” because it had frets (as opposed to the prevailing upright double basses which were used at the time).
3. It became very popular and to this day the bass guitar is used for a fundamental role in a great variety of bands and styles.
4. The bass has 4 strings, but different versions can be made which have more strings in order to play higher or lower notes than on the standard 4 string version.
5. Bass can be played with your fingers or with a pick.