Happy Birthday, John Lennon! Today would have been John’s 72nd birthday. Take a few minutes today to enjoy and share his music! “Instant Karma” is one of the fastest releases in pop music history. From The Beatles Bible:
John Lennon’s third single with the Plastic Ono Band was written and recorded on the same day, and released just 10 days later. Upon its release he told the press that he “wrote it for breakfast, recorded it for lunch, and we’re putting it out for dinner”.
Eva Cassidy was an American vocalist and guitarist who, despite her incredible talent, passed away before achieving fame. Eva died at the young age of 33 from melanoma, leaving behind 2 albums full of magical music for the world to enjoy.
Have you ever heard of her? We love her story and her one-of-a-kind, unforgettable voice. Her soulful renditions of jazz, blues, folk, pop, gospel, and country songs reinvent and inspire. Some of our favorites: “What a Wonderful World”, “Time after Time”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Autumn Leaves”, and “Imagine”.
Born in 1963, Eva grew up in the Washington DC area and began singing and playing the guitar at age 9. Although she was very shy, she had joined her first band by age 11 and continued to play with various groups during her teenage years. Eva became known locally by playing gigs around DC and at age 29, she began collaborating with musician Chuck Brown, with whom she recorded her first album in 1992. For the next few years, she struggled to find the right record company to work with- many say because she refused to be pigeonholed. Finally, in 1996, she decided to record her own, live album. Many of the amazing videos below and the one above are from that live recording. While promoting this album in July, she noticed an ache in her hips and went to the doctor. She discovered that a malignant mole that she’d had removed a few years earlier hadn’t gotten rid of the cancer from her body. It had spread to her lungs and bones. Sadly, just 4 months later, she passed away.
Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916 in Wales, UK. Some of his most beloved children’s books include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, and The BFG. Take a few minutes today to read a little Roald Dahl with your kids in his honor!
One of our favorite quotes from the author:
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
On August 28th, 1968, The Beatles began recording “Dear Prudence”, the second track from The Beatles (The White Album). The song’s subject is Prudence Farrow, Mia Farrow’s sister, who accompanied The Beatles on their meditation retreat to India. Prudence had become so immersed in her mediation that she refused to leave her cottage. Lennon wrote the song as a plea for her to “come out and play”. CLICK HERE to read more about the song on www.beatlesbible.com.
These are some of the instruments we play in our children’s music classes at TLB Music in NYC.
The printable cards below are perfect for learning the names of the instruments and their families!
3 CommentsTake a break and relax with 4 minutes of Chopin and a mesmerizing video created by Stephen Malinowski. Malinowski is a talented musician, composer, inventor, and software engineer. He invented a software program called the Music Animation Machine that transforms classical masterpieces into captivating videos in which each note is represented in an animated score. We love this animation of Chopin’s Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Opus 9, No. 2!
Last year, we shared an animation of Debussy’s Clair de Lune, also created by Malinowski. Watch that video here!
We love this video of Ray Charles performing “America the Beautiful” on The Dick Cavett Show in 1972!
Today is Sir Paul McCartney’s 70th birthday! We love this video to his 2007 hit “Dance Tonight”. Have you seen it? It features Natalie Portman as a Mandolin come to life!
Happy Birthday, Edward Elgar! The English composer was born 155 years ago today. One of his most notable pieces is his Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85, a dark, contemplative, post-World War 1 composition. One of the most famous recordings of this piece is by our favorite cellist, Jaqueline Du Pré. Spend a few minutes today in Elgar’s honor watching Jaqueline play with the London Philharmonic in 1967!
Happy Birthday, Aretha Franklin! Aretha was born 70 years ago today in Memphis, Tennessee. Above, is a video of a 25-year-old Aretha performing (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman in 1967. Below, is her version of Bridge over Troubled Water. Aretha’s gospel-inspired rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s hit won her the 1972 Grammy Award for Best Female R & B Performance!
At our music studio, our students love creating music-inspired art by drawing with crayons while listening to live classical music. We picked 3 of our favorite classical pieces for you to share with your children. Creating music-inspired art is easy! First, give your children a simple introduction to the music- the title, the composer, and more talking points depending upon age. Then, ask them to listen to the music and draw what they feel. You can start with a blank sheet of paper or print out the coloring sheets below. Paper-free option: save the images to your iPad or any other tablet and “paint” in a drawing app!
1. Flight of the Bumblebee Rimsky-Korsakov
Flight of the Bumblebee is an interlude from the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Rimsky-Korsakov was a famous Russian composer who wrote the piece in 1899-1900. In the opera, a magic swan-bird transforms the Prince into a bumblebee so that he fly to visit his father, who does not know that his son is still alive! This piece of music is very fast! For this one, you may want to ask your children to first watch the short video and then listen a second time while attempting to color in the bumblebee before the music finishes! Simple talking points/questions for young children: What colors are bumblebees? What sound do they make? How do they move? Have you ever seen one? Where?
1 CommentHappy Spring! For the start of the season, we put together a list of 5 sunshine songs we love. Enjoy!
1. Here Comes the Sun (George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and more)
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Hohner makes fantastic, durable musical instruments for young children. Almost all of the instruments our students play in our Upper East Side music studio are by Hohner. They are attractive, easy to clean, and have great sound! We put together a list of the 5 most popular.
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Leave a commentOne of our favorite classical pieces to play in our music classes is Aquarium by Camille Saint-Saens. Aquarium is the 7th Movement of Saint-Saens’ Suite Carnival of the Animals. Our students love dancing to the soothing melody and shimmering glissando of the piece.
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1. L-O-V-E Nat King Cole cover by Jayme Dee
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