Music theory can be a complicated animal, especially for those who are just venturing into music. Do you need to be able to read music? Can you compose by your “gut feeling” instead of “rules”?

Over the weekend, I saw a very amusing local production of a play entitled “Souvenir: A Fantasia on the life of Florence Foster Jenkins”, presented by the Madison Theatre Guild.
Set in 1930’s-1940’s New York, this two person cast production follows the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, an eccentric, tone-deaf Manhattan socialite who believed she [...]

It’s a rather old question. Are great vocal pipes something you’re born with or something you build from the ground up?
Consider the fact that speaking and singing are not the major function of your vocal folds. Their physiological function is to support breathing and protect your air passages (surprising considering how much we use the [...]

I often have people ask me about playing a piano “by ear”. What they are referring to of course is learning and being able to play songs just by listening to them.
When I was quite young and still learning to play the piano I remember watching someone listen to a song on the radio and [...]