But are you sure it’s a guitar?
This is ‘Ukulele 101’ (correctly pronounced OOH-koo-LAY-lay) by Lewis Eady Retail Manager and multi-instrumentalist Ed Castelow.
Lewis Eady Retail Manager and go-to guitar guy Ed reminisces about his 'lightning moment' with the guitar leading to a lifelong fascination and love for the instrument and shares his insights for to-be learners.
Running out of things to do at home with the whānau? Why not check out these musical links and incorporate them into your daily routine? You don't have to be a musician - a little confidence and creativity will go a long way!
As a teacher, I experience inner conflict or dissonance, if you will, when an enthusiastic bright-eyed learner begins lessons with a keyboard as the home instrument. I thrive on bringing music into the life of this person, developing the ability to play, no matter the type of instrument. Yet, so often just around the corner, there arises a reluctance to practise followed by teacher and/or parental pressure to “nag” about this much-needed practice. The student’s initial enthusiasm wanes. Could a key motivator for the learner be the quality of sound produced by the instrument?
At just 17 years old Delvan Lin has charted a course as one of the rising superstars of the classical NZ community, winning the Wallace National Junior Piano Competition and the Senior Competition on successive years. If all the calls to our showroom inquiring about this recital are any indication, then it’s clear he’s already making a name for himself.
Now a first year University of Auckland music student, it seemed only a natural progression that he was given the privilege of closing the Wallace International Piano festival. With Boris Giltburg’s superhuman opener on Thursday and Read Gainsford’s expressive and varied recital Friday, any normal performer might feel a little bit of pressure at having to follow them...
The most difficult thing any parent has to ask themselves when their children start piano lessons is a no-brainer: what should I get for my child to practice on? You have three options: Keyboards, digital pianos, and acoustic pianos...
When interviewing prospective Lewis Eady music teachers, one of the questions I ask is –
Is there anything from your experience of learning to play your instrument, you now ensure you bring to your lessons? The answer is almost always the same.
‘Allow some space for my students to be creative, to try out something new, play with a song or share somethingthey have discovered.’
Wise advice I believe for not only music lessons but all other aspects of learning...
I get a lot of people coming into the showroom looking for their first guitar and asking how much they need to spend to get a good sound. I always preface my answer with another question… “Do you know the difference between a laminated and solid top guitar?"
In this post I’ll be talking about the basic differences and rudimental components...
So you’ve decided to buy a piano?
This could likely be the third most expensive investment you will make after a house and car.
Where to begin and who to trust?
There is something completely lulling about the tone of a nylon string guitar softly plucked with just your fingers. To the untrained ear a guitar is a guitar, steel string or nylon. It’s just 6 strings on a funny shaped box. But take it from me, if you have the chance to listen to a slow tasteful passage played on a nylon string guitar by someone who cares, you will be transfixed and caressed in equal measure. In a live setting this isn’t always easy to do, amplifying an acoustic instrument and recreating it’s tone is somewhat of a dark art, but luckily we have companies such as Fishman and Shadow that are designing and innovating the ways that you can recreate authentic acoustic tone in the amplified realm...
As at the beginning of any new journey, children will always be excited about their first music lesson. They’ll be prepared with new equipment (e.g. guitar, piano book or ukulele) and brimming with enthusiasm and a sense of excited anticipation about meeting their new teacher and getting started!
Learning anything new however goes beyond the lesson. What is learned in each session needs to be mastered at home – with practice, so that each week progress can be made.
Here are some tips that will keep you and your child on track for a great musical experience, swift progress - and no more nagging!
As we enter the New Year, the elves at Lewis Eady have been busy reinventing the business over the summer break.
I am delighted to launch our new website and showroom facilities which includes amongst other things a café aptly named ‘NOTE’ which opens on the 2nd of February.