Music Teacher's Helper Blog

There have been increased debates over what came first in prehistoric conditions, speech or music. While this remains to be fully explained, the recent discovery of a Stone Age flute from 35,000 to 40,000 years ago has helped to shine a light on the musical talents of these ancient peoples. This flute-like instrument was found near present day Ulm, Germany, and seems to represent a time wherein older humans discovered their ability to created music by fashioning a flute out of a griffon-vulture bone. This newest discovery has helped to indicate that music was present at the dawn of human culture, and further boosted the theory that there were high levels of technical and musical sophistication. Read more…

I was lucky way back in high school, when my German teacher introduced me to Pachelbel’s Canon, before it was well known. In my high school, all the teachers had masters degrees, but oddly enough, both our German teachers had Ph.D.’s in music!

When it came time to write little bios in German class about different artists, musicians, architects, and writers, I chose Pachelbel–out of the blue, really. My teacher, who played harpsichord, came in one day with a copy for me of Pachelbel’s Canon and Gigue for 3 Violins and Continuo. I found it a beautiful piece, and fun to play, and because I came to appreciate it on my own, I suppose, it never affected me that the Canon has become so commonplace and subject to overuse in weddings and on elevator sound tracks, etc.

Johan Pachelbel was born in 1653 in Nuremburg, Germany, and died when he was 52, also in Nuremburg, though in the mean time he had lived in Vienna, and for some years lived in a house owned by the Bach family. Pachelbel was best known as an organ composer, and was important in the development of the fugue, of which he wrote about 100. Read more…

OK, get ready.  No instrument is sacred here!  (Warning:  Woodwind and brass players should not read this while playing.)

The prodigy:  A boy said to his dad, “I want to be a musician when I grow up.”  His dad said, “Hold on there son, you can’t do both.”

Harmonica: What do you call a harmonica player’s accompanist?  Fido.

Viola:  The violist said to the violinist, “You know, we violists can play 64th notes.”  The violinist said, “Oh, yeah?  Let’s hear them.”  So the violist played him one.

Altos:  How many altos does it take to change a light bulb?  None.  They can’t get up that high.

Oboe:  What is a minor second?  Two oboes playing in unison.

French Horn:  How can you make a trombone sound like a French horn?  Stick your hand in the bell and play a lot of wrong notes.

Bagpipes:  Why do pipers always walk while they play?  To get away from the noise.

OH YES, LOTS MORE BELOW… Read more…