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Have you sat down at a piano and played a few notes before realizing that your years of private lessons were completely in vain? Did you ever think about spending $150 an hour to resume the ill-fated trumpet lessons from your childhood? Stop worrying — there are 5 year olds out there who are better…

Looking to serenade and confuse your love interest simultaneously? Trying to put a little Dr. Suess in your Sousa? Well then look no further than these weird, absurd instruments. I MEAN REALLY, what were they going for here? 1. Thermain The theremin is one of the most difficult instruments to master because its infinite range…

The great Broadway legend, Elaine Stritch, has left us this week at 89. A feisty, take-no-prisoners talent that will be hard for us to replace. Elaine first burst upon the Broadway scene in the early 50’s in Rodgers & Hart’s PAL JOEY, and continued performing on stage and cabarets through 2013. Her signature songs, including…

To promote his new album “Mandatory Fun,” the world renowned songwriter Weird Al Yankovic has crafted a number of new parodies. The well-known targets thus far: Pharrell Williams – “Happy” (our personal favorite) Robin Thicke – “Blurred Lines” Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive” Lorde – “Royals” Iggy Azalea – “Fancy” What is your favorite parody? Let…

The Austrian composer and pianist Carl Czerny is notable for many reasons. Early on, he was a child prodigy and a pupil of (and personal assistant to) Ludwig van Beethoven. A renowned pedagogue, he taught, among others, the virtuoso Franz Liszt and wrote an extraordinary amount of music himself. Above all, Czerny has the unfortunate reputation as…

Clint Eastwood isn’t exactly the first name that comes to mind when thinking of Broadway musicals. Yet just two days after reading a screenplay for “Jersey Boys,” the award-winning actor and filmmaker agreed to direct the musical, bringing the megahit stage production about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to the big screen. The film,…

Few pianists play or even know about repertoire for the left-hand alone. Certainly, many have practiced the myriad exercises, not unlike those found in the Hanon “Virtuoso Pianist,” that are designed to improve the strength and dexterity of the left-hand. But such exercises, played for hours on end, are dull and soulless. With a little…

Last night was a big night for Miranda Lambert, her husband Blake Shelton and Carrie Underwood as all three won big at the 2014 CMT Awards in Nashville. Underwood won the top prize Video of the Year for “See You Again” and also took the stage alongside another CMT Award-winner, Miranda Lambert, on the song “Somethin’…

Justin Timberlake received seven Billboard Music Awards, which measures honors by sales, radio airplay, touring, streaming and other metrics, Sunday taking home trophies for Top Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist and Top Billboard 200 Album (“The 20/20 Experience”) in a three-hour show at at the MGM Grand Arena. Rapper Pitbull kicked off the show alongside Lopez…

The OnlineSheetMusic Viewer is a powerful tool that you can use to transpose your sheet music by key, instrument, clef, or interval.  You can find a short Transposition Tutorial video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YNug0is-4A After you have purchased the products you need and installed the Viewer, select the song you want to transpose from the Score List…