Taking care of your instrument is an important part of any musicians journey. Here are some quick tips for beginner guitarists to get started in guitar care, and ensuring they have a beautiful instrument ready to play always.

• Keep your guitar in its case when not in use especially when carrying it around. Cases also help to regulate the temperature of your guitar (which can affect the wood - see the next point).
• Ensure that your guitar isn’t left in the hot sun, or in warm places like the boot of a car on a hot day. Similarly, try to prevent the guitar from getting wet – heat/moisture/rain etc. can warp the wood, and this can lead to issues with the neck/body.
• Keep your guitar in tune – every time you pick it up, tune your guitar. This helps the strings maintain their capacity and makes it easier to tune if you maintain this. This also helps the neck and intonation stay in place.
• Guitar strings get rusty and will need to be changed – this can vary from guitar to guitar (for example there are different strings for an electric guitar as opposed to acoustic guitar). Strings will last for a different amount of time depending on how often you play and what kind of music you play. They will show signs of wear and tear and even break after a while so be mindful and ready to change them.
• Every guitarist has a process for guitar care, so speak to your teacher and spend a lesson or few on this important part of the process.

Stage fright is a super common experience for musicians at all stages. From beginners getting up for their first performance through to the most seasoned professionals feeling the pressure of a high stakes performance. Racing heart beats, sick stomachs, sweaty palm and more are just some of the symptoms. If you get stage fright or performance anxiety you are not alone, it is a completely natural experience and is connected to your body's survival mechanisms - in fight, flight or freeze.

Stage fright is about seeking approval from others, feeling threatened, wanting to do a great job and feeling the weight of that deeply inside us. It’s important for every musician to find a way of managing stage fright as it can certainly have a negative impact on a performance if not handled properly. There are many ways to do this and we have collected a few of those below. We hope you find something that works for you!

Accept the Fear:

As we’ve said before, stage fright is entirely natural. Do not judge yourself harshly for feeling it, accept it and work on the management.

Prepare:

Work hard in your lessons and practice. Perform for your teacher, a friend, your family and ideally a group of people to get used to how your body reacts to stage fright. Once you know your symptoms you’ll be better able to treat them.

Don’t Focus on Yourself:

Consider your audience, your teacher, your family and others who are so excited about hearing you play. Focusing outward can help dull some of the noise going on inside.

Mistake Handling:

Focus on what is going to go well and be prepared for how you will handle inevitable mistakes. Remember you will notice the mistakes much more than others will, so mentally prepare to make them and then simply move on. 

Food/Drink:

Watch what you eat/drink before a performance. A full (or empty) stomach, caffeinated or sugary drinks, high fat foods, dairy and more can really mix up the body's natural balance.

Breathe/Meditate:

If you notice your breathe starting to quicken or change, take some deep slow breathes. Lack of oxygen will cause your body to panic, which you may mistake for stage fright.

Listen to Music:

Pick a pump up song and play it to get you ready ahead of your performance. Try and go to the stage warm and ready, not cold and unprepared.

Stretch:

Move your body, stretch, jump, walk, pace, etc. Like music and breathing, moving your body so it is feeling warm and ready will significantly improve your act.

Use the Facilities:

Nerves can tighten you  up and make you feel like you need to go the toilet, make sure you get that done well ahead of time so you can focus on your music.

Enjoy Every Moment:

It’s a powerful, beautiful and generous thing to do. Performing for an audience is gift to them, allowing them to share in a moment with you. Be proud of yourself simply for showing up and giving it a go.

 

We believe music is for everyone, whatever your age, stage, ability or capacity there is a way for you to play with and create music if it is on your heart to do so. It is no doubt a different experience learning as an adult but no less rewarding or important. We have successfully taught students aged 4yrs to 84yrs and here are some thoughts about this:

• Learning music is about time and passion: If you commit the time and pursue your instrument with passion you will do well.
• Be realistic: you are starting later so those around you have a head start. Don’t compare yourselves to them, just work on you.
• Be patient: adults tend to be outcome driven, in our experience expecting progress to happen much faster than it will. Give this time and allow your body and mind to connect up and get around what you are doing.
• Being a natural: you will have strengths and challenges like anyone else, you do not need to be a natural at this, hard work and a good teacher will help you navigate the experience. 
• Buy a decent instrument: don’t start with a kid’s instrument, they sound awful and don’t play well. Invest in a decent starter and take this seriously.
• Young students learn quickly, adults learn effectively. In our experience adults are able to take in wider concepts, context and bigger ideas, while younger learners need things in smaller pieces. 

Let’s start by saying every child is different and develops differently, you will ultimately know best if your child is ready! That being said there are some signs you can look out for and ways you can test the water to see how it goes.

• Some children show a natural interest in wanting to play a certain instrument. We recommend parents follow their child’s instincts with this – if they’re ready, they’ll tell you.
• Choose an easy starting instrument, keyboard, ukulele, singing etc. are easy to start with, cost effective and fun. Easing them in this way will allow a child to get used to learning music and potentially advance to a more challenging instrument in time.
• Watch your kids for signs like constant humming or tapping with their fingers. That’s a clear sign of musical interest that you should consider developing as soon as possible, no matter their age.
• Learning from a teacher is completely different to learning from a parent/family member/friend, don’t assume that just because your child has resisted playing at home or learning from a friend/relative that it won’t work in a lesson. The dynamic of a new musical mentor can clarify the process for a young person and be a completely different dynamic for them.
• If your child has not shown an interest in one particular musical instrument, but you want to incorporate music into their education, we recommend starting with piano lessons as a great way to introduce basic musicianship and theory which can then be transferred to other instruments and voice. The piano is also a simple and pain free start with near immediate results even after one lesson.
• Set them up for success by having realistic expectations and choosing a great teacher, time and day for them. They will get used to and into the process as it goes along from a great starting position.

We offer free meet and greets, intro sessions and short bookings to help families take their first step, if you are interested in starting your child well please reach out, we’re here to help.

 

Knowing how to look after your instrument is an important skill to learn for any musician. Today’s article focuses on looking after your trumpet. To start we recommend checking out this video which will take you through the step by step, having a visual reference is a great way to get used to the process. 

Along the way here are some tips and tricks we would recommend:

• When the buttons are becoming a little stiff and hard to press this means they need some valve oil.
• If you want to do a complete clean please follow the instructions in the video. You will need to unscrew the valves and pull them out and lay them in order as they must be put back in the same order to work.
• Most trumpets have a number on the valves (unless worn/rubbed off) so you know where they go. Don't worry if you get them muddled as you should be able to work it out by the numbers. If there's no number on the barrel it may be on the little column part under the button. If you can't blow the trumpet once they've been replaced then you know they are in the wrong spot. If you want to avoid this problem altogether we suggest taking them out and replacing them one at a time instead to avoid  confusion about which valve goes where. You don't need to take them all out at once unless you are doing a complete deep clean which involves running water through the trumpet.
• If you want to clean the whole trumpet under running water as in the video, be careful not to wet the felt rings that sit under the buttons. The rest of the trumpet is ok to get wet.
• When you replace the valves after putting some oil on them be sure to only rotate clockwise to avoid unscrewing the actual button from the valve body as this can be tricky to put back together.
• If anyone has problems or questions please feel free to drop us a line at the studio and we’ll get you some expert help.