Spring Guitar, Bass & Ukulele Recital
July 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

Spring Guitar, Bass & Ukulele Recital


Our instructor (and owner) Joey Archer had a great recital with his guitar, bass and ukulele students. As a studio we strive to teach music that challenges AND interests the students. Many of the songs that were performed were chosen by the student and the instructor together. We covered the whole range from Pop to Metal.

We had performances by students who have been playing less than a year, all the way up to students who have been taking lessons for 6-7 years. We also had three Skype performances by students who moved away but still wanted to study with Joey (see photos below).

We are lucky to be friends with a fantastic photographer, Joel Sorrell @ Sorrell Design and Photography. He took photos of the performances and we even did a fun photo booth.

Some highlights were…

  • Tom Sawyer by Rush – Performed by Abbey. Abbey has had only been studying bass with Joey for less than a year! Truly remarkable progress in such a short time. There is a part in the middle where she nailed a solo that she had been working hard on for quite some time. We are very proud of you Abbey!

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  • Shamane performed three very advanced pieces – Cherry Blossom Ending by Paul Yoon, Distance by Gogo Satoshi, and Friday by Paul Yoon. All very challenging and executed very well.

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  • Shofukan by Snarky Puppy – Performed by Jaden. Another talented bass student who made a lot of progress in a short time. Jaden is a big fan of Snarky Puppy so Shofukan was a great choice. It has some challenging parts. Give it a listen.

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  • Grady performed an original Jam in C and Cm. He shredded and wow’d the crowd with his melodies and solos.

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For several students, this was their first performance

Isaac at 8 years old performed Banana Pancakes on his Ukulele

Natalie sang and performed Best Day by Taylor Swift on her guitar

Gabby performed Sparks by Coldplay

Jacob performed Love Yourself by Justin Bieber

 

There were many more memorable moments and photos. See below. Again a big shout out and thanks to our friends at Sorrell Design.

Filed Under: Guitar, Students
November Piano & Guitar Recital
January 6, 2017 Leave a Comment

November Piano & Guitar Recital

At Jammin’ we strive to create well-rounded musicians. One of the most nerve wracking aspects of playing music is sharing it. Recitals help our students not only master a piece to perfection, but give students the opportunity to share their art and hard work with others. Sometimes this can be a daunting situation! Luckily we have excellent teachers who understand the struggle and are always finding ways to make things fun.

Recently our instructors Becca and Katie had a joint recital at the local Abigail Stewart House. They decided to make it movie themed and had their students dress up like the characters from the movies they were playing from. Cake and ice cream followed up the performance. Becca said, “Everyone had a lot of fun! My goal for having a movie themed recital was to cut down on the kids’ performance nerves by letting them dress up (or bring a prop).  I know that always helps me!”

 

 

Cate, dressed as Princess Leia, playing "May the Force Be With You"

Cate, dressed as Princess Leia, playing “May the Force Be With You”

 

Dylan, dressed as Indiana Jones, playing "The Raider's March"

Dylan, dressed as Indiana Jones, playing “The Raider’s March”

 

Wolf, dressed as Inspector Clouseau, playing "The Pink Panther"

Wolf, dressed as Inspector Clouseau, playing “The Pink Panther”

Filed Under: Performance, Students
Emmey Bird, Nobody Knows
March 24, 2016 Leave a Comment

Emmey Bird, Nobody Knows

Nobody Knows, by Emmey Bird (https://soundcloud.com/emmey-mae-bird/nobody-knows-ft-just-in)

Emmey's CD Cover

Emmey’s CD Cover

I took lessons from Heidi for probably almost two years, it was super fun! She always challenged me to be better as singer, but also respected my limits. It was like pushing the boundaries while keeping me in my comfort zone. She had me do various vocal warm ups that challenged my breathing and my range, even singing styles of music I wouldn’t listen to by choice, it really opened my mind to how cool that other genre was. I also never felt self conscious around her, she was very kind and accepting. A wonderful teacher 🙂

Nobody Knows is about a few things actually, it is about the struggle to be accepted or accepting. It goes over some controversial topics, like religion, and how God has done great things and God has done bad things but it’s all for a reason. Some of the things talked about in the song have caused a lot of hate and strife in the world and I don’t really know why. But you should believe what gives you peace of mind, because nobody really knows whats in the after life, but if you’re happy you should believe whatever you want.  Another thing is everyone is different and has different beliefs or a different way of life, and with that comes criticism and judgement. But at the end of it all, no one should judge you because of the things you like, or how you look, or act because nobody knows what you’ve been through. Nobody knows what has happened in your life to make you who you are today.

I hadn’t made a song in a while and I wanted to make something different from the music we hear today talking about drugs and sex and weapons, writing “Nobody Knows” was easy because it’s something I relate with strongly so the lyrics just came flowing out. And I do have other songs, I’m in the process of finishing my album right now.

After I wrote the song and finally released it, I didn’t think it was going to be super popular because of the topic and I thought people were gonna try to start beef with me because it mentions God, haha. But I was wrong, the song is now at over 1,000 views on SoundCloud and a lot of people have told me things like “Nobody Knows is my favorite song” or “I love your voice”, just really great feedback. It’s my most popular song and I’ve had two radio stations interested in playing it, it was really unexpected for me on how many people like the song.

Making the song was super fun, it was written in like 30 minutes. It was probably the easiest song I’ve ever written, and like I said earlier, I relate to it a lot.  People sometimes write music about things they haven’t been through or things they don’t relate with, but this song was straight from my mind and soul and I live by every word of it.

It’s had such a big impact on my life, whenever I’m going through hard times and I listen to it, it reminds me to keep going.

Filed Under: Students