Author: Dianne Hammerand

January Theme: American Folk Revival

Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul, and Mary are a few of the artists in this playlist.

While the roots of the American Folk Music Revival started in the 1930s and 1940s, many of the artists we’ve heard of followed The Kingston Trio. They topped the charts in 1958 and led to the creation of the Folk Music Category in 1959.

The American Folk Music Revival and the 1960s civil protests became intertwined, and that brought about changes in the American culture. Several artists marched on Washington with Martin Luther King, Jr. for his “I have a dream” speech. These included the artists listed above, plus Odetta and Harry Belafonte.

Where would we be without the American Folk Music Revival? Do you think we need another version for the 2020s?

MTMS 15th Anniversary

What? Can you believe it’s been fifteen years? It’s a little hard to say, but wow have we come a long way in that time. To celebrate, we’re having an Open House on January 11 from 3-5pm.

MTMS is excited to be opening up the house for everyone. We’ve scheduled a raffle with great prizes, live music from staff and students, as well as activities and tours of our space.

Tickets for the raffle will be handed out to everyone who walks in the door – even babies. Signing up with reception gets more tickets and even more will be available for purchase. Prizes include a grand prize of one year of lessons at 2010 prices as well as free trial lessons, free one-month samplers, MTMS shirts and music books.

Live music from the staff and students will be a lovely background and a tribute to our commitment to music. Enjoy their skills and their passion for their instruments while you peruse our office.

If you enroll and pay during the event, you get $15 off every month for your first year of lessons. It’s a pretty amazing deal. Plus you’d get raffle tickets and the opportunity to play fun games and hear great music. The possibilities are endless. Can’t wait to see you there!

GRIN Fundraiser Update

We have broken a record during November for Samplers! Thank you for making this possible. It’s an exciting time for MTMS as we get ready for our fifteenth anniversary.

We raised $1111.60 dollars for GRIN – we appreciate you helping us invest in our community. GRIN is important to us, and we offer other fundraising events to help our Gahanna neighbors. Look for our Winter Benefit Concert specifically for more information.

It’s an exciting time around MTMS. Don’t stop the music!

December Theme: Percussion

Percussion includes instruments that are struck, scraped, stirred, shaken, or spun. While the first thing that pops into my head is a drum, the above definition covers so many instruments I cannot name them all. Consider a xylophone, tambourine, maraca, as well as any style of drum.

Here is a cute quiz with several different percussion instruments. Plus there are more electronic beats on the opposite axis. Many percussion beats are made electronically these days.

Challenge for your student: look around the house and find your own percussion sounds. Actually, it’s so fun you might want to join in. My son told me tap dance is drumming with his feet – so let those beats come out.

November Theme: Ballet

Every month, the music lab teachers select a theme for the Music Technology and Learning Lab. Students explore the theme in the Music History, Composition, and Listening Stations during their scheduled music lessons.

During November, our lab theme will focus on ballet music. Ballet has a rich history as an art form and has changed over the different periods.

Louis XIV was one of the major influences of ballet becoming its own art form. He took part in many performances, even earning his nickname ‘The Sun King’ from a major part he played when he was fifteen. At the time, the court dances had become more elaborate until dedicated performers took over and courtiers participated in less complex dances.

When performers took over, choreography and a new genre of music began to shape ballet into what we know today. Dramatic music with folk influences happened after the classical period.

During the romantic era, ballet has reached the form we know of today. Tchaikovsky wrote the Nutcracker in 1892. American ballet companies generate 40% of their income from the Nutcracker each year.

Enjoy this collection of ballet music. Find out what your student likes about it, too.