Category: MTMS Blog Posts

Throughout February and the first week of March, votes will be collected to choose our April Music Lab Theme!

Back in December 2023, we launched our Wheel of Themes, giving students a fun way to explore music beyond their primary instrument. In the Music Lab, students learn genre history, listen to curated playlists, and try composing in that style. Additionally, they can earn prizes by sharing what they learned. So far, students have explored styles like Bollywood, Jazz, Mash-Ups, J-Pop, and even Yodeling!

Now, students and families get to help choose the next theme!

Vote for one of these seven options:

🍀 Celtic
Traditional music from Ireland and Scotland with lively fiddles and flutes. Expect folk melodies and energetic dance tunes.

📺 Jingles & TV Themes
Catchy music you cannot forget. In particular, this style features commercial jingles and famous TV show openings.

🎭 Musicals
Songs from Broadway and movie musicals that tell stories through music. As a result, expect big emotions and dramatic moments.

🎮 Video Game Music
Soundtracks from classic and modern video games. Overall, the music ranges from simple chiptunes to full orchestral scores.

💃 Bollywood
Colorful film music from India blending traditional sounds with pop and dance beats. Notably, it features expressive vocals and vibrant rhythms.

🌊 Hallyu Wave (K-Pop)
High-energy Korean pop with polished production and catchy choruses. In fact, this global style often includes synchronized dance influences.

🎸 Rock & Roll
High-energy music driven by electric guitars and strong beats. Because of this, the classic style is known for its rebellious spirit.

Here’s where to vote: Choose the April Theme!

Blues music history shapes nearly every modern style we hear today. For example, jazz, R&B, rock, country, hip-hop, and metal show its influence. This month our MTMS lab theme is the blues.

Originally, African American field workers in the South created the blues. During long days, they labored in cotton fields. Then at night, they gathered to sing, play, and share.

They mixed gospel traditions, field hollers, and call-and-response patterns into something new.
As a result, communities built connection, strength, and cultural identity.

Soon, musicians filled Mississippi juke joints with rhythm, dancing, and storytelling. There, singers voiced hardship, love, injustice, and hope. Meanwhile, guitars growled. Harmonicas cried.

Musically, players bent notes and slid between pitches for deep expression. In addition, rhythms pushed and pulled against steady beats. Because of this, many genres still rely on blues scales and classic progressions.

Later, families carried the music north during the Great Migration to urban centers. Consequently, cities reshaped the sound. Electric instruments grew louder, and artists forged new styles.

Performers across decades studied these ideas and built careers from them. You can hear that lineage in The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Likewise, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix carried it forward. Today, Bonnie Raitt, Gary Clark Jr., and Joe Bonamassa continue that legacy.

Ultimately, the blues tells shared stories. It offers hope. It provides release. Most importantly, it helps people survive and connect.

At Michelle Tuesday Music School, students explore these traditions in lessons and in the Music Lab. They hear history come alive through listening, discussion, and creativity. Then they carry those ideas back to their own instruments.

In this way, the blues continues to inspire our community every single day.

When parents visit us at Michelle Tuesday Music School, they often ask one very practical question: “How long will it take for my child to master their instrument?”

It’s a completely fair question! As parents, we want to understand the commitment we’re making and, more importantly, we want to know when our children will feel the confidence of “owning” their new skill. While every student’s path is unique, here is how we look at the journey of musical mastery.

A Lifelong Adventure

The beautiful thing about music is that it isn’t a “crash course” with a final exam; it’s a language. Just like we continue to expand our vocabulary and expression in our native language throughout our lives, music offers a lifetime of new discoveries.

When we say “music is a lifelong endeavor,” we don’t mean it to sound daunting. We mean it’s a gift that never runs out of surprises! Even professional musicians with decades of experience find new ways to grow and learn every day.

Defining “Success” for Your Child

When a parent asks, “How long until they can do it on their own?” what they are often looking for is that “sweet spot”—the moment a child can sit down, open a book of music, and play a song they love without needing a teacher to guide every note.

How quickly we get there depends on a few key “ingredients”:

• Consistency: Regular attendance and staying engaged through the seasons helps build steady momentum.
• The Home Environment: A little bit of practice goes a long way. When parents encourage even ten minutes of play at home, progress happens much faster.
• Passion: Every child learns at their own pace. When a student finds a genre or a song they truly love, “mastery” starts to happen naturally.

The MTMS Philosophy

Instead of looking for an “end date,” we invite our families to celebrate the milestones. Whether it’s playing their first C-major scale, performing at their first recital, or finally nailing that tricky bridge in a favorite pop song—these are the moments where mastery truly lives.

We are here to partner with you to make sure your child’s musical journey is rewarding, sustainable, and, above all, fun. Whether they play for three years or thirty, the skills they learn here—discipline, creativity, and confidence—will stay with them forever.

Educationally,
Michelle

We had the Winter Benefit Concert, and then the weather decided it wanted to be center stage. Results are coming, and we’re glad for everyone who could make it to the concert. The image above shows the food waiting until we have normal temperatures and can rendezvous with GRIN while they’re open.

Directly afterward, the snow became our top priority. Some of us got as much as 14 inches of snow. We’re lucky the concert wasn’t affected but starting Saturday night and all day Sunday and even into Monday, it snowed. After that, the temperature dropped to subzero levels. And it’s dropping again this weekend.

Stay warm. We can’t wait to get back to regularly scheduled lessons. With the time out of school, it’s a great time to get some more practice in. Stay tuned for more about the concert and the donations.