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Buying Used Musical Instruments
New musical instruments are shiny and cool, but most decent instruments can easily equal the cost of a month or two of mortgage. The good news is that there are many places to get quality used musical instruments at a steep discount. For keyboards, guitars, and drums, Guitar Center is a good place to start,…
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Open School Music Karate Resources
For the second year in a row, students in Open School clusters that include 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades have the opportunity to participate in Music Karate! Here are some great resources to help you continue the learning experience at home.
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Free Xylophone / Glockenspiel App to Practice Without an Instrument
Update (3/17/20): It seems the app reviewed below is no longer available for Android. Not to worry, it is still available for iOS and there are plenty of xylophone apps for Android. I will be testing the other Android apps soon and I will then update this article with my recommendations. In the meantime, here…
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Best Glockenspiels for Beginner Home Practice
This year at Open School, Red and Silver Clusters are learning basic keyboard percussion, mostly on glockenspiels. And, Yellow Cluster is learning more advanced percussion on glockenspiels, xylophones, metallophones, bass bars, hand drums, and other percussion instruments. Students are not in any way required to have a mallet percussion instrument for home practice. However, students…
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The Basic Tools for Home Drum Practice
Though a full drum kit can be pricey, getting started practicing drums at home is a relatively inexpensive endeavor. There are really only two essentials: drum sticks and something to drum on. Below are some recommendations for drum sticks and a practice pad. However, if you want to be sure you are playing the correct…
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Recommended Electric Guitars for Home Practice (Kid’s Edition)
It is true that electric guitar are generally easier to learn more quickly than acoustic guitars. But, few young students think about the possibility of getting a guitar appropriate for their size. Even electric guitars with full size fretboards can make it difficult for young students to reach the notes they wish to play. The…
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Choosing a Recorder for Home Practice
This year at Open School, we be offering an after-school music class in order for students to learn to play the recorder! In our program, the students are given recorders to use in the class and for supervised practice sessions and to keep when they move on from our recorder programs. However, it is up…
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Recommended Compact Keyboards for Beginner Piano Practice
Practice is an essential part of learning anything. And, having a piano or keyboard at home for students to practice is a key to their success with music lessons. Below are a range of decent and extremely affordable keyboard options, starting with one that is around the cost of just a couple lessons! Gone are…
