Time to get INSPIRED!! Make sure you check in on these every week to see some AMAZING musicians playing different styles of music. The POSSIBILITIES are ENDLESS!!
Chloe Chua is an amazing prodigy and her performance of this Sonata is beautiful! Take note of her beautiful posture, bow hold, technical skills, and musicality. She is amazing!
Another BEAUTIFUL arrangement by Simply Three! Just in time for Christmas, too! The guys really showcase what their instruments can do. Pizzicato. arco, shifting, and harmonics. Lovely:) Merry Christmas!
This young man and his family are so talented! Sheku Kanneh Mason is an amazing cellist and artist. This song just makes me happy! I hope it makes you happy too!
One of my favorite things about summer is getting to celebrate July 4th, or Independence Day! It's a day to reflect on the greatness of our country, and the greatness of the men and women who made our free country what it is today. One of our greatest Presidents was Abraham Lincoln, and this is a beautiful tribute to our sixteenth President. It was recently the 100th year celebration of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., and the Piano Guys felt like doing an arrangement of "The Battle Hymn of The Republic" would be a fitting tribute of honor. It was one of Lincoln's favorite songs, and it is said that when he heard it performed by an orchestra and choir, he wept and stood to his feet. It really is beautiful:)
This is one of my favorite summer/travel in the car songs. Relax and Enjoy!
Maxim Vengerov, a modern master violinist, playing the classic Violin Concerto by Felix Mendelsohn. Listen for the cadenza and be amazed! Beautiful!
Just found this BRAND NEW video from 2 of my favorites! I know it's a New Year instead of the Holiday Season, but this is just too good to not post. Most of you already know that Kevin Olusola is an amazing beat boxer AND accomplished cellist, and pairing him with Lindsey Stirling is a no brainer:) Enjoy!
Merry Christmas! Here's a little holiday inspiration from Lindsey Sterling! Her costume is COOL...burrrrrr!
I always think of colorful leaves dancing on the wind when I hear "Colors of the Wind" from Disney's Pocahontas! Taylor Davis sure does know how to bring this song to life. She performs so many beautiful covers of Disney songs, as well as her own original compositions. You should check her out!
Time for FALL! Nothing says Fall like a beautiful jazz rendition of "Autumn Leaves" by the group Layers. Check them out! They are wonderful!
No words for this! Esperanza Spalding is not only an accomplished bass player, but her jazz vocals will blow you away:) Can you imagine how hard it would be to play and sing at the same time? My first inspiration video for students who want to play the bass, and jazz music is a MUST. Enjoy...this tune will definitely bring a smile to your face!
A little inspiration for my cellos:) I can't get enough of the Prague Cello Quartet and their performance of one of my favorite musicals...Phantom Of The Opera. The music is amazing! Almost as amazing as these cellists! Look at their AWESOME posture...BEAUTIFUL! See if you notice these guys using the fiddling technique of "chopping"...did you find it?
Okay. So this guy is superhuman. A little weird, too. Roman Kim is his name, and somehow he is managing to play Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik quartet ALL BY HIMSELF, That's right! 4 parts ALL BY HIMSELF. Unbelievable!
Nothing says summer like the BEACH!! The Jaguar Jams love Simply Three!! Here's a new video from our favorite guys featuring the Vitamin String Quartet.
Okay...so these guys are just a bit INTENSE, but they are performers and artists extraordinaire!!! And, they play the cello, so what isn't to love? This goes out to Berkley Butler, my Pirates of the Caribbean fan!! Piece of advice though, if your bow looks like these bows at the end of a performance, you might want to tone it down a bit!
The Ember Trio is really cool! I love the way they use pizzicato in this rendition of Sia's Cheap Thrills:)
In case you need to hear it again...here is a video of the Wayfarers playing the old fiddle tune, Angeline the Baker. You guys have ROCKED learning this tune by ear, and I can't wait for you to play it for your parents!! Play along with the recording!!
Okay. I KNOW I just posted a Lindsey Stirling video last time for a little INSPIRATION, but I couldn't resist posting her brand new video for "TIl The Light Goes Out". Not only is the melody in this new song hauntingly beautiful, but the video itself is really amazing! One student said, "It looks like a mini movie!" There's a really cool rhythmic section in the middle too! Enjoy!
You've probably been wondering when Lindsey Stirling was going to make an appearance on my INSPIRATION page. Well, here she is!! She is totally awesome, and I picked this video because it's new, beautifully whimsical, and I love watching her and Derek Hough from "World of Dance" dance together! I smiled through the whole thing:)
Time for some cello inspiration!! You might recognize Kevin Olusola if you are a Pentatonix fan. He is the guy behind their beat boxing magic! You might NOT have known that he is also an accomplished cellist. Here he is playing a jazz composition by Mark Summer called "Julie-O" and he beat boxes while playing! Sometimes I can't even walk and chew gum at the same time! WHOA! Kevin also has a wonderful arrangement of "Stay With Me", where he plays his cello, beat boxes, and sings. Look it up if you are interested...Talent!
My faves...Simply Three. I have always loved this song, and I thought it was really cool that they OBVIOUSLY (Hello Four Peaks!) recorded the video right here in the Valley of Sun:)
Here is the man himself, John Williams, conducting his own composition! LOVE IT!
Holy Staccato Batman!! Jascha Heifetz was born in 1901, (that's why the video looks and sounds so old!) and is regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. It won't take long to see why! How many staccato notes was he able to fit on ONE bow?!! I don't know about you, but I lost count! INCREDIBLE!
This week, I wanted to inspire you with a different kind of music...fiddle music!! Did you know that a "fiddle" and a violin are the same instrument? "Fiddle" refers to the type of music played on a violin! Fiddle tunes are songs passed down by ear from generation to generation. This means from memory with no music! I thought a little "Soldier's Joy" might cheer you up this week. It's the oldest fiddle tune around. This artist is AMAZING because she plays her fiddle and dances at the same time! I can already see some of you trying this at home...Oh Boy!!
I thought this song captures what a lot of people are thinking right now!! Wake Me UP! When this is over...HaHa! Enjoy! You know me...I love Simply Three!
You didn't think I would leave out my "cellitos" did you? Here is YoYo Ma performing the beautiful melody from the "New World Symphony" by Antonin Dvorak, which the Advanced Orchestra played on our last orchestra concert:) Notice his beautiful bow hold, and how expressively he plays. If you are really sharp, you noticed him playing some harmonics (barely touching the string with his finger), and watched him use his thumb on the fingerboard! He is also using "double stops", which simply means playing more than one note at the same time.
This is UNBELIEVABLE! ( and made a loooooong time ago) Definitely the fastest fingers and bow in the west! When interviewed about this amazing performance, Leonidas Kavakas actually said he felt like he was playing S-L-O-W. WHAT? I don't think so!