We're grateful to have Lucy Lewis, a trained Suzuki teacher and doctoral student in musical arts at the University of Iowa, share a series of blogs about her experiences at American Suzuki Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Every…
Latest Articles
Three Ways to Improve Musicianship Outside the Classroom
Wednesday, September 19, 2012Christian Howes shares a terrific new blog entry with his top three ways to keep practicing when you're not in the practice room. Leave a comment below with your own "downtime" practice tips! Good musicians practice.
Getting the Most Out of Your Bow
Friday, September 07, 2012Today we have another fine blog from our apprentice James Engman. James shares six tips that will help you maintain and care for your bow whether you're just starting out or an established professional. As a young player becomes more experienced, their…
An Invitation to O'Connor Method Alumni From the Ann Arbor Workshop
Tuesday, September 04, 2012Today's guest blog is from Val Jaskiewicz, the Vice President of Merchandising at SHAR Music. Val has been a tireless champion of alternative styles here at SHAR and was instrumental in bringing Mark O'Connor and Pam Wiley to Ann Arbor for a teacher…
Mark O’Connor Has a Dream for American Violinists
Thursday, August 30, 2012We'd like to welcome our newest SHAR Apprentice James Engman to the SHAR Music Blog! James studied violin performance, physics, and math at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and he hopes to use his degrees to excel in instrument repair. What we…
Learning Jazz Violin? A Drummer Is a Jazz Violinist's Best Friend
Friday, August 24, 2012Today's guest blog is from teacher and violinist Christian Howes. Mr. Howes shares some great advice for musicians: make friends with someone who, through their background or training or experience, has something to teach you. Often we gravitate toward…
My Invaluable Music Degree
Tuesday, August 21, 2012In May of this year, we shared an article with our email subscribers titled "The Value of Music Degree." The article argued that a music degree, while it may not lead directly to a job, is still worth earning because of how much it can enrich one's…
A New School Year Full of Opportunity, Not Frustration
Thursday, August 09, 2012Paula Leshkevich has been a member of SHAR’s Educational Sales Department for over four years. Having taught in both private and public schools, she understands many of the challenges facing instrumental music teachers today and works to help teachers…
Are You a Creative String Player?
Monday, August 06, 2012We're very pleased at SHAR to share our first guest blog from the talented violinist and educator Christian Howes. Although a classically-trained musician, Mr. Howes made a name for himself in the New York jazz scene in the '90s, playing with renowned…
Making It: My Life as a Working Musician
Thursday, August 02, 2012In May of this year, we shared an article with our email subscribers titled "The Value of Music Degree." The article argued that a music degree, while it may not lead directly to a job, is still worth earning because of how much it can enrich one's…