Shar Music Blog

Your wildest dreams just came true: we're taking submissions for our blog. Write a blog entry for us and share tips and stories with other teachers, students, and musicians. Have your say. Speak your mind. But first check out the details below.Call for…

SHAR is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. I can't help but get all self-conscious about the celebrations and wonder how Stephen Colbert would respond to institutional birthdays. I also admit that SHAR is a good and decent company after all and…

SHAR Apprentice Megan Fedor takes delight in Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Part of the joy of this piece, she argues, is its specific, musical representation of the Gospel of St. Matthew. When asked the question, “What sacred music do you find…

SHAR Apprentice and violinist Alberta Barnes makes the case for one of Beethoven's lesser-known masterpieces.

We try to quell your rising holiday panic by sharing a few gift ideas.I have a confession to make: after work today, I still have three Christmas gifts to buy. Tomorrow, I'm flying home to North Carolina. Every year, I do the same thing. I start…

We take a look at possible connections between the smart phone phenomenon and zombies. And we plug our mobile site. What's the point of shopping on your smart phone? And what would be the point of using SHAR's mobile site on your smart phone? I admit…

A few timely tips on string instrument care and maintenance.Here in Michigan we're lurching toward the heart of winter: snow on the ground for four months, ice-encased cars, and the early-morning cacophony of salt trucks and snow plows. But even if you…

More this week on hybrid styles in American "classical" music.I've still got Mark O'Connor, the fiddler, composer, and Grammy winner, on the brain. Thinking about his upcoming concert at West Bloomfield High School in Michigan (as well as his concerts…

Mark O'Connor's approach to American classical music is not just innovative – it's democratic.