Shar Music Blog

In today's post, Nerissa Nields talks about the big fear every music-loving parent encounters at some point: If I push my child too hard, will he just end up hating music? For me, the highlight of Nerissa's post is the moment she realizes that both…

… besides how to play Italian songs with as much schmaltz as possible and how to avoid stabbing the servers with my bow.

There's been a lot of press recently about bullying and hazing: a Rutgers student hid a camera in his dorm room to record his roommate being intimate; the hazing practices of the Florida A&M marching band led to the death of drum major; and Mitt…

It seems like our dear violists have a heavy weight to bear with the millions of viola jokes out there. So, how about some violin jokes to offset this burden? These are all original, written by my dad, Russell Barnes.

Having trouble finding the music stand you need? Here are my personal favorites!

In this week's letter to the violinist Alberta Barnes, I try to figure out what's so American about Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12.  

I defend Beethoven's Violin Concerto, a piece which I ardently love.

In last week's series of letters, Alberta Barnes and I discussed Saint-Säens's Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 78. This week we're tackling Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major, which, for some reason, left me feeling indifferent. Want to…

SHAR Music is proud to announce the winners of its third annual Quartet Competition!