Introduction and Background Beyond general health issues, many musicians suffer from playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD), which primarily affect the support and movement systems of the body. These disorders, commonly associated with the back, neck, hands, and facial muscles, have been documented since the late 19th century. Studies have primarily focused on professional musicians, identifying female… Continue reading
Today at midnight I will play a recital at the Old Water Tower of Viljandi. It is part of the annual Viljandi Guitar Festival who published a short interview with me on that occasion (not my translation!): INTERVIEW 1) On which aspects of your performance would You recommend the audience to concentrate? Let’s say that… Continue reading
Yesterday was the international day of music – 1st of Oct. On that occasion Estonian Music Council organized 147 free concerts around the country. The performers included all major orchestras, most of the important chamber ensembles and soloists. The venues ranging from schools, trains and plain to jail and mental hospital. My day started at 10:30… Continue reading
On Sat, 20th of Sep 2014 at 4:00 PM in Pärnu St Elisbeth’s we played a program with the baroque music ensemble Floridante and soprano Kai Kallastu. Members of Floridante that played in that program: Meelis Orgse (baroque violin), Saale Fischer (harpsichord), Tõnu Jõesaar (viola da gamba) and Kristo Käo (theorbo). Meelis has studied the violin… Continue reading
This summer I have to carry around three instruments because my solo program includes music for theorbo, classical and flamenco guitar. The first concert was on 27th of May at the tower of Tartu Jaani (St. John) church The first floor of tower accommodates 50 listeners and has a mystical atmosphere. And the floor is uneven,… Continue reading
Intro and background Besides general health problems, many musicians also suffer from specific, playing-related musculosceletal disorders (PRMD). These are most often connected to the muscles of the back, neck, limbs and face, and have been documented since the end of the 19th century. The highest risk group of PRMD are the female musicians and string players (Zaza,… Continue reading
Learners Need Feedback Anyone who learns a musical instrument wants to know how is he/she doing. In other words, learners need feedback. Sadly, two of the most popular learning models today – online learning and learning by textbooks – tend to omit it almost completely. But what about the traditional and luxurious one-by-one teaching? While I must admit that… Continue reading
In medicine there is a term ‘prescription compliance’. I think in music education it is pretty much the same – we as teachers give the students great exercises but these won’t work unless they actually master those before moving on. That is why we keep writing new method books but what we should really do is… Continue reading
A guitar is an instrument that enables you to play either melodies, chords, or rhythm, and everything at once. The simplest way to start, though, is by playing melodies. During this mini-course you will acquire the main skills and knowledge you need to play melodies on a guitar both by ear as well as from sheet music… Continue reading
After finishing the guitar chord game we have been working on a bigger project called MatchMySound. It is a web app for music teachers that allows them to give their students measurable homework. Basically an automated music teacher that has a very good ear for students’ mistakes. It distinguishes between the timing and sound mistakes… Continue reading