I have been busy blogging for some folks and trying to make their websites grow. I will begin soon explaining in detail the “what is” question of social media and the “why” of social media for www.MaxMorganDesign.com . So many people don’t understand, I think I can explain.
www.RosemaryBaileyMusic.com has certainly grown in the past few weeks and the sell of her CDs have been very good.
www.SorrentoValleyMusic.com has begun growing and is doing good. Their sales are starting to pick up as a result of more people finding out about them and that is a very good thing.
We are looking forward to a GREAT Christmas Holiday season. Nice to focus on positive things. This has been a very tough year for so many people, myself included, that its great to see things beginning to pick up.
I wanted to take a couple of seconds to thank some people for thier services to the music community.
Rosemary Bailey of www.RosemaryBaileyMusic.com has given her time and talents to people all over the country. Rosemary’s talent is incredible and she shows it in every performance. From Broadway to Jazz, Classical to Rock and Roll or Country and Gospel she puts forth her talent to the “nth” degree night after night.
Most recently she has done a Christmas project that is really something else. What makes her so amazing is that not only is she so talented but, she also has a very unique gift of interpretation and understanding of what the music should be saying. Her most recent Christmas project really shows off her connection to her audience and to her talent. Understanding her fans and what they expect, what “should” be played musically and what the song writer intended. Rosemary can seamlessly accomplish this without causing confusion to the person listening and is still able to deliver the song in its intended form.
I hope you will take the time to go to her website and hear a few clips of her Christmas CD
Holiday Memories-CD
I spoke with her this afternoon and she only has a few left so, log on to her website and order today.
The other group I want to thank is the guys at Sorrento Valley Music www.SorrentoValleyMusic.com . Jon and Rebecca have really stepped out onto a limb during very challenging times to open their new store. They have such a passion for the business that they will be successful. The other thing is their love for music education. Rebecca has a very exciting teaching program and is working daily with her students to help them with their education and moving to the next level.
They have a full line of pianos, guitars, violins, music accessories and printed music and are working to expand their selection. They are being very smart with their direction and taking small steps to improve every day. So if you are looking for a piano in San Diego, Guitar in San Diego, Violin in San Diego or printed music or accessories look no further than Sorrento Valley Music.
Recently they decided to supply the San Diego Gay Mens Chorus a piano for their upcoming concert at the Birch North Park Theatre on December 11th and 12th. Sorrento Valley Music has sent them an Estonia that has been perfectly voiced and regulated and is in tip top condition. This is no small feat and if you know about Estonia you know just how difficult it can be to supply for an event like this.
My hat is off to Rosemary Bailey and Sorrento Valley Music for their dedication to the music industry, music and music education.
Lastly, this coming weekend is an anniversary of sorts. The San Diego Gay Mens Chorus at www.SDGMC.org is having a concert this weekend. If you have not already purchased your tickets you should do it as soon as you can because the it is almost a sold out performance.
Hope you are celebrating during the holidays somewhere safe and sharing a great time with friends and family.
As many of you know, PianoSD.com has been working very hard to establish itself as the place in San Diego to get your piano, classes, moving (with Precision Piano Moving-www.PrecisionPianoMoving.net), tuning (with Accutone Piano Tuning – PianoServSD.com), your source for recitals in our Performance Hall and piano classes. We have decided to step out in faith and have hired a professional who is very well versed in Pianos and Piano Music to head our education department. We realize the importance of music education and the benefit to each of our customers as well as the community. This is the reason we are quite excited to present the newest addition to the PianoSD.com family: Leighanne Twaddle.
Leighanne Twaddle has joined PianoSD as Director of Music Education. She comes from Scottsdale, AZ where she taught music in the Scottsdale School District for 31 years. She has been a church choral director and accompanist and a private piano teacher for over 25 years. Last June Leighanne had the opportunity to sing in Carnegie Hall under the direction of Greg Gilpin and Joseph Martin. She carries the honors of the Scottsdale Charros Teacher of the Year and Who’s Who Among Educators. Leighanne belongs to many professional organizations including MENC, American College of Musicians-National Guild of Piano Teachers, and National Federation of Music Clubs. Leighanne received her Bachelor of Music degree from Arizona State University and her Master’s of Arts in Education degree from the University of Phoenix.
Among Leighanne’s responsibilities are building our School of Music and our sheet music department. We have customers that come into our store on a regular basis from San Marcos, Carlsbad, Rancho Santa Fe and of course La Jolla as well as many other parts of the surrounding areas because they love the atmosphere at PianoSD and enjoy our concept. We are a very unique piano dealer, so whether you need to talk about learning piano, teaching piano, tuning your piano, moving your piano or owning a piano we will always be delighted to help you.
Stop by when you get a chance, meet Leighanne we would certainly enjoy meeting you.
I hear more than my share of talk about real or fake pianos. Some people have actually commented that they don’t like fake pianos. They were talking of course about digital pianos.
Although there are certainly some arguments about accoustic vs. digital pianos, there are still people who would prefer accoustic pianos over digital pianos. I recently had a discussion with a gentleman from Carlsbad who told me that he was convinced that the digital piano was a terrible thing to learn on - that is until he actually sat down and played one. He was so overjoyed with the digital piano that he purchased one on the spot.
We have many piano teachers who are turning to digital now too. Teachers are finding many ways to use digital that was never possible before. You can record, use computer functions to help you compose, always in perfect pitch, automatic transpose, easily transportable, heat and humidity dont effect it at all, several voices to choose from which give you the capabilities to play and entire orchestra score with recording and really the list goes on.
Of course, the accoustic piano will never disappear but, we are finding that more and more people are turning to digital pianos as an alternative for use with more demanding music that is being performed today.
The touch is very realistic and the sound is incredible. I know when I was first introduced to the idea of digital piano I was not completely sold, however, once I understood the basics of how digitals operated I was just absolutley thrilled with the possibilities that the digital world opened to me.
We have customers from many parts of San Diego such as Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla and San Marcos that have become real fans of the Roland digital pianos because of thier realism in touch, tone and clarity of sound. More information can be found at www.RolandUS.com
If you have any questions or comments feel free to let me know and I will try to help you. Feel free to stop by our store located in the heart of Mission Valley in San Diego, California.
For many years I have been a fan of gospel music. I love four part harmony and really enjoy the sounds of 4 professional voices that sing on pitch in harmony correctly.
Picture from the Four Part Harmony.
As most of you know, I am from the South. Of course, gospel music was part of our culture and church on Sunday morning, but, for me it was much more than that. I still remember the day that it all finally made sense to me. I was about 6 or 7 (not telling you the year) and my mom put an album (yes the round black record thing that played on a stereo system called an LP) of a group that I have loved for many years called The Happy Goodman Family. I was forever lost to the sound.
I lived, drank and ate the Goodman Family. I loved the music they sang and I loved the songs. I soon began to learn to play the piano and threw myself into this style of playing. By the time I was 15 or 16 I was traveling with a gospel group that traveled from Florida to Michigan and most of the spots in between. I was in heaven.
Goodmans 1962
This afternoon one of our associates at PianoSD.com in Mission Valley in San Diego, California was by the store and we were talking about different things and I very seriously said, ” I have never understood, nor does it make sense how anybody could listen to The Goodmans and not be totally blown away at the talent and enjoy the sound” to which he laughingly responded, “Do you enjoy all types of music as much as you do gospel?” of course I quickly responded “NO”.
We had a discussion about the rights and wrongs of peoples opinions and why and how they enjoy what they enjoy. It dawned on me that enjoying music from bluegrass music, gospel music, country music, rock music, jazz music, classical music and even perhaps rap music is a matter of personal taste and not right or wrong.
I guess that most of us think of classical music as the most proper way to play and opera as the proper way to sing but, if we really get to the heart of the matter the right music to enjoy is the music that you like the best and the one that makes you the happiest when you listen to it.
Music shapes our lives, feelings, emotions and can change your attitude quicker than any other influence. Music is a joy on every level. Yes, some may enjoy one type of music over the other while the next would prefer a different genre of music.
I hope you enjoy “My Music” and send me yours at Ric@PianoSD.com and I will try and include it in upcoming features.
We opened PianoSD to be a place where people could come together and make music and have fun making music. PianoSD School of Music tries to educate people to have fun making music but at the same time do it in such a way that they learn the proper way to make music and have fun doing it.
Drop by and see us sometime we would love to meet you.
Yesterday was a blast with Scott Houston talking about the Play Piano in a Flash classes here at PianoSD.com in Mission Valley, San Diego, Ca.
Scott was in town yesterday having done a presentation for NAMM to the Piano Manufacturers Association he asked to come and visit and he and I decided to make an event out of his time here. He greeted customers and talked to them about the Play Piano in a Flash program and how much fun people are having across the country learning to play. He emphasized the fun of learning to play and how simple it is to learn to play piano when you are given the right set of instructions.
As many of you know we also do a Streaming show called Live@PianoSD which you can access through our new website www.PianoSD.com and click on the icon Live@PianoSD . Scott took the time yesterday to do this with me and it was great to have a small snipet about what he does on PBS every week. Scott is a 4 time Emmy Award winner and is going into his 14th season with PBS teaching people all over the nation and internationally how to play the piano.
Scott’s love for our industry and his willingness to help manufacturers, retailers promote the music business is fantastic coupled with the drive he has to help average people discover thier dream of learning to play the piano is obvious in his exuberance. I hope you get a chance to watch the show on Live@PianoSD as well as your local PBS station simply entitled, Scott Houston The Piano Guy or look for Play Piano In A Flash.
Drop by and see us sometime we would love to meet you.
Afte many months of work Max of MaxMorganDesign.com has finished and this is the first post.
As some may have realized by now I am not always the easiest person to understand but, Max was able to see through all the cobwebs and get a great looking site from my mind. His ability to interpret my brainwaves is amazing. I don’t know if its a good thing or bad thing (probably the latter)(for him at least) that he can actually read my mind now.
As a result the website is up and running and we sincerely hope you approve. Take a look when you have a chance and tell me what you think.
In addition to the launch of the new site we are also announcing the beginning of the PianoSD.com School Of Music. We are teaching Scott Houston’s Play Piano In A Flash in a group setting as well as private instruction with our teacher Marko Paul.
If you have a chance drop by PianoSD.com in Mission Valley in San Diego, Ca. We would love to meet you and show you our Sheet Music Department, the PianoSD.com School of Music and the Performance Hall.
When I first had the idea of PianoSD.com (along with some others) I really wanted to underscore the fact that music should be fun and exciting. All of my life music has been an extension of my mood and personality. Sometimes quiet and blue other times very emotional and most of the time very up tempo and exciting. I had not thought of helping others feel what I had felt most of my life.
Last year we began the PianoSD.com School of Music. It immediately grew to an acceptable number and we have been working as status quo for about a year now. Last month for some reason I had more people than usual question me about our lesson program and how it works. I answered the questions and it was not until someone expressed to me that their life long dream was to be able to play the piano that I realized status quo was no longer enough.
This brings me to the present. Marko Paul has done a fantastic job teaching people to play the piano. I have even taught a few classes myself and had an absolute blast doing it but, now I see that “enough is simply NOT enough”. Many people are wanting to learn to play the piano and understand music so, we are giving music and music lessons an all out push.
Play Piano in a Flash is one of the classes that we are teaching in a group setting. It is written by Scott Houston “The Piano Guy” on KPBS. He plays the piano and teaches the piano in a televised class that he has won four emmys for. We are his exclusive franchise in San Diego County and have been working with him for over a year now. I am so excited about this because i get to teach this “easy to learn” class of adults. We just began a new class last night and it is going great.
Marko is teaching mostly private classes and one on ones with younger and older students and his classes are really growing. We are considering now a young man to add to the teacher line up and after talking with him last night I cant wait until we are all on board together.
As we are learning and teaching I will add more workshops such as the history of music, the origins of musical instruments and perhaps “how a piano works” class that I get to teach. I love this class because it is about my real passion.
If you are considering taking piano lessons……..NOW is the time. In Scott Houston’s words:
STOP DREAMING AND START PLAYING.
Drop by and say hello sometime, we would love to meet you
