Category Archives: Music

Music Lessons for Aidan

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Even though my grandson does not like the music class they have at school, he loves his music teacher, Mrs. Sparks. She has a tough job keeping a classroom full of 9 year-olds focused on learning the words to a few songs and also introduce them to musical instruments.

Aidan loves to sing along with songs he finds on YouTube and anything he hears on the radio while we are driving around town on errands. I think he has a good voice, and Mrs. Sparks has suggested that I arrange for private music lessons for Aidan. She thinks he should play the piano and learn to read music, which will help if he decides to do more with his voice.

That is pretty much what I’ve been thinking, too. He should learn how to play an instrument and read music, and although I thought he might like to learn to play the guitar, I had not really considered how important it can be to know how to play the piano or keyboards first.

We don’t have a piano here at the house, but I think I can get a digital keyboard that would be OK for beginner lessons. I’m not sure if I can find a music teacher to come to my house and teach him on the keyboard, or if I will have to take him to the teacher’s house for the lesson and then he can use the keyboard at home for practice. Either way, I plan on encouraging him with his interest in singing and music.

Thinking About Summer Camp for the Kids?

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February is when we have a big Camp Fair for parents thinking about summer camp for their kids. It is sponsored by the free monthly parenting magazine, Nashville Parent. They’ve been hosting this Camp Fair for as long as I can remember living here in Nashville.

I was lucky to be able to attend several different types of summer camps while growing up. New York State has a huge selection of camps, from overnight camps in the mountains to day camps closer into the City.

For my grandkids, I am thinking about suggesting they go someplace very different from Nashville, such as at the beach in Florida or maybe in the desert. I heard about the Hummingbird Music Camp in Jemez, New Mexico from our school’s music teacher. New Mexico is a long way from Tennessee, which makes it ideal for what I want the kids to experience this summer. And it is a music camp, art camp and chess camp, along with all the traditional overnight summer camp activities like hikes and bonfires.

My thought is to fly into Albuquerque, rent a car, and drive the kids to Hummingbird Music Camp on a Sunday, when camp starts. There is a full day of Sunday Activities for arriving campers and their parents. Then, I will drive back to Albuquerque and stay at a nice resort, do some sightseeing and shopping, and visit a dear friend from college who moved there right after graduation and has lived there ever since.

Denise married her high school sweetheart, who was from New Mexico and his parents moved the family to New York.when he was a senior. After they graduated from college and got married, they moved to Albuquerque where she got a teaching position in the public schools and he took a sales job with a computer company.

They are one of the few couples that got married right after college and are still married today. How cool is that? I would love to spend some time with her and catch up on everything while the kids are having fun at the camp!

My Dear Friend, Richard Fagan, at the Bluebird Cafe

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photo Richie at the Bluebird

Finally got a photo of my friend, Richie, at his last show at the Bluebird Cafe. Richie has been fighting cancer for the past couple of years, but he was determined to do a few more shows around town while he is able.

The Bluebird Cafe is famous for it’s small, intimate setting for songwriters. They have a strict policy of no talking while the music is playing, and you must stay seated so you don’t distract attention from the artist performance. I agree with the policy – to talk during someone playing their music is just plain rude to both the artist and the rest of the audience.

Richie has a lot of hits to his credit. He has been writing and playing music for over 50 years! If you are interested in his music, just search on YouTube for Richard Fagan to hear some of his songs in his own voice. There is a lot of information about Richie on Wikipedia, too.