Category: Articles

Yamaha HD-300

The Yamaha HD-300 Harmony Director: A Powerful Tool Designed for Music Educators

The Yamaha HD-300 Harmony Director is a powerful tool. Designed specifically to help music educators more effectively instruct ensembles. The HD-300 helps educators teach intonation and rhythmic training using a variety of features and training tools including recording/playback, a hold button for hands-free resonant drones, and an improved user-friendly interface for an easier and more […]

Learn More
Picture of students playing instruments.

How To Talk To Parents About Step Up Instruments

Tips and resources for how to talk to parents about stepping up from a beginner instrument to an intermediate or advanced one.

Learn More

When Is It Time to Upgrade Your Trombone?

  As the parent of a trombone student, you’ve probably been to your fair share of student performances and had plenty of exposure to the pleasant (and not so pleasant) sounds of your child practicing. While you might think you know your way around your child’s instrument, there’s probably a lot you don’t know. The quality […]

Learn More

When Is It Time to Upgrade Your Clarinet?

Learning the clarinet isn’t easy! If your child is playing on an instrument that doesn’t fit their needs, succeeding in music becomes far more challenging. Everything from finding the motivation to play to mastering clarinet fundamentals becomes more difficult when they outgrow their current instrument. Stepping up to a more advanced instrument will inspire your clarinet […]

Learn More

Is It Time to Upgrade Your Trumpet?

Whether your child has been playing the trumpet now for only a few months or quite a few years, you may be asking yourself the questions ‘Should I upgrade their trumpet?’ and “When is the right time to upgrade a trumpet?” When a child first starts learning the trumpet they generally begin with lessons on […]

Learn More

When Is It Time to Upgrade Your Saxophone?

If you’re a parent with limited experience in music, it can be hard to tell the difference between a student model saxophone and an intermediate or professional instrument. The truth is, details that seem small or insignificant actually make a difference in the sound quality and playability of these instruments. This means that your child’s […]

Learn More

Three Tips for Introducing Improvisation to Your Students

Introducing improvisation is one of the most important exercises a music educator can share with their students. Whereas drills, sight-reading exercises, and playing through sheet music develops a budding music student’s discipline and technique, improvisation is vital because it prioritizes and celebrates their creativity. When music educators don’t take improvisation seriously, students miss out on […]

Learn More

Going the Social Distance: Our Commitment to Health and Safety

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended most aspects of everyday lives, from the way we work to our children’s summer vacations. The good news is that Music & Arts is proud to resume safe in-person instruction for most instruments at a store near you. As much as we love music, we value health and safety even […]

Learn More

3 Big Reasons You Should Regularly Clean Your Instrument

Compared to hitting a crescendo with a band or orchestra, the topic of instrument cleaning is decidedly less thrilling. But the truth is that the best moments in music can’t happen without regular instrument maintenance, and cleaning is a huge part of that. Frequent instrument cleaning needs to be a part of your life as […]

Learn More
Orchestral Strings

How to Upgrade the Sound of Your Orchestral String Instrument

To a musician, sound couldn’t be more important. Countless hours are put into learning, playing, and practicing, all with the goal of improving the quality of sound that’s produced. To be sure, you can’t properly express yourself with a musical instrument unless you have the ability to produce the best sound. For musicians who play […]

Learn More