Young Children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year, compared to children who do not receive musical training.
On September 23, 2019 Paige’s Music participated in the Conn-Selmer Artist Select program. This program allows professionals to hand select and play test each instrument from the factory to ensure that only the finest instruments are available to customers. K. Blake Schlabach and Tucker Woerner carefully play tested dozens of instruments, and we are happy to say that our top five selections are now available at Paige’s Music.
Every once in a while, we get in repairs that we just have to share. For our latest installment, we recently had a cornet brought in that was literally found on a trash pile. One of our highly skilled brass technicians, Sam Richards, performed his magic on this instrument and brought it back to its original beauty. Here is the customer’s review after receiving the instrument back…
Look at this beauty. It is an E. A. Couturier, made in 1918. It is a Bb and an A cornet. It has a turn key on the right side when rotated changes it from the Bb to the A. It was given to me about 4 years ago by a friend that retrieved it from the trash pile. He said he didn’t know if it was any good. I could play it some but it needed work to play correctly. Thank you to Mr Kevin Cottrell from the Seymour High School for suggesting sending it to Paige’s Music. They had it only a week and I got it back today. They did an AWESOME job bringing this old cornet back to life. I am extremely happy with the service and thrilled to have this beautiful antique sounding as it did 101 years ago.
Below are a couple of pictures of the finished product the customer posted on social media. We’re always up to a challenge here at Paige’s Music Repair, and in many circumstances are able to bring an instrument back to top playing condition, regardless of how badly it may have been damaged. So no matter how big or how small, you can always trust the pros at Paige’s Music Repair to deliver high quality repairs at a competitive price!
Teens described their music teachers as encouraging, motivating and acting as both role models and friends that can be trusted for listening and giving advice.
When I was in high school and it came my turn to play lead trumpet in jazz band, I was like most high school students and began searching for a way to improve range and endurance. We all want to nail those high notes at the end of the show or the concert! How can we achieve this? Most students at that point get on the internet or go to a store and ask about mouthpieces to help them play higher. Enter the Bobby Shew Lead mouthpiece or the Schilke 14A4a. Too often have I seen students purchase these mouthpieces and after a couple weeks tell me that they aren’t working for them anymore and then ask me, “why not?” There are a number of reasons.
Now that school has been back in session for a few months it is a great time to talk about the benefits of an upgraded instrument. Manufacturers build student level instruments to be durable and easy to play. This is great for a new player but it can become a detriment as the individual progresses. Some of the benefits that you gain with an upgraded instrument can include: better tone, improved range, new features and even different materials that are used when making it.
Another great time about this time of year is that it is rebate season and the most popular one is Step Up to Yamaha! The Step Up to Yamaha rebate promotion provides great consumer offers on some of the finest quality instruments from one of the most recognizable brands in the music industry. This is an opportunity to get a great instrument and receive either a $50 or $100 rebate back from Yamaha. For more information, please follow the link above, or call us at 1-800-382-1099.
Students indicate that arts participation motivates them to stay in school, and that the arts create a supportive environment that promotes constructive acceptance of criticism and one in which it is safe to take risks.
On Monday, September 23, 2019 I was fortunate to visit the Conn-Selmer plant in Elkhart, IN. The point of this visit was to tour the facility, and to personally select professional instruments for the inventory at Paige’s Music. With the help of K. Blake Schlabach, we picked out a collection of Bach Stradivarius 42BOs as well as a King 3B and Bach Stradivarius 12. Through Conn-Selmer’s “Artist Select” program we are able to hand pick each instrument after play testing and inspection to ensure that only the very finest instruments are available to our customers.
In a world with more and more automation it is easy to forget that many of our goods rely on highly skilled craftsmen to complete very precise tasks. Touring the facility and meeting the craftsmen gave real insight into what it takes to make a professional level instrument. Below you will see pictures of some of the steps it takes to create a bell for a brass instrument.