I never liked history. Maybe it’s because I never really had a good history teacher or maybe it’s because learning about history seemed more like a lesson in memorization than anything else. As a music minor in college, I had to take a music history class, and as you can imagine, I was less than … More What history books don’t teach you about music
Every year when Father’s Day rolled around my sister and I had the brilliant idea to buy my dad mustache wax and Old Spice. As you can see from this picture, he did sport a mustache growing up. So naturally mustache wax was a given. And the Old Spice well, who doesn’t wear Old Spice? As we grew older … More Irish Music and Father’s Day
To all the great mother’s out there, and you’re all great! … More In honor of Mother’s Day
Music isn’t just about learning the notes, memorizing tunes or putting together set lists for performances. It’s about relationships. Relationships between musicians, relationships between the band and the audience or dancers, the relationship between you and your instrument, and the relationships between the notes. I was reminded of this the other day during rehearsal as we … More How music is more about relationships than notes
Recently I brought my bow in to be re-haired and the violin shop kindly lent me a bow of similar value to use for the week until I got mine back. If you play the fiddle you know what a difference a bow can make. Using a different bow feels so foreign. It’s like getting … More Don’t judge a girl by her bow
by Katrina VanTyne Spring has finally arrived, according to the calendar at least. And though there is still a ton of snow on the ground here in Vermont, there is no better time like the present to do some spring cleaning on your instrument. Winter can wreak havoc on instruments so now is the time … More 4 Spring cleaning tips for fiddlers
by Katrina VanTyne If you’re not versed in Irish music and you happen to stumble into a place like Bagitos on a Saturday afternoon when the place is filled with musicians, you might not know exactly what to make of it. There is definitely an art to sessioning and a few unwritten rules you should know before … More 4 Common Misconceptions of an Irish Session
by Katrina VanTyne I love watching the Olympics. It doesn’t matter who wins the gold, it always brings tears to my eyes when an athlete gets awarded their medal on the podium. Though I can’t claim to be anything close to an Olympic athlete (though I did mountain bike race in my youth), I can … More How practicing is like training for the olympics
I believe music is magical. It can improve your health, your mood, your life. It can express deep emotions. It can make you feel good playing it and it can make someone else feel good listening to it. But can it make beer taste good? We think so. This week we had the opportunity to … More Tunes in The Tap Room
If your New Year’s resolution includes taking better care of your health, one way to stick to it is to play more music. I’m no doctor, and I don’t play one on TV, but research shows there are health benefits to being a musician. And don’t worry, you don’t have to be a professional to reap … More 6 Ways playing music is good for your health
Session Obsession 