Free Music

I just finished a solo album called Indian Summer and I wanted to share it with you.

It was a lot of fun putting these songs together.  I got to reconnect with an old friend on a music project, finish a song I started 13 years ago, and make liner notes with lyrics and album credits.  One song even has whistling, and I have to say, my skills are not what I thought they were.

For the free download, just go HERE.  Click the downward pointing arrow at the top center of the screen to save it to your computer.

Please share this with anyone you think might enjoy it.

Thanks,
neal

2014-15 lessons

I am a guitar teacher available for in-home guitar lessons in Brooklyn, ages 5 and up.  Here's a little about me:

In addition to being a guitar teacher, I am also a pediatric occupational therapist.  My experience as a therapist has helped me understand the benefits learning an instrument can have on a child's development.  Please read my post, The Benefits of Learning Guitar for more info.

I have 20 years experience playing guitar and 5 years teaching.  Prior to my work as a therapist, I worked as a professional touring rock musician.  Some personal highlights are of opening for the band Kiss, playing Lollapalooza, and doing the cover art and commercial for the video game, Rockband 3.  I continue to write music for TV and film.

I live in Brooklyn with my wife and have two children - an 8 year old son and 6 year old daughter - both of whom love music. 

If interested in guitar lessons for your child, please contact me at nealmusic@yahoo.com

Thanks!

The Benefits of Learning Guitar

I first started playing guitar and writing songs 20 years ago, and the connection I had with music with immediate.  It was a wonderful outlet, something that challenged and excited me.  Years later, I saw the profound effect music had on my kids.  My son, a non-stop fireball of energy, would stop like a deer in headlights when he heard a song or instrument that caught his ear.  He continues to love exploring sounds and the natural dynamics of music.  Witnessing that effect inspired me to become a guitar teacher, but it was only after becoming an occupational therapist that I began to learn the true value of learning an instrument.  Below are a few of my observations on the benefits of learning to play guitar:

Motor development – Learning guitar improves hand strength and fine motor control.  It also develops bilateral integration skill, which is the simultaneous use of both sides of the body in a coordinated way.  While playing guitar, the child is using both hands for different purposes – to strum with one hand and hold the strings with the other.  As this skill is developed, the left and right hemispheres of the brain are better able to communicate with one another and coordinate movements.

Cognitive development – One of the great joys for me as a teacher is working with a student to learn a piece of music.  Doing so requires the ability to sustain attention to the task, recall finger placement, and the ability to process what is on the page.  These are all important components of cognition.

Social-emotional development – With every age group, I incorporate a songwriting component to the lesson.  This activity is more about the process of songwriting than the outcome.  It is an excellent way to share ideas, take chances, and be expressive in a positive setting.  I believe that today’s educational curriculum is so focused on meeting standards, students often miss the chance to participate in these creative exercises.

The academic link – it is easy to make the connection between the skills above and school performance.  Reading music follows the same left-to-right, top-to-bottom pattern as reading text.  Following rhythms involves mathematical concepts such as counting and pattern recognition.  Motor skills are important, even at the kindergarten level, for holding a crayon or pencil efficiently.  Attention, memory and visual processing aid in learning math facts, recalling sight words, and a host of other common school tasks.  Finally, the child with opportunities to express his ideas confidently and work well with others will very likely get the most out of school.

I have been teaching music for close to 5 years.  The experience has been so much fun and extremely rewarding.  My goal is to encourage my students, challenge them, and maybe get a few laughs along the way.

Introducing rock to your kids #10 - Joan Jett "I Love Rock n' Roll"

Let me be frank - if your kid doesn't know this song and he/she is 4 years old or older, there is a serious problem.  This song was made for kids.  It inspires them to jump, shout, howl like a coyote, and air guitar with a vicious rock sneer.

"I Love Rock n' Roll" is simple, catchy, timeless.  As a kid I locked myself in the bathroom, gripped my microphone (hairbrush) and sang along with Joan.  In college I raised both arms in joy as it played at a house party.  And even today, I always turn it up when it comes on the car radio.  That's the beauty of songs such as this one.  It never gets old and it appeals to just about everyone. 

Kids have about a 5 second window before they decide whether or not they like a song.  Something needs to catch their attention and not let go.  Because at the end of those 5 seconds, they ask themselves, "do I continue listening to this song or go back to setting up these blocks?" 

To me Joan embodies the power and potential of what I see as a sorely lacking group of female rock singers.  Pat Benatar is great, Stevie Nicks is amazing, Janis Joplin is an icon.  But where are the others?  You could make a case for Pink, an unbelievable singer who sometimes dabbles in rock.  That's what makes Joan and this song so special.  She stands out, and does it with an awesome pink sport jacket.

Please check out my new solo album "EXPLODE," which you can download on iTunes, Amazon, or CDBaby.

-neal

Introducing rock to your kids #9: Steve Miller Band "Abracadabra"

To say that my record collection was limited as a 7 year old is an understatement.  I owned the three albums below and listened to them obsessively.

How can I forget the beautifully colorful kid's drawings on the inside of Elvis' record?  The high pitched and perfectly harmonized renditions of the Urban Cowboy soundtrack as sung by three western chipmunks?  And of course, Michael.  MICHAEL.  We'll save Michael for another week.

One of my great joys as a dad comes from introducing music I loved as a kid to my kids.  I nearly shed a tear the first time I played "Welcome to the Jungle" for Quinn and Callie.

Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" was at the top of my list for a long time.  Never before had I heard a song so centered around magic, and for that reason alone I loved the song.  At 7, I was convinced I would be a magician.  I spent days and nights honing my craft:  borrowing card trick books from the library, mastering sleight of hand, and choosing only the finest threads for my cape.  Naturally, Steve Miller's song fed into this passion with a song that blended mystique, danger, and seduction.  "Abracadabra" would be the song I walked out on stage to....and the world would love my magic.

The video for this song, like most videos from the early 80's, is totally bizarre.  Every video from this time is taken so literally.  For example, the lyric goes, "I heat up, I can't cool down."  You can almost hear the director say, "Ok guys, what heats up?  Stoves.  The sun. Fire.  That's it!  Let's show some fire while Steve sings the lyric 'I heat up.'"

But in my opinion, the strangeness of this video only adds to the intrigue of this song.  Embrace "Abracadabra" for all it's weird imagery and unleash your kid's inner magician.




Download my new album, Explode! on iTunes by clicking HERE

Thanks and check back on Thursday for another rock recommendation.

*neal

Introducing rock to your kids #8 - Motorhead "Ace of Spades"

Walk down the street in Brooklyn.  Every toddler has a Stones shirt, an AC/DC shirt (or rather AB/CD), a Guns n' Roses shirt.  But how many kids rock a Motorhead shirt?  Very few and here's the reason why.

Motorhead is not, and will never be, mainstream rock.  They formed during the year I was born, 1975, and have essentially written the same song over and over for more than a quarter of a century.  Here's the formula:

1. Guitar riff starts out
2. Band kicks in
3. Lemmy begins shouting unintelligible lyrics
4. guitar solo
5. end

So why do Motorhead's fans love them if each song sounds like the next?  Because it's a really good song.  And the most famous of these is called "Ace of Spades," the opening track off their awesome album with the same name, released in 1980.

My son likes this song because of the few lyrics he is able to decipher.  This is a boy who requests the Eagles song "Witchy Woman" repeatedly, simply because it has the word "witch" in the title.  Somewhere during pre-k, he became fascinated with all forms of monsters:  zombies, vampires, goblins, devils, demons, witches, you name it.  "Ace of Spades" plays into this fascination, as Lemmy sings things like "dancing with the devil," "snake eyes watchin' you" and "don't forget the joker! (he relates this last lyric to Batman's Joker)."

So next time your strolling down a block in Brooklyn, make your way past the sea of Def Leppard onesies, grab your kid's hand and sing, "the only card I need is the ace of spades, the ace of spades."

Neal

Check out my new solo album on iTunes or Amazon

Introducing rock to your kids #7 - The Beatles "Helter Skelter"

The Beatles.  The biggest band in the entire world.  I often wonder why their songs are so memorable.  Is it that each song is a two and a half minute masterpiece or that their entire catalog has been played so often on radio?  It's probably a bit of both, but more so the masterpiece.  As a songwriter I am amazed that The Beatles were able to put out so many songs that sounded so unique, yet so cohesive.

"Helter Skelter" is a far cry from "I Want To Hold Your Hand" but you can tell they come from the same band.  That's what was so beautiful about their talent - each could contribute a song, sing lead, and put their own mark on another member's track.

I particularly love "Helter Skelter" because I can hear the effect it had on subsequent genres.  It seemed right for the time -- political unrest, youth revolt, the birth of garage rock.  You can sense all of that in the song.  But when I listen to it I hear the early stages of metal in the heavy guitar riff and the scream vocals later found in grunge.

Does any of this matter to kids?  Absolutely not.  They'll probably want to hear it for two reasons alone:

1) it's a great song to go crazy to
2) they can mimic Ringo Starr at the end of the song, when he shouts "I got blisters on my fingers!"

neal