Christmas carols really got there start in ancient Europe, but they weren’t really christmas carols, but were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced round stone circles. In fact, the word carol originally meant to dance to something. Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has really survived.

Reports are vauge on if the Boy Band elfs were hated or loved.

Early christians replaced the pagen winter solstice celebratoins with Christmas.  In AD 129, a Roman Bishop said that a song called “Angel’s Hymn” should be sung at Christmas.  Soon after this many composers all over Europe started to write ‘Christmas carols’. However, not many people liked them as they were all written and sung in Latin, a language that the normal people couldn’t understand. By the time of the Middles Ages (the 1200s), most people had lost interest in celebrating Christmas altogether.

Except these guys. They’ve been, um, rockin’ it for centuries.

This was changed by St. Francis of Assisi when, in 1223, he started his Nativity Plays in Italy. The people in the plays sang songs or ‘canticles’ that told the story during the plays. Sometimes, the choruses of these new carols were in Latin; but normally they were all in a language that the people watching the play could understand and join in! The new carols spread to France, Spain, Germany and other European countries.

When Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans came to power in England in 1647, the celebration of Christmas and singing carols was stopped.  Probably because Puritans just didn’t know how to get down.

Pictured: Not a Puritan

However, the carols survived as people still sang them in secret. Carols remained mainly unsung until Victorian times, when two men called William Sandys and Davis Gilbert collected lots of old Christmas music from villages in England.  And they didn’t even get an animated Christmas special on ABC.  What a rip off!

So there you have it, a short, incomplete history of Christmas Carols.  Mery Christmas / Happy Winter Soltice / Happy Holidays / whatever!  We hope you have a great one!

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What is a violin you ask?  Well the violin, also known as a fiddle, is a string instrument, usually with four strings, tuned in perfect fifths.  It is the highest pitched instrument in the violin family of instruments, which includes the violin, viola, cello, and double bass.

The violin, viola, and cello were first made in the early 16th century, in Italy. The earliest evidence for their existence is in paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari from the 1530s, though Ferrari’s instruments had only three strings. The Academie musicale, a treatise written in 1556 by Philibert Jambe de Fer, gives a clear description of the violin family much as we know it today.

Ok, that’s enough of a history lesson for now.  Before you start thinking violin is some stuffy, boring instrument, check out the video below.  To start your own violin adventure, come in and see us.  We have violins that you can rent, as well as for sale.  We would love to help you begin your violin journey!

Rock violin girls

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Firstly, music affects different areas of the brain (see pic below).

HAPPY/SAD MUSIC AFFECTS HOW WE SEE NEUTRAL FACES:

We can usually pick if a piece of music is particularly happy or sad, but this isn’t just a subjective idea that comes from how it makes us feel. In fact, our brains actually respond differently to happy and sad music.

Even short pieces of happy or sad music can affect us. One study showed that after hearing a short piece of music, participants were more likely to interpret a neutral expression as happy or sad, to match the tone of the music they heard. This also happened with other facial expressions, but was most notable for those that were close to neutral.

A good real world example of this is the background music in movies and television.  Without realizing it, you are getting emotional cues by the background music to make you feel happy or sad (or scared, or anxious, etc.).  Next time you watch TV try and pay attention to just how much music is in the background.

Ambient Noise can improve creativity.  We all like to pump up the tunes when we’re powering through our to-do lists, right? But when it comes to creative work, loud music may not be the best option.

It turns out that a moderate noise level is the sweet spot for creativity. Even more than low noise levels, ambient noise apparently gets our creative juices flowing, and doesn’t put us off the way high levels of noise do.  In high noise levels, however, our creative thinking is impaired because we’re overwhelmed and struggle to process information efficiently.

The type of music you like is said to be an indicator of your personality.  No real big surprise there.  But what might surprise you is that this has been studied, and the results are pretty interesting.  Here is a breakdown:

• Blues fans have high self-esteem, are creative, outgoing, gentle and at ease
• Jazz fans have high self-esteem, are creative, outgoing and at ease
• Classical music fans have high self-esteem, are creative, introvert and at ease
• Rap fans have high self-esteem and are outgoing
• Opera fans have high self-esteem, are creative and gentle
• Country and western fans are hardworking and outgoing
• Reggae fans have high self-esteem, are creative, not hardworking, outgoing, gentle and at ease
• Dance fans are creative and outgoing but not gentle
• Indie fans have low self-esteem, are creative, not hard working, and not gentle
• Bollywood fans are creative and outgoing
• Rock/heavy metal fans have low self-esteem, are creative, not hard-working, not outgoing, gentle, and at ease
• Chart pop fans have high self-esteem, are hardworking, outgoing and gentle, but are not creative and not at ease
• Soul fans have high self-esteem, are creative, outgoing, gentle, and at ease

That’s a little generalized for my tastes, but it is kind of interesting.

So there you have it, Music and Your Brain.  There is a ton of reference material on this subject online if you should want to learn more.  As always, feel free to come into any Willis Music (especially the Louisville Superstore), and have a highly intellectual conversation on the power of music and your brain.

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What is a saxophone you say?  Well, the saxophone is a family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. It was invented by a Belgian instrument maker named Adolphe Sax around 1840.  He patented the saxophone on June 28, 1846, in two groups of seven instruments each. Each series consisted of instruments of various sizes.  The series pitched in B♭ and E♭, designed for military bands, has proved extremely popular and most saxophones encountered today are from this series. Instruments from the so-called “orchestral” series, pitched in C and F, never gained a foothold, and the B♭ and E♭ instruments have now replaced the C and F instruments in classical music.

Saxophone players are typically called saxophonists, or you know, just “cool”.  The Sax has been used in almost all forms of popular music throughout the 20th century, most notably in jazz and early rock n’ roll.  One of the most well known saxophonists in recent history has been Kenny G.  Known best for playing the soprano sax, has done much to advance (or perhaps detract, depending on your feelings on Mr. G) the popularity of the instrument.

To learn more about the saxophone, or any other instrument, feel free to come into your local Willis Music store, or hit up your local library.  They probably don’t have a whole lot to do anymore since the advent of the internet, and I’m sure they’d be more than happy to get you all kinds of information that, while it won’t help you learn to play, might be kind of interesting.

Keep Rockin’!!

Willis Music Superstore Louisville Edition

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THE END OF AN ERA! Wednesday, August 14, 2014 is the last day Mohawk Mike McAfee will be an employee of Willis Music. After 22 years, Mike is entering a different industry and going to work right down the street from his house.

Mike will continue to bee seen on stage and TV with 2-time LEO Magazine “Best Cover Band” and “Best Rock Band” winners Eight Inch Elvis. The band is on Facebook and at www.eightinchelvis.net.

This is a big deal for us, so please make time to stop by before Wednesday and give our fearless leader a hug as he struts out the door!

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Sometimes sales get a little confusing. Your friends at Willis Music have decided we don’t like confusing sales, so we’re having a really cool, really easy one!

Here’s how it works:

You buy any 5 items and get the 5th at an extra 15% off the tagged sale price. You can arrange the items any way you like, so we suggest putting the most expensive last! Guitars, horns, PA, drums, amps, ukes… it’s all here!

Buy any 8 items and get the 8th at an extra 20% off the tagged sale price. That means the 15% extra for item number 5 AND the extra 20% for item number 8. Again, we suggest putting the 2 most expensive items in those spots.

MESA/Boogie & Yamaha Allegro horns are excluded BUT  if those are what you’re dreaming about you’ll get a $50 gift card from us with purchase.

4 days only – don’t miss your chance to save a ton!

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Are you a singer between the ages of 13 and 21? Wanna chance to win some big money and get some serious media attention?

The Kentucky State Fair is proud to once again have Willis Music in Louisville is hosting a talent preliminary for our state fair. This preliminary is for vocalists only and takes place Saturday, August 2 at 2pm. There are a limited number of application forms available, so don’t wait too long or you may miss your spot!

Willis Music not only has an incredible performance hall they host recitals, clinics and concerts in. They also are providing a grand piano, any amplifiers and microphones needed to make your performance the best it can be!

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Got plans for June 21?

Cancel them! Saturday the 21st is National Make Music Day and we want you to celebrate with us!

We have tons of things going on that day! First, if you don’t play music, we want to teach you. Come in and we will take the time to help you learn a song. Music is so easy, any one can play. There is NO excuse to not play. It is the most relaxing thing on the planet. Stop by and we’ll have everything hooked up ready for you to go.

Sounds great, right? Well we have more. Stop in the store before the 21st for a coupon good for anything in the store!

We love music, and we want you to love it too! Stop by June 21st and make some music with us.

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Pitch Class – All pitches on a keyboard that have the same name

Scale – A group of pitches arranged from low to high or high to low

Tonic – The note upon which a scale or key is based; the first note of the scale that is the tonal center of a musical piece

Tonality – The organization of pitches based on their hierarchical relationship to the tonic (central tone)

Atonal – Lacking tonality; not based on a central scale or key

Key – The group of pitches associated with a specific tonic; a musical piece may be in the key of a major or minor scale  (e.g., C Major or E minor)

Accidental – A musical symbol indicating that the pitch of a note should be altered (sharps, flats and naturals)

Sharp – A symbol indicating that the pitch should be a half step higher than the written note

Flat – A symbol indicating that the pitch should be a half step lower than the written note

Natural – A symbol indicating that a note should be played as written (not raised or lowered); typically only used to counteract a flat or sharp that has appeared in the piece previously, or in the key signature

Key Signature – The sharps and flats placed at the beginning of a staff, used to indicate which pitches should be played a half-step higher (sharp) or lower (flat); key signatures are typically associated with a particular key

Time Signature (also called meter signature) – A symbol placed at the beginning of a staff used to indicate the meter of a composition.  The symbol typically consists of two numbers: the number at the top indicates how many beats are in each measure and the number at the bottom indicates the note value (e.g., a quarter note) that constitutes one metric beat.

Tempo – The speed at which the music is played; may be expressed in beats per minute, or with descriptive terms such as “largo” (Italian for slow) and “allegro” (Italian for fast).

Interval – The distance between two pitches; the interval describes the relationship that occurs when both pitches are played in unison (e.g., Minor 2nd or Major 6th)

Triad – A cord consisting of three pitches arranged in 3rds (a triad can be major, minor, augmented or diminished)

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Bill Monroe, 1978

Bill Monroe is widely considered to be the founding father of bluegrass music.  He was of Scottish heritage, born in Kentucky and played the mandolin.  He and his brother, Charlie Monroe, formed a band that was very popular in the 1920s and 1930s.  But the two went their separate ways in 1938.  After his first group disassembled after only 3 months, Bill Monroe went on to form “Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys.”  His home state’s nickname—the Bluegrass State—provided Bill with inspiration for the name.  However, it was not until the 1950s that the term “bluegrass” was formally used to describe the musical genre.

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