One of B&B’s own rock star instructors, Laura Tsaggaris, is hitting the studio to produce her fourth album, Everyman. A singer/ songwriter/ guitarist based in Washington, DC, who’s been aptly likened to Sheryl Crow, Joni Mitchell, and Suzanne Vega, Laura’s well known for blending elements of rock, pop, blues, and jazz, giving a diverse group of music lovers cause to celebrate.

And upcoming Everyman, which focuses on Laura’s vocals and her killer skills on the acoustic guitar, promises to strike a chord with fans as well. As the title suggests, Laura hopes listeners will be able to find themselves in her lyrics, which touch on universal themes like love, loss, fear, and courage. Transcending race, sex, and gender, Laura’s new album aims to unite audiences with the rallying cry, “we are all Everyman.”

At the beginning of May, Laura packed her bags and headed to Los Angeles, where she’s spending the month recording with Grammy nominated producer, Jamie Caniloro, who’s worked with artists like R.E.M., Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson, and the Eagles. They expect the completed album ready in early fall.

To learn more about Laura, check out her B&B teacher’s profile or visit her Web site at http://www.lauratsaggaris.com.

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Learning to play a musical instrument can be one of the most enriching experiences in life. The pleasure of producing music for the delight of others, or for personal enjoyment, is a powerful gift. While teaching oneself is possible, having an experienced teacher who provides a structured program of advancement is the best way of achieving musical goals in the shortest time.

Music lessons can be a challenge, however. The cost and time commitment needed for getting to and from lessons can be as much of a burden as the lessons themselves. This extra burden of expense and can seriously detract from the enjoyment and progress of learning to play the instrument itself. And the time spent traveling back and forth from home to lesson could be much better spent practicing the instrument, rather than doing the commute.

The solution is finding a teacher who can do the lessons at your own home. For parents of children who are learning a musical instrument, this solution offers many advantages. The parent can be engaged with household tasks  while the child is taking their lesson, rather than wasting time driving struggling with traffic and worrying about being late to the lesson , idly waiting  for the lesson to end while chores at home are left unfinished,  are all eliminated. At- home lessons can also be easier and less stressful on the child in the familiar surroundings of home rather that in a strange environment as well. Taking lessons at home means the child can associate music with his normal life and familiar things, making music a part of the family, as it were.

Eliminating the cost of travel, and time lost from other activities and needed chores at home lessons can be just more economical, and learning and practicing easier when music becomes part of the normal household routine, rather than the ordeal of a commute. At home lessons can make learning to play an instrument easier, faster and more enjoyable for everyone.

Best Electric guitar for kids

So, your child has her heart set on jamming out on the electric guitar. Now, you’ve just got to decide which one to buy. When you’re shopping around, one of the main things to consider is size. Kids have small hands, so they need guitars that are three-quarters or even half the size of an adult’s guitar. But it’s not okay to just settle on a toy instrument either. We’ve compiled a list of the top three electric guitars that will make even the youngest student feel like a rock star.

1. Squier by Fender Mini Strat

The Squier Mini Strat is the highest regarded child’s electric guitar out there. It’s got 20 frets and a 22.75-inch scale, so it’s three-quarters the size of the full-sized version – perfect for beginners. It also boasts 5-way stitching, giving your young musician a multitude of various sound options from bright to muted. And, the Squier features a double cutaway body, 3 single-coil pickups, a maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard.

You even get your choice of colors: black, pink, or Torino red. This is a quality guitar that’s perfect for small hands, and considering the hundred-dollar price tag, it’s almost impossible to beat.

2. Epiphone Les Paul Special II

This is a solid guitar for any beginner. The slim taper neck makes the Epiphone easy for kids to handle. It also features wax potted humbucker pickups, preventing annoying microphonic feedback when the amp’s up loud. The Epiphone is well-known for it’s mahogany neck and body and signature Les Paul sound. It comes in Vintage Sunburst, Heritage CherrySunburst, and Ebony.

3. Ibanez GRGM21 GIO Mikro

Featuring a 22.2-inch scale and a small neck and body, this is another great choice for a child. It has 24 frets, dual Powersound humbucking pickups, a hard-tail bridge, and an amazing sound. This Ibanez is lacking a tremolo bar, but comes in a host of colors, including yellow, jewel blue, and candy apple red. It retails for about $150.

Music is powerful. Since its beginnings music has been used in communication, healing, and to motivate and inspire, but mostly for enjoyment and relaxation. The element of music, rhythm and tempo, are experienced even before birth. The first sound an infant is aware of is the rhythm and tempo of their mother’s heartbeat. Rhythm and tempo are the soul of music in all it forms.  After birth, young children are calmed and soothed by lullabies and simple tunes and songs.

Music, either “natural” or “composed” is all around us. . Birds are natural producers of music, using “songs” as a way of communicating. Even the sounds you hear in your daily chores have a musical pitch and rhythm, the pitch and tempo of a car’s engine, or the rhythmic clicking on a typewriter. Music has been used in different occasions to express and enhance emotion. When used in weddings, it indicates joy and happiness; at funerals, sorrow and remembrance. In movies, stage productions and operas, music enhances the varied emotions expressed by the performers. The sound track of a movie enhances the action. The sound track of a war movie emphasizes and accelerates the sense of fear and danger, while in romantic movies music accentuates the deep emotions of love. Music is an integral part of health and therapy, and also a form of relaxation. The connection between music, and our minds and emotions, supports and improves the mental and physical health of human beings.

Music education allows us to develop skills that create those deep emotions. Music education teaches creativity, teamwork, self-esteem, communication, discipline, and basic study skills. Further study improves the quality and effect of the product.  Music education is especially valuable for children. Children enjoy music and interactive play. Musical lullabies are the first music they hear. Music education — the study of musical forms, of harmony, pitch and tempo; the experience of playing in a band or singing in a chorus has a number of benefits; learning the disciplines of concentration and teamwork, the need for preparation, rehearsal and  practice, are skills that can be used in all aspects of life.

Music is an art form. Music Education provides understanding of the principles and disciplines that are required in any art form. It develops creative thinking skills, allows risk taking, and requires teamwork, problem solving, and communication skills. When children play together, they often sing together, or in turns. Some naturally create their own compositions. These are skills that widen their intellect and perceptions; thinking in broad not narrow perspectives so that they come up with musical compositions that are appealing to all types of people in all types of cultures.  Music Education is one answer to the challenge of how to bring people together, not set them apart. Music is part of all cultures, and is why music education is crucial. Cultures use music to communicate and share its ideas and values from one generation to another and one culture to another. It teaches them values; it teaches them to be productive  members of society; and it develops compassion and empathy for others.

Music education is one of the most noble, and enjoyable professions to undertake. Music education has universal economic value, it creates jobs, and the result is shared between nations and cultures to promote peace and goodwill.

Instruments:  Guitar, Beginner Violin

Genres: 

Jazz, Rock, Pop

Location: Rockville, Potomac, Bethesda, NW DC

Why I work well with kids?