In this sample piano lesson from the Online Piano School, Christie Peery goes over a basic, yet essential component of piano technique: using wrists. In particular the drop float wrist, a technique widely used since the Classical Period and one that piano players are introduced very early on in their piano lessons. For this lesson, Christie uses the Samuel Arnold Sonata in D major to illustrate the importance of the drop float wrist technique as a way to either make the notes louder or softer. 

This came out really great, it's the first in what we hope will be an ongoing series of Forum Jams® that feature our artists jamming with their students. The concept for this was started a long time ago - the challenge was to figure out the best way to have students remotely jam with each other as well as their teacher.

We wanted it to be captured on video so we could see everyone play as well as hear them - plus we wanted to have it recorded with good audio so we could present it in the highest fidelity possible. It was a bit of an experiment to see if the process would work, and it did! Here's how it went down:

"Just run it up and down the pentatonic scale. You can do no wrong, every note is right." - Howard Levy

Here's a harmonica lesson from the vaults of the Howard Levy Harmonica School, it's an exercise which will help you get more familiar with the very important pentatonic scale. Howard shows you a way to practice the scale in a way that makes things a bit more interesting and gets you used to playing the notes out of order. 

"So, if a great soloist came in and played (as themselves) at an audition, would they pass the first round?" - Nathan Cole

This is the question Nathan Cole proposes in a new blog on Violinist.com, where he writes about his experience after watching famed violin soloist Joshua Bell rehearse with the LA Philharmonic recently. Read it here! 

Etudes (from the French world étude meaning study) have long been used by musicians as a way to improve on certain techniques. They are typically written for one instrument and are comprised of a short musical composition designed for practice and repetition. The idea is that the more you play it, the easier it gets and the more you improve. 

This jazz bass etude will help you get in the swing of things, it's a sample lesson from the Online Jazz Bass School with John Patitucci which features a beginner level bass etude in E Minor. We have the full backing track here that you can play along to, as well as bass notation for the melody, which we also have transcribed for you here.

Dobro expert Andy Hall tells us what he thinks the best Dobro songs are out there. Some of these you may be familar with while others you may not have heard before. Either way, they're all great Dobro songs that come highly reccommended by a great Dobro player. These are in no particular order and we've included Andy's notes on each one above the videos. There's also some great Dobro playing from Andy on the new Infamous Stringdusters album Let It Go, which is now available.

We Hide and Seek - Jerry Douglas

"To me this song really defines the creative approach to modern Dobro music. Most Dobro music tends to be heavily blues based, but this embodies a more melodic, more adventurous sound." 

"Drawing is hard enough. Let's get our tools as ready as possible." - Justin BUA

Here's a tip for anyone drawing with pencils: make sure you have a good sharpener. Not only that, make sure you have a good pencil and know how to properly sharpen it for the kind of art you're drawing. Learning how sharp to make your pencil is crucial if you're new to drawing. 

When drawing, your pencil is your weapon to convey your art. Just like you wouldn't want to go to battle with a dull sword, you don't want to go drawing with a dull pencil. You want to get your weapon in the best of shape before you the battle. It's the same for learning how to draw - you want to go in as prepared as possible.

“The goal was to try to make a record that only I could make.” - Bryan Sutton

Bryan Sutton's new album Into My Own is now available on Sugar Hill Records. The album marks an evolution for Bryan as a singer and songwriter, with five of the tracks featuring him as lead singer. Other musicians on the album include Bill Frisell, Noam Pikelny, Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury and Stuart Duncan among others. As always when Bryan plays guitar, expect to hear flatpicking at its finest!

Visit Bluegrass Today to read their in-depth review and check out the links below for purchase information.

• Into My Own on Amazon

• Into My Own on iTunes
  

Dr Martin Taylor MBE has been appointed Visiting Professor of Guitar at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The multi-award winning guitarist, composer and educator joins the Guitar Faculty for the first time this month. In his new role, Dr Taylor will work with Royal Conservatoire guitarists, jazz musicians and musical theatre performers as well as instrumentalists from across the Conservatoire.

On joining the Faculty, Dr Taylor said: “I am absolutely delighted to be appointed ‘Visiting Professor of Guitar’ at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. I feel very honoured to be a part of such a highly respected musical institution and look forward to working with my students and musical colleagues in the future.”

Professor John Wallace said: “I am delighted that Martin, one of the world’s most innovative and creative guitarists, is working with us. His work is known all over the world and by working and learning from him, our students will gain inspiration and great skills as performers and instrumentalists.”

We’re pleased to bring you another profile in online learning, this time from one of Ricardo Morales’ clarinet students. Tyler grew up in Green Bay, WI and is currently finishing up a master's degree in clarinet performance at the University of New Mexico.  

AW: What instruments do you play?

Tyler: I started out taking piano lessons from my grandma and then took up the clarinet in 5th grade. During my undergrad, I studied both clarinet and piano before finally choosing clarinet in grad school.