Fretmentor’s Blog is for Everyone
Here you will find music related articles of interest to all musicians and music lovers. We provide product reviews, concert, places and event summaries, historical topics, profiles on current or past artists, music theory and more.
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Enjoy A Musical Holiday Season
HAPPY HOLIDAYS from www.Fretmentor.com Each and every year, I hold a holiday party where students learn to play Christmas tunes. They are assigned a song and together, work for weeks on playing the tunes. We held our party last week … Continue reading
Posted in Other, Uncategorized
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SIRSY – One of a Kind Duo
The other night I met some friends at a local gathering spot in Jupiter, Florida, known for its music. Every so often, should the urge hit me, I will head out to listen to new bands. My friend invited me … Continue reading
To Pedal or Not to Pedal – Part II
To Pedal of Not To Pedal – Part II This is part 2 of our article on purchasing and setting up a pedal board (See Fretmentor’s Blog entitled “To Pedal or Not To Pedal Part 1”, where we talked about … Continue reading
Posted in Guest Columns, Recording & Technology, Uncategorized
Tagged Electric Pedals, Guitar pedals, Pedal Board
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Are Community School Music Classes For Me?
Fretmentor Group Classes Its that time of year again. A new year, new year resolutions, and proud new owners of musical instruments acquired from the holiday. Now the hard part. How do you learn to play guitar, banjo or mandolin … Continue reading
The Avett Brothers at the Paramount Theatre
Best time of my life! The Avett Brothers show at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids was like a dream come true. With seats in the middle orchestra section Row C – yes, Row C! – it was … Continue reading
Posted in Concerts & Festivals, Uncategorized
Tagged Avett Brothers, Paramount Theatre
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Meeting Alan Munde
An Interview With Banjo Legend Alan Munde On the weekend of January 28th, 2012, I had the honor of hosting banjo legend Alan Munde at my Fretmentor workshop for banjo, guitar, mandolin and fiddle players. Additional instructors at this event … Continue reading
KT Tunstall & A Bahamas Cruise
KT Tunstall Concert & A Cruise To The Bahamas Talk about going to see a concert in style. On the weekend of May 16-17, 2015, a very special woman in my life and I took a romantic two night cruise … Continue reading
Serious Music Students?
Raise Your Hand If You Are A Serious Music Student I regularly teach community education music classes through the Palm Beach County School system. The classes at Palm Beach Gardens High School are primarily for beginning students, many who have … Continue reading
Posted in Classes & Workshops, Other, Uncategorized
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Matchbox Blues
Matchcovers & Music What is the Connection? Over the past number of months, I have been busy working on a new blues instructional program for fretted instruments. One of the songs incorporated in my lesson plan is “Matchbox Blues”, which … Continue reading
Posted in History, Other, Uncategorized
Tagged Cavern Club, John Lennon, Matchbox Blues, matchcover collecting, The Beatles
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First Time’s A Charm
A recent feature for Fretmentor’s Blog is to hear about the experience of other music lovers, students and performers . Today, I have invited a guest (Doug Cone) to contribute a story on his experience performing music for the time … Continue reading
The Gift of Music
A new feature for Fretmentor’s Blog is to hear about the experience of other music lovers, students and performers . Today, I have invited a guest (Silvia White) to contribute a story on her recent experiences playing music for a … Continue reading
Posted in Guest Columns, News & Events, Other, Uncategorized
Tagged Music Performance, music therapy
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Pickin With Alan Munde
You know life is good when you get the chance to play music with one of the all-time great banjo players in the world. That is what we did today not far from the Atlantic Ocean. Alan Munde, the legendary … Continue reading
Fretmentor’s 3rd Annual Workshop – A Bucket List Item
Alan Munde, Byron Berline & Jim Hurst Fretmentor’s Banjo, Fiddle, Guitar, & Mandolin Workshop Lake Worth, Florida Almost everyone has a bucket list and I guess you can add my first meeting with Alan Munde, Byron Berline and Jim Hurst … Continue reading
Posted in Banjo, Fiddle, Fretmentor News, Guitar, Mandolin, News & Events, Uncategorized
Tagged Alan Munde, Banjo, Byron Berline, Fiddle, Fretmentor Workshop, Guitar, Jim Hurst, Mandolin
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Recitals, Video & Nerves
Does A Videotaped Music Recital Assist A Student? I remember when I was in high school and had to give a demonstration speech. It was videotaped. Right from the beginning, I hated the thought of having to demonstrate something in … Continue reading