A few weeks ago I attended a local music education workshop and the topic of adaptive music came up. The presenter mentioned Walter Chesnut, and as I had never heard of him, I decided to do some research. Walter Chesnut was a beloved trumpet professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. When a … Continue reading The Chesterhorn
Innovative Techniques
OHMI Conference
Last weekend I had the immense pleasure of attending and presenting at the first ever conference on Music and Physical Disability by the OHMI Trust. There was such a range of attendees: music educators, performers with disabilities, medical professionals, music and occupational therapists, computer programmers, developers of digital music technologies, and more. I left the … Continue reading OHMI Conference
Renaissance Recorder
If you told me seven years ago that I would play Byrd’s Fantasia 2 in a Renaissance recorder consort, I wouldn’t believe you. But that’s what I did last Monday night! I recently got a Renaissance alto recorder in F, and as it was with my other recorders, it was a group effort to make … Continue reading Renaissance Recorder
Guitar Technique with George Dennehy
George Dennehy is a multi-instrumentalist and singer. He was born without arms and uses his feet to play guitar, bass guitar, piano, and cello. I recently had the opportunity to chat with George about his guitar technique. George started playing the cello when he was seven years old. He studied with Jennifer Petry, a Suzuki string … Continue reading Guitar Technique with George Dennehy
Divide and Conquer
Today I started learning Liszt’s O quand je dors to play with a friend. As I sightread the piece and began to write in fingerings, I split up an arpeggio between my hands. Easy. I arrived at my solution instantly; it is second nature to me now. Yet I didn’t always know how to divide … Continue reading Divide and Conquer
