Musician Series: Ludwig van Beethoven. New Blog Post! Photo shows these words along with a staff of notes and a painting of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Musician Series: Ludwig van Beethoven

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Musician Series: Ludwig van Beethoven

Musician Series: Ludwig van Beethoven. New Blog Post! Photo shows these words along with a staff of notes and a painting of Ludwig van Beethoven.

In addition to our summer artist series, we are also starting a musician series where we’ll explore some of the most influential musicians of all time. This week, we’re sharing about Ludwig van Beethoven!

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Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer born in December 1770. He is known as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Beethoven came from a family of musicians, and was a gifted pianist and violist. 

His early career was spent playing as a court musician in Bonn, a western German city. After nine years he moved to Vienna where he studied under the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn.

 

Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer who wrote music in the Classical and Romantic eras

 

The first period of Beethoven’s composition was from 1794-1800 and is characterized by 18th-century technique and style. 

The second period of his composition was between 1801 and 1814. His most famous works came from the second period, including Symphony No. 5 in C Minor (1808) and Symphony No. 6 in F Major (1808). 

The third and final period was from 1814-1827 and featured a variety of musical harmonies and sounds.

 

 

Beethoven began to lose his hearing in 1795 and by 1819 he was completely deaf. 

However, his hearing loss didn’t stop him from composing music. In fact, he wrote many of his most renowned pieces while partially or totally deaf. 

It’s believed that he never heard a single note of Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, considered by many to be Beethoven’s greatest work.

 

 

Beethoven’s work was considered quite innovative. He was the first composer to combine vocal and instrumental music into a symphony. His impact and work elevated instrumental music to become highly regarded.

Beethoven died on March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria. Today, his compositions are still played by orchestras, and his work is widely recognized and influential.

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ludwig-van-Beethoven

 

Learn How to Play Beethoven’s Hits

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Our musician series continues with Louis Armstrong.

Van Gogh's Starry Night Painting

Artist Series: Vincent van Gogh

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Artist Series: Vincent van Gogh

 

Blog post! Artist series: Vincent van Gogh. Image shows van Gogh's famous painting, Starry night.

 

This summer we’re starting an artist series where we’ll highlight a famous artist in a blog post! We’ll share facts and some of their most famous works in each post. This week we’re starting with Vincent van Gogh!

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Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch painter born in 1853. 

While he is now highly-regarded as an influential artist and post-impressionist painter, he did not spend his whole life as an artist, and only sold one painting in his lifetime.

 

Van Gogh's Starry Night Painting. Learn how to paint with in our private art lessons!

 

Van Gogh began his career as an apprentice at an art dealership. It wasn’t until 1880 that he began to draw, mostly teaching himself. When he did paint, he used watercolor. 

In 1881 he met and worked with other artists and eventually began oil painting.

 

Vincent van Gogh's paintings, Sunflowers (left) and self-portrait (right). Learn how to paint with one of our expert art teachers!

 

Throughout the last decade of his life, he studied different types of art, traveled, met other artists, and used nature as inspiration for his work. During this time he created some of his most famous paintings.

 

Vincent van Gogh's painting, The Bedroom. Learn how to paint with one of our expert art teachers!

 

Van Gogh is best known for his post-impressionist work characterized by bright, dramatic brush strokes.

 

Vincent van Gogh's painting, Irises. Learn how to paint with one of in our private art lessons!

 

He is also remembered as a lonely, misunderstood artist who struggled with mental health.

When van Gogh died in 1890, he was almost completely unknown, but now is one of the most well-known and influential artists of all time.

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vincent-van-Gogh 

 

Learn How to Paint Like Van Gogh

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3 Tips to Keep Your Student Reading Over the Summer. A new blog post on Hodis Learning & Music, an educational connections company that provides academic tutoring, music lessons, and art lessons.

3 Tips to Keep Your Student Reading Over the Summer

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3 Tips to Keep Your Student Reading Over the Summer

3 Tips to Keep Your Student Reading Over the Summer. A new blog post on Hodis Learning & Music, an educational connections company that provides academic tutoring, music lessons, and art lessons.

Reading is important for developing literacy, improving vocabulary, building social-emotional skills, and learning about the world and others.

Without school, it can be easy for students to avoid reading for three months, especially if it’s something they already struggle with and don’t like doing. However, it’s important that they continue reading to build their skills and ensure they don’t fall behind in the next school year. Below are 3 ways you can keep your student reading over the summer!

1. Join a Summer Reading Challenge

A reading challenge can be a great way to incentivize students to read during the summer months. Check with your school or local library to see if they have a challenge and how to join. Rules and prizes may vary, but the general idea is that participants keep track of how many books they read, or how many minutes per day they spend reading. You might even be able to create your own reading challenge at home to inspire your student. Use competitive spirit to keep your student reading throughout the summer!

2. Read With Your Student

This strategy might work particularly well for students who are still learning how to read or struggle with reading on their own. Encourage your student to pick the book you’ll read together. They might become more engaged once they have a say in the book they’re reading, rather than reading one assigned by a teacher. You and your student can alternate between reading each page or different paragraphs, depending on the book.

3. Have Your Student Find Books They Like

Take your student to a bookstore or sign them up for a library card and let them explore! As mentioned in suggestion 2, students might find reading more enjoyable when they have a say in the books they are reading. Your student might find they love fantasy series or graphic novels– books they don’t normally get to read for school. While it is important to make sure your student is reading at their grade level, allowing them to read books they choose and are excited about can help them build confidence and learn to enjoy reading. This will ultimately help them improve their reading skills in the long-run.

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Summer Activities Around LA

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Summer Activities Around LA

summer activities around L.A. Get the most out of your summer break!

Summer Break Is Here!

We hope everyone made it through their final exams and are now enjoying their summer break! While summer is certainly a time for relaxing and recharging, you can also find fun activities to keep you entertained, active, and even learning during your months off from school!

1. Visit Local Museums

Museums are a great way to spend a couple of hours learning and exploring while staying cool inside. Plus, most museums offer a discount if you present a valid student ID, so you don’t have to pay full price.

2. Attend a Live Music Event

There’s no shortage of live music and entertainment in Los Angeles, but you can’t go wrong with an evening at the Hollywood Bowl or a performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. If you’re looking for more affordable or even free options, check out events hosted by your local Parks and Recreation Department, like the South Pasadena Concerts in the Park series. 

3. Learn a New Language

Whatever age you are, learning a new language can be a fun, rewarding experience. Whether you’re learning basic conversational skills before a trip abroad or you want to become fluent in a second language, Hodis Learning & Music educators can help make you achieve your goals. Check out what languages we offer here!

4. Experience a Movie Night

Many cities have movie nights in the park throughout the summer months. Pack up blankets, chairs, and some snacks and watch a movie under the stars! Check out your city’s website to see what upcoming events they are hosting.

5. Learn a New Instrument

Feeling inspired after a night of great music at the Hollywood Bowl? Hodis Learning & Music has educators that teach a wide range of instruments including drums, piano, guitar, trumpet, bass, trombone, violin and more! Educators can teach any skill level, so don’t worry about past experience and instead get ready to jam out this summer!

Check out more of our summer activity ideas suggestions.

Make Your Summer Break Memorable With Hodis Learning & Music

Contact us to set up customized, private education programs this summer.

Preparing for Music School: Advice From Experts (Part 3)

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Preparing for Music School: Advice From Experts (Part 3)

Preparing for music school admissions: advice from experts. Gain insights on applications and auditions. This part of our series gains insights from brass and trumpet teacher, Alex P.

Hodis Learning & Music brass instructor, Alex, shares insights on the music school admissions. Alex earned his B.M. in Trumpet Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

What goes into preparing for music school auditions and applications?

Preparing for music school auditions is a unique experience. Learning the music for the audition is not enough. The student needs to constantly work to improve their overall musical skills so that their baseline level of performance is higher, rather than simply being good at playing the pieces asked of them.

I think a lot of students get caught up in trying to learn the music they are asked to perform extremely thoroughly, but forget that most of their performance will depend on their overall level of musicianship rather than just the audition preparation.

How can you specifically help students prepare for music school auditions? Can you help with the application itself?

I can certainly help students applying to music schools, and could give advice on the application part. I can help students applying to music school by not only helping them break down each specific piece and tackling the challenges that come with them, but also by continually pushing them to improve their overall musicianship and craft.

What advice would you give those applying to music programs?

The best advice I can give students applying to music school is to understand that you will get out of it what you put into it. No school is going to guarantee success or failure with music, and most of your career will not be spent in music school. So, try to use the time there as an opportunity to learn and collaborate and soak up as much as you can because you will be using that information for a very long time.

I would also suggest not worrying too much about feeling that you are not good enough, or that others are better than you, but instead focus on what you think you need to improve on and create a long-term plan for getting there. It is much more important to trust the process and keep trying to be creative, rather than just trying to compete with others.

Are you planning on applying to music school? Schedule your first session with Alex today!

More about Alex:

New Blog post! Educator Spotlight on Hodis Learning & Music tuba, trombone, French horn, and trumpet teacher, Alex P.

Educator Spotlight: Alex P.

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Educator Spotlight: Alex P.

New Blog post! Educator Spotlight on Hodis Learning & Music tuba, trombone, French horn, and trumpet teacher, Alex P.

What subject areas do you teach?

  • Music Lessons: Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Tuba, Voice
  • Academic Tutoring: Music Theory

What’s the most rewarding part of being a music teacher?

The most rewarding part of being an educator for me is watching a student make progress and seeing how it excites them to learn new things.

What are the most common areas you see your students struggling in? How do you help them in those areas?

The biggest struggle I see for students is simply a lack of motivation. Sometimes students aren’t interested from the beginning and with those students, it can be very challenging to get them interested. I like to help them explore their musical interests and other instruments to see if another area of music piques their interest.

What do you enjoy doing outside of teaching students?

I enjoy playing basketball outside of teaching, as well as making my own music.

What do you think makes Hodis Learning & Music a great service and company to work for?

I enjoy working for Hodis Learning & Music because of the culture of mutual respect and kindness.

More about Alex:

Preparing for music school: advice from experts. Gain insights on applications and auditions. This part of our series gains insights from guitar teacher, Bruno B.

Preparing for Music School: Advice From Experts (Part 2)

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Preparing for Music School: Advice From Experts (Part 2)

Preparing for music school: advice from experts. Gain insights on applications and auditions. This part of our series gains insights from guitar teacher, Bruno B.

Hodis Learning & Music guitar instructor, Bruno, shares insights on the music school application and audition process. Bruno earned his B.M. from the Berklee College of Music in songwriting.

What goes into preparing for music school admissions?

The same that goes into becoming a professional musician. Making music an integral part of who you are. It has to be one of the most important aspects of your life, otherwise you’re probably not going to put in the amount of work that it takes not only to get into music school, but to make a living out of music.

It’s also important to become a well rounded and versatile musician. Being really good at your primary instrument isn’t enough. For example, students should also work on other areas of music such as aural skills, music theory, music production, and songwriting.

How can you specifically help students prepare for music school auditions? Can you help with the application itself?

I’m a graduate from Berklee College of Music. I can help not only with the preparation and application processes, but I also have many thoughts about good habits that will make your music school experience more rewarding, pitfalls to avoid, what to expect after you graduate, etc.

What advice would you give those applying to music school?

Understanding the school you are applying to is vital.

You want to research all of the facets of the school’s culture and educational environment such as who teaches there, what kind of musician usually goes there, and what their values are. The people, not the institution, will make or break your experience. Different colleges have different music scenes, and tend to favor certain styles, genres and even personalities.

Make sure the school you pick isn’t just great on paper, but is the best fit for you.


Are you planning on applying to music programs? Schedule your first session with Bruno today!

More about Bruno: