Posted By Jericho on May 16, 2012

Easy Music Center Guitar and Ukulele Recital featuring students of and a guitar and ukulele performance by Landon Mattox, Thursday, May 17th @ 5:00 at our King St store.
Students under 10 will be performing themes from video games and movies, teenage students will be performing recent pop songs and adults will of course be performing classics. Come check it out, these students (and their teacher) have been working very hard on this and it is sure to be a ripping good time. Interested in lessons? Contact us atadmin@easymusiccenter.com . For videos of Landon Mattox, go to www.landonmattox.com .

Category: Events, Lessons
Tags: guitar, landon mattox, lessons, performance, recital, ukulele

Posted By Peter on April 20, 2012

Please welcome Ethan Capone, our new keyboard instructor, to the ranks of independent teachers here at Easy Music Center*!

You can find my original write up for Ethan at the bottom of this email.  BUT!  I had to change my tact on the write up for Ethan after hearing him play with the group Jazz Story at Jazz minds this past Tuesday night.  GOOD GRACIOUS!  Ethan is not only a phenomenal teacher and a nice guy; he is AN ABSOLUTE MONSTER ON THE KEYBOARD!   My jaws dropped when he came on.  He is so casual.  You would never think that he rips so hard at Jazz piano.  I’ve heard him play before in the store as a customer and I knew he was versatile and an excellent player, but there is something about seeing him play with this group that reveals how talented he is.  Oh…by the way, Gil Batangan, our new guitar instructor also plays in this group.  He was also unreal!  You have to get down there to see these guys play.  You would be hard pressed to find more a more talented awesome sounding Jazz group in another major city.

Ethan is a great teacher.  He explained a difficult concept to me with ease and he has a very calm and even tempo when teaching.

Ethan will be teaching one day a week in Pearl City and one day a week at the Honolulu store.  Get signed up before he fills up!  We’ve been notoriously understaffed and over-requested on piano/keyboard inquiries.  He will fill up quickly.

This was the original review I was in the process of writing before I saw him play.  It just doesn’t do him justice after seeing him perform…check it anyway if you want to know more about the modes, how easy he made them seem, and how to use the FORCE:

As far as my guitar goes, I’ve gotten better over the years.  Keyboard?  Not so much….I actually started off in music as a pianist.  Really…I know.  I went the classical piano route for about 5 years.  I hated it and quit eventually.  I only learned how to site read, and I understood exactly zero about musical theory and composition.  Shoot…I couldn’t even play cool pop songs.  All I could do was read music and not that well, refusing to use a metronome, I sucked at the piano way worse than I do on the guitar.  Needless to say, my introduction to piano was a major turnoff on playing music.  I didn’t even attempt to play another instrument for 10 years after this.

I still feel a little intimidated by the piano.  I walked into my crash course lesson with Ethan wondering what I could possibly take away from a piano lesson (besides that I don’t like playing it).  I decided, as I always do, to steer the lesson in a direction that would interest me.  I’ve been learning about the modes on the guitar for a few weeks now so I thought I would pick Ethan’s brain about that.

First, what are the modes? Essentially, you can play a major scale, and depending on the background chords played, the scale takes on a totally different flavor…Don’t believe me?  Try it.  Get a looper pedal.  Play a G major chord and loop it.  Play the G major scale over it.  It will sound happy (Ionian).   Try playing just an A minor chord now and loop it.  Play the same scale over it.  It sounds different right?  The flavor changes altogether.  It sounds kind of dark and jazzy (Dorian).

Category: Lessons, News
Tags: dorian, instructor, ionian, jazz, keyboard, lessons, locrian, lydian, modal, modes, modes of the guitar, phyrigian

Posted By Peter on March 14, 2012

Please welcome Gilbert Batangan to the ranks of independent teachers here at Easy Music Center*!  Gil is a phenomenal jazz guitarist and has a great handle on a wide variety of playing styles.  

I always make a point of doing a crash course lesson with any potential instructor.  Years ago, the lessons were easy for everyone because my guitar playing was so poor;  I was only able to preview the instructors as a true beginner. I still suck, but I’ve improved over the years, and I’ve noticed the crash course lessons are starting to evolve.

I told Gil right off the bat what my MO is: I like to play with my looper pedal and do simple chord changes and then play the pentatonic scale over them.  I told him I’d like to get better at doing that and that I felt kind of stuck in the box with my playing these days.  Gil took a step back and thought about what I was asking.  He talked to me for about 10 minutes about how he looks at the fret board of a guitar like driving a car; there are a lot of different ways to get to the same destination.  He told me that any lick I can play in the “box”, I need to learn how to play all the way down on one string, that I should be able to jump up, down, and all around the board and have it not matter which box I’m in.  He talked about the guitar in a grand way.  To be honest, I have never heard anyone talk about the guitar that way before.  My appreciation for the guitar was enhanced by just chatting with Gil.

Category: Lessons, News
Tags: batangan, chord, gil, gilbert, Gilbert Batangan, guitar, Jake, jake shimabukoro, jazz, lessons

Posted By Paul on November 4, 2011

The Pearl Traveler Kit is an awesome, compact, versatile drum kit that can be used for practice at home or live at a gig! It comes with mesh heads for quiet practice at home as well as regular drum heads that you can use for live rehearsals or gigs. It’s compact size makes it a very convenient drum set that will fit comfortably in your car or corner of your home! Check em’ out! We just got em’ in!

Category: Featured Products, Lessons, News, Pics, Product Videos, Videos
Tags: 808, Battle, Bryan Sanchez, center, drum, Drum Battle, drums, Easy, easy music center, hawaii, kapolei, music, paul van, pearl, Pearl Traveler Kit, percussion, Traveler

Posted By Peter on June 10, 2011

Please welcome “Najee” Marie Lynne!

I was able to take a crash lesson from Najee the other day.  Normally in telling you about a new instructor, I go and tell you how the lesson went and where they took me.  This time, I have to start this story well before our lesson began.

I told Najee that the normal process for starting a new instructor is for me to talk with them and see what they are like.  I also mentioned that I normally take a 30 minute crash lesson with a new instructor to see what kind of teaching style they have.  Najee started the teaching process well ahead of our actual lesson.  She was insistent that I clarify what I was looking to get out of lessons before she started with me.  I emailed back and forth with her and narrowed down my focus before we even met.

When we actually sat down for the lesson, she had a game plan ready for me.  I told her beforehand that I wasn’t that interested in playing the piano, but I was interested in basic composing (more specifically wanted to get an insight into creating better baselines for the music I sample from my vinyl).  When we started, we jumped right into the circle of fifths.  I’d heard of the circle before, but I never understood the concept until she showed it to me and laid it out in a mathematical way.  In a short period of time, Najee clarified a lot of questions I had rattling around in my head about music. The thing I picked up on quickly is that Najee knows her theory and can explain it in a simple and logical way.  Her approach to music is a numbers approach, and I like this way of looking at it.

Najee has  a warm and easy way about her.  She takes her time explaining things, and I thought her tempo was just right.  I liked how she wanted me to give her a clear idea of what I was trying to accomplish and that she developed a plan around my goals.  Also, I was able to watch her play after my lesson, and SHE RIPS  at the piano!

I could definitely see myself taking music theory lessons from Najee!

For now, Najee’s openings are limited to Saturday monring.  Feel free to email me: admin@easymusiccenter.com with any questions.  Please check her bio and rates below.

About “Najee” Marie Lynne:

My love affair with the piano began as a little girl, when I would venture downstairs to the basement recreation room to play on the old upright in our Detroit home. My mother noticed I played in a way that made sense and she sought a private instructor for me. I was 4-1/2 years old at the time I began lessons. For the next 12 years, I studied classical music, performing in annual piano competitions and festivals in Detroit. Later in college, I became fascinated with the spontaneity and creativity of jazz music, learning about jazz theory, improvisation and performance from some of the city’s top jazz artists and instructors. I also taught children, ages 5-13, to play piano. Here on Oahu, I continue to play the piano in private and public venues, teach children and adults and pursue my lifelong study of the instrument.

My goal as a teacher is to assist you in discovering your creativity through studying the piano, by letting go and having fun with it! My lessons are tailored to each student’s needs—whether an adult or child. It makes no difference whether you’re starting a musical discovery or already have some previous musical experience. Together, we’ll talk about your interests and outline a course of study for you to achieve your piano goals with a do-able and realistic plan. The lesson topics taught may include the following:

• Learn how to read piano music

• Understand the ergonomics of playing the piano

• Work on left- and right-hand coordination

• Find and keep time

• Learn and play songs with continuity, presence and feeling

• Find the best practice methods for you

• Learn to memorize piano pieces

• Understand basic music theory

• Learn about jazz chords

PIANO LESSON FEES

$30 – per lesson, payable at lesson

$165 – block of 6 lessons, payable in advance

METHOD OF PAYMENT

Cash, local check, credit card via PayPal (must have a PayPal account)

Checks payable to: Marie Lynne

*A $35.00 fee will be assessed for checks returned due to insufficient funds

CLASS CANCELLATION/MAKE-UP

For all students, provide 48-hours notice to re-schedule. For students purchasing 6-lesson blocks, 1 make-up lesson is allowed per 6-lesson block. If no notice or late notice, the lesson is forfeited. If the piano teacher must re-schedule, no lessons will be lost.

Category: Lessons
Tags: keyboard, keyboard instructor, lessons, lessons page, Najee, Najee Lynne, Najee Marie Lynne, piano, piano instructor

Posted By Peter on April 27, 2011

Sometimes I do office work out in the Pearl City store.  The office is next to the guitar lessons room.  Today I overheard a mother trying to coax her son into a lesson with Jason, one of our guitar instructors.  The child was upset about something and didn’t want to start his lesson.  Eventually his mother got him into the lesson room, telling him he can pout at home for free.

I was amazed at what I heard from that point on.  Jason started asking him questions about his guitar and why he was in a poor mood at the same time.  While teaching, Jason was constantly finding ways to bring his attitude around.  Within 10 minutes, I could hear that the tone from the student changed entirely, and he was starting to have fun.  When he entered the room he looked like the above picture.  When he left, he looked like the picture below:

Okay…so I totally faked the first picture.  I had no idea that this student would change his attitude so quickly otherwise I would have taken a picture when he had the dark cloud above his head.  I had the hardest time getting him to NOT look so happy in the first picture so I had him cross his arms and look down.  He was so pumped up after his lesson he couldn’t wipe that smile off his face!  What a difference music makes!

Category: Lessons, News, Pics
Tags: change your life, guitar lessons, Jason, Jason Raythen, Video Lessons