Music therapy has a multitude of benefits that are often unknown! Each client’s needs are different, so their experience with music therapy will also be individualized to meet those needs. Read on to discover some of the foundational or “basic” benefits of music...

“As a mother of a child with special needs, I found the process of finding help for him and choosing the right help for him to be extremely daunting. With each step through early intervention I felt as though I was left with more questions than questions were...

by Isbah Shahjee   A few weeks ago, I assisted with the Bumps & Beats Summer Camp at Valotta Studios. It was a great learning experience for me as I figured out how to work with younger children. In the mornings, I would help the teacher in charge with...

by Isbah Shahjee   As an orchestra kid in elementary to middle school and now currently a high school junior piano student at Valotta Studios, I do my best to practice as often as I can. When I was younger, It was hard for me to remember to practice when I had so...

“All the world’s a stage...”   This famous quote is from Willy Shakespeare from his comedy “As You Like It.” Now that you no longer need to agonize over where you heard that quote, we can move on! Through a monologue performed by the character Jaques, Shakespeare...

In my last blog I talked about my experiences as a twelve year old and my first year as a percussion student. Percussion was my first entry into the world of instrumental music, but it was not destined to be my last. As my interests in music expanded in high school,...

In years (very) gone by, music was relegated almost exclusively to the home.  The musical “The Music Man” depicts a traveling con-man named Harold Hill who travels from town to town, selling the townsfolk on the advantages of a school instrumental music program to...

Percussion or Drums, That Is The Question When I was 12 years old, my mother said to me:  “I want to ask you an important question.  Your sister has already been through two musical instruments (piano and violin), and now I think it’s time you pick something to...

My career in music education spanned over the last 30+ years until my retirement in 2019. Since then it has been my upmost pleasure to be able to work here at Valotta Studios, teaching electric bass and percussion. I find that my situation is unique as compared to...

Warming up for any instrument is extremely important. If you don’t warm up before you sing or play, you won’t be able to perform to the best of your ability. In singing, it is essential to be properly warmed up so that you are not only optimizing your sound, but also...