Blog

20 Year Anniversary!!!

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Since 2003 we've been fostering the love of music and nurturing countless talents. From the first chord struck to the latest compositions, our journey has been nothing short of extraordinary! Thank you for 20 amazing years of support, tru... Read Article

Summer Music Lessons

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Summer's a great time to take music lessons. We offer top-tier music education and our goal is to help students realize their full potential as musicians. Start your musical journey with us today!      Read Article

Blues Jam

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Develop your rhythm and lead guitar playing skills while enhancing your musicianship and improving your musical confidence. This jam will allowing each participant to play chords, melodies, and solo over blues tunes. Friday November 12th at 6pm. Book... Read Article

The Perfect Holiday Gift

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Give the gift of music this holiday season! Our successful online lessons program offers you the option of learning to play in the comfort and safety of your own home. Our doors are also open for one-on-one lessons in-person to meet your musical goal... Read Article

Thank You For Your Support!!!

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

From all of us at Macri School of Music we are incredibly grateful for our loyal students allowing us to come into their homes the past few months to provide online music lessons. We hope you have found some peace, comfort and escape through music du... Read Article

Face-To-Face Music Lessons Open Once Again

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Macri School of Music is excited to reopen our doors for face-to-face music lessons. We have the largest lesson rooms in the area to accommodate 6 feet distancing while maintaining a comfortable place for you to enjoy learning how to play. We are ... Read Article

Online Music Lessons

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Macri School of Music offers online music lessons to meet your needs.  Using our virtual music lesson technology we provide all our students the option to take lessons where you want it most in the comfort of your own home or office. &... Read Article

Voted #1 In CTNow 2019 Readers Poll For A Fourth Straight Year!

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

A Big Thank you to everyone who voted Macri School Of Music #1 in CTNow’s Best Of Hartford 2019…for a 4th year in a row!! We are so grateful for this honor and could not do it without your support. We are committed to providing the be... Read Article

Instrument Setup Workshop

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Great turnout for last nights instrument setup workshop with Eric Elias, demonstrating and teaching techniques necessary to adjust any fretted instrument for optimal playability and tone. Read Article

Guitar Jam Night

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Guitar jam sessions are a great way to improve your playing skills and improvisation as a guitarist, come down to one of our sessions and play!   Read Article

Wednesday Night Live!

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Macri School Of Music is proud to present "Wednesday Night Live". This free event is welcome by all. We will play classic rock and blues songs in a group setting. Bring your guitar (acoustic or electric with small amp) Open to all levels. C... Read Article

Voted #1 In CTNow 2018 Readers Poll For A Third Straight Year!

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who voted Macri School Of Music #1 in CTNow’s Best of Hartford 2018... for a 3rd year in a row!  We could not do it without your support. We are committed to providing the best music lessons in our community ... Read Article

Voted Number One In CTNow Readers Poll For A Second Straight Year!

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Thank you so much for voting Macri School Of Music #1 in CTNow’s Best of Hartford 2017 for a 2nd YEAR IN A ROW!! We will continue to work hard to be your music school of choice and provide the best music lessons in our community for many years ... Read Article

Summer Piano Recital

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Big thanks to everyone who participated and came to watch our summer piano recital last night! Also a huge shout out to our teachers Eric Elias and Grant Beale for arranging the recital. We love providing a place where students and parents can play a... Read Article

Intro to Drop 2 Chords - (Part 2)

By: Michael Odell

Posted in: Jazz Guitar Lessons

In this further exploration into the use of drop 2 chords we’ll look at a simple way to add tension to the V chord in a Major ii-V-I progression. We’ll continue using the drop 2 chords on the top four strings as was covered in part 1 you ... Read Article

The Process Of Transcribing Songs And Solos For Guitar

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Guitar Basics

Highlights notes and photos from our latest guitar clinic on transcribing songs and solos for guitar:   The Process of Transcribing We're going to start by looking at single notes because most people find them easier to start of... Read Article

Transcribing Songs and Solos- Free Guitar Workshop

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Free yourself from your over dependence on TABS! Sure, we all need some instant gratification in our quest to improve on guitar and that means for most of us, finding tabs to learn solos and songs. Transcribing will vastly improve your playing by tra... Read Article

Intro to Drop 2 Chords - (Part 1)

By: Michael Odell

Posted in: Jazz Guitar Lessons

 In this series on Drop 2 chords we will focus on playing using the top four strings. This is useful for several reasons. Firstly, they are the easiest forms to start playing rather than on other string sets. They produce a clarity in their soun... Read Article

Guitar Master Class: The CAGED System For Guitar

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Highlights from last night's workshop on the CAGED system for guitar. To get the most out of your guitar playing, you need to have a deep understanding of the fretboard. Did you know that the guitar was laid out in a logical fashion? Once yo... Read Article

Free Guitar Workshop Series- Understanding And Using The CAGED System For Guitar

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

The CAGED system is a method of fretboard organization based on five familiar open chord shapes that can be used in any style of music. It allows one to visualize any chord all over the neck and know its interval structure. It also provides a sys... Read Article

Free Beginner Acoustic Guitar Group Class

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Macri School Of Music is excited to offer a free beginner acoustic guitar group class! Every student will learn about the composition of a guitar, chords, techniques on strumming and picking and finally learn a song.   Topics Include: ... Read Article

Harmony And Chord Progression Workshop

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

A big thanks for all the students who showed up to last nights "Harmony and Chord Progression Workshop" and making it a big success. Some of the topics covered last night included:  Principles Of Western Harmony Understanding a... Read Article

Finalist For Mommy Poppins "Best Place to Learn How to Play an Instrument"

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

We are honored to be a finalist for the 2017 "Best Place to Learn How to Play an Instrument" in the Mommy Poppins Connecticut bestie awards.   Macri School Of Music is honored by this recognition. Our instructors always maintai... Read Article

Voted Number One In CTNow Readers Poll

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Thank You to all the students, parents, friends and teachers that support the Macri School Of Music everyday. We are #1 in the 2016 CTNow Best Of Hartford Poll for "Best Place To Take Music Lessons" because of your support and dedication to... Read Article

Guitar Repairs

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Macri School Of Music is proud to announce the addition of one of Connecticut's top luthier for guitar repairs. With over 35 years of full time experience he will be able to handle any job from electronics and setup work, to heat treatment on war... Read Article

Country Guitar Primer Pt. 2

By: Scott Gilliam

Posted in: Guitar Basics

Welcome to the second installment of our country guitar lesson. The first lesson covered basic open pos chords, basic scale choices and some common country patterns to get you going. This time around, we will explore some more specific licks, an... Read Article

Piano Recital

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

A huge thanks to all the students who participated in last nights piano recital. Everybody's performance was absolutely fantastic and we're very proud of the hard work you put into your music! Some highlights from the evening's events wer... Read Article

Country Guitar Primer Pt. 1

By: Scott Gilliam

Posted in: Guitar Basics

What constitutes country music these days certainly warrants a discussion. What isn't up for debate, is the fact that country music of all eras features some of the best guitar playing one could ever hope to hear. From the fingerpicking mastery o... Read Article

Ukulele Lessons

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Macri School of Music is now offering ukulele lessons! Our beginner’s ukulele private lessons are designed for the complete beginner. Children are welcome to join this level, as you will immediately learn basic chords and reading tabs to sta... Read Article

Fingerstyle Guitar Technique

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Guitar Basics

Playing fingerstyle is a right hand technique that allows the fingers of the right hand to pluck the strings individually, opposed to strumming them with a pick. Using fingerpicking techniques will allow guitarists to combine melody, bass lines, and ... Read Article

ii-V-I Jazz Progressions

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Jazz Guitar Lessons

One of the most important progressions in jazz is the ii-V-I. You will find this chord progression in most jazz standards ranging from swing to bebop. In a previous jazz lesson, we learned five chord forms and applied them to a chord scale. In t... Read Article

Essential Jazz Guitar Chords For Beginners

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Jazz Guitar Lessons

Many jazz chord books that line your local music shop walls will claim to teach a wide variety of chords; within their pages you’ll find nothing but confusing and useless chords whose sole purpose is to fill the book with seemingly useful ... Read Article

Practicing Major Scales

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Jazz Guitar Lessons

So you’ve learned the major scales by running up and down each position to develop your technique but what can you do to help your improvisational skills? Music doesn’t always begin on the root of each chord, so a better method of practic... Read Article

Understanding Modes

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Rock Guitar Lessons

Understanding the concept of modes is confusing to many musicians. Let’s try to simplify this seemingly complex subject for those of you just delving into this area. A mode is formed by taking a scale (such as the C major scale) and instead ... Read Article

Blues Turnarounds

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Blues Guitar Lessons

One element that all blues progressions have in common is the turnaround. The turnaround is the last two bars of the progression, where the tune gets ready to “turnaround” and go back to the beginning. Lets set the framework wit... Read Article

The I-vi-ii-V Progression

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Jazz Guitar Lessons

The I-vi-ii-V is an important chord progression that forms the basis of many great songs. The chords are built from the first, sixth, second and fifth notes of a major scale. From the C major chord scale, comes the I-vi-ii-V progression. ... Read Article

The 5 Blues Scale Positions

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Guitar Scales

The blues scale is one of the most commonly used scales in soloing and essential for a guitarists vocabulary. This scale is derived from the minor pentatonic with the addition of the b5. This note gives a bluesy feel and is the only differe... Read Article

Major Scale Positions

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Guitar Scales

The major scale is one of the most important scales that a player first learns on guitar, because it’s one of the most commonly referenced in music. The major scale is a series of seven different notes identified by their fixed arrang... Read Article

Variations Of The 12-Bar Blues

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Blues Guitar Lessons

The 12-bar blues, using all dominant seventh chords, is the most common form of the blues progression. It’s 12 measures long and uses the first, fourth and fifth chords of a key. The chords are usually indicated with Roman numerals (I-IV-V) and... Read Article

Shred Guitar

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Rock Guitar Lessons

Years ago back in the days of cowboy slinging guitarists, I, like most other players of the time went out to become a fast efficient guitarist. Players with amazing technical abilities were abundant, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and... Read Article

Guide Tones For Jazz Guitar

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Jazz Guitar Lessons

Playing through a jazz tune with alot of chord changes can sometimes become frustrating and intimidating for a player. This lesson is going to focus on the basics of guide tones and how to incorporate them into your playing. Guide tones are notes ... Read Article

The Pentatonic Major Scale

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Blues Guitar Lessons

In the past I’ve written an article about the pentatonic minor scales, a basic foundation for developing a guitarist’s soloing. It’s only natural to focus this lesson on the pentatonic major scales. Like the pentatonic minor scal... Read Article

Strumming Patterns For Guitar

Posted in: Guitar Basics

Strumming is prevalent in almost every style of guitar playing. In this lesson, we will cover some basic strumming patterns that are used in countless songs in all genres. Strumming with a pick is most commonly used on steel-string ... Read Article

How To Play Happy Birthday (Arranged For Solo Guitar)

By: Scott Gilliam

Posted in: Jazz Guitar Lessons

Everybody has sung Happy Birthday at some point in their lives, or pretended to! I imagine there have been scenarios where family or friends have requested you to play it on the guitar. You could strum and sing, but for some people that isn’t a... Read Article

Gary Moore Blues Licks

By: Scott Gilliam

Posted in: Blues Guitar Lessons

The late Gary Moore (1952-2011) was one of the greatest guitarists of all time. As a young rock player, I had never heard anyone play the blues with such precision, passion, and such a robust tone. Gary’s music was soulful but still had the int... Read Article

Horizontal Pentatonic Minor Patterns

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Guitar Scales

In an earlier lesson, we learned the five positions of the pentatonic minor scale. Now it’s time to put these positions in motion by moving between them. This way you not only get to play vertically on the neck, but also horizontally. F... Read Article

Sixth Sense

By: Scott Gilliam

Posted in: Blues Guitar Lessons

When confronting the changes of a blues tune, the first scale the majority of players lean towards is the minor pentatonic. This generates some wonderful sounds but by itself it doesn’t provide all the chord tones in a typical I-IV-V. A few oth... Read Article

Using A Capo On Guitar

By: Frank Macri

Posted in: Guitar Basics

A capo is a clamp-like device you attach at a single fret on the neck of your guitar. It covers all six strings and raises the pitch of your guitar one half-step for each fret. For example, if you place the capo on the 2nd fret, the open E string now... Read Article

The Importance Of Music Lessons

Posted in: Music News And Tips

Music enhances the development of learning by synchronized engagement of senses, muscles, and intellect. School age students of music and the arts have higher grades, better standardized test scores on the verbal and math portions of the SAT, bett... Read Article

Keys To Picking Fast And Accurately On Guitar

Posted in: Rock Guitar Lessons

The key to picking quickly is the ability to successfully synchronize both hands. Most guitar players are more comfortable playing fast legato phrases versus picking every note. The goal is to have a nice balance of both techniques in your playing. ... Read Article