Meet DLP User Patrick Oliver Kohalmi

A wise old teacher and mentor once said, "The greatest thing about music is the people you meet through it" ...and we couldn't agree more. Patrick Oliver Kohalmi is a personal trainer, web- entrepreneur, and budding soprano sax player from Hune, Nordjyllan, Denmark, a picturesque area just off the coast of the North Sea.

The beautiful but rugged landscape in Hune creates a cool contrast to the IKEA-like interior designs of homes and businesses in the region. So where does someone from this area with a passion for soprano sax go to learn the instrument? Discover, Learn, and Play of course!

We met Patrick a few months ago when he submitted a few videos and friend-ed us on facebook. It's easy to see that he is quite a character and very passionate about a number of interests in his life.  He recently agreed to answer a few questions for this blog and he agreed to share his story with other DLP users -enjoy!

POK - I am a personal trainer (coach) and I'm working on my webshop. So, I am a fitness and bodybuilding guru. :) I have been playing piano since I was 12 years old. I got some piano lessons when I was 15, but it was only 25 minutes per week and lasted only a half year...it was too expensive. I never really learned to read notes, instead I learned songs by ear and at the time my inspiration was Richard Clayderman. 

I heard Kenny G's songs when I was about 20 years old and I really liked them. At that time, I wasn't interested in learning to play sax but I think I got the idea about 2 years ago that it could be cool to be as good as Kenny G. I lost my job and I thought it would be a good time to start something new. I said "I want a soprano saxophone, I want to be good as Kenny G!".

So I bought a Yamaha and have been learning it for exactly a year. The first time I ever tried to play on it I loved it. Fantastic instrument! I did not have a private teacher, I have used "Discover, Learn, and Play" and checked youtube for information when I was in doubt about something. I bought the same reeds and mouthpiece that Kenny G uses. I also bought a lot of music books and now that I have been through all 20 lessons of the Kore Series I can try to learn some of Kenny's songs.

What I liked most about the lessons were the songs. Even at a beginner level, they have a good melody and background play-alongs. You can enjoy them without getting bored and thinking: "Oh God, when will I become a pro so I can play good melodies?" I have suggested DLP for one of my friends who got a guitar for his birthday. I still have to practice song 2 and 3 in Lesson 20 a bit more to make them perfect and I will be sending those videos soon!

We think you are doing a fantastic job Patrick and we look forward to hearing more from you along the way. PS - the Kore Series II and Jazz Series are coming along - we'll let you know when they're ready to go!

Be sure to visit our User-YouTube page to see Patrick and a few other DLP member performances.

For Uploads Made Easy - DLP Chooses MediaFire

The Dallas School of Music and MusickEd.com joins USA Today, PC World and CNET.com in choosing MediaFire for file hosting and file sharing inside the Kore Series.

 "MediaFire is an amazingly simple tool that allows our users to share their video performances quickly and easily"  said Bob Lawrence, president of MusickEd.com. "It eliminates the problem of attaching and sending large files via email and replaces it with one simple drag and drop process". 

All of the song pages within the Kore Series now include the MediaFire interface and the 'file description' prompt allows users to include their Name, Email, City, Series Title, Lesson Number, and Song Title for each video. After approval, our staff can provide feedback and/or make the files available to other Kore Series learners world-wide.

MediaFire is based in The Woodlands, Texas, just north of Houston. We are proud to support another Texas business!

Click Here to create your FREE MediFire account and start sharing your videos with the world!

DLP Welcomes New Homeschool Groups

We are proud and excited to welcome the following homeschool groups and their members to the Discover, Learn, and Play family! 

SHINE 

SHINE is a non-profit 501c3 organization designed to provide cooperative opportunities and a support network to families educating their children at home in the Northeast San Antonio, TX area.  

SAIL 

SAIL is a member-governed, inclusive community of homeschooling families in the McKinney, Texas area. We encourage and respectfully support a membership diverse in homeschool style, race, religion, life philosophy, political views, and family composition and situation.

We look forward to helping you all enjoy the benefits of adding music to your current curriculum and activities.  For those families already playing and learning music, our program can act as a fantastic base curriculum or supplement your current course of study.  If you are new to making music, your membership includes the full support of our professional faculty as well as access to an extensive online support center.

We'd like to invite you to attend one of our FREE weekly webinars.  We'll guide you through each step, explain how we use it with our students here on campus, and show you how you can get the most out of it at home.  We'll also answer any questions you might have along the way.

Welcome aboard... let's get started!

My C = Concert Key

This post is in response to one of our users trying to tune her saxophone using an electronic tuner. She said she was having trouble matching the written pitches she was playing with the letter names on the read out.  We realized she didn't know her alto sax is actually in the key of Eb!

We'll spare you the mystifying and convoluted history lesson on why this has come to be and just get on with the gist of the information.  

Many instruments are already in the key of C which simply means, when you play a C on these instruments, it registers a C on a tuner.  Those of you learning piano, keyboards, flute, oboe, bassoon, mallets, trombone, baritone horn, euphonium, tuba, violin, fiddle, viola, cello, acoustic bass, bass guitar, or voice - you are hereby dismissed!  All of those instruments are in the key of C and the letter name of the note you're reading and sounding will match up with the letter name on your tuner (provided of course, that you are in fact in tune).  Hooray for you - now go practice!


(PS - Guitars are also in C  - however, the note you're sounding is actually an octave lower than where it is written on the staff... don't even ask...but you too, are excused).

For the rest of you, it's best to memorize the following concert-key mantra; "MY C IS CONCERT KEY!" C'mon, say it with me... "MY C IS CONCERT KEY", LOUDER NOW! "MY C IS CONCERT KEY!"  Good!  Now here's what it means;

If you play: 

Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax, Trumpet, Cornet, or Flugelhorn these instruments are in the key of Bb.  When you play a C, (as in, "my C") it will read Bb on the tuner ("= concert key").

Alto Sax and Baritone Sax are in the key of Eb.  When you play a C, (as in, "my C") it will read Eb on the tuner ("= concert key").

And, French Horn is in the key of F. When you play a C, (as in, "my C") it will read F on the tuner ("= concert key").

Luckily, most all music you'll be reading (like songs in the Kore Series for example) has already been transposed for you.  You will however need to remember the "MY C is CONCERT KEY" mantra when working with a tuner or when reading the same piece of music with someone who plays an instrument keyed differently than yours (more on that later).

We hope this helps.  Now everyone can go practice.... and happy musicking!

Where Are They Now? - Part III

It's hard to believe it, but DSM will be celebrating 20 years in 2012. Over that time we have worked with literally thousands of students from all over the DFW metroplex.  Many have become friends and some even consider us part of their extended families. In recent years we began seeing sons and daughters of former students which means - we're getting really old! It has been an incredible journey.

As we embark on a new 'global' phase of the school with MusickEd.com and Discover, Learn, and Play, we thought we'd take a look back and catch up with a few students to see what they were up to and ask what they remember about their time at DSM.

Brad Neher came to us as a middle school student who wanted to learn jazz piano. Over the next few years we got to know the Neher family so well that we've played golf together, had dad record a bunch of DSM faculty concerts, and even crashed a few of Brad's shows around Dallas.  Thanks for catching up Bradley! 

Is there anything in particular that you remember about DSM? Any specific event, or occurrence? 

I have many fond memories of my time at DSM. My educational experience with Bob Lawrence is one of the richest blessings of my life. The thorough nature of his teachings has helped me to perform in each of my musical endeavors to the best of my ability. The importance of keeping things simple (the K.I.S.S. method), the importance of learning the history of a style to better understand it, and doing everything with an open mind and a big heart  - these have been priceless lessons.
 

One day Bob called Eugene into his office to hear me improvise over some chord changes. When I finished Eugene said "Sounds great... too bad I can't play it." He went on to explain how all great solos "breathe" just like a vocalist or wind player. This was an invaluable lesson, and just one of the many gems I took from my time at DSM.
 

I also studied arranging with Mike Finkel one summer and he helped me to conceptualize music in a way that has been instrumental in my performing pop music. I would not be anywhere near as good as I am today without the great folks at DSM. 

Tell us what you're doing now and what your plans are for the next year or so.

These days, most of the music that I play for a living is country music. I play at Cowboys in Arlington 3 nights a week. I have also been playing piano and keyboard at Highland Park United Methodist Church in the Cornerstone Service in Dallas for about 5 years now. I'm planning on moving to Nashville soon and seeing how a career in music will pan out for me there.

Is music part of your everyday life? 

Music has been and probably always will be a huge part of my life. I am very lucky that my mom found DSM and got me into lessons at an early age. Being from Dallas people just assume I attended UNT which I did,  but the music they are hearing is the result of years of private lessons at the Dallas School of Music.
 

I am often asked to give lessons but I respectfully decline.  There is a HUGE difference between someone who can make great music, and someone who can teach someone to one day make great music. The passion for teaching that the instructors at DSM have is a real blessing. It has been the most influential experience in my music career.

I am more grateful than I can say to have had the good folks at DSM help me to become the musician I want to be. Keep up the fantastic work and HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Good luck Brad - stay in touch and say hi to mom and dad too!