August 23rd, 2009

Lesson Update

Hi All,
I hope this finds you well.  I really cannot believe how fast this
summer has come and gone.  Every year I feel like time moves just a
little bit quicker.

I have been at the Smith Masters in Social Work program, the first of
three, extremely intense, academic summer sessions.  This summer
focused on the foundational theories that modern day therapists and
social workers use.  I learned all sorts of theories for family
therapy, child therapy, individual psychology, policy, agency,
sociocultural postmodern identity, group therapy, etc… it has been a
roller coaster ride of thinking, not much sleeping, and a lot of
reading & writing.  But in the end, and in part, this is what I am
supposed to be doing.  This fall I will be working at Berkshire
Children & Families in Hadley, helping with permanency placement for
foster care to adoption, it should be very challenging and very
rewarding!  Of course the other part of me is a musician, and I am
very interested to see how these two worlds will meld together.

I hope your music, or son’s/daughter’s music, is going well.  I
enjoyed working with those of you I saw in July and am looking forward
to working with all of you again in the future.  While I am still not
entirely sure of my schedule, I know generally what my obligations
will be in the fall and feel comfortable enough to write to you now.

There are a few changes that I want to inform you of: Schedule,
Location, Length, Frequency and Rate.

Schedule:  Visit here to see this weeks teaching schedule/available time slots:

http://www.levinschwartz.com/lessons/calendar/

Location:  I will be teaching at my house and traveling to your houses
to teach.  My address is:
17 Number 6 rd, Leverett, MA 01054

Beginning September, 2009, I will be teaching primarily on Monday & Tuesday.

Frequency:  In general, to accommodate the number of students whom
wish to continue taking lessons, we are going to have operate on an
every-other-week teaching schedule.  If there is someone who is very
interested in taking lessons every week, contact me and we can see if
we can work it out.

Length:  In general, I am only going to teach hour long lessons,
unless you are under 12, then I will teach 45 min lessons (no more 30
min lessons).

Rates:  If I go to your house: $45/hour, if you are under 12 years
old: $40/45 min.
If you come to my house $40/hour, if you are under 12 years old: $35/45 min.

That about covers it, let me know if you have a preferred day(s) and
if you would prefer me to come to you or visa-versa.  If you come to
leverett I should let you know that we have a dog and two cats (just
in case of allergies).  Also, for those parents out there, you would
be totally welcome to hang out and read, use the internet, drink
coffee…whatever, while your child was having a lesson.
Take care all.  I hope you had a wonderful summer.
Talk to you soon,
Levin

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December 29th, 2008

Mandolin Lesson: Beaumont Rag B Section

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December 27th, 2008

Mandolin Lesson for Expert Village

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December 26th, 2008

Teaching Statement pt.2

RESOLVE

Resolve: I hope my students will develop a lifelong learning attitude, consistently evaluating their progress and reflecting on how to improve their abilities. Learning an instrument and the language of music takes time. From an educational perspective it is a process, and as my favorite college professor used to say, “You must trust the process.” As fluency is built, I will impress upon the student the value of making his or her own musical decisions. Right from the beginning I would love to hand my students a set of “hall passes” labeled ‘avid theorist’, ‘outstanding improviser’, and ‘prodigal composer’. These “hall passes” would allow all my students to wander the halls and go anywhere in their musical lives. However, I can only give students’ physical exercises, examples and theoretical ideas to become competent. With these I believe that everyone has the ability to set their own goals and take the necessary measures to meet them. By cultivating their own values and nurturing their own intellectual curiosities, each student will eventually be able to learn by their own design.

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November 8th, 2008

NYC to Ithaca

Hey all,

We played last night in NYC at The National Underground.  We frequent NYC usually once a month, I think it is my favorite city to play.  The only catch is that this particular gig is a SUPER late one 11-3:30a.m.  So by the time we get out of the club it is close to 4:30 a.m. at which point we need to drive to wherever we are sleeping.  So as a result I am waking up at yet another hotel where the first question I usually have to answer is, “where can I get a strong cup of coffee”? 

Today we will be heading off to Ithaca to play the Chapter House with our friends Hubcap.  I think we are going to stop by Moosewood restaurant on the way.  I grew up in an all vegetarian household, my parents are coming up on 40 years of a meat free diet; that is a long time!  Anyway the Moosewood cookbook was a heavily used book by my mother and now by me, it is going to be cool to check out the restaurant.  

Take care, see you soon.  much love, levin

November 3rd, 2008

Teaching Statement pt.1

Empowerment

I attempt to conduct lessons so that every lesson moves my students through the material with a feeling of empowerment. I believe that everyone has the ability to make music. In fact, there is an abundance of research out there concerning the universality of music. Many features of music are universal, as well as, apparently, innate. All societies have music: all sing lullaby-like songs to their infants, and most produce tonal music. However, even though music is universal, its source is unique in each of us. Therefore, as a teacher I approach each student’s needs differently. Empowerment is tricky because it deals with the psychology of self-confidence, ego, and feelings of self-worth -”I am not good enough to play in-front of people.” Granted there are things one must understand and tools one must have to be able to play or write music. Given those tools, I believe that everyone has the ability to create unique and beautiful music. Honoring this I have integrated two recitals per year into the academic calendar at which each student performs one or two pieces that we have worked on during the semester. (Of course if someone is really petrified by this I don’t insist that they participate, but the majority of the students rise to the occasion). By holding the recital on the last week of the semester, students develop a sense of purpose for each lesson and focus to the semester experience. The performance is a remarkable goal to achieve. I have seen significant growth culminated at the recital: it is the proudest moment of the semester.

October 19th, 2008

…times of challenge and cotroversy”.

 

Hey all,

We just played two really excellent shows this past weekend.  We were up in Montpelier VT at The Black Door and then back at our old stomping grounds in Northampton at The Bishops Lounge.  We did new things, which is why it was so much fun.  We brought a bag of percussion goodies and decided to have a percussion jam during Pickin’ Hours and tried songs that we had never played together but all collectively knew.  We tried to play songs in succession with out stopping the music, segueing from one to the next. Conclusion: when performing it is always important to take risks.  When art becomes stagnant it is a very disturbing feeling mostly because art in and of itself is a radical act.  So that contradiction is very unsettling.  We must always remember, events that push us in new directions and force us to take risks, are what good musicians/artists are measured by.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King jr. 

August 20th, 2008

From NYC to Baltimore

Hey all, I am on the road right now down in NYC.

The Amity Front is playing a string of shows. Last night we made a stop in NYC to play at The Rockwood Music Hall. NYC is great b/c the talent is so exceptional, it really raises the bar and makes me play better. We had the 11:00 slot right after our friend Michael Daves, who is a crazy tallented bluegrass/rock-a-billy player. Check him out at www.michaeldaves.com.

Tonight we are heading to Baltimore, MD to play at the 8×10 with my old college buddy Cris Jacobs, his band is called The Bridge. They kick some major ass as well, check them out at: www.thebridgemusic.com.

Hope all is well back home with you. I look forward to a nice and busy fall teaching schedule.

See you all soon,

Levin

UPCOMING:

TONIGHT 8/20 The 8X10 Baltimore, Md. w/The Bridge 8pm

8/21 Bullfrog Brewery Williamsport, Pa 10pm

8/22 Bishops Lounge Northampton, Ma 9:30pm

8/23 Red Fire Farm Granby, Ma 12pm

8/28 Brian Boru Portland, Me 9:30pm

8/29 Salt Hill Lebanon, Nh 9:00pm

9/5 The National Underground NYC 10pm

9/6 Castaways Ithaca, Ny w/Hubcap 9pm

9/13 THE SESSION FOR EXPRESSION II! The Pushkin Greenfield, Ma Tons of bands! Food! Beer! Yay! 5pm

August 14th, 2008

On The Road

This is a beautiful time of year to be out traveling this country, especially through the smoky mountains. We have been playing down in western N.C. the past few days. This area of the country is a spectacular place, it actually reminds me a lot of home. We have much of the same foliage and the mountains are twisted and gnarled just like the ones up in the North East. The Appalachian ridge lines are just a little grander in N.C. with a sweet hazy mist, that in late April carries the heavy scent of recently sprung flowers.

******A word to all travelers, especially musicians, traveling through Asheville or Black Mountain area. We found great accommodations at a place called The Mountain Getaway (828) 669-2202. They only have three rooms (sleeps 8), all well priced, in a scenic/secluded area, with no sound curfew, a 7 person hot tub (outside), and a beautiful deck with a sweet grill. We stayed there for two nights and it was like a musicians retreat, they even had rocking chairs with no arms (you guitar players know how cool that is). They really had it all.*********

Every time we go out of the North East I remember that the road can be a tough place. On this trip the gas prices shot up to $3.50 a gallon, people’s wallets are a little thin, times are tight for everyone in the U.S.A. But as our band grows we get to see the same parts of the country again and again; with the hopes that each time we make a few more friends along the way. You know we always do and I guess that is why we keep doing it. This was our 2nd of 4 trips that we will be making to the Asheville area in early 2008.

Friday we played the Town Pump in Black Mountain. We played well, the room sounds pretty good; but there was on average about 25 people in the room throughout the evening. That sure felt like a long way away from our sold-out Iron Horse show back at the end of March. But if you can get those 25 people dancing you know that atleast we are doing something right. Saturday we played at Warren Wilson College for their Earth Day Celebration….. And here we are driving to Ohio to play at Wesleyan for another Spring Fling.

Talk to you soon, much love. Levin Schwartz

July 28th, 2008

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