Andrea Neuenschwander specialises in teaching music to children. She teaches piano, guitar, singing, music therapy and musical awareness for children at the Shine School of Music in Barcelona. Andrea is a music therapist, and graduated from the University of Barcelona. She studied music in Lima-Peru with a focus on Song Composition. Andrea has 8 years of experience working in music schools, foundations and centres and since 2017 she has been teaching early musical stimulation courses for babies and parents.
What was the first thing that got you interested in music?
When I was little, I would go to my grandmother’s house every weekend, with my father and brothers. Upon entering her house, we noticed the strangeness in her gestures, she did not recognize us. My grandmother had a disease called Alzheimer’s. This disease is characterized by memory loss, drastic mood swings, and orientation problems. My grandmother had a very small keyboard at home, she would drink mates and then she would sit in front of it. I, in the amazement of listening to her and seeing how her fingers moved and interpreted entire pieces, began to wonder what music did for her. Enabling her to play songs on the piano, by heart, without reading sheet music, having Alzheimer’s? That’s where my interest in music began.
Who inspires you to make music
In my case, I was inspired by a sequence of events that motivated me to treasure music, the excitement of seeing live concerts, discovering artists, their energy on stage and one thing in particular. Several years ago my sister won a guitar in a tombola (prize raffle), she brought it home and left it in her room for a year, without anyone allowed to touch it. I, in desperation, hating to see it there, so silent, saved money and eventually bought it for a modest sum. That is where my first direct contact with a musical instrument began.
How would you describe the music you normally make?
I was born and raised in a city called Arequipa, in the highlands of Peru, the radio constantly played cumbia and Andean music. Years later, stations with international music arrived. I started singing and playing folk music on the guitar and then unconsciously over the years, I leaned towards melodies and lyrics with characteristics of the folk music of my country. I would define the music I make today as Latin American folkloric.
What is your creative process?
I have a notebook where I write ideas, phrases or thoughts. Then when I get home, I try to delve into the concept through word brainstorming. This braingstorming becomes a bank of words that I try to put in order, writing sentences, then verses. I observe the structure of the verses, and try to find a certain rhythmic effect in them, through rhyme. Once the structure is ready, I imagine the melody that that letter asks of me. I take the guitar or the piano and I spend hours improvising and trying to find the music that best suits the message I want to give. Although sometimes the opposite happens to me, a melody comes to mind, I recognize it with my voice or the piano and I begin to think about the lyrics and the message I want to give it. On many occasions I get stuck and pause several songs to mature in silence, then pick them up again.
If you could choose to collaborate with any musician, who would it be?
I would choose La Lá, a Peruvian singer and songwriter, one of my favourites.
If you could choose to open any musician’s show, whose would it be?
That of Natalia Lafourcade, I think she is an artist with a wonderful musical journey, a sample of the constant search for her own sound, the beauty of her vocal technique and her compositions.
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
Yes, normally the song that I was listening to before going into the shower, the melodies stick with me.
Of your concerts, which one have you enjoyed the most and why?
Several months ago, before the pandemic, I started playing in a band “El Ingrediente”, with a group of Cuban musicians. When one of them could not participate in events, I was invited to sing backup and play the “Güiro”. There was one concert in particular, in the Tres Chimneas, during the PobleSec bloc party that stood out for me, it was a giant stage and more than 200 people in the audience. I enjoyed it very much because it put me to the test on my stage presence, management and musical development.
Where would you like to do a concert?
In the main square of my city, Arequipa.
What famous musicians do you admire?
Billie Holiday, Caetano Veloso, Celeste Mendoza, Devendra Banhart, Chabuca Granda, Joao Gilberto, Norah Jones, Leonard Cohen, Natalia Lafourcade and more …
What has been the best advice you have been given?
How fast you go is irrelevant, forward is forward.
How do you think the internet has impacted the music industry?
I think the internet has changed the landscape and the perception of music in general. On the one hand, it has helped to promote and disseminate emerging musical projects, especially independent ones, increasing their listeners. Something that did not happen in such a shocking way years ago, since the music scene was controlled by large labels that in turn controlled the broadcast content of many stations and concerts and therefore a large part of the listeners. This has changed, in my perception in a positive way, today there is a range of possibilities to discover and listen to artists that were previously out of our reach. On the other hand, as an artist, I consider it a very powerful tool for the development of projects and their dissemination.
If you could change one thing in the industry, what would it be?
I believe that in the current crisis compounded by confinement, both artists and musical educators are showing a deeper awareness about the positive benefits that a discipline such as music has in different areas and above all in people. Currently it is very difficult to monetize and make money with live concerts, these are very difficult times for artists in general, but we constantly reinvent ourselves, we survive.
What would you be doing right now if we weren’t in a pandemic?
Projects, concerts, I would be traveling or visiting family and friends more often.
Music surrounds us. From the minute we are conscious of sound, music filters into our brains. The rhythmic sounds of a heart beat or voices, a lullaby to send us to sleep. Birdsong, a street side orchestra, and as we get older we find bands and singers that we enjoy, and perhaps even begin to play music ourselves!
It seems to be an unspoken rule that parents should expose their children to music at some point during their childhood. Studies have shown that “Music Awareness” lessons where sound, notes, and pitch are introduced to toddlers or babies helps them develop a fundamental love and ability for music as well as language development skills and a head start in life.
Not everyone has a positive experience however, when they first attempt learning an instrument. So often people account tales of how they were cut from choir class or how their music lessons were boring or how having to practice every day became a chore.
To make learning music a positive experience, it’s vitally important to both introduce music from a young age and also find the right teacher. You don’t have to join a class, as children can easily be exposed to notes and sounds at home. Classes with an experienced child music teacher however, can be beneficial, it is a fun and interesting activity for parents and children to do together as well as giving both the skills and tools to play with music at home. The older you are, however, the better it is to find the right music teacher for your specific needs.
So what should you look for in a music class or music teacher? Here are some thoughts for parents, students and teachers on what makes a good music lesson.
Staying Positive about Music
To share a love of music with a child or student, you have to be positive about the music yourself. Teachers may have taught the same class many times before, and often classes can become rote. A teacher who can impart the basic steps with enthusiasm will infect their student with music happiness. Planning lessons prior to the class helps too. A prepared teacher can give a better lesson. Parents can also help by staying positive about learning music. If practicing music becomes a chore, try to find other ways to reward children for practicing or involving it in games or other kinds of interactive play. Make a music video…
Teach students their favourite music
There is no wrong or right music! The best way to get the most out of a student is to teach them their favourite musical genre. That might be pop or rock, or metal, maybe even trap! But each of these genres has something that can be used to teach. A sequence of notes, a rhythm, a lesson can be found in every song. Students who are learning about the music they are already interested in will be more likely to practice, and, as they say, practice makes perfect. Students will progress faster and become more proficient, making learning harder things that much easier for both teacher and learner!
Engage with Students
Music lessons should be dynamic. Music is not something you can just memorise. It’s an artistic and creative expression. Lessons should cover all these aspects. Learn a little, have fun a little, laugh and play, the music will follow. Don’t just follow the book, make the lessons work for both the student and the teacher. These days both teachers and students have a huge range of media they can use to add to lessons. From videos to production programs. Great teachers show personal investment in their students as musicians and as people, and encourage their student’s progress rather than expecting it. A talented music teacher understands each student’s individual needs and can help to set accomplishable goals to work toward at a pace that suits them based on their abilities.
A music teacher can spot a guitar student sitting in the wrong posture a mile away. It’s this eye for detail that make a skilled teacher important for the music student. To guide them in the fundamentals, sets a student up for life. Students with a great basic understanding of the underlying elements that make up the study of music will be able to switch or add instruments later on much more efficiently and easily. Sitting correctly helps the student produce the notes and tones without excess strain, and having a teacher reinforce key training techniques makes learning the music more efficient and easier.
Understanding the role of basic music theory concepts makes it easier for a student to play and experiment with sound later on.
Once a music student, always a student
An excellent music teacher is also a musician. Someone who not only shares their music knowledge but also creates and enjoys music for themselves. It’s not easy to understand a student’s needs unless you were once learning too. Effective instructors continue to learn as they teach. From their peers or in their own musical careers and these new lessons can be shared with their students. A love for music does not diminish, it evolves.
Find your Match
To find the right teacher for you or your child, know your goals! What do you want to learn, what kind of instrument or style. What kind of teaching or learning environment do you enjoy? If you know the answers to these questions, you can provide this info to your chosen music schools and they should be able to match you with the right teacher. Learning music takes time, but it also takes time to build a relationship with your teacher. Make sure you are learning in a positive environment.
“A good teacher is the one who is empathetic, has patience, positive attitude, and knows how to push you when required. They should also reward you when you achieve a certain level. All in all, they should make the learning fun and interesting.”
At Shine Music School we strive to match our teachers to each individual student, allowing for the most positive music educational environment. We have teachers who are professional musicians in a wide variety of musical genres, with years of experience sharing fundamental musical knowledge with their students.
We have teachers who are specialists in teaching very young students, as well as teachers with Music Therapy knowledge who understand how music can benefit students in all aspects of their lives.
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If you imagined a postcard of Spain it would no doubt incorporate a flamenco scene. Passionate musicians playing their Spanish guitars while dancers stamp and sing! The music style is synonymous with the country.
The rumbas, bulerias, alegrias, soleas, and the acompañamiento (accompaniment) of the singers and dancers, hands rhythmically clapping, voices calling out, really set the stage for the romantic notion of Spain. When we listen to flamenco, its modulations and melismas, we are transported to old Arabian Spain with Islamic monochord songs. To the caves of Sacromonte opposite the imposing Alhambra…
Flamenco music is wrapped up in the history of Spain. Tracing its origin back to “Morisco” (Spanish Moors) roots in the southern regions, where Flamenco was born, it was consolidated as a musical genre in the 18th century in Andalusia. Its creation is also attributed to the gypsies and rapidly spread throughout the country by the nomadic Romani people. Originally arriving in Spain from India they travelled all over Europe. It is undoubtable that despite the mixture of different cultural and musical influences, flamenco comes from the people themselves as it documents their struggles and joys.
Flamenco has wound itself up in Spanish politics, and its popularity has gone through many ups and downs. It has been used as a tool to foster a Spanish identity as well in opposition to the government in protest songs.
Flamenco has since become popular all over the world, especially the United States and Japan. In 2010 UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
The Toque, the Singing and the Dance are the main forms that flamenco uses to express itself.
Flamenco music is divided into songs or Palos. These are the various styles, and are classified by criteria such as rhythmic pattern, chord progression and geographic origin amongst others.
There are over 50 different palos! Some forms are danced while others are not. Some are performed only by men and others are reserved for women. The musical style of Flamenco, however, is still alive and well and so these traditional distinctions are breaking down, just as new ones emerge. The Farruca, for example, once a male dance, is now often performed by women too.
Generally speaking the most serious of the Flamenco songs are known as cante jondo (or cante grande), while less serious, naive forms are called cante chico. Forms that do not fit either are labled cante intermedio.
Because Flamenco has become an such icon of Spanish culture, it stands to reason that it has become romanticised and while many tourists expect beautiful dresses and foot stomping passion, not all Flamenco is performed on a stage with perfectly co-ordinated pieces. Flamenco is in the sound and stories expressed by the performers, a fierce glare here, a mournful tear there. It is an acquired taste.
Barcelona is considered one of the great capitals of flamenco. We have listed several places here that we recommend you visit.
Where to see Flamenco in Barcelona:
23 Robadors
This place is one of the most important flamenco venues in Barcelona. In the heart of Ciutat Vella, next to the Liceu Theater, 23 Robadors, offers beautiful authentic flamenco shows. Expect sweat and tears, they open the floor to the crowd after shows for those that wish to jam into the small hours. On Tuesdays and Sundays the flamenco party starts at midnight. On Saturdays the group 23 Flamenco gives a unique and intimate show from 9:30 p.m. Make sure to check their current news on their facebook page.
The cost of the entrance is 3 EUR.
Performance times may differ due to Corona Virus but they are currently open.
The Flamenco Shows of the Tablao Cordobés
The Tablao Cordobés has managed to preserve the authenticity of flamenco and offers high quality shows with talented and internationally renowned artists. Andalusian in style, the tablao Cordobés is not very large, which allows you to appreciate the expression of the artists: pain, anger, love, jealousy … It is a great advantage to be so close to the artists in such an intimate setting. The performers transmit energy and passion through all the pores of the skin!
Respect and silence are the order of the day: you cannot eat or take photos (except for the last 10 minutes) during the show, to avoid distracting the artists in their improvisational moments. Each representation is unique.
The Show costs around € 45 and includes a drink. You can also opt for a show that includes dinner, which costs about € 79. Dinner is served before the performance and includes food based on typical Spanish dishes. Shows are performed every day at Las Ramblas 35, Raval (Liceu metro)
NOTE: Shows are currently only available from October 2020.
See flamenco at the Palau de la Música
The Palau de la Música is one of the most impressive buildings in the city. Designed by the great architect Domènech i Montaner, the Palau is one of the jewels of Catalan Modernism.
Luckily this place is still a sumptuous performance hall today. The program is very varied and flamenco shows are often scheduled. You can undoubtably enjoy a performance of exceptional standard!
Currently the Gran Gala Flamenco, a work directed by Juan Gómez has been cancelled due to Covid 19, but keep an eye on the program and wait to see when future Flamenco shows will be scheduled. This show performed by a dozen flamenco artists of the new Catalan generation combines music and dance with rhythm and passion in an environment that makes your heart skip a beat. For the exceptional setting, Flamenco shows (or any show) at the Palau de la Música should not be missed!
The Palacio del Flamenco, with its enormous capacity for 380 people, located in an old theater in the center of Barcelona was transformed in 2006 into a space dedicated to the art of Flamenco.
They offer 3 shows every day! So you will surely be able to book a seat! From 6.30pm to 11.30pm.
The shows are professional with a focus on dancing and singing. Perhaps not as authentic as the smaller more intimate performances in smaller venues. Due to its size it’s a great way to experience the postcard of Spain, which some may prefer. And if you have limited time in Barcelona, this might be exactly what you require! If you are looking for a show where you are close enough to feel the heat and see the sweat on the musicians and performers, this may not be the place for you.
Tickets go for around € 35 (show and drink), € 15 for children between 2 and 12 years old
Find them at c/Balmes, 139; metro: Provença
NOTE: The Palacio del Flamenco is temporarily closed due to Covid 19
Flamenco with LosTarantos
The oldest Flamenco tablao in Barcelona, their venue hidden in a corner of Placa Reial in the center of Barcelona is a great place to enjoy a drink and watch a Flamenco show. They say their stage has welcomed some of the most important flamenco figures of the last century and “it continues to feature authentic flamenco spectacles based on improvisation, programming both big names in the flamenco world and up and coming artists from the local and national scenes.” Currently closed, we hope they reopen soon!
If you are interested in studying Flamenco guitar, you can take an online course with us or in our studios in Barcelona! Our fantastic teachers are experts at explaining the fundamentals and soon you can jam with the pros at 23 Robadors!
The way we interact and discover the world in which we live is through our 5 senses and one of the most important ones is our sense of hearing or sound. Even many people who are deaf are able to connect with the world through an interpretation of sounds through vibrations. Indeed the total lack of sound can even have an effect on us, causing hallucinations.
People have been creating instruments to make sounds and music since the beginning of time. So far we seem to be the only species to make music, but scientists have been researching animals musical tastes. Have a look at this list of really odd musical instruments, are you interested in trying to play any of them?
Octobass
Created in 1850 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the Octobass is a massive double bass that stands at 3.48m tall. It has elaborate foot-pedals to make it playable. It was created to give low “rumble” type sounds to orchestras. Only two playable Octobass exist today.
The Great Stalacpipe Organ
Invented in 1956 in the Luray Caverns in Virginia by Leland W. Sprinkle. The Great Stalacpipe Organ works by tapping on ancient stalactites with rubber mallets, all connected to a console that looks like a traditional organ. Apparently people had been tapping on the stalactites for years before the organ was actually constructed. It’s the largest “instrument” in the world.
Sea Organ
This fantastic project has turned the sea itself into a musician by using the man-made sea barrier in Zadar, Croatia as a ginormous organ. Pipes underneath the promenade react to the waves as they flow in, creating harmonious sounds that tourists all over the world flock to come and listen to.
Singing Ringing Tree
Part sculpture, part musical instrument, the singing tree on a hill overlooking Burnley in Lancashire, it was completed in 2006 and is made up of a series of pipes. When the wind blows through them, it produces a haunting sound. Give it a listen. Must be creepy on a dark windy night if you live close by!
Theremin
Perhaps the very first electronic instrument. Invented in 1919! The theremin is remarkable for its uncanny sound, the way it is played without touching it, and last but not least for its use in science fiction movies. Leon Theremin went down in musical history for this instrument. It was used in Bernard Herrmann’s soundtrack for The Day the Earth Stood Still amongst others.
The Glass Harmonica
Invented by Benjamin Franklin, this instrument consists of a number of glass bowls nested or fitted inside of each other. They slowly spin on a rod and the musician plays them with wet fingers producing a sound that you will be familiar with if you ever ran your finger over the top of a crystal glass. Some of the great composers such as Mozart and Beethoven arranged pieces to include the glass harmonica but it is not a common instrument.
Want to buy one? “The glass harmonica is expensive and difficult to make,” explains William Zeitler, for many years one of a handful professional glass harmonica players. “And there’s no such thing as a cheap student model. You have to buy one at $40,000, which means you have to be really committed.” source
There are some fun outdoor instruments you can play if you head to Montjuic in Barcelona. The park Jardines de Joan Brossa has big wooden instruments that can be “played” by kids.
In fact many children’s parks across the world have large instruments available for kids to play with. Keep an eye out for them on your travels.
If you want to see more interesting instruments, check out the lists below:
It’s a hot summer day in Eastern Spain. The scent of figs fills the air, cicadas buzz. Somewhere a church bell clangs. A few plucked guitar notes can be heard drifting from a shady plaça corner.
Let’s consider the interesting twists and turns in the life of Francisco Tárrega. Perhaps it’s more legend than truth, but the “father of classical guitar” seemed to have followed a fated path in his pursuit of his chosen instrument.
Even from a young age, Francisco Tárrega knew what he wanted. And more than anything, it was to play the guitar. Let’s imagine him as a small boy, sneaking in to play on his fathers treasured instrument while dad worked as a watchman at the local convent. Or listening avidly while his father played Flamenco. His ear tuned to the chords and notes. It was clear that he had an aptitude for the stringed instrument right from the beginning.
Growing up during the Romantic era, the young Francisco began his adventurous life running away from home. This independent streak resulted in a series of incidents which were to influence his whole life!
Little did he know on that hot summer day as he escaped the clutches of his nanny, what was to follow. Indeed as he ran, the cicadas calling, dust puffing up from his feet, he chanced to look back (at her maybe), and fell into an irrigation canal. His flight to boyhood freedom stalled. Through luck or fate, his future path was cemented.
Tárregas eyes were injured so badly in the fall that his father decided that Francisco was to become a musician. A career in which you didn’t need your eyes. And it was settled. The entire family was uprooted from Tárregas birth town of Villarreal, schlepped across the river Mijares to Castellón de la Plana, so that he could attend music classes.
Indeed the first two of his music professors were themselves blind. A life’s journey was set in motion. Francisco Tárrega began to learn the piano and guitar.
When he was ten years old, the famous Spanish concert guitarist Julián Arcas heard Tárrega play and recognising his talent, begged his father to allow him to accompany him to Barcelona, so that he could tutor the boy. His father reluctantly agreed.
In Barcelona, Francisco was set to continue his study of both the piano and the guitar, but it wasn’t long before the unwatched youngster had run away a second time. Loose on the streets of Barcelona. He was soon found playing his little guitar in coffee houses and restaurants, and taken back under the wing of his father.
Despite his father’s great sacrifices to set him straight and on the path of formal piano playing, Francisco’s fingers itched to play the guitar, and three years later, ran away for a third time at the mere age of thirteen, joining a group of Gypsies in Valencia where he improved his flamenco skills and perhaps his life skills too.
Perhaps Tárrega was feeling responsible for his family, or maybe just finally grown up. Whatever the case, he was able to repay his family’s dedication and worked hard playing the piano and guitar in various villages to aid them. By 1874 and at 22 years of age, his luck changed again.
Francisco entered the Madridconservatory under the sponsorship of a wealthy merchant named Antonio Canesa who had happened upon his playing by chance at a rural casino in the village of Burriano. He brought along with him a recently purchased guitar, made in Seville by Antonio de Torres. Oddly enough it was the self same guitarist Julián Arcas who had encouraged Torres to pursue making guitars as his full time profession. It seems that the guitar was so well made, and it’s sound so suited Tárrega that he rarely played on any other type. This guitar both inspired his music and influenced his style.
At the conservatory, Tárrega studied composition under Emilio Arrieta who convinced him to focus on guitar and abandon the idea of a career with the piano. Despite the current views (and those of his father) that the guitar was only an instrument to accompany singers, and the piano was most popular throughout Europe, Tárrega did not take much convincing. Playing the guitar was something that he had loved since he had been a small child.
Francisco Tárrega
By the late 1870s Tárrega was set up as a professional music teacher and musician and taught (most famous amongst them) Emilio Pujol, Miguel Llobet, and Daniel Fortea, thus passing on his knowledge and all the while fine tuning his work through rigorous study and practice. Soon he was composing his own music and touring the country, giving regular performances. Even transcribing important piano works into pieces for guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reJvv2Ob-Kc
His frequent concerts resulted in the meeting of his future wife as well as one of his most famous compositions, “Lagrima” or The Teardrop, which was written when he was touring in London, miserable and homesick for Spain. Upon returning to his homeland in 1880, he was married and eventually settled in Barcelona, not too far from where he had grown up.
Under the patronage of wealthy widow, Conxa Martinez, Tárrega mellowed. No longer running to pursue his dreams, he relaxed into perfecting his art. His patronage allowed him and his family use of a house in Barcelona rumoured to be somewhere on c/ Gignas, where he would write the bulk of his most popular works. Later Conxa Martinez took him to Granada, where the guitarist conceived the theme for Recuerdos de la Alhambra. Tárrega continued to perform live, but he preferred to stay in his native country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOsRMECWKAE
A few years before his untimely death, Tárrega made an important change in his playing. He cut his nails. To a classical guitarist playing on gut strings, the use of ones nails to pluck out the notes was all important. Used similarly to a plectrum on steel strings, the nails are used to play on Spanish or Classical nylon stringed guitars. No-one is quite sure of the reason for Tárregas choice and there appear to be various opinions, but the fact remains that this changed the style and more importantly, the sound of his playing forever. Callouses built up on his fingertips and with these he continued to play. Tárrega loved this new sound so much that he enforced nail trimming among all his students.
