Musical Arts
Let’s Have a Pizza Party! – Songwriting with 2nd Grade
How I Learn Old Time Tunes – Learning to Play the Tune, Nancy, from a Recording by Jonas Friddle
Rain, Rain Go Away – First Guitar Lesson
How to Find the Minor 2 (ii) Chord in a Major Scale – Video Lesson
Music Video for “Juice Box” – a new song for youth musicians
Jess Baldissero is not only a good friend, she is one of my favorite songwriters. I was honored that she sat with …
Musical Dreaming – it’s a practice that I took part in, but had never really considered until some great chats with my …
“This is a great solo to start on—it’s simple, clear, and articulate; it will teach you how to hear clear phrases and …
When I was first taking guitar lessons my teacher told me to bring in a cassette of any song that I wanted …
I have a thurough self-led lesson about playing by ear in the works. For now, I thought I’d leave you with this. …
The song began with a gentle and cyclical guitar part. A jangly loop.
I think probably everybody has some sort of healing dream. And so as you journey through the different songs, maybe little, little parts of the dream are falling into place or coming true.
. . . standing backstage at our album release show and hearing the sold-out crowd stomping and chanting, “It’s a Gril! It’s a Girl! It’s a Girl!”
Jonas Friddle Discusses the Music and Memories behind his New Album, Jug Band Happy Hour (Interview)
“It’s funny to think of myself as a person who is old enough to reflect on some good times.” Jonas Friddle Jonas …
The sweet moments in this video took place on June 5, 2021. Toro was one of my dearest companions and rest teachers. Can …
One of my music students, Elijah, has offered some music inspired by this time of giving and receiving. Present Time! is Elijah’s …
Help a loved one (and/or yourself) start 2023 off with some music! Contact Jason at 773-369-8268 or jason@knowingtrees to discuss some options. …
Maria was one of the teachers at this year’s Celebrating Tradition Retreat in Spring Green, WI and I was lucky enough to …
A student and I were working on finding ways to play these bass walks more naturally, rather than having to think through …
We measure the distance between two notes using intervals. Here is a worksheet to help you get familiar with some intervals. When …
Today, I am honored and humbled to offer for sale pieces from my Listening Wide-Eyed: Limited-Sight Contour Drawings of Musical Instruments series. …
As you may know, throughout the year I keep a running total of days that I perform activities that are important to …
This is the continuation of some thoughts I’ve been thinking and discussions I’ve been having around the idea of talent. As a …
I keep track of the number of times I do certain activities in my life. This comes from a pretty severe case …
Here is the zine for How to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on your Harmonica. Also, this zine contains a very fun …
Every year I teach the Music Station at an incredible sports/art/music/community-building camp called Basketball in the Barrio, in Segundo Barrio, El Paso, …
I take visual art classes with the most amazing person; Kaye Buchman. Her art classes have moved online and it has been …
This fall I published my latest zine, The Sticker Method: Creating a Habit of Practice (available in the store). This is a …
I’ve been playing guitar for a long time. And, I teach a lot of guitar players that haven’t played for very long …
I was inspired to write this tune after a recent conversation with my friend Amanda Healen in which we were talking about …
We can’t have camp this year because of the pandemic. So, Coach Denisse Franco and I wrote a little song to share …
The title of this tune was inspired by a banjo video that Jonas Friddle recently published on Youtube. I didn’t have an …
I don’t know about you, but as the social distancing continues, I sure am missing eating lunch with my friends. That made …
I spent the day working on “social distance sound”; both my own and others’. I run in a community of educators and …
Why do you play video games? Make music? Draw pictures? Is it Skill and Achievement? Social? Money? Role playing? Reflecting on a recent episode of Imaginary Worlds.
It’s Saturday and for many people that means pizza! Here’s a fun song to go along with your pizza party. Some second …
For someone who is relatively new at playing music, learning a new tune, or a bunch of new tunes can be overwhelming. …
Here is a quick guitar lesson for total beginners. This is my usual first lesson for both youth and adult musicians. If …
During this challenging time of life I’ve been inspired by the Marquette Makers’ Project to keep busy with some creative work. I’ve …
Thank you to Huxley and Theo for their help making this music video for my song, Juice Box! This song was written …
Wow! What great musicianship at the packed house for Family Harmonica Workshop at Saturday’s 2020 Winter Roots Folk Festival! Most of the …
Hi everyone, Today I’m teaching my first workshop as part of Winter Roots Festival in Marquette, MI. In honor of this big …
Recently, it was a very snowy morning here in Marquette, MI. I was waiting for some of my students to have their …
Last Friday, the 3rd graders at Jane Ball Elementary in Cedar Lake, IN and I had a great time starting up our …
Originally posted on Facebook, Jan. 11, 2020 My teaching station this morning at Ore Dock Brewing. I have just a few lessons …
Award-winning music educator, Jason McInnes, will be leading youth, family or adult music lessons this January at Ore Dock Brewing. Sign up …
I keep track of several things during the year. Here are the final numbers. A brief description of what these numbers mean …
Here is a copy of my newest zine, How to Play Auld Lang Syne on Your Harmonica! Auld Lang Syne is one …
At the end of November, 2019, I left Chicago (my home for 24 years) and moved north to the Marquette, MI area. …
The summer/fall of 2019 has been a time of great upheaval in my life. I was glad to have a set of …
