Music mentoring available through Norwalk Public Library website | Thehour.com

Photo: Mike Horyczun

Mike Horyczun inform, "Local residents now have a small army of world-class musicians at the ready to serve as their personal music mentors because of a newly announced program being offered by the Norwalk Public Library." 

Photo: Contributed Photo

ArtistWorks for Libraries is a free, online resource that has just been made available to anyone with a Norwalk Public Library card. The self-teaching programs deliver instruction in music, voice and even fine arts, with topics ranging from bluegrass banjo lessons from Grammy-winner Tony Trischka to deejay scratching lessons from DJ Qbert. There are 30 music courses in total, with one fine arts lesson also in the series, and they are all part of a special ArtistWorks group available through the Norwalk Public Library website in partnership with RBdigital from Recorded Books, Inc.

“We offer other RB Digital Database offerings,” said Cynde Bloom Lahey, director of library information services at the Norwalk Public Library. “When we became aware of ArtistWorks, we thought it would be a unique resource for the community. We have many people looking for an independent method of learning to play an instrument or to create art but are either too shy or can't afford to take lessons from an instructor. We, as a public library, can provide the access to our community for these kinds of opportunities via a free and convenient method that they can connect to from their homes.”

ArtistWorks is accessible through the library’s website (norwalklib.org) by going first to the Research tab, located on the buttons across the top of the homepage, then going to Databases and Internet Resources. The Databases are alphabetical, and ArtistsWorks pops up in this list.

The Norwalk Public Library’s other RB Digital database offerings include digital magazines through Zinio, over 500 online continuing education courses through Universal Class, Bestselling eAudio and eBook titles through OneClickdigital and many bestselling books on CD.

The ArtistWorks for Libraries program is a slightly modified version of the paid-subscription series available at ArtistWorks.com, as it does not include a Video Exchange component or a few other courses. However, in case they want to upgrade, Norwalk Public Library cardholders are eligible for a discount, according to Mike Daecher, chief marketing officer at ArtistWorks.

“They just use the promo code LIBRARY20, and they automatically get 20 percent reduced from any price they pay at ArtistWorks.com,” he said, adding that the library’s free series will be including more instruments in the weeks ahead.

“Ukulele and Classical Mandolin will become available to the libraries in September,” said Daecher, followed by jazz drums and country vocals in November of 2016. “We wanted to offer the full breadth of the instruments we offer, but more importantly, we hand selected lessons that would cater to the needs of library members,” he said. “Recorded Books helped us to understand their library patrons' needs so that we could make the most appropriate and helpful selections of music lessons for them.”

Other online lesson in the free library series include Jazz Bass with John Patitucci, Bluegrass Mandolin with Mike Marshall, Fiddle with Darol Anger, Fingerstyle Guitar with Martin Taylor, Jazz Guitar with Chuck Loeb, Harmonica with Howard Levy, and Voice with Jeannie Dava. 
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Source: Thehour.com