Joshua Gilbert Music

03/19/2020

Feeling bored? Kids running wild in the streets? Get some online music lessons! Now offering lessons in flute, saxophone, clarinet, and ukulele through FaceTime and other popular apps.

10/22/2018

Here's a new blog post, about music and oral culture. It's called Homer Sings the Blues. Enjoy!

One of the most fascinating books I’ve read in recent years is Orality and Literacy by Walter J Ong, a study of purely oral cultures and the changes in consciousness and culture that occur with the advent of writing, and…

09/06/2018

New blog post up, where I answer the question that's on everyone's mind.

How do you make it in the music business? Practice of course! Seriously though, the real answer is keep your day job. Wait, wait, come back. Ok the real first step is to define what you mean by making it.…

06/27/2018

New blog post up, about happy vs. sad music. It's called "Crying". Check it out!
http://joshuagilbertmusic.com/crying/

03/07/2018

New blog post up, about my experiences playing music in elementary schools and retirement communities. It's called Music for Young and Old. Enjoy!

In the past year I’ve been teaching a lot of ukulele classes in the Portland schools. I’ve also done a lot of shows at area retirement homes. I think that playing and teaching music with young and old has given…

11/20/2017

New blog post up, entitled "Music is Your Friend For Life". Enjoy!

I often tell my young students “if you make friends with music now, music will be your friend for life”. At least in my own life, I have found this to be true. I have considered music to be my…

11/22/2016

New post up, about Thelonious Monk and the terrific biography of him by Robin DG Kelley. Check it out!

http://joshuagilbertmusic.com/thelonious-monk/

The story of Thelonious Monk is a story of contradictions. A musical revolutionary who lived long enough to be considered old-fashioned. A man with a reputation for erratic behavior who was also a devoted husband and father. A piano player…

11/10/2016

Check out my new blog post, about The Jazz Loft Project book and companion film The Jazz Loft According To W. Eugene Smith!

http://joshuagilbertmusic.com/the-jazz-loft-project/

The Jazz Loft Project is a story told in fragments by disembodied voices. It is a successful work of art made from the ruins of a failed one, a complete work made from an intentionally incomplete one. It is the…

09/21/2016

Check out my new Hawaiian Band, The Lost Hawaiians!

http://joshuagilbertmusic.com/the-lost-hawaiians/

The Lost Hawaiians are Portland's finest purveyors of Hawaiian music. Perfect for weddings, parties, and tropical-themed events.

07/26/2016

Playing solo ukulele and singing tonight at
Fire and Stone Restaurant on Fremont. Original songs, gypsy jazz, Hawaiian music, kids music, and more!

05/05/2016

New blog post up, about the Federal Music Project and the importance of treating artists as workers.

http://joshuagilbertmusic.com/artists-as-workers/

In 1935, with the country in the grips of depression, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Federal Music Project, part of Federal Project Number One, which included related programs for visual artists, writers, and the theater. Despite his patrician upbringing, FDR…

04/07/2016

I always tell my ukulele students, the most important part of using a pick is not dropping the pick into the sound hole.