Friday Fun Link #18

Maestro came up with a song this week. Let’s see if I translated his howls correctly:

I woke up this mornin’

‘saw snow on the ground.

My nose is snifflin’

and I can’t go for a walk.

I’ve got the snowtime blues.

Yeah.

I got the snowtime blue-------s.

Who would have thought a dog could sing the blues? If you’d like to try your hand at singing/writing the blues, head to Blues Guide . Enjoy!

© 2006, Musespeak™, Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

On Practicing, Performances and Piano Exams

The Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival is just around the corner. I used to accompany voice students at Kiwanis (just can’t swing it this year). I don’t have any students participating in Kiwanis this year, I do have several who have signed up for the Alberta Piano Teachers’ Association (APTA) Festival in May. Festivals provide musicians an opportunity to air out their exam pieces, hone their performance skills and get valuable feedback from esteemed clinicians. It’s a good goal to work towards (and some people can only get something done if there’s a deadline hanging over their heads).

Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but how does one go about preparing for a festival (or exam for that matter)? As the old adage goes, “Practice, practice, practice.”

But don’t just take my word for it. Check out these funky links that break down HOW to prepare for a performance/exam/festival. There are some excellent articles on how to make the most of your practice session with limited time.

• Practicespot.com (an excellent site)

• Lessonmatch.com

• The Piano Place

© 2006, Musespeak™, Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Friday Fun Link # 17

This is for all the hip hop music fans – Hip Hop Grams. Send a personalized hip hop music-gram to family and friends. Enjoy!

© 2006, Musespeak™, Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Digital vs. Acoustic Pianos

I get this question from new students. As much as I’d like to say, “Go acoustic,” it may not always be the best fit for a family. I typically tell them to rent a digital piano until it's clear whether the student really takes to piano.

There are several pros and cons for either one. If you want the best of both worlds, get one of each. One of these days, I’ll get a digital piano as a companion to my trusty Yamaha upright grand. I just have to pay off some debt first. ;-)

If you’d like to learn more about what to look for in a piano and the benefits and drawbacks for both types, you can learn more at these sites:

• The Calgary Piano Owners' Guide To Piano Resources

• Concert Pitch Piano Services

• Pianoexperts.com

• How to Buy a Piano

© 2006, Musespeak™, Calgary, AB Canada. All rights reserved.

Friday Fun Link #16

Just when I thought I finished all my work for the week. Maestro is all set to play Frisbee but I just couldn’t log off without doing today’s Friday Fun Link. Head to PBS Kids’ Music site and try some of their online games. Maestro and I played a game called “Jam with Wiley”. He picked out the bongo drums for our instrument, while I tried to play the colour-coded drum that corresponded with the moving notes on the screen. A very tricky feat when you’re holding a musical dog under one arm and trying to manipulate the stylus in the other hand.

Enjoy!

© 2006 by Musespeak™, Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

A Quick Note on Composing and Arranging

This week is Group Class Week, A.K.A. “Time to Catch Up on My Work” Week. My piano students will go on the annual field trip in lieu of their regular lesson. However, I’m still teaching my theory students and doing make-up piano lessons this week.

Somehow, I wound up getting nominated for Calgary ARMTA’s Second Vice-President for 2006/07 at Monday’s meeting. It just sort of happened, leaving the incoming First Vice-President and I a little dazed. Ah well, we both knew we couldn’t stay in our current roles forever. Eventually, we’d have to move up.

The bane of my existence, bookkeeping, is nearly done. I’ve even started to put together the 2006/07 Studio Calendar (and scoping out piano pedagogical conferences and courses in far off places). A few meetings with prospective students and brides planning their weddings, along with a lunch with friends/colleagues complete my week.

Eventually, I’ll get to one item that’s been on my “To Do” List for a while – arranging Michael W. Smith’s song Above All into a piano duet for a student. Last year, I discovered that I enjoy composing and arranging. I currently use Finale Notepad (although sometimes, I’ll reach over for a trusty pencil and manuscript paper). Some of my students are showing a genuine interest in composing. I’ve found that the less instruction I give them at the beginning, the better. Some of their works are quite amazing.

I compiled this list of composing and music notation software links for my students, which I will share with you:

• Creating Music

• How to Compose Piano Music

• Canadian Music Centre

• University of Virginia Library - FREE manuscript paper

• Sibelius Music Notation Software

• Finale Music Notation Software

• MusicEdit Notation Software

• Music Notation Software List

• Noteworthy Notation Software

• Mozart Notation Software

Happy composing!

© 2006, Musespeak™, Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Friday Fun Link #15 & A List to Make Your Head Spin

My head’s starting to spin again. This week, I’ve been organizing next week’s Piano Group Class (a behind the scenes tour of the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium), preparing for Monday’s Calgary ARMTA Executive meeting (Barb, I’ll get my reports done before Saturday!), reminding and coaching students and their parents to register for their piano/theory exams and the APTA Music Festival, creating contracts with milestones for the exam students, parents and I to commit to, restraining myself from screaming at students who don’t practice (and trying not to look bored when they stumble through a piece they’ve had for far too long), fielding calls from parents looking for a piano teacher, fielding calls from brides looking for wedding music and trying very hard to keep up with lesson planning, practicing and paperwork. All this while dealing with a dog with a bad case of sniffles (but really wants his walkies), a short story contest deadline looming, passing along sad news to my fellow U of L music alum (and then trying to track down contact info for classmates who are MIA), re-recording a student whose recital performance was full of static, looking for Iaido clothing that fits petite women, designing a photo waiver for the Iaido Club, practicing Iaido, getting used to life without a car (retired to Car Heaven), setting up networking lunches, dealing with a weird company about digestive enzymes that caused a nasty reaction and what else? Housecleaning.

Whoa. I am out of breath just reading that. Now that is called a run-on sentence. I certainly need a Friday Fun Link to lighten the mood. This week’s link is CyberParodies. I’m listening to “Carbs” (a parody on “Cars”). Pretty wacky, just like my list.

And that’s that. Back to paperwork, practicing and practicing. Have a good weekend everyone!

© 2006, Musespeak™, Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

“Romantic Music” Musings

I bet you thought I was going to muse about sappy love songs. Nope. Not here.

The Romantic Period (circa 1825 – 1900) saw an increase in nationalism and exoticism in the arts, as well as the themes of unrestrained passion, unrequited love, redemption and flights of fancy.

I’ve always enjoyed listening to and playing Romantic music. It is so easy to get caught up in the swelling melody that gathers speed and volume until it reaches its climax. I love the strurm und drang and rubato, which exemplify turbulent emotions. After the storm, there’s always a moment (or several), in which we are teased. We think we’re at the end of the song, but the composer sends us off into another direction. Then, there’s the penultimate chord. Musicians are taught to push to it and then savour the dissonance. Make the audience crave the resolution.

Frederic Chopin captured the nationalistic flair of his native Poland along with tender and searing melodies. Franz Lizst gave us fiery and brilliant passages that amazed audiences. Johannes Brahms showed us the angst-ridden and frustrated side of romance. You can learn about the music of these Romantic composers and many more at these sites:

• Classical Net
• Essentials of Music
• Internet Public Library

© 2006, Musespeak™, Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.