Christmas 2013 Greetings and Musical Faves

It seems that everyone I have spoken to has had a busy 2013. It is my wish that you all have a wonderful Christmas. May you enjoy some quiet time and some quality time with your family and friends.

As a musician and music teacher, I find it a huge blessing that there are so many arrangements and interpretations to classic Christmas music. Here are five of my favourite Christmas songs. Perhaps, some of these versions are new to you. Enjoy!

"Cry of the Poor" and "What Child is This?" performed by The Notre Dame Group:

Jackie Evancho sings "Silent Night":

Amy Grant’s "Breath of Mary":

"O Come, O Come Emmanuel" performed by The Piano Guys

Carol of the Bells performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. May 2014 bring you good health, happiness and abundance.

Reducing Hand and Wrist Tension at the Piano

Lately, I have been harping on my students about their wrist technique. Some are playing with locked wrists or excess hand tension, even with us working on it during their lessons. The bottom line is that we teachers can only help you so much in a lesson, the rest comes down to how you practice at home.

Here are a few videos by some of my esteemed colleagues on hand and wrist technique:

Irina Gorin and Wrist Relaxation Exercises:

I showed this to an intermediate student. He started to make some progress after viewing this. Irina has more useful videos on her YouTube Channel.

Josh Wright on Reducing Hand Tension

Although he still has some tension (those pesky octaves!), Josh does have some good points. Let's chalk it up to the fact that he's showing you a section that he is working on, so it's a work in progress.

Robert Estrin on Wrist Technique with Octaves:

Robert Estrin has a treasure chest of wonderful piano tutorials on his website. Every pianists should bookmark his site.

The Allan Fraser Institute's Lecture-Demonstration on Hand Tension and Proper Arm Weight Technique

Thanks to Brian Riker for sharing this one.

I promised my students that I would send them some clips to help them play with more relaxed wrists and a less hand tension.

Sometime during Christmas break, I will record some videos in which I deconstruct my piano technique. When I mentioned this to my students, they immediately asked if we could use the GoPro POV camera and the other cameras to film them as well. What a great way to analyze your basic piano technique!

I think I will start using an elastic band. Up to this point, I've either had my students put their hand on mine (or my forearm) to feel the arm weight and tension I use to play their trouble spots. Or, I'll hold their forearm and won't let go until I sense they have relaxed sufficiently.

We've been using imagery a lot too. That's something you might want to try if your teacher hasn't asked you to yet.

Last night, I asked a student to imagine that he was in a pool and he was dragging his arm back and forth in the water. Then, I asked him to imagine that his arms were made of air and that gravity was pulling his hand down towards the keys.

Make sure you stretch regularly to reduce hand tension and prevent musician injuries. Finally, I will leave you with something I say regularly to my students: Spongy wrists, firm fingertips.

Heartwarming KODA Performance for Deaf Parents

This was making the rounds on the social networks earlier this month. This is a video taken at a kindergarten Christmas concert. It captures a sweet child of deaf adults (a "CODA" or "KODA") who chose to perform in ASL instead of the usual choreography. That way, her parents - as well as other deaf people - could appreciate the performance fully:

Highly expressive. She's a delight to watch.

If you would like to learn more about Children of Deaf Adults (CODA), also known as Kids of Deaf Adults (KODA), here are a few websites:

• American Sign Language University

• Children of Deaf Adults, Inc.

• Communication and Parenting Issues in Families with Deaf Parents and Hearing Children

• Understanding Children of Deaf Adults

Exploring Unusual Musical Instruments

Leonardo da Vinci's viola organista has been making the rounds throughout various social networks. Polish pianist Slawomir Zubrzycki brought da Vinci's conceptual drawings to life, constructing this harpsichord/cello to life and delivering the world premiere performance last month:

After showing my students some of the footage a few weeks ago, I began to wonder what other strange and unusual musical instruments existed. This is a short list of six unusual musical instruments that I came across in my travels:

Unusual Instrument #1: Theremin Cello

Also known as the "Fingerboard Theremin", the Theremin Cello is comprised of a plastic film fingerboard. When you press upon said fingerboard, a sound is generated:

The Theremin Cello was invented by Russian physicist Leon Theremin. He's best known for another strange (more famous) instrument that is named after him: the Theremin.

Unusual Musical Instrument #2: The Otomatone

When I first learned about the Theremin Cello, I was struck by how similar the sound production was to the Otomatone. This is a video I showed my students during the Music and Technology group class last year:

The otomatone hit the market in 2009. This strange instrument was developed by CubeWorks Company of Japan.

Unusual Musical Instrument #3: Singing Stones

These sound eerie! According to Odd Music, Singing Stones is made up of 100 river rocks. These are hung from a sound box with music wire.

To play the singing stones, the strings are manipulated by hand. The musicians wear rosin-covered gloves.

Unusual Musical Instrument #4: Pikaso

It took lutenist Linda Manzer  two years to make the Pikaso for guitarist Paul Metheny. This strange musical instrument has four guitar necks, 42 strings and two access doors:

Unusual Musical Instrument #5: Xaphoon

Call it a mini or portable sax. At any rate, I want one.

Originally made of bamboo, the Xaphoon was created by Brian Wittman of Maui. Now, there are injection-molded versions which retail for approximately $120 USD:

Unusual Musical Instrument #6: LEGO Harpsichord

My inner geek is intrigued by the idea of having a functional musical instrument comprised of LEGO. This version, designed by Henry Lim uses wire strings. It really sounds like a toy piano. Please visit Mr. Lim's website for photos and an audio sample.

There are countless more unusual musical instruments. You can find out about some of them at Odd Music

Vivaldi's 'Other' Gloria

While I was writing this week's article for Examiner.com, I listened to Antonio Vivaldi's Introduction and Gloria, RV 588. It is not as famous as his RV 589.

I've always enjoyed Vivaldi's music, ever since I studied his Four Seasons in music history.The imagery in all four concerti is just lovely.

That admiration grew even more when I visited his fair (but stinky) city of Venizia in 2001. The culture is so rich in Venice. Musicians performing everywhere. Stunning blown glass works and delicate lace.

In  The ‘Other’ Vivaldi Gloria: Discovering a Lesser-known, Gregory M. Pysh describes it as "a delightful and most accessible setting for choirs of all abilities." It certainly is sonorous and pleasing to the ear, although I wouldn't go so far as to call it completely "accessible" to all levels. Every work has its trouble spots.

Here is a snippet of this work by Antonio Vivaldi for choir and chamber ensemble:

Alas, I cannot attend this Sunday's performance of this by the Calgary Bach Society (so many Calgary concerts and events, so little time). I do hope to catch a performance by this local chamber music ensemble soon.

If you'd like to add Vivaldi's Gloria & Introduction to your music collection, you can find it on Amazon: