Jazz Lesson Musings

After years of thinking about it, I enrolled in jazz piano lessons this year. I was motivated by my students who are "pumped" about Conservatory Canada's Contemporary Idioms syllabus and the Teacher's Choice Study in the Royal Conservatory of Music syllabus. I was also looking for ways to "jazz" up my gig repertoire.I am currently studying with Derek Stoll, an accomplished jazz pianist and examiner for Conservatory Canada. These lessons are so different from the traditional piano lesson. We really go with the flow. I am currently picking out Christmas tunes by ear, then harmonizing them, then "jazzifying" them.

It's quite the process. Fun, but boy do you ever give your brain a workout from all the keyboard harmony. I am still trying to commit the octatonic scale to memory (I have no problems writing it, playing it from memory is another story). Theoretically, I understand what an A7 with a sharp 5 and flat 9 is but my brain and hands aren't completely in sync there either. Voice leading? Again, good with writing it down but still learning to think on my feet (er, fingers).

Some stuff is starting to stick. I'm looking forward to my next gig, where I can try out what I've been working on.

One colleague recently asked me whether my teaching style has changed. I'm getting my students to start looking at the shapes of chords more. They're all picking out Christmas songs by ear and personalizing them. I'm also getting them to analyze their chords more and more. Probably the biggest change is that I'm really, really harping on them about getting their technique up to snuff. Several have expressed an interest in improvising and embellishing their songs.

Since starting my jazz lessons, I've decided I'd like to take a Contemporary Idioms exam - for fun. Since I began teaching, my scales, chords and arpeggios and ear training are better than they ever were when I took exams growing up, so I'm relishing the thought performing well on a test in these areas. I guess I should start picking out my program and get cracking!

(c) 2008 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Online Music Dictionaries

This year, I will be "strongly encouraging" my students to look up definitions to music terms in their songs. At the Kiwanis Music Festival this spring, one adjudicator told all the students that it's THEIR job to look up the words they don't know. Not their teacher's job and not their parent's job. The following are some helpful online music dictionaries that you can explore:

1. Music Dictionary Online

2. Music Outfitters Inc. Online Music Dictionary

3. OnMusic Dictionary

Happy exploring!

(c) 2008 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Angry Piano Music

A few weeks ago, two of my female students (one pre-teen, one teen), were going through a rough week. When we talked about the songs they are currently working on, we came to the realization that there was a gaping hole in their repertoire: they didn't have any " angry" music. When I told them that "angry" piano music does exist, they asked for some to work on.The more advanced student is currently working through Robert Starer's "Crimson" from his Sketches in Color. The 7/8 time signature is delightfully lopsided and it's all fast and furious.

After speaking with some colleagues and conducting a quick Google search, I found a few more titles to add to the list:

look inside

Allegro Barbaro Piano Solo. Composed by Bela Bartok (1881-1945). Edited by Laszlo Somfai. Sheet Music. Paperbound. Henle Music Folios. Classical. Softcover. 12 pages. G. Henle #HN1400. Published by G. Henle (HL.51481400).

look inside

Piano Sonata No. 7, Op. 83 Piano Solo. Composed by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953). Piano. Classical, Contemporary, Russian, Sonata. 32 pages. Sikorski #SIK2178. Published by Sikorski (HL.50483889).

look inside

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (Moonlight) Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Edited by Murray Perahia and Norbert Gertsch. Arranged by Murray Perahia. Sheet music. Paperbound. Henle Music Folios. Classical. Softcover. 28 pages. G. Henle #HN1062. Published by G. Henle (HL.51481062).

look inside

Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11 Composed by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951). 20th Century. Score. 11. Published by Belmont Music Publishers (BE.BEL-1034).

look inside

Danzas Argentinas Opus 2 For Piano with an introduction by Gerald Hugon. Composed by Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983). BH Piano. Classical. Softcover. 32 pages. Published by Boosey & Hawkes (HL.48024360).

If you would like to contribute to this list of angry music, please feel free to post a comment.

I am still trying to find some angry music for my Grade 1 student. She's going to ask her mother to get her some Avril Lavigne sheet music though, so that will help channel her angst.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Note Reading Geography Help

Some of my students are having trouble associating a note written on the staff with its corresponding note on the keyboard, regardless of how many times I say, "The farther it is from middle C on the staff a note is, the farther away it is from middle C on the keyboard."

For example, they do identify the note correctly on the staff as a "B" but when I ask them to play the corresponding note, they pick any "B" on the keyboard. Well, Middle B is written on a different part of the staff from Treble B, which is nowhere near "Really Low B" or "Really Really High B". See what I mean?

The Piano Player is a game is for them and for all music students struggling with this.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Music & Life

I recently went to a group meditation session and this video was shown prior to meditating.It's an excellent reminder that the "point" is the journey, not the finish line, in life and in music.

Enjoy the video:

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.