“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

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

Terrific Thursday Link #3

Thanks to Liam, a student, and his mom for this week’s link. www.musicstudy.com has ear training and music theory software programs to help students of various levels. Check out their free demos.

Musicians & Memory

Musicians young and old struggle with memory. I have a few students who are really struggling with it this year (we memorize in chunks). You may ask, “Why do musicians need to memorize their songs?” If you learn something “by heart”, you know it inside and out. You understand it on several levels and can perform it confidently – consistently. Plus it just looks good.

Now there are times to memorize and there are times not to. Memorization is required at festivals and exams. Student recitals? It depends. If it’s a recital to air out exam pieces, then yes to memory. If it’s just a fun recital, it’s optional. If you’re just jamming with family and friends, memory is optional (improvising is probably more valuable here). If you’re at a family reunion and you’re dragged to the piano? You better have something ready at your fingertips (or be a good improviser!).

There are five types of memory that musicians use. The more forms you use, the stronger your memory is. They are:

1. Aural: memorizing by ear

2. Visual: AKA “photographic memory”

3. Tactile/Digital: AKA motor memory

4. Analytical: looking for patterns and relationships

5. Kinesthetic: AKA “muscle memory"

Here are a few interesting articles on memory and music:

• Pianists’ Four Kinds of Memory

• Memory Improvement Techniques

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

Friday Fun Link #14

Break In The Road is a site that proves that you can make music out of everyday sounds. Collect various sounds from around the website’s city to create your own music, do a little sound mixing and put your song together. Have fun.  

Recital Musings

I used to get nervous for myself when performing. Now I get nervous for my students. I want them to do well, for themselves and for the loved ones who came to hear them. I hum along with each performance, bobbing and swaying to the music, just as my teachers did for me. When a student has a glitch, I stare at them, willing them to carry on and to get back into the piece. When a student does well, I find it difficult to contain my excitement.  

Sunday, we held our studio Winter Recital at McKenzie Towne Church. They have the best Young Chang piano I’ve played (but my heart still belongs to Yamaha). The venue is well laid out. The spacious foyer served as the “Snack & Chat” area after the recital. My mother and room-mate made use of the big kitchen to store and prepare the plates of goodies. Dad went straight to the well-stocked supply closet afterwards and found all he needed to tidy up the place. My brother found the perfect nook to set up shop for recording the recital.

 We got to a late start because we didn’t have enough time to set up. I’ll have to put in a one-hour buffer next time.

 Delegation works wonders. Students and parents helped hand out programs, put up signs, sort the programs that were mixed with another document, perform a sound check and serve as MC’s. They also brought non-perishable food items for the Calgary Food Bank and goodies for the Snack & Chat.

The recital went smoothly. Unfortunately, we had some last minute cancellations and no-shows but that didn’t affect the flow. All the students played well. Sure, they may be grumbling about some wrong notes or some wacky rhythms, but they all demonstrated that they could carry on with poise, a sense of humour and musical expression. That’s all I can ask for.

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