Music and Med School

One of my piano parents inquired what makes music lessons so attractive to university faculties such as medicine and engineering. In the 1990s, Lewis Thomas, a physician and biologist conducted a study on undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. Of all successful applicants, 66% of them were music majors.

Closer to home, I can tell you that many of my former teacher's students have gone on to study engineering, another demanding program. One of the best pianists from my university piano class went on to be a surgeon. Another friend earned the Gold Medal in his graduating class at the University of Lethbridge and later went onto become a Rhodes Scholar, completing his Ph.D. thesis analysing the works of writer James Joyce, while playing trombone in community orchestra - for fun!

Music study involves so many parts of the brain, teaching everything from creative expression to analysis, ingenuity to working under pressure and from self-discipline to project management. And much more. These are all skills that are valued in medicine and engineering.

I have done a couple of blog entries on how "music lessons make you smarter" ("A New Study on the Benefits of Music Education" and "Why Study Music"). But don't take my word on it. Check out Will Piano Lessons Make My Child Smarter?

Getting Inspiration from Other Composers

One of the highlights of Monday's Calgary ARMTA Annual General Meeting was the lecture-recital by Canadian composer David McIntyre. I enjoyed hearing about what inspired him to write some of his works. For instance, he said that his work Better Days for solo piano was initially "Bitter Days" - written on a bad day. Another was nicknamed "Chuga" because of the rhythm. I need to get my hands on his Pro-Motion and E-Motion suites because I know my students and I will enjoy them immensely. I can picture a few of my young male students enjoying "Drive" (with its er, driving rhythms).

Several of his works are written for family and friends, such as his Anniversary Suite.

Something clicked in my brain after hearing that. Here I've been, stumped for the past two months on how to write a collection of reflections about my old babysitter who passed away earlier this year (she was like a grandmother to me). I was stumped on things like what colour her kitchen was and just what old toys and games I pulled out from the boxes in her attic. I couldn't get past those details so I kept pushing back the project.

When one can't find the words, why not use music?

I composed the first draft of the first of a set of three songs. It's about baking with Nanny, one of my favourite memories. I tried to create melodic lines to represent myself as a child talking with Nanny over what to bake. It's very sing-songy, like all children's songs. I just need to work out a few kinks.

I already have ideas for the other two songs (about adventures at the park and up in the attic) but I'll keep on improvising until the tune and rhythm bursts forth from within. That strategy seems to work.

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

Practicing Piano While on Vacation

Some of my students are going to places warm and exotic for Easter Break. One of them, who's taking her Gr. 7 piano exam in June, asked me how to practice while on vacation. Bonus points to her for asking!What I've done in the past is put my music in a binder or duotang and study the score, analyzing the form, dynamics, articulation, rhythm and harmony. If my ear is on that day, I can hum the melody and practice how I'd like to shape it. I've also tap practiced the melody. That can be done in a 10 minute mini practice at the airport, on the plane, at the beach...you get the idea.

I know of one piano accompanist who played "air piano" while on public transit. Her husband, a conductor, would laugh at her whenever she grumbled over hitting a wrong note. "You're playing an imaginary piano. How do you know?" he asked.

She told him that her body remembered where each note was on the keyboard, so her muscle memory was finely tuned.

I've hopped on a few discussion forums to see what others do. If it's a short vacation, the rule of thumb is to enjoy the time off. If you're preparing for a major performance, one can practice as I outlined above. You can also see if the place you're staying at has a piano or keyboard that is nearby and make arrangements to play on it during low traffic times. Several posters advise packing headphones to plug into a keyboard so that the world doesn't have to listen to you drill a troublespot 50 times.

One of my young students brought an Keyboard Chart Chart on his Christmas vacation, which is available at most music stores. He placed the cardboard keyboard on a table or the floor to practice.

I've also heard of a "roll-up piano", made by Hecsan in Japan. Neat concept. However, advanced pianists would have challenges with the small length and the fact that it doesn't play chords very well.

If only we could be all like pop star Alicia Keys - she brings her piano with her everywhere she goes.

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

Practice Tip: Playing along with a CD

I recently ordered Bleach the Best CD through amazon.com. A courier dropped it off during this morning's piano lessons. As soon as I ushered my day students out the door, I set the CD to Houki Boshi- the song I'm doing for the APTA Festival and played along with it on the piano. This is a surefire way to force a musician to keep going no matter what as the CD doesn't stop for you to correct notes.It was an energizing experience, mainly because the song is supposed to be played at approximately 162 quarter notes per minute.

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

Looking for Piano Tuner?

Pianos, like cars, need regular maintenance to keep them in top shape. A major part of that is piano tuning. Three easy ways to find a good tuner are:

1. Ask your music teacher for a recommendation - once a teacher has found a good tuner, he/she sticks with that tuner.

2. Visit the Piano Technicians' Guild online directory of Registered Piano Technicians.

3. Look in the Yellow Pages.

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