Friday Fun Link

After a long hiatus, Friday Fun Links are back!I stumbled upon this the other night - Potter Puppet Pals in "The Mysterious Ticking Noise".

It reminds me of another spoken chorus piece my university theory class did, called Geographic Fugue.

It's extremely catchy. Enjoy!

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

The Collaborative Piano Blog

The blog's tagline reads, "The piano in ensemble. The piano in real life."

Piano study can be pretty solitary, unless your schedule (or your family's schedule) allows you to do some collaborative work. Having done accompanying and duets, I have to say that collaborative work makes music more enjoyable.

And now, here's The Collaborative Piano Blog, by a fellow RCM alumni and fellow teacher that covers this topic. There are other useful articles too, including one on memorization.

Happy exploring!

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

In the Home Stretch!

At long last, my students and I are at our final week of lessons for the school year. It has been an intense year. Since I began teaching full-time in 2001, this is the largest group of students I prepared for music festivals and exams.

It's been a rewarding year. My students and I have enjoyed improvising, chording and embellishing more. My heart soared to see how many of my students persevered and did well on stage and/or in their exam(s).

It's been a frustrating year, with some students who either didn't like piano, didn't practice enough or piano just wasn't a good fit for them.

I have just completed all the year-end student reports and put together their shopping list for the summer and fall. Hopefully, my students will remember to tinkle the ivories a few times over the summer so we don't have to start from scratch in September.

I hope to work my way through Conservatory Canada's Contemporary Idioms program this summer, namely the technique. I know the scales and modes from writing them down in theory lessons. But now, I need to be able to play them fluently. I also plan to do more composing over the summer. It will be an adventure.

Everyone is looking forward to the break. And even though I've made myself available to teach in July; a part of me is hoping that no one takes me up on that offer. I have one week off before I start my summer job. August will be a true break - my first since...I really don't remember. Maestro and I are really looking forward to it!

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

Composer Trivia

Everyone - students, parents and teachers alike, are quickly running out of steam at this time of year.

That's why this week's link is something completely fun - FunTrivia.com's page of Composer Trivia. I tried a couple of quizzes recently, when looking for goofy factoids to add in my year-end recital program. Give it a whirl. Enjoy!

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

Summer Arts Activities for Kids

These are some exciting arts-related summer programs for kids in the Calgary area:

• TADA! Summer Musical Theatre Program - presented by Youth Singers of Calgary

• Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Summer Camps

• RCM Virtual Music - New computer-based music education program allows students who enjoy computers to express themselves musically and gain real musical knowledge and insight brought to you by the Royal Conservatory of Music and TELUS.

• Pumphouse Theatre's Summer Drama Day Camp

• QuickKids Summer Animation Camp

• Mount Royal Conservatory Summer Programs

• Leighton Art Centre - Summer Art and Nature Camp

• Alberta Ballet's Junior & Senior Summer School programs

• Calgary Arts Summer School

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