Virtual Choir 4.0 Announced

Last week, Grammy-winning composer/conductor Eric Whitacre announced the next Virtual Choir Project: "Bliss". This piece is from his 2010 West End musical entitled Paradise Lost. It is quite the departure from previous virtual choir projects. An exciting one. Some choristers may grumble, but I personally think that this will introduce a new group of singers to the beauty of choral music. "Bliss" is a fusion of classical, techno and something else that I'm still trying to put my finger one. Another difference between VC4 and previous projects is the need for a Kickstarter campaign. As Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir continues to grow, so do the expenses. VC3: Water Night cost over $100,000 to create. Hence, the Kickstarter campaign. Since it's launch last weekend, the VC4 kickstarter project has raised over $18,000. Not too shabby. Without further ado, here's Eric Whitacre on the VC4 project: In light of the tragedies from last week, any opportunity to come together as a global community in the name of peace, is a welcome one.

Music Practicing 101: Organized Practicing

On behalf of music students and music teachers everywhere, I'd like to send out a huge thank you to piano teacher Josh Wright. He put together these two videos about organized practice.One thing my students hear me say - a lot - is to figure out how much time they can dedicate to practicing for a particular day, set their practice goals for that session and determine how they will assess whether they've met their goals."Mindful practice" is also key to practice efficiency. Let's face it, if you're paying attention to what you're doing, you'll meet your goal a lot sooner than if you're just noodling around, waiting for that timer to go off.For those still trying to figure out how to set up music practice goals and how to organize their practice time, look no further:

Organized Practicing - Part 1

Organized Practicing - Part 2

Music Practicing 101: The Three Different Ways Drill

When I was a young music student, I was often told, "Fix your trouble spots" or "This spot needs extra practice. Drill that spot 10X". However, one thing I've noticed, is that my concentration wanes after drilling something five times. I think that's even a bigger challenge for music students today as they are inundated with so much more information.I like the number "3". This week, I've had my students drill their trouble spots three times. However, the catch is that they must play it three different ways. For example:

• use three different registers

• use three different surfaces

• use three different levels of dynamics

• use three different types of articulation

• If you play more than one instrument - try it on three different instruments

My students and I have noticed that they are more focused for those three times since they are playing that spot differently each time. They are actively listening to what they are doing. 

The end result? In most cases, the problem spot was ironed out after drilling the spot only three times. 

In some cases, you may need to drill a spot up to five times. In that case, you'll make it the "Five Different Ways Drill".

Student Post: Music iApps Review

My students occasionally do extra projects to earn more Maestro Bucks to spend at Maestro's Market. One such method is to write a review, be it a concert review or in this case, an app review. This is from one of my senior level students - Dylan: Pocket Drums I thought this was a very fun app, letting you play along to songs in your library or on your own. It is a 6-piece drum set. You can record your own drum loops, and then play along with them to make a very full sound. In conclusion: 5/5 stars Rhythm Pad When I played the pads, no sound came out. 0/5 stars Shazam This is a very fun app to play with, just hold it up to your speaker while it's playing a song (like from the iTunes store) and, if everyone's quiet, after a few seconds, it will show you what song it is. It's perfect for when you hear a song you want but don't know the name of it.  It's also linked with the iTunes store, so when it finds the song name, there is a little iTunes store button so you can buy the song. In conclusion: 4/5 stars Author's Note: For five stars, make it work for live piano performances. (-:

Playing By Ear

It's around this time of year that music students and music teachers alike feel a bit brain dead. I try to change things up a bit so that my students are learning, but learning music in a different way - playing by ear. Playing by ear is a great way to practice your ear training and brush up on your music theory.  My ConCan students would tell you that this is just a step up from their Keyboard Harmony and Transposition requirements for their piano exam.

Shortly after Halloween, my students started working on Christmas music. A couple of my older students wanted a bit of a change, so they opted for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa music. One week, I asked them to pick out the tune to one of their favourite songs. Subsequent weeks involve adding the harmonies. Then, if they wanted to sing along with their song, I would ask them to transpose the song into their range. It doesn't have to be seasonal music. Popular music is great for this exercises - the melodies have narrow ranges and most likely, you only have four chords to deal with. The one thing I've noticed with songs I've learned by ear is that I tend to remember them longer than pieces I've learned primarily through note reading and repetition.