Free Summer Concerts by the Calgary Wind Symphony

Looking for a frugal and enjoyable activity for the entire family? How about summer concerts in the park by the Calgary Wind Symphony?

Bring a picnic, a book, Frisbee and enjoy some great concert band classics performed by the Calgary Wind Symphony. Even the family dog can come too!

The concerts take place at Riley Park, Calgary 

(Map).

  The CWS summer concerts are on Sunday, August 11 and Sunday, August 25, 2013. Concert start time is 2:00 pm.

The CWS is directed by Dr. Jeremy Brown. For more information on the Calgary Wind Symphony or to check out the 2013/14 concert season, visit their

website

or their

Facebook page

.

6 Steps to Self-Regulated Practicing

Last month, I attended a national music teachers' convention. It was my first time as an attendee (versus when I was  a organizing committee member). One session that really resonated with me was Dr. John Picone's Steps to Parnassus: Guiding Young Musicians to Self-Regulated Practicing.

He was such a dynamic presenter and had wonderful ideas. I hope that one day, the Alberta Registered Music Teachers' Association or the Alberta Piano Teachers' Association could bring him out here to do a session for music teachers AND music students.

He shared a lot of information and examples with us. I will just highlight six main points for you try to incorporate into your at-home practicing. They are, what Dr. Picone referred to as "Six Dimensions of Self-Regulated Learning":

1. Take charge of your environment: Is your pet pestering you when you practice? Does your little sister come and bash on the keys while you are at your instrument? Or is your practice area in the same room as the television? You need to, perhaps with some help from your parents, create a practice space in which you can actually get some quality practice time in. Get rid of those distractions!

2. Manage your Time and Setting Goals: This past year, I introduced my students to the concept of "speed learning". To force them to think about time management, I used the countdown timer. If you only have 10 minutes, then you need to have a solid plan of attack. Pick a chunk of music that's do-able in 10 minutes. How much can you learn in 10 minutes? Or fix? The clearer you are with your plan, the more productive your practice will be.

3. Record and Review: Record and Review is something I encourage my students to do regularly. I think some do but not all. There's a lot going on when we play a piece or technical exercise. How else are you going to know if you're making any progress at home unless you listen to what you just did? If your iPod records, then use it. Or a tablet, computer, phone or other recording device.

4. Seek out resources on your own: Can't remember what "subito" means? You know technology more than your parents and teachers do. Google it! Or get a music dictionary app.

5. You have a repertoire of strategies and you know how to use them: One drill I grew up on was "Drill this 10 times". I'd get tired by five. My students have some more creative practice drills in their arsenal (e.g. Smarties Drill, the Every Other Bar Drill and the Fill in the Blanks Drill for starters). Regardless of what practice drills you have been taught, you have to know when to use them and how to use them. Now that would require you to read your music notebook, wouldn't it?

6. Motivation: There's external motivation (e.g. you have a music exam next week and you don't want to fail) and internal motivation (you simply want to do well). It doesn't matter how often your teacher asks you to practice more or how often your parents yell at you to practice - if you don't want to do it, it's not going to happen as well as it should. However, you need to really think hard about whether you don't want to practice because you've hit a snag or because you really hate music, but that's a separate topic.

The video that Dr. Picone showed us was of a seven-year old boy. He didn't really play much in the practice clip, but he didn't need to. He spent about a minute asking his mother to take the family dog into another room. Then, he spent a couple of minutes planning out what he was going to practice.

Once he selected a piece, he took another minute to skim through it. His finger traced over the notes. He stopped and looked at a tricky rhythm. After a moment's thought, he pulled out his music notebook to read his teacher's practice suggestions for that rhythm. Then, he remembered that he had a recording of that part of his lesson, so he listened to it. He checked his clock. Then, the clapped out the rhythm a few times. Checked his time again and then did a run-through at the piano - slowly. He tried it a few times before running through the whole piece.

If a seven-year old can master self-regulated, or organized practicing, you can too.

Piano Shopping with my Adult Student

Last month, one of my adult students asked me to accompany her as she went piano shopping. It was a delightful experience for both of us.

Our search began at Steinway Pianos of Calgary. I had booked a Look Inside the Piano workshop and Owner/President Brent Hay gave a fantastic presentation. His passion for our instrument was infectious we learned lot about how pianos are made. My student zoomed in on the Boston and Essex lines, which are Steinway's student models.

We learned about the manufacturing differences between the three product lines as well. For instance, Boston pianos are manufactured in Japan, whereas Essex pianos are manufactured in China. Steinway designs.

We learned to look at the posts in the back to determine if their functional posts or mere decoration (think joists in a home). And, we learned about little adjustments manufacturers make when the frame is just a teensy bit too big for the guts.

Our next trip was to St. John's Music to test out Yamaha pianos. I got to try the "silent" model of the piano I grew up on, the U1. It truly is a hybrid piano. It has the similarities to the piano I honed my skills on but the benefits that technology has to offer. Turn on the unit underneath and this acoustic piano becomes a digital piano. However, unlike digital pianos, this is first and foremost and acoustic piano.

We also tried Yamaha's new "B" line, manufactured in China (Yamaha has design control). The piano I tried had a nice, rich tone and for families just starting out, a nice price tag. The Cable-Nelson piano just felt heavy compared to the Yamaha's.

My student fell in love with the GB1. Those Georgian legs, the rich dark finish. More importantly, the piano sang for her. There was an instant connection, akin to when Harry Potter's wand chose him in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. For a 5'0" grand, it sounds more like a 6' or even a 7' grand piano.

Our last stop was Michael Lipnicki's Fine Pianos. She tried the student line (the Palatino) but found it a little "clunky". Then we both tried the Bechstein (I think it was the B120 but I'm not 100% sure). What beautiful tone. So rich. And those pedals! We're still talking about how smooth the pedal action is. It was on sale too! We even liked it better than the Grotrian pianos.

Just to give her a frame of reference, I urged my student to try the top of the line pianos in each store. Steinway & Sons, C. Bechstein, Fazioli and Yamaha's best melted for her - as they should! Half-jokingly, I compared it to test driving a Ferrari.

There is undoubtedly a difference between handcrafted and mostly machine manufactured pianos. Personally, I think both have their pros and cons.

In the end, the Yamaha GB1 was the winner. It was love at first sound and first touch. She went back a second time to just confirm.

Accompanying my student was a learning experience for me too. When I purchased my Yamaha WX-7F, I was a music student. My music teacher didn't accompany me. However, my brother and I were at a high enough level and on enough pianos to know what to look for in terms of sound and touch. Piano shopping as a teacher is a little different. I learned a bit more about piano construction and what to look for in terms of the soundboard and the the posts in the back. I paid more attention to the key action and the voice of each piano I played.

However, next time I go shopping for an acoustic piano for my studio, once I have a short-list, it will still come down to sound and touch. And which piano chooses me. For I think, like Harry Potter, the piano chooses the musician.

My Summer Reading Pile

Check out my summer reading pile. I still feel the thrill of adventure when I open up a new book. Where will it take me? What will I learn? What will happen to my fave character in the next chapter? This year's pile has everything from music to business, manga to spirituality and everything in between. Summer is halfway over - I better get cracking!

Practice Tip - Know When to Ask for Help

I had to deal with a flat tire recently. It started as a slow leak, needing air every three days. This week, it went down to every two days, then every day.

At that point, I decided it was time to make an appointment to get it fixed. However, Friday is the earliest I can get in. Time to break out my spare tire and jack.

I spent an two hours fiddling with the tire jack. When you don't need to do something on a regular basis, it takes a long time to remember what your next step is. Once I got to solid ground, I hit a snag when I realized that I wasn't strong enough to take the lug nuts off. Time to call for AMA Roadside Assistance.

Roadside assistance arrived within 30 minutes. I effectively wasted one-and-a-half hours of my time and inconvenienced the people I was meeting with. >_<

I bring this up for two reasons:

1. Be aware of the time: Had I watched the clock more carefully, I would have realized that I should have called for help a lot sooner, rather than stumbling through and asking my 1:00 pm appointment to adjust their schedule to accommodate my screw-up.

2. Know your limits: When the crowbar refused to budge after the first three turns, I should have stopped. Instead, I stubbornly pushed ahead for another 15 to 20 minutes.

This applies to music, homework and work. You have a limited amount of time after school to get your homework and chores completed. If your troublespot is still giving you grief after three practices, without improvement, it's time to try something different.

If the "something different" doesn't work after two or three practices, then it's time to ask for help - from your parents, musical sibling or friend, or your music teacher. Don't sit there, like me, wasting time on a tire that I am physically too small and weak to change.