If you have any interest in neuroscience and art/music, you need to check out www.thebeautifulbrain.com This site has loads of interesting articles and great pictures.
One of my college professors spent time talking about the various relationships of the harmonies and intervals in the universe. Here is an article that briefly explains some of the ideas.
Did you know that the Van Cliburn Piano Competition has an amateur division? The International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs is held in Fort Worth, Texas. Participants are all over the age of 35 and are nonprofessional pianists. These musicians hold jobs ranging from physicists to former professional tennis player and even a few doctors.
Netflix currently has They Came to Play available on streaming. I highly recommend you add this to your queue.
One of my favorite musical reference books is Famous Pianists and Their Technique by Reginald Gerig. Gerig distills the wisdom of the great performers and composers into a manageable text that benefits the serious amateur and the professional musician.
Chapter 10 is titled Liszt and the Virtuoso Technique. Below you will find a few quotes from this chapter.
“By 1832, (age 21) Liszt had mastered all of the Beethoven sonatas; but when he programmed them, he dared not give the composer’s name because Beethoven was considered dull during the years immediately following his death.”
“Liszt was the first to play complete programs by himself and the first to perform from memory.”
Anton Rubenstein said about Liszt “…in comparison with Liszt all other pianists were children.”
“Have patience with yourself,” Liszt said. “Your future is ahead of you. Rome was not built in one day.”
As many of you know, I tend to be an organizational freak. Keeping up with music can be a challenging task. Occasionally, I loan music to students while waiting for their books to be ordered. I’ve also noticed that students are forever ripping the covers off of their method and theory books. That can create a problem if their name was written in the cover. Next thing I know a student has left their music and I have no idea who to call to come and collect it.
These minor issues can be avoided by writing the owners name in 2 different places in the book. I usually write my name on the first page that is attached to the spine of the book. This way if the cover rips off the name is still in the front. The second place is that I pick a page number that means something to me and write my name on that page also. For example, my birthday is on the 23rd so I will write my name on page 23 also.
Music books are expensive and some are hard to come by so keeping track of them starts with knowing who they belong to. This is just a little project that could be undertaken to begin keeping your music more organized. Well, this is only a little project if you don’t own 3 bookcases of music. I may need a stamp with my name on it before this is over.
I have been collecting classical records for years. The idea is that when I have enough that I can create a boarder around my home music studio. The disappointing thing was that I had no way to play these wonderful recordings. Thanks to my family that is no longer a problem. Various family members gave me birthday and Christmas money that I put towards the purchase of a turntable.
The Ion Profile LP USB Turntable fits the bill.
The turntable comes with a USB port, USB cable and recording software. By plugging the turntable into the computer and playing the records, the tracks are saved into iTunes format. The quality level of the recordings is adjustable.
I will now be able to share some of the great recordings by the famous artists of the past. The equipment should pay for itself quite quickly. I usually purchase tracks from either iTunes or www.classicalarchives.com. These tracks are between 89 and 99 cents each. Records at thrift shops and charity stores are twenty-five cents to a dollar.
This is a nice piece of equipment to help me further the musical development and appreciation of my students.
As 2010 comes to a conclusion, I am excited to announce new studio availability for the coming year. Lesson times are now being offered from 9:00 am until early afternoon Monday thru Thursday at Brunner Studios home location. These times are perfect for the homeschooled student, working adults with flexible schedules and retirees. Also, Fridays will also be opening up for lessons. Friday times are from 9:00-6:00.
Gift certificates are available for purchase for a monthly or semester basis. So go ahead and get that family member a keyboard or piano for Christmas. Another wonderful gift is having a piano tuned for someone who already owns an instrument.
I look forward to seeing what the new year will bring for those students who are interested in non-traditional lesson times. Please contact me for more information. For current students of Brunner Studios a 10% referral discount will be credited to your account.
Have a wonderful Holiday Season and I hope to see you soon!
Yesterday was the first round of Winter Recitals. The concerts were held at Ardrey Kell High School.
I am so proud of all of my students. Everyone performed well, was dressed appropriately and even remembered to bow. These guys and girls have learned so much. The performers were as follows:
Liam- O Little Town of Bethlehem
Savannah- Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Katrina- We Three Kings
Elaina- It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Hannah- Sleigh Ride (duet with her mom)
– Linus and Lucy (Solo)
Kara- O Little Town of Bethlehem
Arianna- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (duet with Ms. Heather)
Peter- Carol of the Bells
Calvin- Joy to the World
Qasim- Winter Wonderland
The guys have it so much easier than the girls in deciding what to wear to performances.
1. If you have a suit that is comfortable to play in this is always a good option. The trick is to make sure that it is not too tight in the sleeves when you put your hands on the keyboard. Also be sure to unbutton the jacket before playing.
2. Dress slacks or khakis are a good idea. Jeans are a big NO on the what not to wear list. Shorts are also on the don’t wear list.
3. For a more formal occasion a button down dress shirt and tie make a really nice statement. For those less formal events, a polo style shirt is sufficient.
4. Sock and Shoes. Please don’t wear sandals to a concert. Dress shoes are the best but if you don’t have dress shoes then those tennis shoes will work. Take the time to wipe tennis shoes down with a wet rag or a magic eraser to spiff them up some. Also, try to make sure your socks are the appropriate color. Those white socks with black pants really stand out.
Tomorrow we will review why it is important to wear appropriate recital attire.
Recital attire is on of the things that I really get on a soapbox about. It’s not just the performers, the audience usually needs a few lessons also. So many things have drifted into the casual realm that we occasionally need a reminder about what to wear. The performers have invested many hours and should respect themselves and should be respected by the audience.
Let’s start with the ladies attire:
1. Skirts and Dresses should not be above the knee when standing or seated. Don’t forget to have someone check the back while you are sitting at the bench. This one makes me especially crazy. Many times students forget that the stage or platform is elevated. What will look good while on a flat floor turns wildly inappropriate when seated 2 feet off the ground. If you are questioning the length of a skirt or pulling at it then just bypass the issue and pick something else to wear.
The first skirt pictured is a good length. Don’t even consider the style just the length. Any skirt or dress that hits the leg at this point would always be appropriate for a performance. The second skirt is seriously in danger zone for length. Now both skirts look very similar in length when standing, but they will appear very different when seated. The second example will hitch up more in the back and with a side view on an elevated stage things start to get a little risqué. The third picture pretty much explains it self. This is way too short.
No where does it say that you need to wear a skirt or a dress. Dress slacks are a great option.
2. Dress slacks are a nice choice. Just make sure they are not too tight or too short in the leg. My personal favorites are the Kasper brand. These pants are made of non-wrinkle material and are lined. They hang beautifully and if you manage to wear a pair out in 5 years or less, I would be very surprised. There is a Kasper outlet at Concord Mills and they have lots of different colors and patterns for around $35 a pair. For a slightly more casual and light weight feel, Gap’s perfect trousers are a good example.
3. Shirts and Tops offer more flexibility. To check to see if a shirt is appropriate, sit at the piano and play your piece with someone watching. If your back or sides are exposed at any point, the attire should head back to the closet. If you are constantly pulling the neckline because it feels too low, don’t wear it. If you are uncomfortable or self conscious, the audience will be as well. Also, try to avoid anything that lets your bra straps peek out. The public doesn’t need to see underwear.
4. Hair, Accessories, Pantyhose and Shoes
Topics every girl hates. It is hard enough to have a good hair day without your piano teacher’s input. However, you have worked extremely hard on your music and your parents are sitting through 35 other performances just to hear you. Make sure that we can see your smiling face. At the very least pull your hair back on the side that faces the audience.
Keep the accessories to a minimum. No bracelets or watches or anything else that might distract you or the audience.
I know all the kids think the idea of wearing pantyhose is the worst idea every. However, this is a winter recital. You might consider wearing a pair of tights with your skirt or dress. They don’t have to be plain either, a pattern without rips is fine or crazy colors are great.
Shoes. Make sure you can walk in them. They should be thin soled. Practice wearing your shoes around the house and playing your pieces. Some shoes will gape if they aren’t properly broken in. Then you feel like your shoe is going to fall off while using the pedal.
Most of my students and parents do an excellent job with wearing appropriate recital attire. Something things just slip through and we need a reminder. Later this week, I will review on article from the NMTA magazine that talks about how your attire affects the audience’s view of your performance. Tomorrow we will blog about the guys and their fashion options.
I have been neglecting the blog at bit the past few weeks. Getting all of the students ready for the winter recitals and practicing accompanying music has been taking quite a bit of my time.
Last Tuesday was our first day of Thanksgiving vacation and my birthday. My students kept me entertained last week by guessing how old I was going to be. I learned from this that they will guess approximately however old their parents are. The good news for me is that all of those guess starting with 3 or 4 aren’t true quite yet.
Since we were on break, I got out my many storage boxes of Christmas decorations and began getting into the festive spirit. This year we have 5 Christmas trees. I have obviously lost my mind. So here are some pictures of what Ms. Heather accomplished over Thanksgiving break. I did tweak some of them to give a more realistic hue than my poor point and shoot camera can offer.
These are pictures from my Victorian themed tree in the formal dining room. The room is billiard green and just screamed for green, gold and mauve decorations.
The blue and white tree is in the master bedroom. When I was small my mom made a beautiful white wreath with blue and silver trimmings. I always said that when I got my own house, I would have an entire tree in this theme. So the tree is decked out in white and blue lights with blue, silver and white trimmings.
This is the main tree in the family room. This tree has all of the ornaments that Wayne and I collected growing up and the new ones that keep jumping into my shopping basket every year. The tree topper is an old fashioned glassed bubble type thing. My parents still have the one we used growing up and mom found me this one for my first tree the year Wayne and I got married.
The Charlie Brown tree. This tree is in one of the guest rooms and holds all of those lovely ornaments that we made in childhood. Tacky would be a kind way of putting it.
Last but not least is the music tree. This tree is in my home studio. It holds all of my music ornaments that my parents bought me and those that my students have given me. The first ornament pictured was given to me last year by my cousin who lives in London. Every year they go to the Christmas markets in Germany and she bring me a new ornament at Christmas. This is a hand painted bell. The musical staff ornament was given to me by Wayne last year after Christmas. He loves to find a sale and he found this Baldwin piece for 1/2 price.
So there you go. There are lots of other trimmings around the house and of course the house is decorated outside but I thought I’d share my trees with you. Hopefully you have enjoyed seeing how I spent part of my Thanksgiving break.