This might sound like a funny topic but I’ve gotten this question quite a few times over the years. In the past, I’ve had students who would let their fingernails grow to ridiculous lengths and they caused clicking whenever they played! This can
Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
I know this is a topic that might have some piano teachers in a panic at the suggestion of having students play their music too fast. Generally in performance and even in practice, playing your music too fast can be destructive. What I’m suggesting
You should also see if there is an opportunity to perform at charity events. Donate your time and talent to something worthwhile and people will see you as someone who is important in the community. This can also be a great opportunity for networking as well because you will place yourself in front of a new group of people and get to perform for them. Every opportunity there is to get your name out there and in front of potential clients should be seized upon.
And remember, this is an ongoing process. You absolutely have to work at this every day of your life. You should be on the phone, sending emails, and doing whatever you can to further your business and name throughout the community. And don’t be afraid to try something new!
When it comes to making money as a musician there is no one-size-fits-all solution but there are some general tips that can help you find work actually playing music. It’s always important to remember that the music business is a business. A lot of
Years ago virtually all piano key tops were made out of ivory. Ivory, as many of you already know, is made from elephant tusks. Eventually, the ivory trade was outlawed in the U.S. In the 1970’s in the United States, and into the 1980’s in Europe
If you’re wondering what a whole tone scale sounds like, you’ve probably heard them in Impressionist era music. They have an almost eerie quality to them.
As far as the scale itself, it’s actually very simple. While the Chromatic scale is all half-steps, the whole tone scale is simply a series of whole-steps (two keys together with one key between).
Much like the chromatic scale – which has only one iteration, considering it’s all the same intervals – the whole tone scale has just two possible versions. Play the scale, play it a half-step higher, then when you play one more half-step higher, you are back to the first scale again!
Next time we will cover diminished seventh scales.
Welcome back to my ongoing series on music theory. Last time we covered Chromatic Scales – scales involving all half steps. Today’s subject is Whole Tone Scales. If you’re wondering what a whole tone scale sounds like, you’ve probably heard t
The first is the period style of Classical music – which was from the middle of the 18th century to the early 19th century. Composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn are examples of Classical era composers. So Classical music can refer to this particular period of music as well as the art, architecture and literature created during this era.
The term Classical music is also used generally to denote Western concert music. There are lots of different types of music – ones created for dancing, singing along, incidental music for theatre and more. But music that is actually created to listen to as a pure artform can be classified as Classical music. Sometimes it gets the distinction of being “serious” music and this is not necessarily true. Music of Beethoven, Debussy and other great composers features a wide range of emotions including humor! The bottom line is that it is designed to be an enduring work of art which elicits emotions.
But does all Classical music have to be similar in structure and sound? Absolutely not! Music that you might not think of as “Classical” can actually be classified as such. For example, if jazz music is written down with little or no improvised elements it can be classified as Classical music. A great example of this is George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” which is certainly built on jazz elements, but is a masterwork which is one of the treasures of Western music.
So the basic definition of Classical music is generally music that is written down (with some notable exceptions) that is intended to be appreciated in a concert setting. There is also the period style of Classical music which is a strict definition of the term.
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What is meant by the term Classical Music? This is not as simple a question as you might imagine. Some basic notions of Classical music are going to the symphony or recitals, but there are actually two distinct meanings of the term Classical music. T
If you are currently taking lessons from a teacher and are considering offering lessons, you should consult them and ask for help. Many times they will be very helpful and in some cases could even refer clients to you if they don’t have the time to take on any more students.
The most important thing when it comes to teaching is the relationship you have between the student and the relationship you have with their parents. If you are comfortable relating to people and talking to them it can be an invaluable skill in growing your teaching career. The majority of the work a student puts in from a music lesson is actually the time they spend practicing at home. The hour or so you have every week is just a small amount of time and if they hope to improve they will need to practice on a regular basis. Getting a student to become interested in learning and progress on their own is the mark of a successful teacher.
The learning process for anything never really stops; it’s a constant process and the same goes for teaching. Talking to other teachers, relatives, friends, family, anyone you can spread the word of your career with is a great way to get your name out there and also attain some valuable information. You might be surprised how much you learn just from interacting with other music teachers.
I get many questions from music teachers and people looking into becoming a private teachers about where to begin or how to improve their business. No matter if you’ve been teaching for years or just considering getting into it, here are some great
We’ve covered the basics of rubato before. But to summarize: Rubato is a give and take of the tempo; a speeding up and a slowing down without ever gaining or losing time. This is a technique used mostly in Romantic period music – like Schumann, Liszt, Chopin and others – which adds emotion and character to music. It’s only appropriate for some music and many compositions written in the Romantic era can benefit from the expressive use of rubato.
The idea of practicing with extreme rubato is to see how far you can push your music before it becomes grotesque. It’s hard to tell if you’re doing too much unless you can create a distinction between too much and just right. We recently discussed the benefits of practicing your music too fast to gain insights that you wouldn’t necessarily discover otherwise. This method of extreme rubato is very similar in helping you uncover expressive possibilities in your performance.
With many Romantic period pieces, rubato can add a great amount of emotion to your playing. Much like going up and down hills quickly in a car can create feelings of excitement as you crest over the peak and relief while descending, rubato can provide similar emotions in your music.
I encourage you to take rubato to its limits and beyond to discover how far you can go. Once you get a good idea of where the peaks and valleys are in the music, you can scale back the rubato to a tasteful level. If you never experiment, you may have trouble even discovering where rubato is possible!
One essential element of rubato is keeping the beat of the music. Listeners should be able to tap along never losing the pulse of the music.
It’s also important that you never gain or lose time when utilizing rubato. No matter how far off you go, you must maintain time. My father would demonstrate this technique by playing with the metronome using rubato. Sometimes he would get ahead of the metronome – sometimes behind – but he would always end with the correct number of beats.
Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
We’ve covered the basics of rubato before. But to summarize: Rubato is a give and take of the tempo; a speeding up and a slowing down without ever gaining or losing time. This is a technique used mostly in Romantic period music – like Schuman
Despite the declining industry in the United States, the piano is one of the most popular instruments in the world and nowhere is it more popular than in China. I was fortunate to attend the recent Music China convention in Shanghai and it was an eye