tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67509161613953262572024-02-20T14:18:14.291-08:00Diary of a PianistMelissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-55353295102168951632013-08-19T10:45:00.000-07:002013-08-19T10:48:05.229-07:00Music is Everywhere<em>Make Music Part of Everyday Life</em> is the motto by which I live, conduct my business and inspire my students. I believe that we do not need to set aside special time for music or art. Being creative should be as natural as breathing and we can find so much beauty in the ordinary - if we only look and listen. I play the piano everyday, I sing everyday, I create beauty and order in my household tasks everyday and by doing so, I live a rich life.<br />
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When I found out about <a href="http://earthharp.wordpress.com/about/">Earth Harp</a> - I was so inspired. An instrument made by using the natural environment or man-made buildings - brilliant! <a href="http://earthharp.wordpress.com/">William Close</a> is making music part of everyday life. <br />
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Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-36458063734690371052013-08-16T14:49:00.000-07:002013-08-16T14:49:39.024-07:00Adding Creativity and Improvisation to Traditional Piano Lessons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I found this chart funny and interesting for one reason: the greatest fear. For me that is not a place to fear, but an opportunity for improvisation!<br />
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OK, I'm not completely serious, however, since I learned to improvise early in my musical development, I have been known to slightly rewrite a recapitulation or two, but only when playing from memory.<br />
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This brings me to an interesting article I read today. As I'm preparing for another year of teaching piano, I'm looking for ways to revitalize my studio and provide maximum benefits for my students. It's time to shake things up!<br />
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In my research, I ran across this article by Edward Weiss. <br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Do piano teachers have it backwards? They do if they start with the note-reading
approach. Most would agree that music is a language. Language is learned first
by speaking it. Yet this simple logic eludes many well meaning music teachers as
they head first into the study of note-reading.<br /><br />But just imagine if
children learned how to speak the language of music before learning how to read
and write it? Imagine the connection, the innate sense of 'wiring' for lack of a
better word that can occur if we introduce kids to simple diatonic harmony and
improvisation first.<br /><br /><b>Speaking the native language is a natural and
thrilling experience for children.</b> They can't wait to use words and
communicate. So why is it that note reading is literally forced down the throats
of our young people instead of giving them the opportunity to express firsthand
through improvisation?<br /><br />True enrichment comes from direct experience with
the music. And this is best accomplished when children can actually create on
their own without the aid of sheet music. Why this isn't being done more is a
complete mystery to me.<br /><br />Watch a child at the piano as they experiment
with music firsthand and you will see a joy seldom seen via traditional piano
lessons. They beam as music, their music is created before them. Just a few
brief improvisation rules are introduced and the child can happily
create.<br /><br />In fact, not only is this route easier than note reading, it's
also faster. As children become more comfortable playing and becoming adept at
the piano, learning and progress also becomes an easy thing to
do.<br /><br /><b>Edward Weiss</b> is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence
Music's <a href="http://www.quiescencemusic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">online piano
lessons</a>. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age
style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now
over the internet. Visit now and get a FREE piano lesson.<br />
</blockquote>
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Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-8581768260419597362012-03-27T13:39:00.005-07:002012-03-27T13:51:02.100-07:00Isidor Saslav, Violinist<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HMQOoTXUjlOQk2s8RUD6zWJhc0I51mbitw9u-hnlWkwQ1xZuVpIijXXmbifpJdPl-yygdpDqc74pOBE4iTB_HpgC_Wlst49217lQofADmFP2WthRncbr6fTbj73cxTHq1ZDSZPSO0K0/s1600/isidor.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 225px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724681123717111762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HMQOoTXUjlOQk2s8RUD6zWJhc0I51mbitw9u-hnlWkwQ1xZuVpIijXXmbifpJdPl-yygdpDqc74pOBE4iTB_HpgC_Wlst49217lQofADmFP2WthRncbr6fTbj73cxTHq1ZDSZPSO0K0/s320/isidor.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>My father-in-law, Isidor Saslav, will be honored in East Texas on Saturday, March 31, 2012, as the Stephen F. Austin College's String Department newest chair.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Information about the scholarship program for the chair can be found in this article: </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Nationally acclaimed musicians to perform in Saslav Scholarship benefit concert</div><br /><div>March 9, 2012—Sylvia Bierschenk</div><br /><div><a href="http://www.finearts.sfasu.edu/news/03/2012/302">http://www.finearts.sfasu.edu/news/03/2012/302</a><a href="http://www.finearts.sfasu.edu/news/03/2012/302">#</a></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS—They studied with or under him, used to perform or currently perform beside him, and have directed or were directed by him.Regardless of how they know him, the acclaimed musicians are coming from across the United States to perform with Dr. Isidor Saslav, former director of strings at Stephen F. Austin State University, in a benefit concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 31, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.The purpose of the concert is two-fold, explained Jackie Warthan, member of the SFA Friends of Music and co-chair of the event. “We wish to honor Dr. Saslav and to raise money for the Isidor Saslav String Scholarship, which will help continue the superb strings program he was so instrumental in forming at SFA.”Among the acclaimed performers will be violinists Charles Castleman, prize winner of the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Violin Competition and professor of violin at the Eastman School of Music; and Kenneth Goldsmith, professor of violin at Rice University who maintains an active touring and recording career and was Saslav’s college roommate at Wayne State University.Also violinist Karen Clarke, professor emeritus at Florida State University, frequent performer, and current faculty member at Vanderbilt University; and violist David Jordan, retired distinguished professor of French history who was Saslav’s classmate at the Cass Technical High School in Detroit.Cellists include Evan Drachman, founder and artistic director of the Piatigorsky Foundation who has frequently performed at SFA; and Daniel Levine, a 40-year member of the Dallas Symphony who was Saslav’s classmate at Cass Technical High School, Wayne State University and the Chatauqua Music Festival in the 1950s.Among the acclaimed pianists will be Richard Dowling, recording artist, scholarly editor and owner of Dowling Music; and Robert Freeman, former director of the Eastman School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, and former dean of the College of Fine Arts and current professor of musicology at the University of Texas at Austin.Also, pianist Tonu Kalam, music director of the Longview Symphony Orchestra and professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he is the music director and conductor of the UNC Symphony Orchestra.The roster of musicians also includes pianist Ann Heiligman Saslav, Isidor’s wife; six SFA faculty members; six SFA alumni; four additional non-SFA-related performers; and members of the Orchestra of the Pines.The program is arranged by composers and features works such as J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, Felix Mendelssohn’s Trio in D Minor, Op. 49, and Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for four violins and orchestra.Immediately following the concert, the Friends of Music will host a reception in the foyer for all audience members and the performers.“This will be a wonderful chance to honor Dr. Saslav and meet the other performers,” said co-chair Camille Bolinger.Individual tickets are $25 each. Patrons can also choose to make a contribution of any amount towards the scholarship.To purchase tickets and/or make a contribution, please call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-14310658990637732122012-01-31T10:42:00.000-08:002012-01-31T12:57:25.295-08:00Musicians of NoteA fantastic article about Ann and Isidor <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Saslav</span> (my in-laws) from the <a href="http://tylerpaper.com/article/20120129/NEWS01/301299950"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">TylerPaper</span>.com</a> newspaper in East Texas. I will be attending the concert on March 31, 2012 at <a href="http://www.sfasu.edu/">Stephen F. Austin College </a>to honor, Isidor, and raise money for his chair at the college.<br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ThkHibSFM9TZeiZZS1wPgN-V-RW14ucXdi52HXE4nXdVyclqLfOqNaeiD0K0RPDTKss3ZfMvbtJn0gSXNflnBLWBtajGWMnu8SQhhm4WjqwyC1QzzHVa4pu8U6rXr0FXffUquYtT0JQ/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703896218998910066" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ThkHibSFM9TZeiZZS1wPgN-V-RW14ucXdi52HXE4nXdVyclqLfOqNaeiD0K0RPDTKss3ZfMvbtJn0gSXNflnBLWBtajGWMnu8SQhhm4WjqwyC1QzzHVa4pu8U6rXr0FXffUquYtT0JQ/s320/IMG_0078.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ann and Isidor <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Saslav</span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Overton</span> Couple Share An Art Form That Transcends Language<br />By KELLY <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">GOOCHStaff</span> Writer<br /><a href="http://tpads.sx.atl.publicus.com/apps/OAMS.dll/href/tp001/RECTANGLE01/NEWS0203/-1/-1/TYLERNEWS/17222/;URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.susanrobinsonjewelry.com%2F" target="_blank"></a><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">OVERTON</span> -- For Dr. Isidor and Ann <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Saslav</span>, playing music is not just a hobby -- it's a way of life and a source of joy. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Saslav</span>, a professional violinist, serves as concertmaster for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Longview</span> Symphony while Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Saslav</span>, a professional pianist, practices about two or three hours a day, preparing for performances. They have lived all over the world and studied with many outstanding musicians. Although the couple shares a passion for music, their career paths began under different circumstances.</div><div><br />Born in Jerusalem and raised in Detroit, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Saslav</span>, 73, started studying violin when he was 7.<br />Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Saslav</span>, 75, said her husband grew up in public schools and is "very beholden" to public schools. It was those public schools and scholarships he received in Detroit that afforded him opportunities, such as studying with violinist and concertmaster Mischa <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Mischakoff</span>, she said.<br />"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Mischakoff</span> took him on and as a teen, he put him to (such a) high standard that by age 17 he was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra making a living at 17 playing the violin," she said, adding that her husband rode the bus to rehearsals and was able to help his family out financially.<br /></div><br /><div>"We're so impassioned to help other poor kids get that start."</div><br />Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Saslav</span> was born in Tyler and raised in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Overton</span>, where her mother always sang to her and her father played violin. "In my home all kinds of music were played," she said. "My father adored Dixieland and regular jazz, but he also listened to (Ludwig van) Beethoven and (Wolfgang Amadeus) Mozart, and I remember (composer Dmitri) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Shostakovich</span> when I was very young."When she was about 3 years old or earlier, her father discovered she had absolute pitch, Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Saslav</span> said. From then on, she played piano and took lessons from a teacher in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Overton</span>, who had studied in Italy.<br /><br /><div>She had her first piano recital at age 5 in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Overton</span> High School, along with other students.<br />As a young girl, she said she knew Van Cliburn and learned she had <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Synesthesia</span>, a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">neurogically</span> based condition that causes her to hear in colors when she plays. "My father started me with a toy piano with eight notes on it when I was 2, (and) he had the idea to color the notes. He would write tunes for me in red, yellow, green on the right places on the staff. I think that's what started my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Synesthesia</span> off," she said.</div><br />By age 15, Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Saslav</span> had studied in Dallas with a famous teacher from the University of North Texas as well as a noted concert pianist in New York, where she went to study, she said. She had also played with the Houston Symphony by age 15, and that helped launch her career.After winning a contest at age 15, she said she played clarinet and "was a normal kid except I practiced piano on a high level every day.<br /><br />"In my senior year (at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Overton</span> High School), they gave me half a year off because I had my credits and let me go home and practice," Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Saslav</span> said. "It was a flexible school system."The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Saslavs</span> eventually crossed paths while working on advanced degrees at Indiana University. They discovered they knew a lot of the same people and were later married in the university's chapel. This March, they will celebrate 50 years of marriage. They have two children who live in California.<br /><br /><div>Like their marriage, their careers have also blossomed throughout the years.<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Saslav</span> became the concertmaster of and soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Minnesota, Baltimore, and New Zealand symphony orchestras as well as the Round Top Festival of Texas after studying with master teachers <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Mischakoff</span>, Josef <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Gingold</span>, and Ivan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Galamian</span>, according to his biography. He's also served as concertmaster of the Indiana University, Dallas, Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Terrace Theater, and Baltimore opera orchestras as well as a member of the Detroit and Chautauqua symphonies, and the Orchestra of the Festival Casals in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Puerto</span> Rico. He has played several times at Carnegie Hall in New York and taught at Stephen F. Austin State University for 10 years.<br /></div><br /><div>Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Saslav</span> has toured the United States as pianist of the Nova Arte Trio with violinist Arnold <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Steinhardt</span> and cellist Robert <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Newkirk</span>. She also received a Fulbright Scholarship to Vienna, Austria, where she attended the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Akademie</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">fuer</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Musik</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">und</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">darstellende</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Kunst</span>, according to her biography. Among her former teachers are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Menahem</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Pressler</span>, Isabella <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">Vengerova</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">Miecyslaw</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">Horszowski</span>, Grete <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">Hinterhofer</span>, and Silvio <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">Scionti</span>.<br /></div><br /><div>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">Saslavs</span> have performed thousands of youth concerts and taught others. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">Saslav</span> even had a famous student -- Boyd <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">Tinsley</span>, violinist for the Dave Matthews Band. "They're such intelligent people," said Jeannie Barber, executive vice president for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">Overton</span>-New London Chamber of Commerce. "You get lost in their conversations."</div><div><br />Next up for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">Saslav</span> is a concert at 7:30 p.m. March 31 at Stephen F. Austin State University, where a scholarship is being given in his name. Twenty-five performers are slated to participate.<br />For Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">Saslav</span>, it's a concert on Feb. 11, where she is playing a Mozart concerto with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">Longview</span> Symphony, with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">Tonu</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">Kalam</span> conducting. "When he (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">Kalam</span>) was a boy, his father was a conductor, and he played the same concerto with his father conducting, so he knows this piece well as a pianist, but he said can't wait to do the other side," Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">Saslav</span> said.<br />Both musicians have advice for residents starting out.<br /></div><br /><div>Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">Saslav</span> encouraged pianists to practice at least 30 or 40 minutes each day and to warm up with scales and arpeggios. She also advised parents to give their child music because "it organizes the mind in a way only reading can do." <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">Saslav's</span> advice? "If public schools offer music -- take it." His wife agreed, saying "Grab any opportunity to study because it will enrich every day of your life. I can turn to any score and it lifts me up so high above the fray of the politics and the junk, and there it is. I have the most beautiful expression of mankind's creation."<br /></div><br /><div>While the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_61">Saslav's</span> music has taken them to various locations around the country, they are pleased to call <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_62">Overton</span> home. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">Overton's</span> "great," Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_64">Saslav</span> said. "The train goes by and I can hear it when I practice. A lot of people (here also) knew my father and knew my family ...<br />"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">Overton</span> for me is just a wonderful place to live. It's quiet, there's not much traffic, and I can go anywhere I want to from here." Aside from music, she remains active in the local garden club and in school activities. She has also coached some children in band and tries to remain active in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_66">Overton</span>-New London Area Chamber of Commerce.</div><br />When the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_67">Saslavs</span> are not playing music, they enjoy reading and writing. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_68">Saslav</span> also loved to drive to Canada each year for a George Bernard Shaw festival, and the couple even has a personal Shaw library in downtown <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_69">Overton</span>. Inside the library, an old medical building that Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_70">Saslav's</span> father built in 1936, are pictures of friends, colleagues, great teachers, and conductors on the wall. There is also plenty of other memorabilia, including an old eye chart with pictures, which Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_71">Saslav's</span> father used with children. Additionally, there is a kitchen and bedrooms where visiting scholars can stay and a keyboard.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhal80W9kP1NFs6aFZliOJeP0Msx_lgPtmkerczipdVwbcn_kbAbpCLwwKla3W23q7co1cEhvGC0EXBILybvoRPdYNvR7moUUXWZQAqXYo-En9pYEjnmCAMYFsWxIf9JQDgCtPNKWNNljU/s1600/IMG_0075.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhal80W9kP1NFs6aFZliOJeP0Msx_lgPtmkerczipdVwbcn_kbAbpCLwwKla3W23q7co1cEhvGC0EXBILybvoRPdYNvR7moUUXWZQAqXYo-En9pYEjnmCAMYFsWxIf9JQDgCtPNKWNNljU/s320/IMG_0075.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703901448923173026" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Shaw Library in <a href="http://www.ci.overton.tx.us/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_72">Overton</span>, TX</a><br /><br /></div>As <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_73">Saslav</span> holds his violin in the library on Thursday, he is asked what he enjoys most about playing.<br /><br /><div>He responds by saying, "What do you enjoy most about breathing?"<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbpNEHhA8S-J-sRHIaGda8uhnlJsoI1X-WBfLBTyUJi-8j0ua3vuR6w9NzatABve8Zv5iF3tZi5W2D5-Q7wl-B8hzVNwvQ0XxqJPgdEZpawwrpB6ADEuHd6_9o43a57nOZKV9JEsCJuM/s1600/texas_arts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbpNEHhA8S-J-sRHIaGda8uhnlJsoI1X-WBfLBTyUJi-8j0ua3vuR6w9NzatABve8Zv5iF3tZi5W2D5-Q7wl-B8hzVNwvQ0XxqJPgdEZpawwrpB6ADEuHd6_9o43a57nOZKV9JEsCJuM/s320/texas_arts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703902614936353490" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ann and Isidor in their living room in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_74">Overton</span>, TX<br /></div><br /><br /></div></div>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-17409611846301011412012-01-20T10:29:00.000-08:002012-01-29T14:18:20.245-08:00Keyboard Idol and my Grand-teacher<p>Baroque Master / Harpsichord Idol <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Leonhardt">Gustav Leonhardt</a> </p><blockquote>"We *use* articulation; we don't want to *show* articulation. [...] You think of *what* you have to say, and not *how*." - Gustav Leonhardt</blockquote><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2012/01/17/145337601/gustav-leonhardt-dies-at-83">Gustav Leonhardt</a> was my Grand-teacher since he taught Tamara Loring, with whom I've been studying Baroque keyboard for the past several years.<br /><br />With Tamara, I've been trying to incorporate his HIP (historically inspired performance) styles into my Bach and early music repertoire. It is quite difficult, and I'm far from a master of HIP techniques.<br /><br />This <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1G77DaCqHo&feature=related">Leonhardt recording</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventions_and_Sinfonias">Bach's<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>E Major <span style="font-style: italic;">Invention</span></a> is perhaps the best example of his HIP principles that I've been trying to accomplish in my lessons with Tamara. Listen for the way he stretches the downbeat to show you what to listen for in the piece. Here is my <a href="http://renditionsmusic.com/mp3/bach2part.mp3">rendition</a> of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Invention</span>, before my studies with Tamara. <br /><br />I hope with much more practice to emulate his masterful sense of rhythmic timing. Tamara told me that Leonhardt's sense of time was so accurate, that at exactly 54 minutes into each of her lessons, he would rise and fold his arms. A signal, without looking at a clock, that the lesson was over. Ah, to have such timing.Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-90668237765835073202012-01-13T10:58:00.000-08:002012-01-14T12:52:21.430-08:00Stage PresenceWhile performing, I keep my movements simple. I've never been one to swoon and look to the heavens while playing. I work very hard to convey meaning in my sound, but find most pianists' theatrics distracting and annoying. Perhaps, <a href="http://www.alexisweissenberg.com/">Alexis Weissenberg </a>says it best<br /><br /><blockquote>“You cannot lose your control physically and be precise as to what your hands do. Can you imagine a surgeon operating on somebody, and swooning and looking up at the ceiling and being very excited about it? The patient would die. That is what happens in music too. The patient dies, because there’s too much going on besides the actual performance.” -Alexis Weissenberg, pianist<br /><br /></blockquote>This amazing Bulgarian pianist died on Sunday at the age of 82. Click here for the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/arts/music/alexis-weissenberg-pianist-of-fire-and-ice-dies-at-82.html?_r=1">New York Times </a>article.<br /><br />And to judge his playing and stage presence for yourself:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQODHvtvbkg">Alexis Weissenberg plays Chopin<br /></a><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-3e8G40TyQ">Alexis Weissenberg plays Schumann</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1wP_kU78gI">Alexis Weissenberg plays Bach</a>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-56525986077578706692012-01-04T10:52:00.000-08:002012-01-04T21:30:21.166-08:00More on PracticingThe "Less is More Strategy":<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">(</span><a href="http://calnewport.com/blog/2011/12/23/flow-is-the-opiate-of-the-medicore-advice-on-getting-better-from-an-accomplished-piano-player/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#3333ff;">From the Study Hacks Blog</span></a><span style="color:#3333ff;">)<br />The Piano Player Confessions</span><br />I recently received a message from an accomplished piano player. Let’s call him Jeremy. This is someone who majored in piano performance at music school, where he was one of the top two students in the major. He won state-level competitions throughout his college career. Jeremy wrote in response to <a href="http://calnewport.com/blog/2011/11/11/if-youre-busy-youre-doing-something-wrong-the-surprisingly-relaxed-lives-of-elite-achievers/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#3333ff;">my recent article on the surprisingly relaxed lives of elite musicians</span></a>. <br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Jeremy’s Strategies for Becoming Excellent…</strong></span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Strategy #1: Avoid Flow. Do What Does Not Come Easy.“The mistake most weak pianists make is playing, not practicing. If you walk into a music hall at a local university, you’ll hear people ‘playing’ by running through their pieces. This is a huge mistake. Strong pianists drill the most difficult parts of their music, rarely, if ever playing through their pieces in entirety.”<br /><br /></span><em>I only play through my pieces when I'm working on stamina, as I get close to performance day; at that time, I play through my entire repertoire or set three times in a row. Interestingly, when I'm collaborating with singers - "practice" often means running songs or arias once and only once.</em><br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Strategy #2: To Master a Skill, Master Something Harder.“Strong pianists find clever ways to ‘complicate’ the difficult parts of their music. If we have problem playing something with clarity, we complicate by playing the passage with alternating accent patterns. If we have problems with speed, we confound the rhythms.”<br /></span><br /><em>For decades, I've been told by my teachers to create "exercises" from difficult passages. As an example, in approaching difficulties surrounding trills, I've created "Trill Drills" in every key and every finger combination for both hands -- possibly with the exception of thumb-pinky! -- in every register of the piano. </em><br /><em><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Strategy #3: Systematically Eliminate Weakness.“Strong pianists know our weaknesses and use them to create strength. I have sharp ears, but I am not as in touch with the physical component of piano playing. So, I practice on a mute keyboard.”<br /></em></span><br /><em>This doesn't really work for me, but I do practice "mentally" away from the keyboard. I'm very interested in Frederic Chiu's "</em><a href="http://www.fredericchiu.com/dps/Introduction.html" target="_blank"><em>Deeper Piano Studies</em></a><em>" method.</em><br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Strategy #4: Create Beauty, Don’t Avoid Ugliness.“Weak pianists make music a reactive task, not a creative task. They start, and react to their performance, fixing problems as they go along. Strong pianists, on the other hand, have an image of what a perfect performance should be like that includes all of the relevant senses. Before we sit down, we know what the piece needs to feel, sound, and even look like in excruciating detail. In performance, weak pianists try to reactively move away from mistakes, while strong pianists move towards a perfect mental image.”<br /></span><br /><em>This principle is not stressed enough. According to </em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rosen" target="_blank"><em>Charles Rosen</em></a><em>, piano players are the only musicians who do not have to listen to their sound to produce their sound. Or as one of of my own teachers said, "some students play the typewriter, not the piano". One of the major reasons I rarely encourage my students to play </em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virtuoso_Pianist_in_60_Exercises" target="_blank"><em>Hanon</em></a><em> exercises is that they play them mindlessly, never really hearing the ugly, or at least non-musical, sounds they are producing. I work at each and every lesson with my students (as well as in my own practice) on producing beautiful sounds, thinking about what emotions the composer wants to express, and remaining fully engaged in the process.<br /></em><br /><em>Thanks to my great friend and fellow pianist, John Poole, for sending the Study Hacks blog post, which I've shared partly here. </em>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-91850901207563295132011-12-21T10:54:00.000-08:002011-12-21T10:55:06.741-08:00OvertonesBeautiful writing about music and aging.<br /><br />http://theamericanscholar.org/the-overtone-years/Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-40653209745351790382011-02-15T10:16:00.000-08:002011-02-19T20:39:07.649-08:00George Shearing - Piano IconWhen I was eight years old, <a href="http://www.georgeshearing.net/">George Shearing </a>and his trio played on the Community Concert Series in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Havre</span>, Montana. Friends of my parents, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Verlyn</span> and Jackie <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Stahlecker</span>, took me to the concert. This event was my very first concert experience and from that moment on, I wanted to be on stage. <br /><br />The fact that Shearing was blind and could play the piano did not make a big impression on me; his playing, however, did. <br /><br />After the first piece, I was transfixed; I wanted more than anything to be in a jazz trio. I found the music the trio played thrilling, and their improvising on the melodies - fascinating. I thought the string bass was so cool and loved the bass solo moments with the hushed piano chords -- and, of course, being out at night without my parents...Intoxicating!<br /><br />My favorite piece from that concert was "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lullaby_of_Birdland">Lullaby of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Birdland</span></a>", which happens to be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Shearing's</span> most famous composition. I learned to play the piece in high school, and even today I can still play and improvise over the chords in spite of my faulty memory.<br /><br />Once under Shearing influence, I began to improvise on my "classical" tunes. I became very proficient at improvising in various classical styles, so much so that my Mother could not tell if I was playing what was in a score or improvising on it. She called my ramblings "Melissa-isms" and would yell up from the basement at me as I practiced: "Now, is that Mozart or a Melissa-ism?"<br /><br />I would never tell.<br /><br />I had a good ear, but the teaching methods of my day considered the ability to read music so critical that no one was ever allowed to play a melody for me, for fear of my not learning to read. This was quite traumatic for me, and almost ended my music career before it began.<br /><br />But I did learn to read music, and then rarely played by ear. Later, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">sightreading</span> became very important for me, as my first music job (at age 10) was to play for the children's choir at church. Choir pianists are forever <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">sightreading</span>, so I was forced to focus on that, while my ear training suffered. I think as a consequence, my ability to memorize music was compromised. Of course, playing by ear has been pretty much out of the question.<br /><br />Luckily, though, all of that "improvising" in the style of various composers helped me whenever I would have a memory slip (and I always did, and still do slip whenever playing from memory). I've gotten myself out of many a trouble spot my improvising a measure or two until I could find my way back into the score. At first this impressed my teachers, but later they would be very angry with me when I would "get away with improvising" through memory slips.<br /><br />Nowadays, I always play with music -- even when I have a piece memorized. I no longer want to improvise my way through memory slips, and the presence of a score calms my nerves so I can play with greater musicality and accuracy.<br /><br />Regardless, thank you, George Shearing - sensational piano icon - for making a lasting impression on me and for being such a great artist. I'll never forget you. <br /><br />Here's a link to a wonderful interview with <a href="http://newyorkcritic.org/shearing.htm">Shearing</a>. Also a link to the <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/02/15/133755475/remembering-composer-of-lullaby-of-birdland">NPR </a>tribute and Terry Gross' <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/02/15/133755475/remembering-composer-of-lullaby-of-birdland">Fresh Air </a> remembrance.<br /><br /><br />Go to <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2eonb_george-shearing-lullaby-of-birdland_music"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Dailymotion</span>.com </a>for a great video of Shearing playing "Lullaby of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Birdland</span>". There will be a few short advertisements, but persevere. Other Shearing videos are on this site as well.Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-83898643706254303872010-09-14T10:33:00.000-07:002010-09-15T10:31:48.762-07:00Keyboard Idol - Emanuel AxIn the Fall of 1980, I was 18 years old and a Freshman at the <a href="http://www.umt.edu/home/academics/">University of Montana</a>. I was just beginning my studies as a piano major, when I saw a poster that the <a href="http://www.umt.edu/music/">Music Department</a> was sponsoring a concert of all <a href="http://www.all-about-beethoven.com/pianosonatas.html">Beethoven Piano Sonatas</a>, performed by Emanuel Ax. As music majors, we were required to attend concerts. I was a diligent student and I thought this concert was as good as any, to begin to fulfill my recital attendance requirement.<br /><br />I grew up in <a href="http://www.havremt.com/">Havre</a>, Montana --- God's country truly, but the small, isolated town had virtually no access to any classical music. Live music shows in any genre were infrequent at best, so my chances to hear any kind of music were extremely limited. I was a Philistine as far as my musical tastes were concerned. I did have the good judgement to love most of the composers I was exposed to through my piano lessons. I adored and revered Bach. As a teenager, I couldn't get enough of Chopin and Brahms. I also loved any music that was contemporary, new, avant garde...the strange harmonies and driving rhythms of Prokofiev, Bartok, Stravinsky...really spoke to me. Regardless, I certainly had not ever heard a pianist play a program of <a href="http://www.all-about-beethoven.com/pianosonatas.html">Beethoven Sonatas</a>, nor heard any recordings. The Beethoven I had played as a child - bored me. "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BCr_Elise">Fur Elise</a>", ugh - I couldn't stand practicing that piece. I had played a few <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagatelles,_Op._126_(Beethoven)">Bagatelles</a> very poorly I should add, as well as a few of the early <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t36bnDrgQ20">Sonatinas</a>, but I thought at my young age, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven">Beethoven</a>, WHO CARES!<br /><br />Then came the day that I chanced upon <a href="http://www.emanuelax.com/">Emanuel Ax </a>giving a concert of <em><strong>Beethoven's Piano Sonatas</strong></em>. That event changed my life. I had never heard such music from the piano. And by the end of the first sonata, I was determined to play as many Beethoven works as possible. I began to listen to the string quartets (so quaintly as I remember now - in the listening library with the largest headphones imaginable over my ears, but transported to old Europe none the less, through the amazing playing of the Budapest String Quartet...). Next, I listened to all of Beethoven's chamber music as long as it included a part for the piano!<br /><br />Now I love Beethoven's music and consider it one of the great privileges of my life that I can play a Beethoven Sonata any time I desire. I owe this romance to Emanuel Ax's transporting, passoniate playing of Beethoven Sonatas in the 1980s.<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>Thank you Manny!</em></strong><br /><br /><br />In this clip, Mr. Ax talks about playing with the New York Philharmonic. My favorite quote is "pianists are actors". I completely agree.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU6ZMOMHqdo&p=1AF972F08806CE49&playnext=1&index=24">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU6ZMOMHqdo&p=1AF972F08806CE49&playnext=1&index=24</a><br /><br />A lovely interview from the Barbican Centre in London<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCfcAbGoxxE&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCfcAbGoxxE&feature=related</a><br /><br />Ax playing with Yo Yo Ma.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfhWXTlRn0M&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfhWXTlRn0M&feature=related</a><br /><br />One of my favorite stories about Ax in this New Yorker profile of the Marlboro Music Festival (pages 60 and 61) in Vermont.<br /><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/29/090629fa_fact_ross">http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/29/090629fa_fact_ross</a>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-67684388205686732572010-09-10T09:48:00.000-07:002010-09-10T10:08:23.639-07:00Keyboard IdolI'm starting a new series on the Renditions Music Fan Page on Facebook. If you are a member of Facebook and not a fan of Renditions - sign up now!<br /><br />My first "official" post (I've been posting "idol" messages for awhile now) is the film "<a href="http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=richter+the+enigma">Richter, The Enigma</a>". This movie changed my life when I saw it more than a decade ago. I have been encouraging my students to borrow the film from my library as Richter's life's story is so moving and his playing - so beautiful, passionate, insane, daring, transporting, sublime --- and I could gush on and still not adequately describe the impact of his playing on the senses.<br /><br />The film is now available on-line for free, so there is no reason not to watch the film. The film is in Russian with subtitles. Perhaps watch just a segment a day, like a daily dose of Vitamin C - your spirit will be refreshed, revived and invigorated - not to mention the possibility of banishment of "<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rickety">rickety</a>" thoughts.<br /><br />If the above link to the free video doesn't work - here is the link again.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=richter+the+enigma">http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=richter+the+enigma</a>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-45439580541706876172010-01-05T10:49:00.000-08:002010-01-05T10:52:28.335-08:00Music Matters!<blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px;"> <div id="yiv869466009"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top"> <div id="yiv1683800512"> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">This speech was sent to me by my former piano teacher, <a href="http://elianelust.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Eliane</span> Lust</a>. I think it is an appropriate way to begin my blog for the new year!<br /><br />Welcome Speech, New Students, <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);" id="lw_1262513574_0" class="yshortcuts">Boston Conservatory</span>, by Dr. Karl <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Paulnack</span>, Director of the Music Division<br /><span id="lw_1262513574_1" class="yshortcuts"></span></span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="yshortcuts">September 1</span>, 2004</span><br /><br /><br />"One of my parents' deepest fears, I suspect, is that society would not properly value me as a musician, that I wouldn't be appreciated. I had very good grades in high school, I was good in science and math, and they imagined that as a doctor or a research chemist or an engineer, I might be more appreciated than I would be as a musician. I still remember my mother's remark when I announced my decision to apply to music school-- she said, "you're wasting your SAT scores!" On some level, I think, my parents were not sure themselves what the value of music was, what its purpose was. And they loved music: they listened to classical music all the time. They just weren't really clear about its function. So let me talk about that a little bit, because we live in a society that puts music in the "arts and entertainment" section of the newspaper, and serious music, the kind your kids are about to engage in, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with entertainment, in fact it's the opposite of entertainment. Let me talk a little bit about music, and how it works.<br /><br />One of the first cultures to articulate how music really works were the ancient Greeks. And this is going to fascinate you: the Greeks said that music and astronomy were two sides of the same coin. Astronomy was seen as the study of relationships between observable, permanent, external objects, and music was seen as the study of relationships between invisible, internal, hidden objects. Music has a way of finding the big, invisible moving pieces inside our hearts and souls and helping us figure out the position of things inside us. Let me give you some examples of how this works.<br /><br />One of the most profound <span id="lw_1262513574_2" class="yshortcuts">musical compositions</span> of all time is the Quartet for the End of Time written by French composer <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);" id="lw_1262513574_3" class="yshortcuts">Olivier Messiaen</span> in 1940. <span id="lw_1262513574_4" class="yshortcuts">Messiaen</span> was 31 years old when <span id="lw_1262513574_5" class="yshortcuts">France</span> entered the war against <span id="lw_1262513574_6" class="yshortcuts">Nazi Germany</span>. He was captured by the Germans in June of 1940 and imprisoned in a prisoner-of-war camp.<br /><br />He was fortunate to find a sympathetic prison guard who gave him paper and a place to compose, and fortunate to have musician colleagues in the camp, a cellist, a violinist, and a clarinetist. Messiaen wrote his quartet with these specific players in mind. It was performed in January 1941 for the prisoners and guards of the prison camp. Today it is one of the most famous masterworks in the repertoire.<br /><br />Given what we have since learned about life in the <span id="lw_1262513574_7" class="yshortcuts">Nazi camps</span>, why would anyone in his right mind waste time and energy writing or playing music? There was barely enough energy on a good day to find food and water, to avoid a beating, to stay warm, to escape torture-why would anyone bother with music? And yet-even from the concentration camps, we have poetry, we have music, we have visual art; it wasn't just this one fanatic Messiaen; many, many people created art. Why? Well, in a place where people are only focused on survival, on the bare necessities, the obvious conclusion is that art must be, somehow, essential for life. The camps were without money, without hope, without commerce, without recreation, without basic respect, but they were not without art. Art is part of survival; art is part of the human spirit, an unquenchable expression of who we are. Art is one of the ways in which we say, "I am alive, and my life has meaning."...<br /><br />...From this and other experiences, I have come to understand that music is not part of "arts and entertainment" as the newspaper section would have us believe. It's not a luxury, a lavish thing that we fund from leftovers of our budgets, not a plaything or an amusement or a pass time. Music is a basic need of human survival. Music is one of the ways we make sense of our lives, one of the ways in which we express feelings when we have no words, a way for us to understand things with our hearts when we can't with our minds.<br /><br />Some of you may know Samuel Barber's heart <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">wrenchingly</span> beautiful piece <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);" id="lw_1262513574_8" class="yshortcuts">Adagio for Strings</span>. If you don't know it by that name, then some of you may know it as the background music which accompanied the Oliver Stone movie Platoon, a film about the <span id="lw_1262513574_9" class="yshortcuts">Vietnam War</span>. If you know that piece of music either way, you know it has the ability to crack your heart open like a walnut; it can make you cry over sadness you didn't know you had. Music can slip beneath our conscious reality to get at what's really going on inside us the way a good therapist does.<br /><br />Very few of you have ever been to a wedding where there was absolutely no music. There might have been only a little music, there might have been some really bad music, but with few exceptions there is some music. And something very predictable happens at weddings-people get all pent up with all kinds of emotions, and then there's some musical moment where the action of the wedding stops and someone sings or plays the flute or something. And even if the music is lame, even if the quality isn't good, predictably 30 or 40 percent of the people who are going to cry at a wedding cry a couple of moments after the music starts. Why? The Greeks. Music allows us to move around those big invisible pieces of ourselves and rearrange our insides so that we can express what we feel even when we can't talk about it. Can you imagine watching <span id="lw_1262513574_10" class="yshortcuts">Indiana Jones</span> or <span id="lw_1262513574_11" class="yshortcuts">Superman</span> or <span id="lw_1262513574_12" class="yshortcuts">Star Wars</span> with the dialogue but no music? What is it about the music swelling up at just the right moment in ET so that all the softies in the audience start crying at exactly the same moment? I guarantee you if you showed the movie with the music stripped out, it wouldn't happen that way. The Greeks. Music is the understanding of the relationship between invisible internal objects. This is why music matters.<br /><br />What follows is part of the talk I will give to this year's freshman class when I welcome them a few days from now. The responsibility I will charge your sons and daughters with is this:<br /><br />"If we were a medical school, and you were here as a med student practicing appendectomies, you'd take your work very seriously because you would imagine that some night at two AM someone is going to waltz into your emergency room and you're going to have to save their life. Well, my friends, someday at 8 PM someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary. Whether they go out whole again will depend partly on how well you do your craft.<br /><br />You're not here to become an entertainer, and you don't have to sell yourself. The truth is you don't have anything to sell; being a musician isn't about dispensing a product, like selling used cars. I'm not an entertainer; I'm a lot closer to a paramedic, a firefighter, a rescue worker. You're here to become a sort of therapist for the human soul, a spiritual version of a chiropractor, physical therapist, someone who works with our insides to see if they get things to line up, to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well.<br /><br />Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I expect you not only to master music; I expect you to save the planet. If there is a future wave of wellness on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of an end to war, of mutual understanding, of equality, of fairness, I don't expect it will come from a government, a military force or a corporation. I no longer even expect it to come from the religions of the world, which together seem to have brought us as much war as they have peace. If there is a future of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come from the artists, because that's what we do. As in the Nazi camps and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives."<br /></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></blockquote>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-26055143216208522842009-10-31T08:37:00.000-07:002009-10-31T10:04:00.840-07:00Happy Halloween FlaustenbachA hungry crow feats on eyeballs on the way to the studio...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileqdHZouINbLSVm4P3VtVtdmX2iceFycyUzR7RnFn-kGTr5fuykFeoHC6pxGU-GfW8aVBBkFCUCVF1O8Lu7Q794XwOIU-B73twiCGQ7lNPvliEyNaTKjoMM-hxgoeZrlExfi7nBx-bDo/s1600-h/IMG_5613.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileqdHZouINbLSVm4P3VtVtdmX2iceFycyUzR7RnFn-kGTr5fuykFeoHC6pxGU-GfW8aVBBkFCUCVF1O8Lu7Q794XwOIU-B73twiCGQ7lNPvliEyNaTKjoMM-hxgoeZrlExfi7nBx-bDo/s320/IMG_5613.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398808763272431922" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Igor warms up the piano...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD95urVry3_Hb7yw87-JScQ1T1i8DhXRMUxu-FPNVRteET7ZKsGFw5ayAuhXFHClrvzNgxzfyugq6Uo9EaP2lzTwm3QqzfDb0WJ4LBO_3Mls9MWlfoicXoZgRbd5lcBYVi7x264Eeuy7E/s1600-h/IMG_2305.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD95urVry3_Hb7yw87-JScQ1T1i8DhXRMUxu-FPNVRteET7ZKsGFw5ayAuhXFHClrvzNgxzfyugq6Uo9EaP2lzTwm3QqzfDb0WJ4LBO_3Mls9MWlfoicXoZgRbd5lcBYVi7x264Eeuy7E/s320/IMG_2305.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398806316325538242" border="0" /></a><br />Students await Flaustenbach's appearance...<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1dV8JaN11HoKV1BD3V6W-0TEhLKJEE3DSJ21p_o7XoUUFYKTZlec2JP_8AYs8TCUpvfdhZH9YWBTiHBxxMn2RtQxh1sygGFXKAA1886AO8sB9Ttzw4BsUuyn3c7azWIyW2lwi31nzKo/s1600-h/IMG_5618.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px; display: block; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398790268302155698" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1dV8JaN11HoKV1BD3V6W-0TEhLKJEE3DSJ21p_o7XoUUFYKTZlec2JP_8AYs8TCUpvfdhZH9YWBTiHBxxMn2RtQxh1sygGFXKAA1886AO8sB9Ttzw4BsUuyn3c7azWIyW2lwi31nzKo/s320/IMG_5618.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />FLAUSTENBACH ARRIVES!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gXe4a62-88M1wbemoUh7b6kUmD01wTcvZ5ueLa1r994IC4tp7LwSeg9B-U07QK7IZc-KQ_9cc7FyS4r8FEvV3IZgjHp58ZJ1fCVnJKmcOhEqDP0mExRMkOH3t7PE4sCGQQ74OPFtlO4/s1600-h/IMG_2309.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gXe4a62-88M1wbemoUh7b6kUmD01wTcvZ5ueLa1r994IC4tp7LwSeg9B-U07QK7IZc-KQ_9cc7FyS4r8FEvV3IZgjHp58ZJ1fCVnJKmcOhEqDP0mExRMkOH3t7PE4sCGQQ74OPFtlO4/s320/IMG_2309.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398808244084232002" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-15247783223103194922009-10-30T08:56:00.000-07:002009-10-30T09:09:34.969-07:00Hiistoric Flaustenbach Recording Found!<span style="font-size:130%;">A primitive recording has been found of <a href="http://renditionsmusic.com/MITVarsOnHistoric78RPM.mp3">Mildred Irene Tomsheck's </a>playing of the theme of <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Heinrich Wilhelm Flaustenbach<o:p></o:p></span>'s "<a href="http://renditionsmusic.com/MITVarsOnHistoric78RPM.mp3">MIT Variations</a>" which he wrote for her in the 19th century. Click on "MIT Variations" or on Mildred Irene Tomsheck to hear the recording.<br /><br />Clearly Flaustenbach was a genius with electricity! See also: electrified piano mistake corrector.</span><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ711fT5SFfuD60EM6skhVIDTdjw98l0NvNhXn75Jou8LtbcAm7QXjcEF8wGpPCkOjkNeDS81r-3oTdwonvugl-63NZxzOa_PkLPM1Slm-M0VvHM-jeX3HTjgb6hMyaSacvXIP3jsIzWg/s1600-h/IMG_5632.JPG"><img style="width: 240px; height: 320px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398423761872222738" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ711fT5SFfuD60EM6skhVIDTdjw98l0NvNhXn75Jou8LtbcAm7QXjcEF8wGpPCkOjkNeDS81r-3oTdwonvugl-63NZxzOa_PkLPM1Slm-M0VvHM-jeX3HTjgb6hMyaSacvXIP3jsIzWg/s320/IMG_5632.JPG" border="0" /></a></div>What remains of Mildred...Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-31539403283687441462009-10-29T13:26:00.000-07:002009-10-29T14:11:58.067-07:00Insanity and MusicThere is no doubt in my mind that Flaustenbach's brain worked differently from other musicians. Of course almost any pianist is a little crazy, but there are degrees!<br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3v_QaC-TeoPVGLC2MZTRlTL0gmscRoiuwaLgKBhmocy0evdFT5exOBBjpjFc3AGf2Ip5RLOu0Ma0cdAw4t9Xm5WTyq0PdyiST1FhCu1xHSx9JuJs_aiUao0x3_vg8i87oBfTaslNfUT4/s1600-h/IMG_5631.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398128520577945954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3v_QaC-TeoPVGLC2MZTRlTL0gmscRoiuwaLgKBhmocy0evdFT5exOBBjpjFc3AGf2Ip5RLOu0Ma0cdAw4t9Xm5WTyq0PdyiST1FhCu1xHSx9JuJs_aiUao0x3_vg8i87oBfTaslNfUT4/s320/IMG_5631.JPG" /></a></p><br /><br /><br />Instruments of instruction on the piano - including the octopus light treatment - the different-colored arms of the lamp envelope the student, creating a warm, yet uncomfortable embrace. Correct posture is absolutely essential!<br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WcCBRpE6huzBYcB6AnwrKTFvNJFL5rw6qIzh5p2BZET4fVvae5Z0jf4W3-ELdij2HboKl-v_sUNAPs8CvfO1-LK50sOcfzo5FDJ_9CqNOEQQB-ii1xMFYCYRYTss5AoAItcwO_Rk8H0/s1600-h/IMG_2304.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398128526721700402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WcCBRpE6huzBYcB6AnwrKTFvNJFL5rw6qIzh5p2BZET4fVvae5Z0jf4W3-ELdij2HboKl-v_sUNAPs8CvfO1-LK50sOcfzo5FDJ_9CqNOEQQB-ii1xMFYCYRYTss5AoAItcwO_Rk8H0/s320/IMG_2304.jpg" /></a></p><br /><br />Igor, Flaustenbach's lab assistant, demonstrates the electric finger rats. Perfect for practicing Hanon and other composers of torturous, tedious hand exercises...!<br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0xbJQllOXtLN1ye92aEbSwNOt3-9NZ-Wta8TT536KMFH0_YeX1ryIKM5q2GvYutCCLr_SngYaK1M9viO_e3onWfgWKFfGXTNfbM2kEIxgPG2GtqkBA_AtHMmT9A1Dh0X0A9HBK7X_QQ/s1600-h/IMG_2303.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398128512105474002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0xbJQllOXtLN1ye92aEbSwNOt3-9NZ-Wta8TT536KMFH0_YeX1ryIKM5q2GvYutCCLr_SngYaK1M9viO_e3onWfgWKFfGXTNfbM2kEIxgPG2GtqkBA_AtHMmT9A1Dh0X0A9HBK7X_QQ/s320/IMG_2303.jpg" /></a></p>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-37531553552405168442009-10-28T08:13:00.000-07:002009-10-28T12:35:48.813-07:00The Flaustenbach Story ContinuesWhile Flaustenbach haunts my studio...strange things occur. One day sheet music began appearing on the walls.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfTONgPHwJeRWcupFJL5C6UIFgfVFRcm-6KRE_JYuFW3HGOQEZyaHsTUY9Usa0TeklxRFeWnJUydO07p1eDZjID-C1FfG9yS7uVBA1zrF1imTJPNsJzf0xtP-VhctZ0Pq0ZJVNygnNU0/s1600-h/Imported+Photos+00012.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397670316402149106" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfTONgPHwJeRWcupFJL5C6UIFgfVFRcm-6KRE_JYuFW3HGOQEZyaHsTUY9Usa0TeklxRFeWnJUydO07p1eDZjID-C1FfG9yS7uVBA1zrF1imTJPNsJzf0xtP-VhctZ0Pq0ZJVNygnNU0/s320/Imported+Photos+00012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Perhaps this is an explanation... from the "Wikipedia article" at <a href="http://tr.im/flaust">http://tr.im/flaust</a> ...<br /><p></p><blockquote><p>His father, <a title="Ludwig Reichenbach" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Reichenbach">Heinrich Johann Ludwig Flaustenbach</a> (author of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Three-Centuries-Harpsichord-Making-Hubbard/dp/0674888456/ref=pd_sim_b_18">Harpsichords of Middle Europe – A Complete Taxonomy</a></i>) was also a music educator and scholar, as well as an experimenter in the non-traditional use of musical scores. The elder Flaustenbach is perhaps best known for his unsuccessful early 19<sup>th</sup>-century attempts to use pages from oversized oratorio scores of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_music">German High Baroque</a> composers as cheap wallpaper for the homes of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumpenproletariat">lower-middle class German families</a>.<span> </span></p> <p>It is believed that the imposition of reams and reams of musical wallpaper in Flaustenbach’s earliest environs may have had a significant formative impact on young Heinrich Wilhelm, and had a causal effect on some of the more remarkably unfortunate episodes that would mark his adult life.</p></blockquote><p></p><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRBkjZUgMI0EQ3AgeoKx4hxK2EOEo-G9GRooCFzmqVz95ATYo9NJvGzoEJZ3KIwr5RPEYOkKAa2dSIkyHWsrgnktp4Xnm04MSn2SoTsD3ap44YaOHUrrvdkx1Z063K2wYg_nVwqALlo0/s1600-h/Halloween+022.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 240px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397670301645792898" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRBkjZUgMI0EQ3AgeoKx4hxK2EOEo-G9GRooCFzmqVz95ATYo9NJvGzoEJZ3KIwr5RPEYOkKAa2dSIkyHWsrgnktp4Xnm04MSn2SoTsD3ap44YaOHUrrvdkx1Z063K2wYg_nVwqALlo0/s320/Halloween+022.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And like all good dead musicians --- he's no longer decomposing! In the PianoSmith MadLab, Flaustenbach has started to write "The Bell Cantata". Does the bell toll for you?<br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-32572593098128570002009-10-27T10:27:00.000-07:002009-10-27T11:07:38.632-07:00Flaustenbach's MottoesIt is important to set the correct atmosphere for learning. Posters and signs in music studio have achieved this purpose for generations. Flaustenbach had adapted MadLab posters for his own unique purposes...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqV8lWApchXuIkAq5WUYc8b3F3Gr1k3JUTRIopm90xkbXYURAkavE2OiRwhND5b_E44sCxvJnrjLjywmok861XKTzlr5stL4WMbT5p_Kfr9rXmfKnRjshMI9V08FTIyf4fynZaNIvNGRM/s1600-h/Halloween+001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqV8lWApchXuIkAq5WUYc8b3F3Gr1k3JUTRIopm90xkbXYURAkavE2OiRwhND5b_E44sCxvJnrjLjywmok861XKTzlr5stL4WMbT5p_Kfr9rXmfKnRjshMI9V08FTIyf4fynZaNIvNGRM/s320/Halloween+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397335861141007474" border="0" /></a><br />The fine print reads..."Children Should be Seen Practicing, Not Heard... Therefore, in this studio, only the works of SCHubert, SCHumann, SCHopin, and SCHaminade shall be played"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJk2lJVr_qKFjL0ptV2Dd5iVEGY7juSJqh-3FXXStubPEnR0GH6X1kKMm8EOkgkBKI11cosdWrWH7jbDLHGCEZJ2QvsiLGVbSn7GMB6sp4xmObOqfrJb7lxKfT0xLU8KOJTPOq_FdHWw/s1600-h/Halloween+005.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJk2lJVr_qKFjL0ptV2Dd5iVEGY7juSJqh-3FXXStubPEnR0GH6X1kKMm8EOkgkBKI11cosdWrWH7jbDLHGCEZJ2QvsiLGVbSn7GMB6sp4xmObOqfrJb7lxKfT0xLU8KOJTPOq_FdHWw/s320/Halloween+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397335861159099874" border="0" /></a><br />We all know that "acid" rock melts a pianists fingers!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCO5vnw8QnanbDacLeXfgTJDAOkjgOc5L7lAKZWMKJuLrjvOi8o-DakiUF2fDd4so069CXFlsKusN5Hwuk-Il7JsdTvd3DKa-UrC7OSzIK1tBldTfACkgmLKk37SVo9NpwU4R_O-XIlUU/s1600-h/Halloween+004.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCO5vnw8QnanbDacLeXfgTJDAOkjgOc5L7lAKZWMKJuLrjvOi8o-DakiUF2fDd4so069CXFlsKusN5Hwuk-Il7JsdTvd3DKa-UrC7OSzIK1tBldTfACkgmLKk37SVo9NpwU4R_O-XIlUU/s320/Halloween+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397335851295527026" border="0" /></a><br />The "electrified" piano was one of Flaustenbach's great "flashes" of inspiration. It also explains why his lab assistant is so twitchy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW85X5ZyaE0cHsXOApYmfQDO31BtcDRfeXksdhJ54IHetplWwRBSt1T_MJlkCEg_LG-T4PBIWHxF33jJEFGcld9qxEv5PBW63ZMOe5Oc7Q9K3OmnSUlvdWnutQXeXu8wxL_CtaKgl6Xxk/s1600-h/Halloween+006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW85X5ZyaE0cHsXOApYmfQDO31BtcDRfeXksdhJ54IHetplWwRBSt1T_MJlkCEg_LG-T4PBIWHxF33jJEFGcld9qxEv5PBW63ZMOe5Oc7Q9K3OmnSUlvdWnutQXeXu8wxL_CtaKgl6Xxk/s320/Halloween+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397335844512682530" border="0" /></a><br />One of Flaustenbach's more outlandish ideas was to force groups of students to practice all of their instruments in the same place, at the same time. According to <a href="http://tr.im/flaust">the Wikipedia article on Flaustenbach</a>, this had incendiary results:<br /><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">One of his very few published papers, “On the Efficacy of Simultaneous Practicing of Various and Several Musical Instruments by Multiple Students” (1831) led to a vociferous debate (which nearly devolved into fisticuffs among the brawnier musicians in attendance) at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musikverein">Musikverein in Vienna, Austria</a>, and is thought to be responsible for the strict isolation of students from one another while practicing on their instruments today...</blockquote>And my personal favorite...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6vpYxjdfq9KPIQWebaLrxEMsr56-EH7O_fjUoI4xVoBEOJkZFo4fBm7ipdATTM7gNqNYXeW9c3-U0PN6TgAXRLhzpgHol0vnh05V4lFOPimaux9Edqg1zbl82ggGWeyH9kdOUCR11Uo/s1600-h/Halloween+003.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6vpYxjdfq9KPIQWebaLrxEMsr56-EH7O_fjUoI4xVoBEOJkZFo4fBm7ipdATTM7gNqNYXeW9c3-U0PN6TgAXRLhzpgHol0vnh05V4lFOPimaux9Edqg1zbl82ggGWeyH9kdOUCR11Uo/s320/Halloween+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397337820512931682" border="0" /></a><br />this simultaneous homage to Bach and Oppenheimer reflects one of Flaustenbach's experiments - which accidentally provided a century's worth of power for his future mad laboratory creations...!Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-16303935699620766232009-10-26T10:08:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:36:04.720-07:00Dr. Flaustenbach Has Taken Over My Piano StudioIf you haven't heard of <a href="http://dsaslav.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html">Heinrich Wilhelm Flaustenbach</a>, the 19th Century German Music Pedagogue, I suggest you click on his name and read David Saslav's story about Flaustenbach now. Fascinating practice tips, such as "Practice Makes Permanent Scars" and other gems from a life experimenting with how to get the worst out of students. <br /><br />For some reason, Flaustenbach has risen from his place of eternal (not so much) rest to HAUNT my studio.... <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOb80e6W0-JU7nOtRixLpKa3A_HfxK2UbOjGDypioowM1Fg7Fz5DQiWxm8P1q5YeZszqYIifOY6M2VduvF6WcCHDWjqnZ9G5bthESM7CzKSzWAVzQ_nsUY2byeoVFnI4Btaabbh_S0OA/s1600-h/Halloween+029.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396957362750780210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOb80e6W0-JU7nOtRixLpKa3A_HfxK2UbOjGDypioowM1Fg7Fz5DQiWxm8P1q5YeZszqYIifOY6M2VduvF6WcCHDWjqnZ9G5bthESM7CzKSzWAVzQ_nsUY2byeoVFnI4Btaabbh_S0OA/s320/Halloween+029.jpg" /></a><br />At the entrance to the <em>PianoSmith Mad Lab</em> where Flaustenbach has taken up residence, is "Mildred Irene Tomsheck" Flaustenbach's beloved student for whom he wrote the "MIT Variations". She died while trying to perfect this most difficult work. Flaustenbach had her remains glittered to honor her dedication to his piano methods.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yB-QimC8rJ_0BIpBCqPcYYqg63XWUcqCMk4zGDRMIf6Rx6fY0-kH67uDEp_J2UqvD547nLXWbdrzpTrXakx7mpRNvOdT27hMpXMXB35jdB99F8djLfF81bBVMrJ-gedsmPNYeaLhgTI/s1600-h/Halloween+018.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396957365640166354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yB-QimC8rJ_0BIpBCqPcYYqg63XWUcqCMk4zGDRMIf6Rx6fY0-kH67uDEp_J2UqvD547nLXWbdrzpTrXakx7mpRNvOdT27hMpXMXB35jdB99F8djLfF81bBVMrJ-gedsmPNYeaLhgTI/s320/Halloween+018.jpg" /></a><br />Flaustenbach developed potions to increase memory function, speed of fingers, and mental and physical stamina at the keyboard. Careful...drinking and piano playing may be fatal! <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bdsoNb4FmMz3jj5k4Peqd6Bu2DOCt3JZCE_3kg5qCOPMaw5xDFFgw9GgDUqvHK30OMLRSRXJxjmYQ18-pbIXvaJCd40dH8cXoEOe_-Ne3GpgyhiViG9RkVsrXgDs_qyk1nrbYReyeYQ/s1600-h/Halloween+019.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396957372543933458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bdsoNb4FmMz3jj5k4Peqd6Bu2DOCt3JZCE_3kg5qCOPMaw5xDFFgw9GgDUqvHK30OMLRSRXJxjmYQ18-pbIXvaJCd40dH8cXoEOe_-Ne3GpgyhiViG9RkVsrXgDs_qyk1nrbYReyeYQ/s320/Halloween+019.jpg" /></a><br />If you did not practice in Flaustenbach's studio...you would be labeled a "RECALCITRANT" student and put into a jar!<br /><br />Flaustenbach will demonstrate many of teaching methods with his Lab Assistant on Saturday, October 31, 2009, 1-4 PM in San Francisco. Come if you dare...Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-36405559060988297132009-10-21T09:50:00.000-07:002009-10-21T10:19:46.108-07:00Practice Tip Number Seven<span style="font-weight: bold;">Slow vs Fast Practice</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Notes from </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.helenmarlais.com/">Dr. Helen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Marlais</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">' Lecture at the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mtac.org/convention/index.shtml"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">MTAC</span> Convention</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> / July 2009</span><br /><br />This is the piano version of what your trainer at the gym suggests you do while working out on the treadmill.<br /><br />Play a passage three times slowly -- and really do play slowly, then once more, immediately, at full tempo. <br /><br />If the piece is long, use this method for individual sections -- playing an entire movement of a Beethoven Sonata in this way could drive a person to really hate practicing, which would be counter-productive.<br /><br />Since the ultimate goal is to play well and enjoy your repertoire, all of these tips will make your practice time very efficient and manageable. Tip number seven is also great for solving a tricky measure or any difficult passage in a longer piece.Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-64156261700361206872009-10-07T08:14:00.000-07:002009-10-07T08:23:33.896-07:00Practice Tip Number 6Practice Tip Number 6: EIGHT (8) Times to Perfection!<br /><br />This one is a killer.<br /><br />One measure - 8 times perfectly;<br />One passage - 8 times perfectly;<br />One phrase - 8 times perfectly;<br />One section- 8 times perfectly;<br />One page- 8 times perfectly;<br />One movement- 8 times perfectly; then<br />An entire piece - - 8 times perfectly!<br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://www.helenmarlais.com/">Dr. Helen Marlais </a>for this practice gem.Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-47889524435075451622009-10-05T09:10:00.000-07:002009-10-05T09:44:49.500-07:00Dr. Marlais' Practice Tip Number FiveImpulse Practice<br /><br />This is my "go to" practice method for almost every piece. I first learned this technique from <a href="http://elianelust.com/"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Eliane</span> Lust</a>. This method moves you through difficult passages beat by beat.<br /><br />Basically it works this way:<br /><br /><ul><li>Start with a difficult passage (leaps, scale runs, tricky turns, etc.)</li><li>With the first note and/or chord of the first beat of the passage held down, think about what comes next in the beat, but don't move your hand or play it yet. Check carefully to make sure that the hand, arm, and fingers are in the exact right position to begin the passage.</li><li>As soon as you have thought out where to move next, play up to the next beat as quickly as possible, but not beyond.</li><li>If you miss notes - do the same transition again.</li><li>Sometimes you may only be able to play up to the half beat in one move, depending on the difficulty of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">passage</span>.</li><li>You may also need to do this work hands alone, then repeat the above impulse practice steps "hands together".</li></ul><br />Repeat the above transition until one beat is perfect, then move to the next and repeat the above.<br /><br />The next step is to put multiple beats together (from beat to beat to beat) until you have the entire passage up to tempo and mastered. <br /><br />As you might have guessed, impulse practice is related to muscle memory practice; after practicing a passage with the impulse method, you most definitely have developed muscle memory for that passage.Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-64237239155329535802009-10-02T09:17:00.000-07:002009-10-03T14:50:24.463-07:00Practice Tip Number 4Practice Tip Number 4 from <a href="http://www.helenmarlais.com/">Dr. Helen Marlais'</a> 2009 <a href="http://www.mtac.org/">MTAC</a> Conference Lecture<br /><br />Develop Muscle Memory!<br /><br />Practice slowly. The only way for the "muscles" to remember is to imprint the actions slowly.<br /><br />Don't let you mind drift.<br /><br /><ul><li>Think about how the keys feel as you depress them. </li><li>Look at where your arm is in relation to your wrist and fingers: are you moving across you body, are you moving in parallel or contrary motion: is every part in alignment - are you moving without pain, without twisting, is the hand and the arm moving as a unit, etc.? </li><li style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">In scale passages - activate each finger in the passage by trying to get exactly the same sound on each note.<br /></li><li style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Memorize the patterns (sequences, motives, themes, etc.)</li><li style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Listen, listen, listen to the sounds you are making.<br /></li><li style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Think vertically and horizontally (melodically and harmonically)</li></ul>Unit practice.<br /><br /><ul><li>I wouldn't try to play the whole piece (unless it is under two minutes) this way. </li><li>Take one measure, one line, one phrase, one page and really concentrate. </li><li>This is difficult practice, but very efficient practice. </li><li>About five (5) minutes a day will garner results. </li></ul><br />I worked this way on Chopin's <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Butterfly Etude</span> and learned the piece in 28 days with only 10 minutes of practice a day. It works!<br /><br />And don't forget this practice gem while developing muscle memory: PRACTICE MAKES <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">PERMANENT</span>!<br /><br />Oh and by the way, one of my teachers told me that "muscle memory" is the first to go with nerves when performing, so never rely on muscle memory as a memory trick. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Grrrrrrrreat</span>!Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-12283588954209427062009-09-28T09:48:00.001-07:002009-09-28T10:11:55.501-07:00Practice Tip Number 3Thanks to Dr. Helen Marlais for these tips!<br /><br />Number 3: Phrasing<br /><br />This seems like an obvious tip, but how often I forgot to think of the long line while immersed in the minutiae of each measure. <br /><br />1. Find the phrases: if marked easy - if not, play through and number the measures until you find the beginning of each phrase. Always use pencil as sometimes mistakes are made or you change your mind about which measures make up the phrase. Then count of the number of measures in each phrase - some pieces will have phrases with an even number of measures (4 bars in each phrase for example) and others will have quite irregular numbers of measures (like Bach). Play the piece - thinking about how to shape each phrase so that the composer's intent is clear.<br /><br />2. Once you hear the long line of the melody - then practice over the bar line to phrase correctly. <br /><br />3. Look at phrases versus articulation - articulation happens at the end of the phrase, but also with the phrase.<br /><br />4. This process is helpful to begin to see the structure of the piece. And,<br /><br />5. For flow ---- seeing/hearing the big picture.<br /><br />It might seem like this is something to do later in the practice regimen. I thought so, and I often practice impulse and other ways first, but I'm beginning to see the value of looking at phrasing early in the practice process. I always tell my students not to wait to put in the dynamics and articulation. I think it is so difficult to add later and expression is a vital part of any piece. I once had a teacher who said that if I played a note with the incorrect articulation or dynamic --- I played a wrong note. My finger had pressed down the right key, but in the wrong way. I think that when there is too much focus on the details and not any notice of the long line, then extra work is needed later to develop the long line. Not to mention the crucial smooth crossing of the bar lines so that the piece flows beautifully and expressively.Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-8092418139081229802009-09-24T09:49:00.001-07:002009-09-24T09:53:47.554-07:00Practice Tip Number 2The next tip is: Procrastination....KIDDING! (Just a little slow getting to the piano this morning)<br /><br />Dr. Helen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Marlias</span>' Tip Number 2.<br /><br />Blocking - creating <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">vertical</span> harmony<br /><br />This is one of my favorite tips. Finding chord patterns in music and then playing them as a block chord. Not only does it help to establish what the harmony is for a given passage, but puts the notes quickly into your fingers. It is also helpful for leaps. I practice this way all of the time and I also show my students how to block passages in their pieces. A most useful way to practice.Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750916161395326257.post-3277728317386317312009-09-23T14:00:00.001-07:002009-09-23T14:38:51.341-07:00Daily Practice TipI attended one of <a href="http://www.helenmarlais.com/">Dr. Helen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Marlais</span></a>' workshops at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">MTAC</span> conference this past summer. I thought instead of posting all of her tips in one email, I post them daily.<br /><br />Tip Number 1:<br /><br />Play - Prepare<br /><br />For me this means to be aware of where you are in a piece and where you need to go...for the next note, phrase, theme, section, movement, next piece, etc. Dr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Marlais</span> specifically mentioned this technique for practicing leaps. When I practice leaps, I<br /><br />1. look at the keyboard for the shortest distance between the leaps (which interval is the smallest part of the leap);<br /><br />2. stay on the first note of the leap for a long time until I've mentally prepared where on the keyboard I need to leap to - then I leap as fast as possible and try to land in the correct place. If I've mentally prepared and correctly visualized the key/chord/octave pattern in my head of the jump - I rarely miss; and<br /><br />3. have fun by leaping to just get the gesture and to measure the distance of the leap.<br /><br />For example, if I need to leap from a "C chord" in the middle of the piano to the lowest "C chord" on the piano...I'd play a five finger cluster in the middle of the keyboard and then leap as fast as possible to the bottom of the keyboard and play a finger cluster where eventually I have to play a chord. As soon as that is easy...I'd play the chord in the middle of the piano and then a cluster at the bottom of the keyboard. Then once that was easy...I'd play the chord in the middle of the piano and the chord at the bottom of the keyboard. Success!<br /><br />All of the pieces I'm playing this Sunday - have really challenging leaps. Believe me, I've been using all of these <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">techniques</span> over the past several weeks.<br /><br />Also for my concert preparation this Sunday - I'm using the play-prepare tip for pacing myself to play for 45 minutes in one stretch. Flexing my mental muscles--- as I have the technical, expressive and imaginative aspects of the works in place --- in order to pace myself to have enough energy for the demands of each piece. I'm "leaping" from one piece/one mood to another piece/mood. Just as challenging as leaping from note to note.Melissa Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835327312533881404noreply@blogger.com0