Today is the day! Recital day, that is. Private recital at 1 pm and MYC recital at 4.
Location: All Saints Lutheran Church, 7230 Columbia Rd, Olmsted Twp, 44138. Should be a good time, and about an hour for each program. Short reception to follow.
Hope you can make it!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
On the subject of applause in between movements in a concert:
Concertgoers, Please Clap, Talk or Shout at Any Time
Brown Brothers
Liszt, at left, would not have expected an audience to hold applause until the end of the piece.
Concertgoers like you and me have become part police officer, part public offender. We prosecute the shuffled foot or rattled program, the errant whisper or misplaced cough. We tense at the end of a movement, fearful that one of the unwashed will begin to clap, bringing shame on us all. How serious we look, and how absurd we are.
Skip to next paragraph 
Sam Falk/The New York Times
When Chopin played his E minor Piano Concerto in Warsaw in 1830, other pieces were inserted between the first two movements.
“Silence is not what we artists want,” Kenneth Hamilton quotes Beethoven in “After the Golden Age,” a detailed reflection on concert behavior in the 19th and early 20th centuries published recently by Oxford University Press. “We want applause.”
George Bernard Shaw, wearing his music critic’s hat, wrote that the silence at a London performance of Liszt’s “Dante” Symphony represented not rapt attention but audience distaste. Liszt, Anton Rubinstein and virtuosos like them would have been offended had listeners not clapped between movements, although in Beethoven’s case the point is moot, given that hardly anybody played more than one movement of a Beethoven sonata at a time.
I owe this information, along with most of the anecdotes that follow, to Mr. Hamilton’s delightful book, which you should read. People, he writes, also clapped while the music was going on. When Chopin played his Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” with orchestra, the audience bestowed its showstopping approval after every variation. As late as 1920, a Berlin audience was applauding Ferruccio Busoni in the middle of “La Campanella.”
Liszt, the composer of that piece, was observed in dignified old age, yelling bravos from the audience as Anton Rubinstein played Mozart’s A minor Rondo. Hans von Bülow boasted to his students that his performance in the first-movement cadenza of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto regularly brought down the house, no matter that the movement wasn’t over.
In condemning modern recitals as canned, without spontaneity, literal and deadened by solemnity, Mr. Hamilton sometimes overstates the case. In the best of circumstances silence during a good performance becomes something palpable, not just an absence of noise. Involved audiences can shout approval without making a sound.
In describing the hypocrisies of “golden age” pursuers and other nostalgia freaks, on the other hand, he has a point. If music is to go back to original instruments and original performance practices, it has to acknowledge original audiences too.
Elias Canetti’s 1960 book “Crowds and Power” offers the best metaphor for modern concerts: the Roman Catholic Mass. Worshipers accept instructions from an executive operating from a raised platform at the front. They speak when spoken to and otherwise shut up. Mr. Hamilton attributes a lot of this recently acquired holiness to the recording age, but I think it has more to do with Germanic art’s taking itself deadly seriously. Every Mozart sonata is like Wagner’s “Parsifal,” and listeners should get down on their knees.
Audience participation was taken for granted in the 1840s. The pianist Alexander Dreyschock was criticized for playing “so loud that it made it difficult for the ladies to talk,” Mr. Hamilton writes. Today’s listeners, still eager to make themselves known, have been reduced to subversive acts in a fascistic society. When they are not interested, they cough. Operagoers long to be the first to be heard as the curtain falls. Anticipating the final cadences in Donizetti doesn’t make much difference. In “Parsifal” it is a disaster, and a frequent one.
Concerts were different back then. Liszt could get away with the radical idea of “one man, one recital,” but musical events were usually variety shows in the manner of vaudeville. The star pianist or violinist was just an occasionally recurring act in a parade of singers, orchestra players, quartets and trios. When Liszt did his solo acts, there was none of the march-on, march-off stage ritual of today. Liszt greeted patrons at the door, mingled in the audience and schmoozed with friend and stranger alike.
Whole recitals also took place between acts of an opera or movements of a symphony. When Chopin played his E minor Piano Concerto in Warsaw in 1830, other pieces were inserted between the first two movements. Perhaps the most celebrated such interruption was at the 1806 premiere of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in Vienna, where the soloist thrilled listeners by playing his violin upside down and on one string.
Memorization was evidently as much prized in the 1800s as it is now, though people like Chopin and Beethoven thought that playing with scores increased accountability. Virtuosos like Anton Rubinstein learned by heart but frequently forgot what they had memorized. I once heard Arthur Rubinstein become lost in Ravel’s “Valses Nobles et Sentimentales,” simply diddling idly on the piano for a while before remembering what came next.
No one seemed to mind mistakes. If Liszt landed on a wrong note, he would treat it as a modulation, inventing a new passage on the spot. The idea of “Werktreue,” or honoring what the score says, was a weaker argument in the 19th century. Bülow told pupils that the occasionally planted clinker showed audiences how hard the piece at hand was.
My favorite music criticism is from a German on Brahms’s playing his own B flat Piano Concerto. “Brahms did not play the right notes,” he wrote, “but he played like a man who knew what the right notes were.”
There are still flickers of audience involvement in concerts, but so brainwashed are we by prevailing decorum that they make us nervous. Once in Havana I became troubled by two men in front of me talking excitedly during a performance of a Liszt piano concerto until I realized they were arguing the interpretation blow by blow.
Another time, late on a Spanish evening many years ago, I heard a village band competition at the bullring in Valencia. The playing was astonishing, and as a particular performance gradually took hold of the audience, low hums of approval would grow into something approaching wordless roars. It was the most profound concert experience of my life.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Good morning all.
The sun was shining the last 4 days in a row, and I was sitting outside in basking in it, while Bella played in the snow, wondering how it could be that there was snow on the ground with only a little grass peeking out and I in my shirtsleeves reading a book! I'm sorry to have neglected you so long.
Composition time is over and it's that familiar accelerando to the recital and summer break beyond. We are completing week 24 of 36, and although I haven't had math for a LONG time, that seems like 2/3 of the way finished! Of course, some of the private students go through the summer, but for the MYC classes, the recital is the end of the year. It is also the Birthday Week for Music for Young Children, which I teach in group classes (www.myc.com/teacher/LScheutzow). They celebrated 30 years this past Sunday, and that is a big deal. What a terrific program it is and now catching on more in the states than its country of origin, Canada. I wish I had known about it when I first started teaching 20+ yrs ago. It's a fine foundation of theory, composition, and keyboard knowledge. Many private students I have seen could have benefited from this foundation in so many ways, not the least of which is knowledge of composition. Anyway, Happy Birthday, MYC, and thank you for a great idea, Frances Balodis.
We're off to the vet this morning for puppy booster shots, so I guess I need to go and do the pet owner's 2nd most favorite chore, getting a stool sample! :-)
Until later,
Bella's staff leader, Lori
The sun was shining the last 4 days in a row, and I was sitting outside in basking in it, while Bella played in the snow, wondering how it could be that there was snow on the ground with only a little grass peeking out and I in my shirtsleeves reading a book! I'm sorry to have neglected you so long.
Composition time is over and it's that familiar accelerando to the recital and summer break beyond. We are completing week 24 of 36, and although I haven't had math for a LONG time, that seems like 2/3 of the way finished! Of course, some of the private students go through the summer, but for the MYC classes, the recital is the end of the year. It is also the Birthday Week for Music for Young Children, which I teach in group classes (www.myc.com/teacher/LScheutzow). They celebrated 30 years this past Sunday, and that is a big deal. What a terrific program it is and now catching on more in the states than its country of origin, Canada. I wish I had known about it when I first started teaching 20+ yrs ago. It's a fine foundation of theory, composition, and keyboard knowledge. Many private students I have seen could have benefited from this foundation in so many ways, not the least of which is knowledge of composition. Anyway, Happy Birthday, MYC, and thank you for a great idea, Frances Balodis.
We're off to the vet this morning for puppy booster shots, so I guess I need to go and do the pet owner's 2nd most favorite chore, getting a stool sample! :-)
Until later,
Bella's staff leader, Lori
Thursday, February 25, 2010
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwGFalTRHDA
The lyrics are so difficult in another language. It's why I'm sure he is lip-syncing...... :-)
The lyrics are so difficult in another language. It's why I'm sure he is lip-syncing...... :-)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Noteput – Interactive music table from Jonas Heuer on Vimeo.
I don't know if you can see the link above, but try http://vimeo.com/8308494 and see the music teaching tool of the future!
More later
Lori
Monday, February 15, 2010
OK, I have an excuse this time for not writing more. A precious ball of cuteness surrounding razor-sharp puppy teeth has invaded our space and is the center of the universe. As of last Wed, my birthday, we are the new staff of a 9 week old Cavshon pup, a cross between a Cavalier (think Cleveland Cavaliers!!!) King Charles Spaniel and a Bichon Frise. I say staff because we are at her beck and call, and fufill every whim that enters that 2 second attention-span mind of hers. She gets me up before dawn, only to eat and relieve herself and play for 30 min and then wants to snuggle in my lap into my fuzzy robe and sleep. By then, I of course, cannot sleep, and as I type this she is back in her bed yelping since I put her back to sleep. I've decided that I will not be her mattress, no matter how nice it is to snuggle her warm little body. She needs to learn to sleep in her crate, especially when I teach, or else we will all want to cave to the pitiful cries and get nothing done.
Anyway, musically-related, which this blog is supposed to be about, we are about finished with the compositions for the festival, and there are some really good ones this year. It takes a lot of class time that I wish I had for the regular lesson plan, but they are learning much of the theory as I work with them on the compositions. We can catch up once they're mailed on anything we missed.
Everyone seems to be in a cold-induced winter brain freeze, and in Cleveland, we are all deep into hiberation mode. The students are already so fatigued from school, I almost feel bad for trying to make them think more, especially in thorny music theory concepts, and at such a young age. I found that early elementary children don't understand fractions well, making it difficult to explain notation such as dotted quarter notes and such, and also have never been introduced to Roman Numerals, making the I, IV, and V7 chords easier to explain with colors rather than the words "one, four, and five-seven". No matter, their brains are taking in large amounts of previously unknown facts, it's just that in winter, it seems the blank stares are more prevalent than the light bulb going off and the words, "Oh, I get it!" (No matter how enthusiastically something is presented!) Still, they are coming to me voluntarily, and it's my job to teach them, whether they want to or not!
One neat thing is that they have been contributing change and dollar bills for practicing time (earned from their practice and paid by their parents) to a jar for charity. We decided to use it for a local food bank that also helps with school supplies, and utility shutoff notices. We're collecting until the recital at the end of the year. They seem to like doing it, and even my private students are getting involved, with some older ones donating out of their own pockets! Good to see.
Anyway, I'll try to post a photo of Bella (Short for Isabella, like the queen that she is) and get some clothes on, as she's finally gone to sleep. In my lap. Yes, I caved.
Lori
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
JANUARY 5, 2010
2010!!!! Wow! I have really neglected this blog for a long time! It was a crazy December, to say the least. My migraines are still daily, and are more vicious than ever. I'm trying no gluten diet, but so far it hasn't helped.
ANYWAY, back to the matter at hand. MUSIC! It's time for composing in classes now, and we'll hit it hard for the next 6 weeks. I'm already excited about what the students will create this year, and have already heard some really nice motives so far.....the raw material from which they'll develop the whole piece. The artwork in the composition book Frances Balodis has written helps tremendously in demonstrating repetition, retrograde, sequence, inversion, etc etc, and I have to say I even have the itch to compose. The last thing I wrote was 2 years ago at Christmas.
Here's an interesting article about Music I thought you might enjoy:
Some people love classical music, others prefer country -- but regardless of our individual preferences, our bodies will respond to music in the same way. So much so, in fact, that new research from Italy demonstrates that music affects cardiovascular functioning and breathing in such a predictable way it may someday be used as a medical tool.
We’re all familiar with how music can impact our emotions, whether energizing or soothing. Research has also established that music can be used to elicit a relaxation response useful for health purposes, for example for preoperative patients and others under stress. Now this study finds that the physiological responses music triggers were virtually identical for all people in the study group.
The Italian study included 24 healthy participants, half of whom were experienced choir singers, and the rest with no music training at all. Participants listened in random order to short selections from five classical compositions, including Verdi’s operatic aria "Nessun dorma" from Turandot and the orchestral adagio from Beethoven’s "Ninth Symphony" (Symphony No. 9 in D minor). Although the participants said they had no particular emotional response or preference for any of the music selections, they all showed similar subconscious autonomic response, which also corresponded to the compositions both in degree and timing. For example, crescendos or swelling of the music induced skin vasoconstriction and increases in blood pressure and heart rates... and, in a more complex response, participants synchronized modulation of the cardiovascular system (through naturally occurring fluctuations in arterial pressure) with the rhythm of the music. Where other researchers have accomplished this with yoga and prayer, this study achieved success by playing certain pieces of music.
When I contacted the lead author of the study, Luciano Bernardi, MD, of Pavia University in Pavia, Italy, he told me that the study shows that the physiological effects of music are predictable. For instance, he says, blood pressure "tends to follow the musical profile," dropping with slow meditative music and increasing at faster tempi. This provides a better understanding of how music works to affect the body and thus the role it could eventually fill therapeutically, Dr. Bernardi said. So it appears that we now have yet another instrument with which doctors can practice "the art" of medicine.
Luciano Bernardi, MD, professor of internal medicine, Pavia University, Pavia, Italy.
2010!!!! Wow! I have really neglected this blog for a long time! It was a crazy December, to say the least. My migraines are still daily, and are more vicious than ever. I'm trying no gluten diet, but so far it hasn't helped.
ANYWAY, back to the matter at hand. MUSIC! It's time for composing in classes now, and we'll hit it hard for the next 6 weeks. I'm already excited about what the students will create this year, and have already heard some really nice motives so far.....the raw material from which they'll develop the whole piece. The artwork in the composition book Frances Balodis has written helps tremendously in demonstrating repetition, retrograde, sequence, inversion, etc etc, and I have to say I even have the itch to compose. The last thing I wrote was 2 years ago at Christmas.
Here's an interesting article about Music I thought you might enjoy:
Some people love classical music, others prefer country -- but regardless of our individual preferences, our bodies will respond to music in the same way. So much so, in fact, that new research from Italy demonstrates that music affects cardiovascular functioning and breathing in such a predictable way it may someday be used as a medical tool.
We’re all familiar with how music can impact our emotions, whether energizing or soothing. Research has also established that music can be used to elicit a relaxation response useful for health purposes, for example for preoperative patients and others under stress. Now this study finds that the physiological responses music triggers were virtually identical for all people in the study group.
The Italian study included 24 healthy participants, half of whom were experienced choir singers, and the rest with no music training at all. Participants listened in random order to short selections from five classical compositions, including Verdi’s operatic aria "Nessun dorma" from Turandot and the orchestral adagio from Beethoven’s "Ninth Symphony" (Symphony No. 9 in D minor). Although the participants said they had no particular emotional response or preference for any of the music selections, they all showed similar subconscious autonomic response, which also corresponded to the compositions both in degree and timing. For example, crescendos or swelling of the music induced skin vasoconstriction and increases in blood pressure and heart rates... and, in a more complex response, participants synchronized modulation of the cardiovascular system (through naturally occurring fluctuations in arterial pressure) with the rhythm of the music. Where other researchers have accomplished this with yoga and prayer, this study achieved success by playing certain pieces of music.
When I contacted the lead author of the study, Luciano Bernardi, MD, of Pavia University in Pavia, Italy, he told me that the study shows that the physiological effects of music are predictable. For instance, he says, blood pressure "tends to follow the musical profile," dropping with slow meditative music and increasing at faster tempi. This provides a better understanding of how music works to affect the body and thus the role it could eventually fill therapeutically, Dr. Bernardi said. So it appears that we now have yet another instrument with which doctors can practice "the art" of medicine.
Luciano Bernardi, MD, professor of internal medicine, Pavia University, Pavia, Italy.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Nov 23, 2009....
It's THIS close to Thanksgiving, but I thought I ought to sit down and write a few words so you won't think I've dropped off the face of the earth. We had a lovely time with my brother, wife and kids. Did a quick mystery tour of a few places downtown and son Jordan was kind enough to babysit so we went sans children. There are SO many wonderful places to see in Cleveland - I don't know why we have such a terrible reputation, and why I don't get there more often.
This past weekend Paul and I created a cozy table for two in Bistro Scheutzow for our son Jordan and his girlfriend Michelle, to celebrate 1 year of dating. It was lovely, and they seemed to enjoy it. The house still smells like crab legs!
This week, I have TWO DAYS to get ready for Thanksgiving, which is on Wednesday this year for us, since all the boys have other places to be on the real day. Still, I'll take what I can get. The insisted on turkey, so we'll do it with all the trimmings.
One nice thing last weekend was attending a church service where my adult student played a wonerful duet with his organist. We had worked on the piece for a while, and he did a great job. It was "It Is Well With My Soul" and sometime if you get a minute or two, google it and read the history behind the hymn. It will stir your soul.
Anyway, nothing else new here. Just dashing off to errands after preparing lessons for classes this afternoon. Hope anyone reading this is well and headed for a great Thanksgiving.
Lori
It's THIS close to Thanksgiving, but I thought I ought to sit down and write a few words so you won't think I've dropped off the face of the earth. We had a lovely time with my brother, wife and kids. Did a quick mystery tour of a few places downtown and son Jordan was kind enough to babysit so we went sans children. There are SO many wonderful places to see in Cleveland - I don't know why we have such a terrible reputation, and why I don't get there more often.
This past weekend Paul and I created a cozy table for two in Bistro Scheutzow for our son Jordan and his girlfriend Michelle, to celebrate 1 year of dating. It was lovely, and they seemed to enjoy it. The house still smells like crab legs!
This week, I have TWO DAYS to get ready for Thanksgiving, which is on Wednesday this year for us, since all the boys have other places to be on the real day. Still, I'll take what I can get. The insisted on turkey, so we'll do it with all the trimmings.
One nice thing last weekend was attending a church service where my adult student played a wonerful duet with his organist. We had worked on the piece for a while, and he did a great job. It was "It Is Well With My Soul" and sometime if you get a minute or two, google it and read the history behind the hymn. It will stir your soul.
Anyway, nothing else new here. Just dashing off to errands after preparing lessons for classes this afternoon. Hope anyone reading this is well and headed for a great Thanksgiving.
Lori
Friday, November 13, 2009
Nov 13, 2009
They're coming, they're coming, they're coming!!!! I'm not really that excited, as you can tell, but Nephew Jack and Niece Lucy are coming and bringing their parents....:-) My "little" baby brother Clark, and his gorgeous wife Charlie should be here by dinner!!! Ok, I'll knock it off with the multiple exclamation points! I distinctly remember the time when I was no longer the center of the universe, but just the transporter, feeder, diaperer, clother, and one of the ones who provided the centers of attention - the children - for all to admire and fawn over. Somehow it didn't bother me a bit! They are just wonderful! I suppose it gets us attached so that we somehow bring them into adulthood, relatively unscathed, and ready to be parents themselves someday. In one of ours' cases, that someday is right around the corner in June 2010. You think I'm excited about Jack and Lucy, just wait until I get my hands on a grandchild!
More to come...
Lori
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Here's a view from Bill T's birding tower near our hometown last weekend. It was breath-taking, to put it mildly. I think it's the least God can do to compensate us for what lies ahead in the coming months, especially here in northern Ohio to give us this gorgeous show of color before it's all gray and then bone-chillingly cold. It had been gray and rainy all that day, and then right before the sun set, as if we asked for it, it came out below the clouds for a few minutes to show off on the treetops. This is taken from 40+ feet high. Well-worth the climb and the drive. Thanks, Julie and Bill, and also Phoebe and Liam for loaning us your folks for a while to visit!
Friday, October 23, 2009
October 23, 2009
My husband and I are going down to my old hometown, Marietta, Ohio, for a concert of my father's music....well, he's part of it, but also accompanying a soprano singing 3 of his songs in it. Cooincidentally, a classmate of mine, Bill Thompson, has a band that is playing a block from our hotel tonight, so I get a mix of musical styles and experiences. It will be the 1st time I've been back since our 25th HS reunion. My dad has set many poems to music, but these poems will actually have the poet there in person, and I'm really looking forward to meeting her. I've heard the songs as they've developed over the years, and heard recordings, but I'm not sure I've heard them live. He's driving up from TN, so the least I can do is drive down to meet him. I'm sure it will make me want to get composing again.....or else be so good that I'll never write another song again! Just kidding....I can feel inadequate compared to my dad, but he is a master teacher, and has about a million more hours of practice, education, and preparation for his craft, so I can hardly expect to compete with that, can I??
Here's a neat thing Volkswagon did in Sweden to get ppl to take the stairs instead of an escalator.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJMOI5_FKwg
Also, www.familygames.com/freelane.htm and scroll down to the last game, Note Card for a quick and easy game to study notes.
Happy Weekend.....see you next week!
My husband and I are going down to my old hometown, Marietta, Ohio, for a concert of my father's music....well, he's part of it, but also accompanying a soprano singing 3 of his songs in it. Cooincidentally, a classmate of mine, Bill Thompson, has a band that is playing a block from our hotel tonight, so I get a mix of musical styles and experiences. It will be the 1st time I've been back since our 25th HS reunion. My dad has set many poems to music, but these poems will actually have the poet there in person, and I'm really looking forward to meeting her. I've heard the songs as they've developed over the years, and heard recordings, but I'm not sure I've heard them live. He's driving up from TN, so the least I can do is drive down to meet him. I'm sure it will make me want to get composing again.....or else be so good that I'll never write another song again! Just kidding....I can feel inadequate compared to my dad, but he is a master teacher, and has about a million more hours of practice, education, and preparation for his craft, so I can hardly expect to compete with that, can I??
Here's a neat thing Volkswagon did in Sweden to get ppl to take the stairs instead of an escalator.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJMOI5_FKwg
Also, www.familygames.com/freelane.htm and scroll down to the last game, Note Card for a quick and easy game to study notes.
Happy Weekend.....see you next week!
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
October 7, 2009
Wednesday. I've been sad since our dog Malley died Monday morning. He greeted all the students, and terrified others who were afraid of dogs. Still, he was harmless, as they eventually discovered, and he helped them get over their fear of dogs. He spent the first months of his life tied to the piano leg as I taught (before the studio was built) so I could keep an eye on him, and then since he wasn't allowed in the studio so I could have a pet-free environment for those with allergies, sat or lay down at the top of the stairs to it. Better yet, on nice days, he would lay outside the French doors on the deck literally feet away from me, to keep an eye on me, and be the closest he could be to me. He was a great dog, and for 13 yrs was loved much.
I saw this on the internet this morning and thought I'd eat my words about accordions and post this. Incredible player, incredible piece.....sounds like a church organ - but you hold it in your lap! I wish I knew how to embed the picture where you just click on it to play. Sorry. If someone wants to teach me, then I'm all ears!
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.collegehumor.com%2Fvideo%3A1922340&h=9a74f910e1dc4b7e2be4ecbe3c8e0d49
Wednesday. I've been sad since our dog Malley died Monday morning. He greeted all the students, and terrified others who were afraid of dogs. Still, he was harmless, as they eventually discovered, and he helped them get over their fear of dogs. He spent the first months of his life tied to the piano leg as I taught (before the studio was built) so I could keep an eye on him, and then since he wasn't allowed in the studio so I could have a pet-free environment for those with allergies, sat or lay down at the top of the stairs to it. Better yet, on nice days, he would lay outside the French doors on the deck literally feet away from me, to keep an eye on me, and be the closest he could be to me. He was a great dog, and for 13 yrs was loved much.
I saw this on the internet this morning and thought I'd eat my words about accordions and post this. Incredible player, incredible piece.....sounds like a church organ - but you hold it in your lap! I wish I knew how to embed the picture where you just click on it to play. Sorry. If someone wants to teach me, then I'm all ears!
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.collegehumor.com%2Fvideo%3A1922340&h=9a74f910e1dc4b7e2be4ecbe3c8e0d49
Thursday, October 01, 2009
October 1, 2009
It's not the first day of fall, but it feels that way. Today was in the 40s in the morning, and even only 55 mid-day. I can't believe we had to turn on the heat already. It will wreak havoc on the newly tuned pianos. If I'd only waited a few weeks. Oh well. Such is the life of an MYC teacher whose classes start in late August/early September, and need the pianos - all 6 of them - 4 electronic and perfectly tuned to sound right with the 2 acoustic. One is so old that it only really holds a good tune about a week. At least the way I like it. Only one student I have can really tell the difference, and it's her perfect pitch that makes it that way. She's amazing.
Anyway, I promised that I'd post the url for the music dictionary again. Here it is: http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/
I hope you bookmark it, and refer to it often, at least if you're a student, or parent of a student. Another good site is http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/fromthetop/pages/ a TV show on public television that is fantastic! ANYONE will love these young people performing, and host Christopher O'Reilly's rapport with them.
Got to go plan lessons for the last day of the week! YEA, Friday!
Lori
It's not the first day of fall, but it feels that way. Today was in the 40s in the morning, and even only 55 mid-day. I can't believe we had to turn on the heat already. It will wreak havoc on the newly tuned pianos. If I'd only waited a few weeks. Oh well. Such is the life of an MYC teacher whose classes start in late August/early September, and need the pianos - all 6 of them - 4 electronic and perfectly tuned to sound right with the 2 acoustic. One is so old that it only really holds a good tune about a week. At least the way I like it. Only one student I have can really tell the difference, and it's her perfect pitch that makes it that way. She's amazing.
Anyway, I promised that I'd post the url for the music dictionary again. Here it is: http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/
I hope you bookmark it, and refer to it often, at least if you're a student, or parent of a student. Another good site is http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/fromthetop/pages/ a TV show on public television that is fantastic! ANYONE will love these young people performing, and host Christopher O'Reilly's rapport with them.
Got to go plan lessons for the last day of the week! YEA, Friday!
Lori
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Last Friday of September. A true sign of the end of summer. Leaves starting to turn, chilly nights, change is in the air. The Halloween decorations are starting to go up, and I have to admit, it's not my favorite holiday. It signals an "accelerando" of time into Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that can only mean "GET BUSY!" Time for loafing is over. Boo-hoo. I had such a nice summer. Oh well, I do love that we have 4 seasons here in Ohio, and those frigid days make us appreciate the warmth of the sun, and walking around barefoot, even outside. I'm not sure I would like 100+ in Arizona in the summer any better. Humans are so fickle and love to complain, don't we?
The Chopin is coming along, and playing a freshl tuned piano is such a joy. I wish I could afford to have him come once a month. It's already starting to slip a little, and it's only been 4 days!! If you are reading this and wondering when to tune yours, wait a little until the house is closed up and the heat on. Just a little "note" from my tuner, Phil Gibson, who is the BEST around, and if you need his number, call or email me and I'll give it to you. My addy is loris3@sbcglobal.net and phone is 440-235-8743. Stalkers need not apply.
Have a great day! Get out and enjoy the last of what I hope is many warm days.
Lori
Last Friday of September. A true sign of the end of summer. Leaves starting to turn, chilly nights, change is in the air. The Halloween decorations are starting to go up, and I have to admit, it's not my favorite holiday. It signals an "accelerando" of time into Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that can only mean "GET BUSY!" Time for loafing is over. Boo-hoo. I had such a nice summer. Oh well, I do love that we have 4 seasons here in Ohio, and those frigid days make us appreciate the warmth of the sun, and walking around barefoot, even outside. I'm not sure I would like 100+ in Arizona in the summer any better. Humans are so fickle and love to complain, don't we?
The Chopin is coming along, and playing a freshl tuned piano is such a joy. I wish I could afford to have him come once a month. It's already starting to slip a little, and it's only been 4 days!! If you are reading this and wondering when to tune yours, wait a little until the house is closed up and the heat on. Just a little "note" from my tuner, Phil Gibson, who is the BEST around, and if you need his number, call or email me and I'll give it to you. My addy is loris3@sbcglobal.net and phone is 440-235-8743. Stalkers need not apply.
Have a great day! Get out and enjoy the last of what I hope is many warm days.
Lori
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday, September 21, 2009 - First day of autumn
Well, I think it's finally dawning on me that summer is over for good, and now even the calendar says so. It was 81 yesterday here in Cleveland town, so it didn't feel like it, especially with the humidity and subsequent rains the last few days. We sure needed it, but the pianos didn't. In fact, they're being tuned today, and unless I close up the house and run a dehumidifier (which is on loan to someone else at the moment) it will be for naught. The grand I have stays in tune about a week, and I have the BEST tuner in town! That week is pretty glorious though, and I have recently restarted work on the 1st Chopin Ballade, a beast of a piece if I ever saw one. It isn't the most difficult for others, but for me, who hasn't really worked HARD on a piece since college, it's tough.
Here's a link to Horowitz playing it years ago - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhnRIuGZ_dc
(Why isn't that underlined????) You'll have to copy and paste into youtube to see and hear it. It has the most exciting ending I can think of. Contrary motion octaves....some of you music students might know what that means. MYC students beyond Sunbeams 2 OUGHT to know what that means!!!
Gosh, as I listen to this, I don't know if I have the chops to play it anymore. Certainly not at this speed, but hey, I can do it for the enjoyment and exercise of it! No one said I have to perform it anywhere, right? Sometimes just the joy of working through a knotty run with fingering challenges is the point of it all. I certainly know how every measure and note should sound as I heard my father (William Buelow) practice it for hours when I was a child. In fact, I used to lay under the piano and pet the dog and listen. It was SO loud there, and the closest I could get to my daddy at that moment, since he was BUSY practicing at the time! It was wonderful. I know SO much music, but have no clue what it is or who wrote it, since I just heard it.
Anyway, if I knew ANYONE was reading this blog I might write more often. Now, it seems kind of pointless., except as a journal.....:-)
Hope you're ALL well.....
Waiting for the tuner,
Lori
Well, I think it's finally dawning on me that summer is over for good, and now even the calendar says so. It was 81 yesterday here in Cleveland town, so it didn't feel like it, especially with the humidity and subsequent rains the last few days. We sure needed it, but the pianos didn't. In fact, they're being tuned today, and unless I close up the house and run a dehumidifier (which is on loan to someone else at the moment) it will be for naught. The grand I have stays in tune about a week, and I have the BEST tuner in town! That week is pretty glorious though, and I have recently restarted work on the 1st Chopin Ballade, a beast of a piece if I ever saw one. It isn't the most difficult for others, but for me, who hasn't really worked HARD on a piece since college, it's tough.
Here's a link to Horowitz playing it years ago - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhnRIuGZ_dc
(Why isn't that underlined????) You'll have to copy and paste into youtube to see and hear it. It has the most exciting ending I can think of. Contrary motion octaves....some of you music students might know what that means. MYC students beyond Sunbeams 2 OUGHT to know what that means!!!
Gosh, as I listen to this, I don't know if I have the chops to play it anymore. Certainly not at this speed, but hey, I can do it for the enjoyment and exercise of it! No one said I have to perform it anywhere, right? Sometimes just the joy of working through a knotty run with fingering challenges is the point of it all. I certainly know how every measure and note should sound as I heard my father (William Buelow) practice it for hours when I was a child. In fact, I used to lay under the piano and pet the dog and listen. It was SO loud there, and the closest I could get to my daddy at that moment, since he was BUSY practicing at the time! It was wonderful. I know SO much music, but have no clue what it is or who wrote it, since I just heard it.
Anyway, if I knew ANYONE was reading this blog I might write more often. Now, it seems kind of pointless., except as a journal.....:-)
Hope you're ALL well.....
Waiting for the tuner,
Lori
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I received this via email from Frances Balodis, founder of Music for Young Children:
Who are your mentors? Have you thought about where you met them and how long ago they influenced and strengthened you? If you could talk to just one of your mentors, what would you say? If you could have another mentor, who would it be? Someone in your personal life or someone in your business life? Have you ever asked your child who is important to them? It might surprise you to have that conversation. Wouldn't it be interesting to hear your child say that their mentor was Mozart? Not surprising that practicing has picked up in your home recently! Mozart was a child wonder! Your child is a miracle - and with the magic and strength of a mentor, this little miracle can blossom and grow with the strength, not just on their own strength but on the fortitude and influence of others.
Frances Mae Balodis, MEd. ARCT LCCM(Hon) LCNCM(Hon) RMT
It got me thinking about those questions. We are pretty lacking in mentors these days as a culture. People ask sports and pop stars about being "role models", and frankly, as parents, we cringe if our child idolizes one that is less than stellar in morals and good character. I had my father, William Buelow, as a mentor for me musically, and then another teacher, Elizabeth Cummings when I was in my teens. Then my college professor, Robert Mayerovitch at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music was the latest. I learned from them all, and still hear myself using phrases and concepts in my own teaching that I got from them. Unfortunately, I didn't always choose great mentors in other areas of my life, but that is another story altogether. I would like to think that I have been a part of many students' musical lives through the years, hopefully for the better.
My favorite "past student" memory came from a gal who I had taught her 1st year or 2 of piano at age 6, who transferred to the Cleveland Institute of Music for some years, then the family moved to Colorado. She was incredibly gifted, and I was sorry to lose her. A few years back, she called me, at age 16, to tell me that she had just won the Denver Concerto Competition and would be playing with the Denver Symphony. She said she wanted to thank her very 1st teacher who gave her her start and a good foundation to build on all those years later. I was SO BLESSED, to say the least. I would have loved to hear her play. In fact, I think I'll look her up on youtube.......you never know..... If I find her I'll post it here soon!
Keep up the good work......whatever you find yourself doing today!
Lori
MYC Founder and International Director
I received this via email from Frances Balodis, founder of Music for Young Children:
Who are your mentors? Have you thought about where you met them and how long ago they influenced and strengthened you? If you could talk to just one of your mentors, what would you say? If you could have another mentor, who would it be? Someone in your personal life or someone in your business life? Have you ever asked your child who is important to them? It might surprise you to have that conversation. Wouldn't it be interesting to hear your child say that their mentor was Mozart? Not surprising that practicing has picked up in your home recently! Mozart was a child wonder! Your child is a miracle - and with the magic and strength of a mentor, this little miracle can blossom and grow with the strength, not just on their own strength but on the fortitude and influence of others.
Frances Mae Balodis, MEd. ARCT LCCM(Hon) LCNCM(Hon) RMT
It got me thinking about those questions. We are pretty lacking in mentors these days as a culture. People ask sports and pop stars about being "role models", and frankly, as parents, we cringe if our child idolizes one that is less than stellar in morals and good character. I had my father, William Buelow, as a mentor for me musically, and then another teacher, Elizabeth Cummings when I was in my teens. Then my college professor, Robert Mayerovitch at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music was the latest. I learned from them all, and still hear myself using phrases and concepts in my own teaching that I got from them. Unfortunately, I didn't always choose great mentors in other areas of my life, but that is another story altogether. I would like to think that I have been a part of many students' musical lives through the years, hopefully for the better.
My favorite "past student" memory came from a gal who I had taught her 1st year or 2 of piano at age 6, who transferred to the Cleveland Institute of Music for some years, then the family moved to Colorado. She was incredibly gifted, and I was sorry to lose her. A few years back, she called me, at age 16, to tell me that she had just won the Denver Concerto Competition and would be playing with the Denver Symphony. She said she wanted to thank her very 1st teacher who gave her her start and a good foundation to build on all those years later. I was SO BLESSED, to say the least. I would have loved to hear her play. In fact, I think I'll look her up on youtube.......you never know..... If I find her I'll post it here soon!
Keep up the good work......whatever you find yourself doing today!
Lori
MYC Founder and International Director
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Sept 8, 2009......
Had a couple of reminders that I hads a blog.....it gets busy around here! We're taking in a boarder; a NASA intern from Italy named Augusto. He said he used to play the piano years ago, so maybe we'll re-ignite an old inspiration. I sure have enough keyboards around here. Right now I have a baby grand, and spinet, 2 key Yamaha, and 2 smaller keyboards, both touch-sensitive. Each week the students rotate keyboards so no one has the same one every week. There are also 2 ukeleles, a mandolin, a guitar, and an old cornet, just for decoration. We did finally find a home for the rosewood marimba, thanks to craigslist. It went to a guy in Idaho.
Just heard a great quote, "the second dumbest thing I ever did was forgetting the dumbest thing I ever did." Isn't that hilarious???
That has absolutely NOTHING to do with the first paragraph, or music or anything, it just struck me as funny right at this moment.
I'm in the 2nd week of classes and lessons this week, and it's as fun as ever. We'll see how the homework that is to be turned in tomorrow looks. I'll know if they "got it" then. I decided to divide the Moonbeams 3 class into 2 years, due to the young age of the students. This way they'll have half the "normal" work load, which is significant, considering their ages. Some of this stuff I didn't really study until I was in BW Conservatory of Music! They're 7, 8 and 10!!!! Plenty of time to make sure they understand. Anyway, I have my oldest AND my youngest students tomorrow.....a range of many decades! Proves it's never too late to learn!
Off to bed....
Enjoy some great music!
Lori
Had a couple of reminders that I hads a blog.....it gets busy around here! We're taking in a boarder; a NASA intern from Italy named Augusto. He said he used to play the piano years ago, so maybe we'll re-ignite an old inspiration. I sure have enough keyboards around here. Right now I have a baby grand, and spinet, 2 key Yamaha, and 2 smaller keyboards, both touch-sensitive. Each week the students rotate keyboards so no one has the same one every week. There are also 2 ukeleles, a mandolin, a guitar, and an old cornet, just for decoration. We did finally find a home for the rosewood marimba, thanks to craigslist. It went to a guy in Idaho.
Just heard a great quote, "the second dumbest thing I ever did was forgetting the dumbest thing I ever did." Isn't that hilarious???
That has absolutely NOTHING to do with the first paragraph, or music or anything, it just struck me as funny right at this moment.
I'm in the 2nd week of classes and lessons this week, and it's as fun as ever. We'll see how the homework that is to be turned in tomorrow looks. I'll know if they "got it" then. I decided to divide the Moonbeams 3 class into 2 years, due to the young age of the students. This way they'll have half the "normal" work load, which is significant, considering their ages. Some of this stuff I didn't really study until I was in BW Conservatory of Music! They're 7, 8 and 10!!!! Plenty of time to make sure they understand. Anyway, I have my oldest AND my youngest students tomorrow.....a range of many decades! Proves it's never too late to learn!
Off to bed....
Enjoy some great music!
Lori
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Tuesday, September FIRST, 2009!
WOW! Is it possible that it's September already? I've been neglecting this blog, being on vacation last week and in a flurry of activity yesterday getting ready for the 1st classes and lessons of the year. They came, and what a great group of kids and parents! I'm really looking forward to this year. Ran across this quote this morning:
“A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils.”
―Ever Garrison
Kind of stuffy language, but you get the idea. "Activating magnets".....hmm...I like that idea. I do believe that they are they in everyone, young and old, just waiting to be activated. I'll do my best this year to bring that into fruition for each and every one of them. There is nothing like all those sets of eyes looking intently at me, wondering what new thing I'll tell them, or ask them to do. I told one class yesterday it wasn't like school, at least not always, since to demonstrate the word "forte", I asked them to shout it LOUDLY. They did a GREAT job! Loudly and with great enthusiasm. Can't wait for the next ones. Today is all private lessons, and they are a whole different cat altogether.
Does anyone think that teaching is a God-given gift, or just a learned set of skills, magnets, if you will that OUR teachers activated in us? Perhaps a combination of both? Food for thought.....
WOW! Is it possible that it's September already? I've been neglecting this blog, being on vacation last week and in a flurry of activity yesterday getting ready for the 1st classes and lessons of the year. They came, and what a great group of kids and parents! I'm really looking forward to this year. Ran across this quote this morning:
“A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils.”
―Ever Garrison
Kind of stuffy language, but you get the idea. "Activating magnets".....hmm...I like that idea. I do believe that they are they in everyone, young and old, just waiting to be activated. I'll do my best this year to bring that into fruition for each and every one of them. There is nothing like all those sets of eyes looking intently at me, wondering what new thing I'll tell them, or ask them to do. I told one class yesterday it wasn't like school, at least not always, since to demonstrate the word "forte", I asked them to shout it LOUDLY. They did a GREAT job! Loudly and with great enthusiasm. Can't wait for the next ones. Today is all private lessons, and they are a whole different cat altogether.
Does anyone think that teaching is a God-given gift, or just a learned set of skills, magnets, if you will that OUR teachers activated in us? Perhaps a combination of both? Food for thought.....
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