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
Showing posts with label practicing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label practicing. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wed, August 12, 2009
Sometimes I feel like I'm just writing a private journal that only I read, but JUST IN CASE there's anyone out there, I'll soldier on.
Today is a teaching day, and I'm on lunch break. In the summer I take a few select students and have them all on one day, which makes a one day work week. Nice to take. It reminds me of how much I love what I do, and how the students energize me, and make me want to keep my own skills up. I spend HOURS at the piano or in class around keyboards, so I ought to spend a little more time there by myself. I pulled out the old books this morning and got back to relearning some pieces I had worked on in the school year. I felt rusty, but it was good. That's the nature of this job; I'm more of a coach than a teacher. I can only take someone from point A to point B, the best way I know, and hopefully the best that works for them. The rest is up to the student. Obviously, the more they put in at home, the better, and unlike a test or quiz at school, there is no cramming that will equal lost days in practice during the week. It really takes a few years before students get that, and the light goes on in their heads where they WANT to practice. I remember VIVIDLY when that happened for me, and when I came home from school, I dropped my books, got a quick snack (you never miss that!!!) and hit the piano if it was vacant. My father taught lessons, so many times it was occupied. I didn't like playing in front of him - still would rather not - but I do remember actually making the connection between the amount of work I put into a piece and the results, AND improving and getting more enjoyable pieces to play. How I wish I could bottle that feeling and give a dose to each student that is struggling and wants to give up. Any ideas? I am open to comments!
Until later,
Lori
Sometimes I feel like I'm just writing a private journal that only I read, but JUST IN CASE there's anyone out there, I'll soldier on.
Today is a teaching day, and I'm on lunch break. In the summer I take a few select students and have them all on one day, which makes a one day work week. Nice to take. It reminds me of how much I love what I do, and how the students energize me, and make me want to keep my own skills up. I spend HOURS at the piano or in class around keyboards, so I ought to spend a little more time there by myself. I pulled out the old books this morning and got back to relearning some pieces I had worked on in the school year. I felt rusty, but it was good. That's the nature of this job; I'm more of a coach than a teacher. I can only take someone from point A to point B, the best way I know, and hopefully the best that works for them. The rest is up to the student. Obviously, the more they put in at home, the better, and unlike a test or quiz at school, there is no cramming that will equal lost days in practice during the week. It really takes a few years before students get that, and the light goes on in their heads where they WANT to practice. I remember VIVIDLY when that happened for me, and when I came home from school, I dropped my books, got a quick snack (you never miss that!!!) and hit the piano if it was vacant. My father taught lessons, so many times it was occupied. I didn't like playing in front of him - still would rather not - but I do remember actually making the connection between the amount of work I put into a piece and the results, AND improving and getting more enjoyable pieces to play. How I wish I could bottle that feeling and give a dose to each student that is struggling and wants to give up. Any ideas? I am open to comments!
Until later,
Lori
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