A week without piano (Sort of)

Many of my students I missed last week. Well, we had an awesome vacation! Swimming in the Columbia river, playing Glow-in-the-dark tag and a 100 ft. long slip'n'slide, cabins, firelight sings, encouragement in the Holy Scriptures, bike jumps and loads of friends, unlimited Slurpees and great food... There was a horrendous piano at the lodge that had real ivory keys of all dirty shades of brown, several of which were either broken or completely missing, and original hammers that had to be at least 100 years old. (Probably the original tuning too!) We didn't practice much even if we had the time, inclination and the books! There is some point at which making your kids practice on something like that is a bit much. But one girl at camp spent five hours over two days playing the first three measures of Fur Elise over and over that another girl at camp had taught her. Wish I were kidding...

...Actually, I wish I were her teacher! :) With patience motivation and determination like that, she'd go really far!

Listening I enjoyed this week (on the road trip!): Pletnev Plays Bach-Busoni Chaconne

and here is where that Chaconne come from: it is a very famous Violin Solo piece from Bach's Violin Sonata in D minor, and Maxim Vengerov plays it- this is more a memorial than a concert.

Then after we came home late Friday, I taught six piano lessons yesterday, then we climbed to the top of Mount Si.

OK, I'll admit it: I never have any week without piano!

Favorite Music #1

The Happiest Piece I know: Gavotte from the French Suite No. 5 in G major

You have to begin at minute 5:48 to get the Gavotte.

Know one happier? Then I've got to hear it!

Here is a childhood favorite of mine: David Popper's Gavotte.

Here is probably my favorite ever single work of music. You've never heard it before. I think. You have to listen to it fifty times. I love the way the melodies layer over layer over layer...

Music to relax by #1

Warning: only watch this just before you want to sleep: Perfect Baroque Orchestra.

And a little something Enjoyable and different!

Music Education #1: Environment

Many parents ask me "What can I do to give my own child a good education in music?" I can not give a comprehensive list that will guarantee success, but maybe I can give some tips, little by little on different posts, as I go through this blog that you may find helpful.

Children are products of their environments, and though they have innate capabilities, your first question need not be "is my child talented?" because that has little bearing on the initial basis of his musicality: How many vastly talented children have there been who have never even seen a piano before? Their environment gave them no chance! So give your child the best advantage of a musically rich environment from the beginning by the following:

1. Play regularly yourself (If you don't know how, learn some basics!)
2. Keep a tuned piano the house, as well as any other instruments you like
3. Take your kids to recitals and musical events
4. Listen to recorded music to your child throughout the day long
5. Sing

(For listening, I recommend Bach especially among classical composers because of his perfect logic and polyphony. His musical language is the most complex and beautiful of all composers. Why not Mozart, as in "Baby Einstein and the Mozart effect"? Yes Mozart was a genius too, and well worth listening to, but if you want to produce a bit of a Mozart yourself, why listen to Mozart's output? Listen to his INPUT! He listened to Baroque Music! And the greatest exponent of Baroque music is Bach.)

Recommended Reading: "Nurtured by Love" by Shinichi Suzuki. This is the "mother-tongue" method, which, if you do Suzuki method or not, can really affect your child's beginning. We don't actually use Suzuki repertory at home, currently, nor do we play the violin much, but I do like the philsophy of Shinichi Suzuki, and having the general atmosphere of music, each of my children has an interest in music that I can build on.

Some of our all-time favorite listening:

The Well-Tempered Clavier (I & II) by J.S. Bach (performed by Andras Schiff)

Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies

The Irish Tenors

Beethoven Piano Sonatas and Concertos

The Best of LAGQ (I think we have listened to that CD more than 70 times!)

Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3

Joaquin Rodrigo Guitar Concertos (awesome Spanish music!)

J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos

Handel: Water Music

Dvorak: New World Symphony

Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor

Playing music is not absolutely necessary to life, but it enhances it tremendously. If you want to go with me on this journey of teaching your children to enjoy and to play music, come along: it gives your child a rich, natural heritage to enjoy.

Next Music Education Post: Finding a Teacher

Servant Offends Nobility

J. S. Bach offended his employer the Duke by making noises about changing jobs. The Duke responded by parking Bach in jail for a month. This paragon of virtue sat his "offense" out behind bars, writing music. (Some people think that’s where he was when he began his work on The Well-Tempered Clavier. The first three Preludes are repetitive, I admit!)

After a certain time in J.S. Bach’s life, he wrote over each composition “To the Glory of God.”

Have you had a moment in your life yet, when you realized you are a sinner before God and recognized that you need to turn yourself in to Him, allowing Him to cleanse you with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ? Have your sins been washed away and have you been made fit to be a vessel to His honor? Can it be written over your life, “To the Glory of God?”

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” 1 John 1:7
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Acts. 16:31
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Click on: Jesus, bleibet meine freude!