Busking

(The lady in the black jacket has just donated to my Hungry For Belgian Chocolate Fund.)

For me piano is a profession, but violin is also a love in my musical life. A couple of weeks ago I thought I might take advantage of my situation on a vacation and go out on the town to go busking with my fiddle to see what would happen. I was prepared with a licence: My brother-in-law obtained one for me. Often I have seen street musicians here, but most of the time they are the kind of guys that don't have enough teeth among the lot of them to make a full set for even one guy. So we set out as a family, and armed with violin, convertible fingerless gloves, water bottles and train tickets and Pizza Hut coupons, we set out for Brugge.

First we had to eat pizza. Then we had to pick a busking spot. The first spot we chose was in front of a store where you can buy leather purses and handbags for $4,000, etc. etc., and though that isn't my kind of thing, I had some friends in mind that I was sure would have much rather been inside the store than doing the socially somewhat weird thing of playing for change on the street! The shop lady came out to me and hinted I should cross the street and stand on the other side- not in front of her shop window- because the trucks couldn't pass through. Yeah, right, I thought. She just didn't want someone busking in front of her fancy shop window. I couldn't really blame her- But remembering how nice she was and then suddenly a huge truck swept by- I could definitely see her point. So I crossed the street and stood in front of the bicycle racks. Seeing the first euro drop in was a great feeling! It came soon, too.

At the second spot I was far more visible because I stood at the top of some stairs and though there was a little piped in music, I think I pretty well could drown it out. My family stood by a few minutes at a time, then went to enjoy the town. Once in a while my husband came by and cleaned out my case!

I played Helmut Lotti songs (ripped off popular classics), familiar opera selections, popular songs, Christmas carols, classical tunes, hymns, Irish fiddle tunes, sailor music and anything light and cheerful I could think of. Particularly effective was played Gossec's Gavotte while jumping on the high notes. People stopped and jumped with me! I think the tip to collecting on the public is to be visible, smile your face off, play nothing serious, and to be physically active while you play. Then people stop to watch and pull out their wallets. (I was also handily parked by a bank: everyone had their wallet out anyway. Put 'er there!)

Who puts money in? Teenagers rarely. Little kids get it from their moms and dads. But the group who donates most often are the fifty plussers, especially couples and gray haired gentlemen with nice coats. Old ladies are the kind who most often stop to chat.

We pulled in about $85! That was more than I expected. Let's see... it paid for the pizza... and the drinks... the round trip train tickets for the whole family... the gloves we had to buy for my daughter... well. Looking at it that way, it was a total wash! But I have to say, it was an afternoon of pure fun made possible by music, and that for free!

Favorite Moments

Sometimes there are just moments that are so memorable they become history. This respectful and talented student was working hard in a Placido Domingo masterclass, and came to a wonderful note in the aria he was singing, and when Domingo heard him, he stopped him to refer to the note by way of demonstration- and after singing it far and above the already stunning rendition of the student, began to continue his comment upon it, when the audience, student and pianist all react to its beauty and erupt in applause and the laughter of astonishment!

I also listen to it in admiration for what the pianist accomplishes, and how respectful and wonderful the tone of the lesson is. Domingo is so considerate.

Just For Fun: Toy Pianos

The piano is nearly universal. Many variations of it have appeared, including flexible, art case models, circular keyboards and invisible "pianos" (you wear gloves and play in the air- the gloves make a cheesy "piano" sound. Haven't bought any.) Toy Pianos are a variant of the above, which also come in different shapes and sizes, some of which you can get linked up to below:

LARGE

Now that had to be fun to rehearse.

FLAT

He should take it on the streets! The keyboard looks like roadkill actually, but he is an artist; people would toss him money.

LOW

I love this: "My fault!"

RIDICULOUSLY SMALL - that is- wrong size to take this seriously

Go ahead and tell me if I am missing the deeper import of this, but that is just stupid.

CHARMINGLY TINY

This is awesome!

Music Education #8 What Parents Can Do for Beginners

When students are beginning, what can parents do to maximize their success?

Help them by setting a schedule, a plan to work at the keys everyday, and set learning goals for every day, every week in order to complete the assignment. The teacher should be setting realistic assignments, and hopefully giving good practice outlines. Give cheer and direction to each practice, show love by giving full attention to young beginners. Remark on and praise progress!

In Practice: "What does the assignment book say about that? Learn page one? OK let's shock the teacher. Probably she just thinks you'd barely get hands alone or whatever. What do you say we try to memorize the whole first page hands together?! That means you could do line one today, then you have three days for the rest, then a day or so for review..."

What specific things can I teach my beginning child so that the teacher can move forward unhindered with my child?

Total knowledge of the keyboard note names: ABCDFG.

In practice: "OK! play all the Cs! Great! How fast can you play all the Gs high to low? Play all the DEFs with the left hand, all the ACEs with the right hand. Name your finger numbers! Play a low F with the left hand 4th finger! Play a high B with the right hand second finger! That was faster than yesterday! Wow." Fast paced and cheerful is best, not lingering too long on any one exercise.

Knowledge of Staff lines and spaces: Treble and Bass Clefs

In Practice: Make a grand staff on your floor, [see previous Music Education posts] use flash cards introducing two or three new notes a day, ask questions about the notes in the music. Memorize with your child the names of the treble clef lines and spaces (EGBDF and FACE respectively) as well as bass clef lines and spaces (GBDFA and ACEG respectively)

Tip: help the student focus on the assignment given and if the student hears or sees new pieces to try, keep a running "wish list" for your child to look forward to. Teachers like to hear about student favorites!

Hats off to moms and dads! Parental integration in practice is so incredibly important to most young beginners and can really add a sweet dimension to a relationship when children see their parents really proud of them and excited about their success and potential. I had no idea about what this was all about until I had my own kids. Wow. As my brother said, initially the child's success depends probably more about what parents a child has than the innate musicality of a child. I didn't think of putting it so bluntly, but am starting to see things his way....

Music Education #7 Making Paths Through the Jungle

This is not a travel blog, but anyway...

...Fourteen years ago we were tromping through the jungle in South America wearing tall rubber boots to not get bitten by tarantulas (I saw 'em!). Our front guy was whacking the thickly growing crazy vines with his machete and we were trying to follow. We crossed streams by foot, sometimes finding the easiest way was just to wade through the stream because there were not so many plants there! We had a destination, but my point lies in the fact that we were all of us tromping over some faintly traced path that appeared (at least at first) to only exist in the mind of our guide.

That's like looking at a new page of music. Just a jungle. The mind has no aural or tactile experience with the new notes.

He slashed at vines effortlessly with a long sharp, very effective tool that made us think about putting our hands around out own necks, a blade probably illegal in most places.

That's like the first step of sight-reading. It's the first impression. It's very important to try to get this one right. (Kind of like a job interview, too. You only have one chance for a perfect first impression.)

Then we all followed, our feet making the path, one after another of us. When we were done, you could see a path behind us. You wouldn't have wanted to follow it barefoot or anything, but you would know where we has been.

That's like repeating the music until you start remembering it. Because the brain looking at a new piece of music is like an untraced jungle of potential: you have to beat down a path to follow. Actually, in music, the path has already been laid, so our job is to learn where it is. This is a good explanation to kids who have play something right again and again.

"But I got it! I played it perfectly." (I had that shot- I'm vaccinated!)

"Once! Yes! good job! But hey- how many times did it take you not so perfectly to get it there?"

"Um... seventeen?"

"OK! Yes! So in performance, you're going to do it the way you practiced it the most. Do you think you'll play it the way you really want to if your first time perfectly was your only time? Maybe not. So we do this bit lots of times, today and tomorrow" [that's important] "to make sure it stays."

Our trail in the jungle- it's probably completely grown over, invisible, unless people kept travelling it. The Oregon trail- in some places you can still see it over a hundred years later.

The paths music leaves in the mind are some of the most permanent, staying with many Alzheimer's patients long after they cease to recognize their loved ones.

This is all about the nerves making paths in our brain. Connections! I really like seeing kids learn. I really like handing them a mental machete and watching the trailblazing begin.

Interpreting Beethoven the Silly Way

Pianism is technical artistry or skill at the piano.

Interpretation is bringing out the meaning of the composition.

You sometimes unfortunately see Pianism without Interpretation. I mean, people have the fingers flying and a great piano but the music doesn't say a lot. That's not good, especially when it is great music that could have had a lot to say. Sure, the player has technique, but the music isn't meaning anything to him, and consequently nothing of beauty or import gets across to the listener.

You sometimes see Interpretation without a lot of Pianism, too- People who really do have something to say with their music, but something is preventing them from pulling it off, usually slips in their accuracy or technique or nerves, or unfamiliarity with the piano, or whatever.

It is important to practice for accuracy and skill so your fingers convey the message instead of cloud the message of the music.

It is also important to know to get know your music away from just the keys, too: knowing that the music has something to say. It is good to listen to it in your head, hearing how interesting/beautiful/exciting it can be apart from however you are currently playing it. But I haven't thought of Interpretation without Pianism in quite the same way since I saw this:

The Piano Player

Rowan Atkinson studied very carefully to pull off this comedy stunt: he mimes parts of two Beethoven Sonatas- starting with the Grave (pronounce that "Gra'-vay") section of the Pathetique Sonata in C minor Opus 13 and interrupting it (after looking at his watch!) with the third movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" (Op. 27 No. 2 in C sharp minor). He is utterly silly, but you also see that he gets the music! He understands the "conversations" in music and the times where the music feels exhausted, or heats up into a frenzy.

Doesn't that make you think more about what music can say? It's fun to pull up other Beethoven Sonatas and listen for the dramas to unfold... without the mime- just: Beethoven.

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...