Much-needed update:

I don’t write here often, as you can see, but you can email me at loris3@sbcglobal.net

I also no longer teach Music For Young Children group classes but teach privately in my home studio. Email for more info and rates.

Thanks!

April 30, 2013

I know, I know, I hardly ever post anything...mostly because I doubt that it's ever read by anyone, but in the case that someone in the universe stumbles across this, here goes:

We're getting ready for end of the year May recitals. I am especially excited about all the duets this year. They vary widely, from Tchaikovsky to Beethoven to jazz. There's a nice group of brand new people for whom this will be their very first recital ever.  The MYC recital is at 2 pm, and private students at 4:30, both on May 19. I'll keep the location secret, and force the reader to either look me up at myc.com for my email address or comment here, and I'll send the info to you.

In the meantime, here's another great article about practicing, and when is a good time to start lessons, a surprise, since it's the opposite of what many people think.

I wish I knew how to post the actual article here, but here is a link to it. If someone would like to inform me for next time, I'd appreciate it.

http://musictipsandtricks.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/whats-the-point-of-music-lessons-if-my-child-wont-practice/

Happy Practicing!

http://www.marthabeth.com/helping_kids_practice.html


Here's a great article about helping our child to practice at home.

Happy Practicing!

Happy Autumn!

It's the first full day of Autumn, and it sure feels like it!  Here's a nice article including a video of violinist Julia Fischer with The Academy in St. Martin in the Field performing Vivaldi's Autumn. Hope you enjoy it!

http://musicmotionblog.com/2010/09/autumn-from-vivaldis-four-seasons/Vivaldi's Autumn

Just a note: there are still openings in SB1 and SS1 if you're interested, but time is of the essence! Email now for details

loris3@sbcglobal.net

New app for IPAD! And if you want to get a brand new one and give me your old "outdated" one, I'd b happy to take it off your hands! For now though, the Kindle Fire is near and dear to my heart.

Taking some time off to teach a few private students and do some composing of my own.....

http://gizmodo.com/5919717/piano-dust-buster-master-music-from-your-ipadTa-ta

http://gizmodo.com/5919717/piano-dust-buster-master-music-from-your-ipad

How Zentangle Can Influence Piano Playing

Last week we received this email from Ksenija Vojisavljevic, a classical piano teacher in Australia:

Dear Maria and Rick

Thank you for sharing this wonderful art method that you have created. It has been an enriching experience to get involved with Zentangle. It broadens the mind in many different ways.

I would like to share with you a little story that illustrates one fantastic moment that Zentangle can give a life to.
One piano student of mine is a little girl Vivien, 9 years old, disciplined and enthusiastic performer that plays intermediate level repertoire with a great technical skill and accuracy. What was missing in her performance, and what is not an unexpected moment with young child playing at that level, is the deepness of emotional involvement and richness of colours in a music interpretation.

To encourage the imagination of students I ask them to think what is music that they are playing telling them, and to present it in drawing and colouring. When I have got the illustration from my little student, it was a set of ten rectangles in mono colour. This actually was an adequate visual portray of her music performance. The same moment, without thinking twice, I advised her to go to tanglepatterns.com to find more ideas. I believe that enriching of the mind can always go in both directions between subjects. I expected that her effort in practicing patterns will improve her imagination and consequently inspire her music performance.

 

Surely, it did take place. I do not need to say anything more after showing you Viviens latest art work that she kindly allowed me to post. Her music performance automatically has improved as much. She would bring shapes and colours to the page of music representing the development of ideas and feelings along music lines. Once Vivien created those ideas in her mind they became alive in the performance as well. And this is all thanks to Zentangle.

Thank you Zentangle, Zentangle creators, and all Zentangle community.

All the best wishes and happy tangling!

Ksenija Vojisavljevic

Fabulous article about the value of music

http://mtprof.msun.edu/Fall2009/music.html