Our 2017 Spring Piano Recital

Saturday, May 20, dawned sunny and bright, and I got up early to get to the auditorium at the Bothell Music & Arts Building to get everything set up for our noon recital.  I invited my performing students to arrive around 11 a.m. so they could have a chance to try out the baby grand piano they would be performing on, and also to take advantage of the many different pianos in the various practice rooms.

We set up the room for 60 attendees, and by 11:45 a.m., everything looked ready--food out on the tables, programs and program notes were stacked by the door, students were busy practicing all over the building on 8 pianos, and guests started arriving.  Then guests kept on arriving.  By the time we began our recital at 12:05 p.m., there was standing room only!  Over 75 people found us that day.

Pranav, a 10-year-old student, kicked off the program with his piece, which went well.  And thus it began. It is so thrilling for a teacher to watch 16 of her students perform either for the first time, or the second, or third time.  So much happens in one year.  Lives are changed when one learns something new.  Playing the piano can change your life.

The hour from noon to 1 p.m. that day was an experience none of us will forget.  We were filled with amazement, pride, and the joy of seeing someone find great pleasure in learning how to play the piano.  It fills their life with something that is hard to explain.  It changes everything.

Many weeks later, that day still lives in my mind.  I am so grateful to be the teacher sitting on that second piano bench, watching new musicians find their joy and share it with others.

Preparing For Our Spring Piano Recital

Somewhere around Easter, the idea that the May piano recital is near prompts much action among my piano students.  At the beginning of the year, we are all aware that the recital date is "out there" somewhere, but it still does not have that sense of urgency that galvanizes us to action.  Until, of course, Easter.

The weekly piano lesson format changes, and the student's full attention is now on their recital piece or pieces of music.  Everything changes.  They live and breathe the music, they research the background of the composer, and they find ways to perform for their friends as a kind of  "dress rehearsal" for the real event.  It's an exciting time of the year for a piano teacher.

So much of music follows a cycle, either a personal cycle or a school cycle, or a yearly cycle.  There are ebbs and flows, and this is how it should be.  Very few pianists (except that 2% of students who go on to be professional musicians) can keep up a rigorous schedule of practice and performance.  We all need to work hard on our chosen music, but we also need times where we take a break, think about other subjects, and refresh ourselves so we can come back to our music with a new perspective.

We all made it through the recital, and now summer is just days away.  School will be out next week, and vacations will begin.  Most of my younger students will take July and August off, and my studio is closed the month of August so I can rest and refresh myself.  I feel these cycles in my own life deeply, and encourage you to find your own cycles and observe them.

How Pianists' Brains Are Different From Other People's Brains

This was a fascinating article from Mic.com that I read yesterday.  We all know that learning to play the piano develops different areas of the brain, but this article does a good job of explaining exactly what happens in several scenarios.  The videos are also helpful.

I think it is impressive that not only can we learn a new skill, but by the act of learning that skill, we can actually create new neural pathways in the brain that enhance many different abilities we already have.

https://mic.com/articles/91329/science-shows-how-piano-players-brains-are-actually-different-from-everybody-elses#.eQl2o7LHc

Ear Training for Interval Recognition

We will be starting Ear Training in the studio after our May recital, so I thought I'd give you a heads up and share a fun way to remember what the different intervals sound like.  We will only take a few basic intervals here, and then later will include all types of intervals.

Today we will review the Major Intervals only.  Are you ready?

The Major Second--An example of this interval is the distance from C to D.  This musical example begins with a Major Second. 

"Happy Birthday"
"Silent Night"

The Major Third--An example of this interval is the distance from C to E.

"Oh When The Saints Go Marching In"
"Kum Ba Yah"

The Perfect Fourth--An example of this interval is the distance from C to F.

"Here Comes the Bride"
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing"

The Perfect Fifth--An example of this interval is the distance from C to G.

"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
"Star Wars" Theme

The Major Sixth--An example of this interval is the distance from C to A.

"Dashing Through the Snow" (from "Jingle Bells")
"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"

The Major Seventh--An example of this interval is the distance from C to B.

"Imagine", by John Lennon

The Perfect Eighth (Octave)--An example of this interval is the distance from C to the next C up.

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

A Musical Genogram

Have any of you ever filled out a genogram?  They are a very useful tool (commonly used for medical and psychological purposes and genealogy).  They list your ancestors and find your place on your family tree. It is a symbol picture of your extended family members, and it can describe a number of characteristics (in this case, musicality).

Here is a sample:

 
Here is how it works:

1)  The student works with the teacher to fill in the genogram.  You are the colored box in the middle of the chart.

2)  We want to look at the past several generations, then you, and then your own family unit and your children and grandchildren.

3)  The concept of a genogram is based on the assumption that some basic patterns or traits between mother, father and children are replicas of past generations that will repeat themselves in future generations.

4)  The genogram helps you, the student, to see yourself as connected to your family in important ways.  It defines commonalities and uniqueness with other family members.

5)  The genogram is drawn on a single piece of paper. The various symbols illustrate your family story in a unique way--in this case, we are only looking for musical influences in past, present and future generations.  It is a non-judgmental exercise, and it is helpful to perform regardless of your family relationships.

We will be discussing this in the studio, so be thinking of the 'musical' members of your family.  You may have to talk to other family members to find out more about grandparents or great-grandparents and their musical histories.

Who Was Your First Piano Teacher?

My first piano teacher was a very elderly woman with the wonderful name of Madora Cadwallader.  She had come to the United States from England, a war-bride during World War II.  She had a huge, vintage upright piano in the basement of her home in the Broadview area of Seattle, and it was a very quiet and formal atmosphere.  I'd tiptoe down the stairs and enter the studio, where she'd be waiting for the next student to announcement themselves and then settle down into the routine of the lesson.

I was seven years old when I started my piano lessons, and I always look back and think about how powerful those first experiences are, even if we rarely (if ever) think about them.   I don't remember learning how to read, and I certainly do not remember how and when I first learned to read music.  All I know is that it was an ability that came quickly, and by the time I was eight years old, I was easily reading all of the music that was given to me in my John Thompson Piano Course books. 

Not long afterward, Mrs. Cadwallader found me another teacher who was more advanced, and this teach became the pivotal influence in my musical life.  However, I will always be thankful for the gift of reading music that Mrs. Madora Cadwallader gave to me.

The Piano: A Metaphor For Life

I came across this great little essay about the piano and life itself.  It's thought-provoking and puts a little perspective into the lives of us who spend a lot of time with our instrument.  What do you think?

Life is like a piano. The white keys represent happiness, the black keys show sadness. But as you go through life’s journey, remember that the black keys make music too.

Life is like playing a piano. You need to use all the keys be it black or white to make beautiful music. Happiness, sadness all things in life will always come in pair and both sides prove beneficial as you go along in your journey. Happiness provides satisfaction and resolution, sadness on the other hand provides perseverance and strength.

Remember that life is not always the way we want it to be. At times you are playing a perfect tune but other times you’re not playing good melodies. These are the times when you have to find the right pitch, the right keys and the right timing.  These are life’s challenges. Accept them and for sure you’ll be playing a perfect  concerto. 

Recording our First Maltby Piano Studio CD

After our Group Lesson last September with Matthew Arnold, Music Technologist from Boise, Idaho, our studio started planning to record our first CD!  Matthew previewed some great recording software for us to start with, and Alexis, one of my students (and Microsoft software engineer) got busy and loaded up his laptop with the needed programs for our first foray into the world of recorded music.

When Matthew Arnold taught our class last year, his topic was "The Importance of Musical Imagination in the Digital Age".  He discussed the pros and cons of digital music, and gave us a great foundation upon which to build our knowledge of recording using the abundant array of programs available today. 

Many of my students were interested in working up a piece of piano music for recording, and on March 25, we opened up the studio from 10 a.m. to noon and invited students to stop by and record their pieces.  After a week or two of making the various pieces of music more uniform (same level of volume, etc.), we finally came up with the order of the pieces on the playlist.  We have a total of 14 tracks for our first attempt!

We will be giving out copies of our first CD at our Spring Piano Recital on May 20!  What a great Semester II we have had!  Thank you, Matthew and Alexis!

Alexis, our Recording Software Engineer

Playing back what was recorded

Listening to Bluestone Alley

Fur Elise sounds great!

Flyer from our class last Fall

Visit to the Fandrich and Sons Piano Factory

The best part of my piano studio is my custom-built Fandrich and Sons upright piano!  I've had it for five years now, and it's a joy to play it every day.  It's a lifelong dream of mine come true.

On March 18, students from Maltby Piano Studio traveled 60 miles north of where I live and teach in Maltby to a small town in Skagit County called Stanwood.  There, Heather and Darrell Fandrich have a piano showroom and factory on the property where they live.  We were invited to bring our music along, and spend a couple of hours touring the factory and playing every piano in the showroom.

What an experience this was!  The Fandrich family lives in a gated compound in a lovely country setting.  The piano "showroom" is a large log cabin garage converted to a climate-controlled space where the finished pianos reside. After trying out all of the instruments, we got to see where the pianos are built and finished in the large factory building, which looks like an old barn.  It's so fun to see the computers that are used in the creation of these instruments sitting in what looks like an outbuilding on a rural piece of property.

Here are some pictures from our day.

Piano Showroom--The mahogany piano is priced at $80K!

Heather Fandrich giving us the story of the Fandrich Family

Touring the factory

Tuning the keys

A Piano with the patented Fandrich Vertical Action

Two uprights in the background

Me with Darrell Fandrich

How Does Our Love of Music Begin?

I can clearly remember being six years old, and begging my parents for piano lessons.  It wasn't a vague whim or something I heard my friends talking about--it was a consuming interest in something I knew little about, but I knew I had to learn this instrument.

I grew up with a piano in my home given to us by my paternal grandfather.  My mother loved to sit down on the bench during her daily chores and play some of her favorite pieces from the 1940's.  She was completely self-taught, and I loved listening to the music as she played as sang along with the melody.

My first requests for piano lessons were turned down with vague reasons like "you're too young to know what you want" and "we can't afford lessons right now".  These reasons seemed invalid to a six-year-old, but I switched to a more covert approach, finding time to listen to music on the radio, and participating in songs I learned in school.  By the time I was seven, I could tell I was wearing my parents down, and my lessons began.

My first teacher was a very elderly lady from England named Madora Cadwallader, who lived just a few blocks from church.  Some wonderful church people found her for me, as I evidently told a lot of people there of my great need to learn to play the piano ( I was a drama queen even then!!). Finally, the first chapter of my Piano Story had just begun.  

                                            

Questions to Ask a Piece of Music

How does it start?  Where does it go?
Does it go fast, or does it go slow?
What happens again? Now, that's an it.
Is there another, and how do they fit?

End to end, interjecting, sometimes overlapping,
Or keeping their distance, imitating while tracking?
Once loud. Now soft, and what is that hopping--
It was high, now it's low:  Is it coughing and stopping?

Quickly or slowly, what's staying the same?
While what, for a while, goes through a change?
What's by itself?  Are there groups? Any friction?
How does it move, and what is its diction?

Does it step, or wildly leap? 
Float unhampered, or creep, creep, creep?
Does it sing, or merely stammer?
Shout and coo, or squawk or clamor?

Does it dance, converse, or maybe, give a speech?
Waddle, or even, matter-of-factly screech?
Does it totter, then stop, or whine and peck,
Keep quiet a while, pause, go on, then come back?

Is there stumbling, soaring, swooping?
Awkward jerks, or simply drooping?
Again and again, toward what is it tending?
How does it go through the process of ending?


Mark Sullivan, July 1981

How Can A Piano Change Your Life?

This blog chronicles my love affair with music and a long line of pianos that have kept me company for over 60 years.  This was a "love at first sight" experience for me which began at age six.  I've never been far (physically or emotionally) from this wonderful instrument, and it has shaped my life in every possible way.

If you are interested in all types of music experiences, you can read about them here.  How does a four-year-old learn to play the piano?  How does music change your brain? Can adults learn to play the piano as easily as young children?  How does music technology fit into our piano experience, and does it help or hinder us?

There are so many questions, and so many answers out there.  We'd like to start this journey with you, so stop by frequently, and let us know what you think, and what you'd like to talk about.

Welcome to the Music Room!

I'm glad you found us on the web!  This is a new blog geared toward sharing our musical stories and experiences.  Almost everyone I have ever met has some sort of  'musical' story, and often that story affected that person's life in some small or large way.  In my piano studio, we are discovering how thinking about music and talking about it affects how we play.  Regardless of our instrument, music can move us and change us.

Music can often be perceived as a solitary pursuit--after all, one must spend time practicing, thinking about the pieces we have chosen, and then perfecting our selections.  It's important, however, to see music as something beyond ourselves.  When we participate in a recital or other performance, we affect others, and by sharing our musical offerings, we can often change something or someone in the greater world.

Stop by again soon and read our posts, and reply if you'd like to share.