Mikes Music Room – Music Articles

If you are considering purchasing one of the standard, conventional piano methods for your child and want a basis for comparison, here are some facts and interesting points that may help you make a choice.

THE BASTIEN METHOD
Of the conventional piano methods, this is my favorite. Published by kjos.com, they are the standard these days that most teachers use.

The virtue of the Bastien Series books are several.

1. The type is large, like a BIG NOTE book, so kids aren’t squinting, looking for tiny little musical symbols to decipher. In fact many of the usual symbols are omitted in the interest of clarity.
2. There are finely done color pictures, which children find interesting and comforting, and can lead to a relaxing bit of conversation between teacher and student.
3. The sequence of exercises is in precisely correct order in terms of piano pedagogy: each concept builds easily on the last, from piece to piece. That is why, in fact, piano teachers love these books, because they can go from page to page without much effort. But that is bad for the children, that rote approach, and these colorful books are useful for much more than that.

THE JOHN THOMPSON METHOD
This is an older piano method that perhaps your parents or grandparents used, but it is still popular today, exactly for that reason. Similarly, methods such as Schaum use much the same old-fashioned approach. I’ll bet you that you have a copy of one of these piano methods in your piano bench!

Thompson is a little boring in the early books in the series, with frankly uninteresting pieces illustrating the basics of piano. But where they shine is in subsequent volumes, wherein most of the great piano teaching pieces (Fur Elise by Beethoven, for example) are laid out in order of increasing difficulty. These pieces can be useful for older children who are refining the basics but are not yet playing easier masterpieces.

Tried and true, but a little boring and the type seems very small to most kids.

OTHER METHODS
There were dozens of older methods from the heyday of the piano, ending around the 1960′s. Alfred, Schaum, Mel Bay, Faber all still exist today.

The main factor to remember is this: all these conventional methods follow the same curriculum with minor variations. All conventional piano methods start out the same, learning the first five white keys in the middle of the piano. It’s like teaching the alphabet to your child: you start with A and proceed upward. It’s the same with piano, and in all conventional piano methods the methodology is the same: learn the first five white keys.

Many songs can, of course, be played using only these five white keys. For example, Jingle Bells, or Mary Had A Little Lamb, Alouette and a thousand other familiar songs.

Our suggestion is to examine the Bastien piano method. I use them myself in my piano lessons, after I have prepared students to enjoy the piano using PIANO BY NUMBER. You can find the Bastien Series at kjos.com.

By John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2000 Walden Pond Press. Visit http://www.pianoiseasy.com to see the author’s fun PIANO BY NUMBER method.

John Aschenbrenner is a leading children’s music educator and book publisher, and the author of numerous piano method books in the series PIANO BY NUMBER.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Aschenbrenner

“…Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Liszt all excelled in improvisation, which was then referred to as extemporization…”

Classical music is a sophisticated art form where talking during performances (much less to the musicians) is frowned upon. Yet in jazz, it is very common for the audience to speak to musicians during performances as a way of complimenting their improvisational skills.

Elements of jazz can be found in gospel, country, pop, R&B, movie soundtracks, and other musical forms. However, when the average person uses the word “jazz,” they may not understand the culture or the language.

Many people associate improvisation with jazz and vice-versa. However, improvisation has been an integral part of classical music history, stemming back to the medieval period in Gregorian chants. These chants used additional melodies above the Cantus Firmus (fixed melody in Latin), which were improvised by Medieval musicians to glorify God. In the later periods, improvisation was used in performances outside of churches. J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Liszt all excelled in improvisation, which was then referred to as extemporization. Bartok’s “Mikrokosmos” were originally improvised as were Beethoven’s famous sketch books (which he later used in formal works).

Near the beginning of the 20th Century, improvisation disappeared in the Romantic Period as performers began mastering composers’ works note for note; the art of improvisation was eventually lost. Schubert’s impromptus, contrary to their title, were not improvised but written out methodically. Playing classical music well is a skill requiring great discipline and talent, but the same can be said for jazz. Both disciplines use the same musical alphabet, yet have somehow managed to create different nomenclatures for each respectively.

Historically, jazz music has not been associated with higher education. However, the great Scott Joplin, an African-American jazz composer of the late 19th to early 20th century, took formal lessons with a classical German-born piano teacher and the Creole performers of New Orleans were often Conservatory-trained in Paris.

Both classical and jazz music are disciplines requiring creativity. The classical musician, after mastering the techniques must interpret the score and bring the written notes to life in a performance. The challenge of a jazz musician is to use, simultaneously, both improvisational talent and the technique required to perform unplanned music for a live audience. To draw an analogy, a classical musician is like an actor with a full script – having to memorize and master it, then bringing the character to life. A jazz musician is like an actor with no script, only a few guidelines to follow, yet charged with creating dialogue and instantly performing in character. In its purest essence, technicality must be mastered. One would argue that the task of learning and memorizing a sonata (15-60 pages) or concerto (often exceeding 100 pages) is a phenomenal task! The best classical and jazz musicians must both be proficient in technique, but the more challenging task is for them to able to augment their technical skills in a performance to move their audience emotionally. All musicians need to play from their hearts to truly affect their audience in a meaningful way.

Jazz Studies at Juilliard, Yale, Stanford, Harvard

Recently, Conservatory Canada has implemented a new examination category implementing jazz idioms, nomenclature and styles. The Royal Conservatory has for several years used a popular syllabus for their studies selection. In addition to the previously mentioned Jazz Studies program offered at Juilliard, Ivy League schools have also shown their support; Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and Berkley currently offer or are implementing jazz programs. These institutions have embraced an original approach in combining classical and jazz instruction.

We cannot claim that one art form is more or less sophisticated than another. Classical musicians may not fully comprehend jazz culture, just as jazz musicians may not fully interpret classical culture. However, because music is a universal language, the understanding of its different forms and dialects are beneficial. These new “bilingual” musicians are able to better communicate with their audience in various ways. Following the same “early education” concept used for spoken languages, we need to educate children in both classical and jazz music. Children who study classical and jazz at the same time will be able to understand both cultures and fully realize their musical potential.

Oakridge Music Studios is a music education centre based in Vancouver, BC. The following music lessons are taught: piano lessons, guitar lessons, violin, cello, voice, singing, saxophone, trumpet. Music disciplines taught are: jazz, classical and pop music. Young musicians are encouraged to learn both classical and jazz – simultaneously – to excel and advance their music education. This unique bilingual teaching methodology of learning classical and jazz music disciplines is offered in a creative and imaginative environment to actively engage and unleash the young musician’s hidden music ingenuity and skills.

Please call us if you seeking music lessons in the Vancouver, BC area. —–
Oakridge Music Studios-a Vancouver music school
Original article posted at OMusicStudios.com – Jazz Improvisation Improves Classical Music Skills
497 West 40th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V5Y 2R5
tel: +1.604.321.1551 fax: +1.604.321.1555

Learn How to Play with step-by-step piano lessons

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Congratulations! Your singing has become amazing, and it’s time the world knew. You’ve also written some songs that are just kick you-know-what. They need to be recorded, MP3ed and put on the net ASAP. But you’ve got two problems. First, you can’t afford a studio, let alone a band for all this stuff. Second, you don’t play all, or any, of the instruments.

Well there is good news. With a deft combination of the internet and today’s software, you can do wonders. While it’s never going to be the same as a true band in a real studio, which you had better hire for that big record company showcase, you can still create great backing tracks.

First, repeat after me. “I love MIDI.” Thank you.

MIDI, to refresh your memory, is like sheet music for a pianist. The paper itself makes no noises, but the pianist gets all the information he needs from it to let us hear Beethoven (especially if the music is also Beethoven!). In your computer set up, the MIDI file is the sheet music, the MIDI sequencer or playback program is the pianist, and your computer’s sound card and synthesizer are the piano. That’s all you need!

Before we get started, I’ll mention the ultimate cover song shortcut – the Internet! There are tons of great MIDI files of almost every piece of popular music out there. All you have to do is find them. If you can’t, or you’ve got your own material, read on. Be legal, though!

If You Play Keyboard or Guitar Well

First, thank your parents for the lessons. Then, get your hands on a sequencer program and record your tracks. Using MIDI, you can choose the instrument sound for everything – all you need to do is input the notes. For drums, you can either record them from your keyboard or use a plug-in drum machine. If you choose to record them, a quick way to do it is to record a couple of measures and then copy/paste to fill out the song. But don’t forget to put in some drum fills!

If Your Playing Is Limited to Little or Not at All

For you there are wonderful programs, like Band in a Box and Jammer, to create backing tracks. They are very stylish, meaning, they function in styles. You must, at the very least, know the chords for your song. You simply enter the chords, choose the appropriate musical style, and click a button called “compose” (or some reasonable facsimile). Before you can say “Holy guacamole, Batman,” your music is playing. The drawback here is that your band will sound canned. And well it should, for it is! But, have no fear, there are ways to mitigate that quite well.

Making it Human

Best thing? Play what you can, at least the melody. That, in and of itself, will help tremendously, as it’s no longer just a band style playing chord progressions.

Next up, record a counterpoint. Counterpoints make ordinary songs exciting. They are secondary melodies that complement the main melody. They usually have a slightly different rhythm, and fill in where the melody has breaks. A great example is in the song “The Winner Takes It All,” by Abba. Listen to the theme that is always playing underneath the melody – it really drives the song.

Another thing you can do to put life into your tracks is to customize the style. Depending on how good you are with your software and its capabilities, you can create your own riffs and mix them into the song. Also, vary similar styles throughout the song to break the monotony. And, again, don’t underestimate drum fills!

Creative use of layering is a very effective technique. When all the tracks play all the time, it can be very boring. Wait to bring in some instruments till later in the song. That creates a “building” feel. Then, at some point towards the end, take them out again briefly to create a “break” or “bridge”. When you bring them back, it is very powerful.

Finally, don’t allow any perfection. Yes, you read that correctly. If your music is perfectly aligned rhythmically, it will sound artificial. Live musicians are never precisely on the beat. Almost all programs have a “humanize” function which corrects this automatically. Otherwise, take the time and slide some notes in the piano roll editor window. If you need quantize (rhythm correction) on the recorded tracks, set it to less than 100%.

When you’ve got your MIDI file, there are two ways to convert it to audio (wav, mp3) for CD burning. The quicker way is with a dedicated program that renders wave files from MIDI files directly. Most software synthesizer programs that have a stand-alone playback feature can do this. Otherwise, open an audio recording program, play the MIDI file, and simultaneously record the output. Make sure your audio recorder is set to receive from the correct input.

If You Play Nothing, and Don’t Know Chords or Theory or Anything

Guess what? You are the one who should hire a musician. Yes, I know that some programs will offer both a chord progression composer and even a melody composer. All you would need to do is choose the style. If you are considering going this route, I have one request for you.

PLEASE DON’T!

Sorry to yell, but think about this. The melody is composed by a computer, the chords are composed by a computer, the band is composed by a computer. It is music that is completely composed by a computer. Oh my gosh! How revolting is that?

No, my friend, hire a qualified musician. You sing the song to them, they create the magic. Do not sell yourself short. Your song is important — it’s part of you! Show it the greatest respect and make it as beautiful as you can.

Author:
Seth Lutnick is a singer, songwriter and arranger. Visit his website, http://www.getitdone.biz for more on creating and using a home recording studio, and personal action planning

Do you remember the movie, Groundhog Day? In this wonderful movie, TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) relives the same day – Groundhog Day, over and over and over again. No matter what he does, he wakes up the next morning and it is once again Groundhog Day. This continues until he decides to learn and grow. Only after he begins focusing his efforts on helping others instead of concentrating on himself does he move forward and awaken to a new day.

Groundhog Day Syndrome (or GDS) is the term I use for students who want to continue to play the same song or the same few songs over and over instead of moving forward and learning new skills and songs.
While all students develop favorite songs that they love to play, others get stuck. For most students, this is a temporary thing, and just represents a beautiful song that they have learned from memory. When these students sit down at a piano in a friend

For me, the piano is the symbol of what is stiff, proper and elegant. It
doesn