Music is a magic that can change the world
Although I use a great piano course that's full of improv games and theory, I still find it useful and fun to use games not in the book. Much of my inspiration comes from Teach Piano Today; they've got lots of freebies on their site, so go check them out! I am a huge fan …
Hello, it's been a little bit since my last post, so I wanted to pop in with an unofficial post. Regular school work, my two jobs, and preparing for grad school have been dominating my time, but I hope to get back to a regular post schedule with short essays on music. Until then, I …
Raise of hands, how many of you feel like you're faking your way through life? Like you don't actually know how to do your job, or people think you're a lot smarter than you actually are? Impostor syndrome (also "imposter"), impostor phenomenon, impostor experience, impostorism, and fraud syndrome are all terms that encompass the idea …
Continue reading "Waging War: 5 Battle Strategies to Defeat Impostor Syndrome"
Recently, one of my professors shared this article by Tanya Kalmanovitch, a Juilliard graduate. The title, "How Quitting Music Made Me an Artist" sounds like clickbait with the promise of some revolutionary way of looking at a tradition that's ages old. Yet, I keep coming back to it, and I find something new to take away …
Mozart's memory is full of opposites. Known for both jumping on tables and meowing like a cat and for the mysterious inception of his final work, the Requiem, his work can be taken as both arrogant and irreverent or as profound and hauntingly beautiful. Yet, neither can portray the deepest essence of his being. Born …
Although music majors aren't an entirely rare breed, they can easily be mixed up with others within their own species, the sleep-deprived college student. Noted by their sluggish behavior and small will to carry on, it's a wonder the species thrives enough to have so many classes within it. Today, we focus on seven key …
Continue reading "7 Ways to Identify Music Majors in the Wild"
Meet Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Пётр Ильич Чайковский for those who can read it). A flamboyant orchestral composer, he is best remembered for the range of his dynamics: the use of actual cannons in his 1812 Overture to his gentle The Nutcracker and heart wrenching Swan Lake. Born in 1840 in a small town in Russia, Tchaikovsky grew …
"O beautiful for spacious skies..." begins a tune that America has beat its drum to for many years. The song, a poem by Katharine Lee Bates set to music by Samuel A. Ward, speaks of the beauty of this land. Purple mountains in their majesty, amber grain waving in the breeze, seas shining in the …
Musicians are a unique bunch. We spend a lot of time working hard, but that's not all we do! Here are ten ways to be a real musician that you may not have thought of! 1. Make the classics new. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUzI3Ui1Eok John Cage is a 20th-century composer known for his style of taking away control …
Continue reading "10 Ways to Become a Real Musician Right Meow"
Constant self criticism, practicing perfectionism, locking yourself away for hours. Such is the life of a musician. Half of it, anyway. The other half of being a musician can be so rewarding, but when you're stuck in the first half, it can feel like there's no point in trying. There's so many more people that …
Continue reading "3 Questions to Ask When You Feel Pointless as a Musician"
