Metric Dissonance and Expression in “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls
“Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls: what makes this song so good? In this post, I explore how the band uses metric dissonance techniques to create an expressive sense of yearning
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Piano Course Review: ProPractice by Dr. Josh Wright
In this post, I review Dr. Josh Wright’s full ProPractice Piano Course that currently includes 4 levels divided into 2 parts each, technique and repertoire. If you’re only interested in the repertoire section of one level, you can purchase just that section alone here. I purchased the full course, so this post will cover the …
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How to Learn a Song by Ear
How to learn a song by ear: do you find it overwhelming or just don’t know how to start? The easiest way to get started is to break the song down into smaller pieces and focus on each one at a time. I am a piano teacher who had to learn to learn music by …
Mindfulness for Musicians
This post outlines some of the psychological and neurological research on mindfulness in the lives of musicians and describes ways you can incorporate mindfulness into your life today. Research on Mindfulness (and Musicians) Review of the Basic Research on Mindfulness Mindfulness is defined as a mental practice that focuses one’s attention on the present moment …
Playing Piano in the Style of Mozart
Since the 18th century, Mozart’s music has inspired deep analysis and discussion for both performers and music analysts. I won’t go into too much detail, but if you found this post, you’re interested in how to “correctly” play Mozart’s music on the piano. In this post, I first provide a brief description of the long-discussed …
Twinkling Possibilities: Performance Tips and Theory Tidbits for Mozart’s 12 Variations on ‘Ah vous dirai-je, Maman,’ Part 2
Last week we looked at the theme and first six variations of the famous “Twinkle Twinkle Variations” by Mozart. This week, we’ll pick up right where we left off with brief analyses of what Mozart does to make each variation unique as well as the physical piano techniques required to successfully play each variation. I’ve …
When You’re Feeling Down
One of the things that I find most inspiring about professional musicians is their ability to keep practicing every single day. Despite however they’re feeling about the day, they press on and practice. There are so many days when I’ve just felt awful about myself and my abilities to play. I wonder why I’m even …
Christmas Music
Most musicians who’ve been at it for a long time come to tolerate the long Christmas season. What audiences don’t realize is that while they might get tired of all the Christmas Carols from November and December, musicians start practicing them back as early as August. That’s how much time it takes to make something …