Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Video of the week: Corelli Christmas Concerto (Op. 6 No 8)

One of my favourites from high school days. Thought this week would be an appropriate time to share it.  (No linked assignments, students, just enjoy!)

This is a concerto grosso from the baroque time period.

"The concerto grosso (Italian for big concert(o), plural concerti grossi) is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the concertino) and full orchestra (the ripieno or concerto grosso). This is in contrast to the solo concerto which features a single solo instrument with the melody line, accompanied by the orchestra." (Wikipedia)
The concertino is comprised of two violins and one cello. 

Want to play or follow along? You can find the music here:
http://imslp.org/wiki/12_Concerti_Grossi,_Op.6_%28Corelli,_Arcangelo%29


Saturday, December 20, 2014

Building Skills - notes from a talk by Ed Krietman

Definition of skill:
"To be able to do the task consistently, with ease."
EVERY TIME, not almost every time.  It has to look easy, feel easy, and sound easy.

3 C's:
  1. Comprehension (knowledge) - understand the task
  2. Cooperation - practice until you get it right (physical cooperation)
  3. Constructive Repetition - when you get it right, repeat six times to make up for each time you didn't get it right, and then add 10 more repetitions
Review to remember vs review to play better: to play better = standard rises, layers are added, work toward playing artistically.

Goals when reviewing: Tone, in tune, musical line, essence of child coming through the piece.

Transformation comes through skill, not knowledge.

At the bottom of the page I jotted: "See quote Nurtured by Love art."  Possibly I was referring to one of these two sentences?  [edit - maybe it says"Swc quote...," like I would know it well enough to know what that stood for?]

"The substance of art did not lie, after all, at such a height or distance.  It was, rather, in a most ordinary place: within my own self."

"Works of art encompass in their entirety an artist's personality, sensibility, and ability." (Nurtured by Love - revised ed. p.106
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, notes jotted on a scrap of paper transcribed here ... I can't even tell you when/where this talk aired.  Possibly in Parents as Partners 2012?  Or the SAA Online Mini Conference? I'll use the PP label, in any event, as I will with the other notes I found with this one.  If any reader can help fill in my memory lapses, please contribute!

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Video of the Week: Carols on Cello

"Uploaded on Dec 3, 2008
Stephen Aveling-Rowe is a 11 year old cellist who has taken it upon his own accord to create a CD and DVD Christmas Carol Christmas album. Sing along to the lyrics with the words on screen - makes one of those great gift ideas for Christmas! 50% of what he makes will be going to support orphanages in third world countries. Visit his site at www.myheartcansing.com."

This was a few years ago, and his site is no longer up, but what a sweet thing for this young cellist to do!  Enjoy!

Monday, December 8, 2014

Video of the Week: A Cello Christmas

A combination of busyness and a limping computer have delayed cello postings. Here is one I've already shared on my studio facebook page. Open in YouTube for a link to the free sheet music, and bring it to your lesson if you'd like to try it! Of course, you can also just play along with the video!

Shifting?  Watch how he does it.  String crossings? Watch his right arm and hand.  Vibrato? Note his relaxed hand.  Body and arm posture?  There's a lot to see in videos like this where the camera angle and view doesn't change. And note his fingerings if you need suggestions (not on the sheet music).

How many Christmas tunes can you identify?