Monday, September 2, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
Starker Artist Teacher
Have you got an hour? We are very fortunate that this cellist was a teacher, and that much of his teaching was videotaped.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Strings Adjudicator Words of Wisdom part 2
Continued from part 1 HERE.
On practice:
His son once complained that practice was boring. His reply was, "Is practice boring, or are YOU boring?" (going brain dead, not thinking...)
In most languages they use the word "study" for our "practice".
Pinchas Zukerman once asked in a master class, "What is talent?" The answer he gave was, "Talent is curiosity." Be curious! Ask, "How do they do that?" Practice is figuring stuff out! Don't just do the same thing over and over. Experiment.
Play your instrument in front of a mirror... without the instrument! We should look graceful like a ballerina with beautiful motions. We can't separate the physical movements we see with what we hear.
Watch performances on You Tube with the sound off. Do this a few minutes every day for a week.
Be careful of little physical things - they will slow you down if not done well.
The "music" on the page is only instructions - not EXACTLY what the composer meant. The CHARACTER of a piece is more important than the notes.
Know something about the composer, where the piece came from (e.g. Paganini's Witches' Dance - from a comic opera), the vocabulary on the page.
On singing and dancing:
The Happy Farmer is a SONG, so "sing" it; the notes should be hooked, not too stopped with staccato.
Minuets - feel the dance! The noble people of that day learned dancing and the arts. Beat 1 is the strong beat. Imagine the dancers, lilting.
Bach Courante - means running. Imagine what it might have looked like (first notes to hike the skirts, then running notes).
When music dances, dance more than sing!
Bow direction is important.
More on practice:
He once asked a group of students (who are serious enough to fly from Montreal to Calgary for lessons) when they got serious about playing their instrument. Some were six, some 15, the average age was 12. Most agreed than when they got serious they practiced about four hours a day. One student, though, practiced only one hour a day, working on five hours worth of repertoire. However, she spent three hours a day studying the scores of the music.
"Go for it!"
Use a variety of positions on different strings for colour.
Listen for beauty and sound.
Use the upper bow for fast passages.
Be involved with the music.
Organize the bow. Do scales with different bowings.
On nerves:
When you are worried, don't let your bow get smaller, do the opposite: make it bigger!
When we are excited our heart rate goes up. It can cause us to be out of control hyper, but it can also give us a heightened sense of listening. Nerves can break the weight of the arm into the string by causing us to tighten our shoulders. Practice hanging your arm [- like what we call the cellist handshake]. If we are worried what others think of us, that is arrogance!
Nerves fight against gravity. Gravity will always be there - USE it, don't fight it.
When we are tense we tend to hold everything in our chest. Instead let our centre be in our core - breathe, let things hang.
Don't be too cautious and academic; put physical energy and emotion into your playing.
Good stage presence and smiling and moving to the music is very good. What we see affects how we hear the music.
More than once, Mr. van der Sloot recommended to look up the Venice Baroque Orchestra to see Guiliano Carminogla play the Vivaldi Four Seasons. HERE is an example! (Now that is exciting playing!)
On practice:
His son once complained that practice was boring. His reply was, "Is practice boring, or are YOU boring?" (going brain dead, not thinking...)
In most languages they use the word "study" for our "practice".
Pinchas Zukerman once asked in a master class, "What is talent?" The answer he gave was, "Talent is curiosity." Be curious! Ask, "How do they do that?" Practice is figuring stuff out! Don't just do the same thing over and over. Experiment.
Play your instrument in front of a mirror... without the instrument! We should look graceful like a ballerina with beautiful motions. We can't separate the physical movements we see with what we hear.
Watch performances on You Tube with the sound off. Do this a few minutes every day for a week.
Be careful of little physical things - they will slow you down if not done well.
The "music" on the page is only instructions - not EXACTLY what the composer meant. The CHARACTER of a piece is more important than the notes.
Know something about the composer, where the piece came from (e.g. Paganini's Witches' Dance - from a comic opera), the vocabulary on the page.
On singing and dancing:
The Happy Farmer is a SONG, so "sing" it; the notes should be hooked, not too stopped with staccato.
Minuets - feel the dance! The noble people of that day learned dancing and the arts. Beat 1 is the strong beat. Imagine the dancers, lilting.
Bach Courante - means running. Imagine what it might have looked like (first notes to hike the skirts, then running notes).
When music dances, dance more than sing!
Bow direction is important.
More on practice:
He once asked a group of students (who are serious enough to fly from Montreal to Calgary for lessons) when they got serious about playing their instrument. Some were six, some 15, the average age was 12. Most agreed than when they got serious they practiced about four hours a day. One student, though, practiced only one hour a day, working on five hours worth of repertoire. However, she spent three hours a day studying the scores of the music.
"Go for it!"
Use a variety of positions on different strings for colour.
Listen for beauty and sound.
Use the upper bow for fast passages.
Be involved with the music.
Organize the bow. Do scales with different bowings.
On nerves:
When you are worried, don't let your bow get smaller, do the opposite: make it bigger!
When we are excited our heart rate goes up. It can cause us to be out of control hyper, but it can also give us a heightened sense of listening. Nerves can break the weight of the arm into the string by causing us to tighten our shoulders. Practice hanging your arm [- like what we call the cellist handshake]. If we are worried what others think of us, that is arrogance!
Nerves fight against gravity. Gravity will always be there - USE it, don't fight it.
When we are tense we tend to hold everything in our chest. Instead let our centre be in our core - breathe, let things hang.
Don't be too cautious and academic; put physical energy and emotion into your playing.
Good stage presence and smiling and moving to the music is very good. What we see affects how we hear the music.
More than once, Mr. van der Sloot recommended to look up the Venice Baroque Orchestra to see Guiliano Carminogla play the Vivaldi Four Seasons. HERE is an example! (Now that is exciting playing!)
Friday, July 5, 2013
Playing tourist
On our way to the Idaho Suzuki Institute mi compadre and I had a more leisurely drive on the second leg of our trip this year, not needing to check in until late afternoon. We stopped for gas and a picnic lunch in Baker City, Oregon. We found the park we visited last year easily, but missing the first turn and the second being closed for construction meant a fairly lengthy detour through the historic downtown area. After we finally found the park from the back side and had our lunch, we decided to go back to see some of those interesting buildings.
This is the Geiser Grand Hotel. If we had been PAYING guests we could have moved further into the lobby and taken better pictures of the stained glass skylight.
I looked with interest at the photographs of early settlers on the wall, too. Wondering if any might be my wandering ancestor who traveled the Oregon Trail. As far as I know he didn't live in Baker City, but we don't really know where he ended up. I liked this embroidered Oregon Trail display.
After spending quite a while in the gift shop as well as looking at some of the beautiful architecture of some churches, we continued on our way, thinking we would arrive at the top of check in time.... until we passed the "Mountain Time Zone" sign. Oops. How could we both forget that? Oh well, we still arrived in time to stop for groceries for our dorm breakfasts and lunches, just didn't get to unpack before heading off to dinner.
This is the Geiser Grand Hotel. If we had been PAYING guests we could have moved further into the lobby and taken better pictures of the stained glass skylight.
I looked with interest at the photographs of early settlers on the wall, too. Wondering if any might be my wandering ancestor who traveled the Oregon Trail. As far as I know he didn't live in Baker City, but we don't really know where he ended up. I liked this embroidered Oregon Trail display.
After spending quite a while in the gift shop as well as looking at some of the beautiful architecture of some churches, we continued on our way, thinking we would arrive at the top of check in time.... until we passed the "Mountain Time Zone" sign. Oops. How could we both forget that? Oh well, we still arrived in time to stop for groceries for our dorm breakfasts and lunches, just didn't get to unpack before heading off to dinner.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Strings Adjudicator Words of Wisdom
Every year I try to attend as much strings adjudication in our local music festival as possible, in addition to that of my own students. The adjudicators are usually highly qualified teachers, and there is a lot my students and I can learn from them. This year we had William van der Sloot at our festival. I will share here some bits from my notes. I have extensive notes, so I thought I would break them up into several blog posts.
Perform every chance you get.
Play WITH and listen to your accompanist.
Always be thinking and listening at least one note ahead, know where you are going.
The adjudicator's scores and comments are only an opinion of how you played THAT DAY.
"The greatest enemy of art in music is tension." Yehudi Menuhin
Looking out at the audience can cause loss of focus. Watching the bow is a better alternative.
Do more than just play everything in the score ("honest" playing); bring the music to life. The bow needs to reflect the music. Find moments of tension and release.
Watch You Tube. Have heroes. Know the stars of the day as well as the historic ones.
Use GOOD speakers for listening to music on computer.
We can base our movement and sound on our stars.
Always sing your music. Notice your breathing and transfer that to your playing.
Be careful to develop good vibrato habits right from the start of learning to vibrato.
Pull rather than push the sound.
Support the sound and stay strong with either more bow or more weight, even when playing more quietly.
The bow hand should be soft and like the springs (shock absorbers?) of a car.
If we play beautifully, even little accidents don't matter too much. Beautiful is better than correct.
Part 2
Perform every chance you get.
Play WITH and listen to your accompanist.
Always be thinking and listening at least one note ahead, know where you are going.
The adjudicator's scores and comments are only an opinion of how you played THAT DAY.
"The greatest enemy of art in music is tension." Yehudi Menuhin
Looking out at the audience can cause loss of focus. Watching the bow is a better alternative.
Do more than just play everything in the score ("honest" playing); bring the music to life. The bow needs to reflect the music. Find moments of tension and release.
Watch You Tube. Have heroes. Know the stars of the day as well as the historic ones.
Use GOOD speakers for listening to music on computer.
We can base our movement and sound on our stars.
Always sing your music. Notice your breathing and transfer that to your playing.
Be careful to develop good vibrato habits right from the start of learning to vibrato.
Pull rather than push the sound.
Support the sound and stay strong with either more bow or more weight, even when playing more quietly.
The bow hand should be soft and like the springs (shock absorbers?) of a car.
If we play beautifully, even little accidents don't matter too much. Beautiful is better than correct.
Part 2
Characteristics of Advanced Students: List 1
Here is a list developed by violinist, David Strom.
I have been putting these nuggets up in small sets weekly or so on my studio announcements for the beginners and intermediates to learn to think and act and eventually become like advanced students! I thought I would include them on my blog as well.
I have been putting these nuggets up in small sets weekly or so on my studio announcements for the beginners and intermediates to learn to think and act and eventually become like advanced students! I thought I would include them on my blog as well.
- Practice slowly - never faster than easy.
- Get ready carefully.
- Never give up.
- Don't whine or complain.
- Practice in small nuggets - then put into context.
- Practice to make easy, practice to make clear.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Not your mother's orthotics!
Growing up, I knew a few kids who had to have special shoes. They were for correcting something about the way they stood or walked and usually they hated them. I didn't pay a lot of attention, but I know they weren't always the most stylish thing out there.
I finally decided to do something about my back issues and went to see a physical therapist to see how I can improve my posture and strengthen my back to support my crooked spine as it ages. Well, one of the first places she looked was my feet! She noted a fallen arch resulting in over-pronation of one foot. This compounded the effect of a slightly shorter leg which might be part of my back problem. The prescription was "stability running shoes". Didn't even know such a thing existed! So out with the old runners and in with this pair of Asics which have firm arches (different material in the arch section which is more dense) and a heel counter which doesn't give much side-to-side. As it happens these are a great fit for my narrow feet which like a wide toe box, as well.
As much as I like these shoes, they aren't always appropriate for every occasion. I've been keeping my eye out for new sandals for a while. I saw some in a store a few weeks ago which caught my eye. It wasn't the fashion that caught my eye, but the shape of the sole.
These are Orthaheel Porto III slides. The arch and heel cup in these also are meant to counter over-pronation! And bonus to that, having all three straps velcro adjustable means a perfect fit! Check out the video HERE. Interestingly, after wearing them full time (indoors and out) for a few weeks, I have the impression that my leg/foot is learning to stand with less pronation even after I take them off. Is that possible?
I finally decided to do something about my back issues and went to see a physical therapist to see how I can improve my posture and strengthen my back to support my crooked spine as it ages. Well, one of the first places she looked was my feet! She noted a fallen arch resulting in over-pronation of one foot. This compounded the effect of a slightly shorter leg which might be part of my back problem. The prescription was "stability running shoes". Didn't even know such a thing existed! So out with the old runners and in with this pair of Asics which have firm arches (different material in the arch section which is more dense) and a heel counter which doesn't give much side-to-side. As it happens these are a great fit for my narrow feet which like a wide toe box, as well.
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