Ephemeral Joys

The blackberries are in!  Every day for the past 2 weeks, I have communed with nature in my urban oasis.  I have wild blackberries growing in my garden, and each day more and more are ready to pluck from the vine.  I have also harvested the first of many zucchinis, as well as fresh mint and basil.  These last 3 will last all summer, but the blackberries are ephemeral.  

Sort of like the elation of a Spring Recital, especially this year.  We had been online for 15 months.  All "public" performances were prerecorded and posted to Facebook.  Sonatina Festival 2020, Spring Recital 2020, Halloween Recital 2020,  Beethoven's Big Birthday Bash on December 16th, 2020, Sonatina Festival 2021, we performed in the privacy of our own homes, probably numerous times, and chose the best recordings to post on Facebook.  Finally, in June 2021, we gathered to make music together, to share the music we had learned over the past season, and to receive applause and accolades for our artistry.

My kids used their pandemic time well and applied themselves to their music studies.  Although the whole online experience was less than ideal, and something I hope never to have to experience again, the time away from baseball and soccer, from playdates and school field trips, allowed for more opportunity to focus on the piano and to accept challenges that perhaps would have been scoffed at a year earlier.  

We all learned a lot about ourselves, about music, about focus, to name just a few lessons.  And quite honestly, I did not know what to expect come recital time.  I had not had in-person lessons with these kids until the week before the recital.  The kids who regularly practice on electric keyboards did not have much opportunity to play on an acoustic piano before the recital.  We didn't have piano class or a dress rehearsal, but jumped right in, cold turkey.  

And they did it!  I was so proud of these young musicians, ages 8 - 16, for their perseverance, their focus, their courage to perform after 15 months of isolation.  I admit, it was not the best recital.  There were flaws, glitches, music that blew off the music stand.  Concert etiquette needs a review -- when and how to bow.  

But the joy of the moment carried me, and I hope my young students, through the day.  They could rest on the laurels for a bit, all performance worries set aside for now.  They did their best, and their best is enough.  And now, we begin again, learning mew music, new techniques, accepting new challenges for the next public performance.  Their best will get better, because they persevered through the pandemic.  They stayed true to their art.  

Breathe

I am a collector of books.  I love to spend time at a book store, and I always bring something home to put on my bookshelf.  History, fiction, biography.  I have a lot of books.  I don't always read the books on my bookshelf.  Sometimes I just look at them,  

The other day, as I was sitting on the floor looking at my collection of books on music, I pulled out a book on practicing, Passionate Practice, by Margaret Elson, that I had purchased in 2008.  Still had the receipt in it.  No, I had never even cracked the binding!  This morning in particular, I pulled it out, opened it up, and enjoyed the first few chapters.  Over the next few weeks, I intend to get through the whole book.  In the meantime, I can share some of its contents.  

For openers, B-R-E-A-T-H-E.  Yeah, right there in black and white.  When you sit down to play the piano, (or whatever you sit down to do), remember to breathe.  I have coached my students to take time to breathe before performing in a recital, or even mid-lesson, and to consciously relax their shoulders.  Seems to make all the difference.

Navy Seals use the 4-7-8 breathing technique to calm their nerves and help them focus on the task at hand.  Breathe in for 4 counts, hold the breath for 7 counts, and exhale for 8 counts, and repeat.   I have found this technique to be quite effective in stressful situations, and I even use it at night to help me fall asleep! 

I've also tried box breathing, or 5x5x5 breathing,  Inhale for a count of 5, hold the breath for a count of 5, exhale for a count of 5, hold for 5, repeated 5 times.  Again, effectively relaxing.  

Seymour Bernstein, in  With Your Own Two Hands,  states that the importance of breathing "in the interpretation of music cannot by overemphasized."  He suggests that you practice different breathing techniques as you practice the music, perhaps inhale on one phrase and exhale on the responding phrase.  For soft passages, you might try holding your breath.  "You will discover that difficult passages are facilitated when you inhale before you play them and exhale as you play them."  

Mr. Williams, my 6th grade teacher, used to count to 10, "So help me, Hannah, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10" and then proceed to yell at us for one misdemeanor or another.  Perhaps he should have practiced a breathing technique instead; might have made 6th grade more bearable, for all involved!"

Quotes

I've been collecting inspirational quotes for years.  I've included a few here.  Perhaps one day I will expound on them.  For the present, I hope they provide just that: inspiration to approach the piano with confidence and to play with satisfaction.  

At the piano I am a teacher, a coach, a cheerleader.  No, I don't have pom-poms, although now that I think of it...  These various quotes and others have instilled confidence in me to encourage my students to strive for more.  I think it's working!

~~~

Gabriel Faure, in a letter to his son Philippe in 1908: "For me, art, and especially music, exist to elevate us as far as possible above everyday existence."  

"The first mistake of art is to assume that it's serious."  Lester Bangs

Ella Fitzgerald: "I know I'm no glamour girl, and it's not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I've got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing."

"Talent is only a starting point."  Irving Berlin

Gilbert Kalish, a longtime professor of piano performance at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, said he finds the necessity of adjusting to quite different pianos an "interesting challenge."  He emphasizes to his students: "You don't play by feel; you don't play by habit; you play by sound, by listening to what's being produced.  You have to learn to trust yourself, not to depend on someone out there listening."

"Every skill you have today was once unknown to you."  --James Clear

Maya Angelou: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

Welcome 2021!

 A new year.  Yay!  Say "Good riddance" to 2020!  Greet the new year with open arms and good intentions.  My list of good intentions includes updating this page more frequently.  Shall I start today?

The past 9 months have been... well, claustrophobic, to say the least.  I just want to open my doors, greet my piano students in person, invite my neighbors in for tea, go shopping.  To say I have become inured to social isolation is perhaps taking it too far; yet I fear the backlash when the OK is finally sounded.  What, go outside?  Remove my mask?  But the potential germs!  Toni, get a grip!  Get the vaccine!  Go outside!

My piano lessons have continued, somewhat unabated, even through the pandemic.  I moved everything to Zoom in March, and much to my delight, most students have stuck with me!  I developed a Facebook page for my students' eyes and ears only.  They performed a successful Spring Recital, a Halloween Recital, and a Beethoven Birthday Bash all on Facebook, and I was quite pleased.  It's not the venue we want, but it's what is available in this time of quarantine.  I am proud of what all my students, young and old alike, have been able to accomplish over these months of internet lessons.  But I do look forward to the day we can return to in-person lessons.

In the meantime, we persevere.  We continue to meet weekly for lessons, and we continue to practice between lessons.  We learn to read notes, count beats, and maintain steady tempo.  We find our place on the page, we circle trouble spots, and we review, review, review.  In that regard, the pandemic has not changed things.  In fact, we have learned a lot of independence as a result of social distancing.  We have learned confidence in our own ability to carry on, to move through a piece of music, and to perform, even if only for our immediate family.  

May 2021 open many doors for creative expression.  The concert hall awaits...

Staycation. What to do with my free time?

I'm on vacation this week.  Stay-cation, not going anywhere.  I plan to use my time reading through Halloween-themed music, in preparation for the new piano school year which begins next Tuesday.  The Frederick County Music Teachers Association has traditionally hosted a Halloween Recital in late October.  Due to Coronavirus and social distancing requirements, the recital will probably be canceled.  Nevertheless, my students will be creating eerie sounds over the next 2 months, and we will do something to celebrate Halloween, even if it's online.  

This is one of my favorite events of the school year.  Typically, everyone comes in costume, even the teachers!  Last year, Sponge Bob was the emcee.  We had 2 witches the year before.  This year, Zoom will probably serve in that role.  Or Facebook.  I developed a private Facebook page for my students to share their Spring Recital performances, as well as other Facebook-worthy posts: Hallelujah Chorus on handbells; Fur Elise on glass harp; and artwork inspired by student repertoire.  (Due to privacy concerns, I cannot share the link here.)  I just posted Joachim Horsley playing a piano transcription of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, on the keys and on the frame!  Wow!   Look it up when you have the chance.

Actually, quite inspiring.  All of my students are learning to play Happy Birthday by ear, melody and some sort of left hand accompaniment.  Perhaps my more advanced students will glean some percussive inspiration from this Horsley post.  Thinking out loud here, since fall performances will most likely be held online, therefore pre-recorded, yes, this might work!  Oh, I wish I were teaching this week!  

I do love teaching,  And I miss my students when I take time off.  But I also need this time to brainstorm, to peruse new music, sightread through old music, and listen to funky Facebook posts to find inspiration for the coming year.  Yeah, I think I've hit gold with this Horsley idea.  All of my students are also working on music by Beethoven.  We are going to celebrate his 250th birthday in December.  Hence the Happy Birthday idea.  We've got Straussian oom-pa-pah accompaniment, some Chopinesque left hand as well.  I can't wait to introduce this percussive element!  It's going to be quite the concert.  

But Halloween comes first.  Gotta play through all my Halloween repertoire.  Such fun!  Boo!

Pandemic Practicing

Summertime, and the living is lonely.  But I have a whole lot of time to play the piano!  One of my students is working on Gershwin's Summertime.  No, it's not easy, but I too am learning it and loving it!

Yes, this is the year to enjoy lots of piano time.  No days spent at the pool, no trip to the Jersey Shore, no cruise through Alaska.  I am safer-at-home, and taking advantage of this time to expand my repertoire.  All of my students are working on something Beethoven, (2020 marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth), so I too am learning a lot of Beethoven.  And Gershwin, and Chopin, and scales and chords. 

Yep, the boring stuff too.  I rediscovered a book I hadn't opened in years, Alfred's Group Piano for Adults, and I'm doing all the lessons, playing every sample.  I hope to incorporate some of the theory into my lessons, specifically chords and chord progressions.  As part of the Beethoven Birthday Bash that I will host for my students later in the year, I am hoping everyone will arrange their own variation on the Happy Birthday song, implementing melody and harmony.  It's a project I approach with some trepidation -- it's been years since I actually studied any of this stuff myself!  But I think we will all enjoy the challenge. 

As noted previously, I continue to teach virtually via Zoom.  It provides even more time for me at the piano.  I use the time between lessons to read through students' music, to sightread through lesson books, and to practice Summertime among others.  Yeah, pandemic practicing is lonely, but productive!  My students, as well, have ample time to practice this summer, and it shows!  I can't wait to get everyone together for our Beethoven Birthday Bash.  It's gonna be great!

Lessons in the Cloud

It has been an interesting ride.  Online piano lessons.  I scoffed at the very thought!  And here I am, having become somewhat competent after 3 full  months.  I have learned a lot in these past 13 weeks.  I believe my students have learned even more!

They have all accepted the challenge of distance-learning with grace.  They didn't have a choice, of course.  School went online, church went online, even sports practice went online.  Go figure!  So piano lessons too.  The first week covered placing the laptop or phone properly so I could see the keyboard; to the right and slightly behind, at about shoulder height seems to work best.  Then getting comfortable performing in front of a screen.

We moved on from there, week by week.  Since I can no longer point to problem areas in the the music, I have to verbally direct the students' eyes to the page, the line, the measure.  This helps the students to focus on the printed page.  They need to mark their own scores now; my red pencil sits idly on the music stand.  Zoom has been a godsend, but the syncing of audio and video still has delays.  I cannot clap along while the students play.  I can demonstrate, but they need to do the work to get the rhythm.  They need to count the beats as they play, and subdivide, on their own.

Four of my students had previously registered for the Sonatina Festival, to be held in late March.  Needless to say, the Festival was cancelled.  Not so the preparation, the practice, and the polish on the sonatinas!  I created a Facebook page for my studio so these 4 kids could perform for all my other students.  Those other students who also learned sonatinas but were not ready for the Festival had extra time to practice and had the opportunity to record and post to Facebook.  I was happy for them!

In April, I presented to all of my students, young and old alike, a mixed media assignment.  I asked them to find on YouTube whatever piece they were currently practicing, to listen to it away from the printed page, and to draw what they hear.  The results were quite imaginative.  An 8-year-old playing Fur Elise saw great swaths of colors, representing love and rejection, anger and despair.  A middle-schooler playing Spindler's Tarantella drew intricate spider webs.  On Chopin Prelude in A Major, another middle schooler described it as  "the chance meetings of a single moment, and the simple pleasures of life."  Reinecke's Sonatina evoked visions of flowers.

May brought with it hopes of a Spring Recital, but with stay-at-home still in place, we had to find other avenues to performance.  Again, Serini Music Studio on Facebook  provided the stage.  Other teachers have collected recordings of their students recital pieces, pieced them together over Zoom and into formal YouTube worthy events.  I did not choose that route, not having confidence in the sound quality of Zoom to convey my students' artistry and not having the wherewithal to post to YouTube.  Facebook works for me.  In any event, the students have the option of playing over and over, posting only their best performance.  They don't have the anxiety that playing for a live audience can generate.  They don't receive the gratification of applause either.  The good, the bad, none of the ugly.

I'm still working out the kinks in my Zoom sessions.  I am fortunate to own 2 pianos; I moved my studio space to the piano nearer the modem.  I've figured out how to use the white board during a lesson.  I have downloaded theory games that I can share.  It has been a whirlwind, and I wish it never had to be, but I've learned a lot, my kids (and adults) have learned a lot.  We didn't need to isolate, just get computer friendly.  We all thought it would be 2 weeks of inconvenience.  More like 13 weeks and counting!  Although locally restaurants and businesses are beginning to reopen, I think I will stay in cyber-mode for a few more weeks at least.