Free Glide

Arenas get jammed pack all across the world because people just love to watch their favorite person or group perform their music. It can be a solo artist, a rock and roll band, a symphony orchestra, or even a famous d.j, people just love to watch them live. I think it has to do with the fact that when we do our daily lives the music becomes part of what we are doing.

Let’s say that you are at the gym after taking Acceletrim’s weight loss product and you are in a specialized exercise class. The teacher has your favorite band playing and you end up feeling great after the class. You then associate the band with feeling good. Once this happens then the band is more popular with you and when they come to town, you are defiantly going to go see them live. You know all of the lyrics, all of the drum sounds, piano sounds, guitar sounds, and you love it. When you see them live you are with hundreds, if not thousands of other people who love this band too. You are all there sharing this wonderful experience and seeing this live makes it real to you. The band is larger than life and they affect not only your life in a positive way, but thousands of other people too. Going to live music shows is highly recommended and can make for an amazing time.

Orchestra Hall, a monument to Beaux Arts architecture located just a little south on Chicago’s “Miracle Mile”, was designed before the days of equality for the masses. It was, up to that point, a place to enjoy opera and symphony and such. In order to get to the cheap seats you hiked up 7 (or was it 10?) stories through a winding, narrow, windowless corridor that only accommodated one way, single file traffic. This set up allowed adoring, but economically challenged, fans to get to seats in the roost without disturbing the “real” customers. The seats ran to the top of the Hall and the incline was as close to 45 degrees as engineering could safely construct. This may not sound like a recipe for having a good time but the Hall lived up to its conceit in some ways. The acoustics, for example, were celebrated and legendary. Also, in the 50’s, a “jazz concert” as opposed to a “jazz set”, particularly in such rarefied air, was a different kind of party and a bow to Jazz’ growing recognition as a “legitimate art” form.

The night of the event was cold and punctuated by some sort of weather disturbance that I, and my crew, (obviously) thought unremarkable for a Chicago winter. We were there to see the Dave Brubeck (featuring Paul Desmond) and Gerry Mulligan Quartets. And if we had to sit on top of the building we would have. We were young enough to make the ascent to the top with minimal damage or complaint and the prospects were way too delicious to be dampened by weather and steps. As long as our noses didn’t bleed from the altitude we were happy.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet was scheduled to go first. After some announcements that I don’t remember, the crowd quieted and exhibited the decorum to which the high-toned venue was accustomed. The curtain parted and there THEY were at a casual ready. There was Ron Crotty on the bass, Lloyd Davis on the drums, Paul Desmond on the alto sax and Brubeck, with huge glasses rimmed to match his shiny black grand piano, on the keys. The set immediately and unceremoniously opened with one of the soon-to-be-jazz classics which are now recognizable by the first bar – and proceeded from there. Can’t remember the exact offerings but I can remember how it felt.

Subsequent liner notes have said it all in better words that I can command. Genius; Controlled soaring; Astonishing…respectful… challenging interplay. Innovative timing. Surprising improvisation. In addition, there was just enough of an interjection of a classically trained mind to let you know how Bach devotees, back in the day, felt upon first hearing his music. The absolute artistry of everyone involved ate away at the reserve the Hall usually inspired. The atmosphere became infused with the hums, wry smiles and spontaneous claps and responses of a real JAZZ audience, which, we would soon learn, was the same no matter the venue.

At the break it was announced that Gerry Mulligan’s flight had been delayed as a result of the weather. Small decorous groan. Brubeck and company resumed but in the middle of an offering, a harried and bedraggled looking Gerry Mulligan lurched on to the stage (half carrying/ half propelled by his ridiculously large horn) with his group straggling behind. Any Orchestra Hall-tied decorum that had been left at that point in time was immediately lost.

After some adjustments Mulligan took the floor and proceeded to exorcize the frustrations that accompany delayed travel, nasty weather and other assorted challenges to his usual cool. The group- usually sartorially perfect in (very) narrow suits and ties but now mismatched and rumpled- pushed, drove, strode, charged and jammed for another hour. The audience went into tent revival mode.

But there was more…

Just about the time that we were sure we were going to be thrown out, Brubeck and Desmond returned – just ambled back out from the wings. All hell broke loose.

With a minimal amount of chit chat – or that’s the way I remember it – everybody involved launched into the first piece of another full set. Desmond and Mulligan romanced, challenged and dueled. Brubeck, hunched over the shiny black grand, flashed his devious cleverness and exhibited a little less cool and a lot more intensity. It was at least 1 am and nobody was moving an inch.

About an hour later, we found ourselves on a crisp, deserted Michigan Avenue. I don’t even remember the descent from our perch high above the stage. The audience was still in the unity of the experience and had not yet disintegrated into individuals. They still carried the awe and were congratulating each other on being in the right place at the right time. And then the famous Chicago “hawk” reminded us of where we were. We moved deeper into our coats and hurried to our cars but we were warm all the way home.

Sunni Knight is a DC metro based writer and soldier in the fight against family violence. This article was originally published in http://www.natcreole.com/, an online global urban culture magazine. Visit the site weekly for updated news, reviews, profiles, playlists, essays, travel journals, and upcoming events.

So you’ve got a few New Age piano pieces under your belt and you want to share your music with others. Can you do it? Yes! Here’s a working plan for you.

Create 3 Pieces of Music

For those of you who are just beginning to improvise, don’t worry about this. But for those who are beginning to compose, you’ll need to have 3 complete pieces to play. Why? Because this will come to around 10-15 minutes of music – the perfect amount of time for a mini-concert! If you’re in the process of creating your 3 pieces and haven’t finished yet set an goal date. For example, it’s a good idea to write something like this down:

By August 12, 2006, I will have 3 complete and polished pieces of music to play for others.

This is a time-based goal and will work wonders if you write it out and place it where you can read it everyday. Most likely, you will try and find excuses for why you can’t finish something on time. This goal with time and date on it will continually remind you to stay on track.

Practice Your 3 Pieces

Practice is the only way you will build up your confidence level. Practice each piece slowly at first. Never back up if you make a mistake. I repeat… NEVER back up if you make a mistake. Why? What are you going to do when you’re playing for an audience and you mess up. You’re not going to stop everything and go back. No! You go forward. Chances are very good that the audience won’t even notice. I can testify to this from personal experience.

When you practice, be with the music. The audience isn’t really concerned with you per se. They want an emotional experience through the music and the best way to give that to them is for you to be in the moment.

Overcome Performance Anxiety

To do this, you must first practice until you can play all 3 pieces straight through and you must first perform for a very small audience. Perhaps one or two people. You see you have to get used to the idea that eyes will be watching you. This makes most very self-conscious. By playing for very small groups of people, or even one person first, you get used to this and you can simply shrug it off. Playing for others should be a joyful experience. It can be if you follow these simple guidelines.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

Adolphe Adam (1803-1856), composer of “O Holy Night,” once observed, “In Paris, at the hub of the arts, one cannot enter a church without being followed by one or sometimes two serpents.” Most believe the bewitching instrument he was referring to was invented around 1590 by French priest Edmé Guillaume of St. Steven Auxerre Cathedral to add a fuller baritone/bass voice to his choir. The serpent consists of a wooden tube carved as two half-rounds, glued together and then firmly wrapped with a coil of veal skin or other leather to make it airtight. The most common version needs to be about six feet long, so in order to make it compact enough to hold they give it several crooks. Classically there are six holes for the fingering and an angled metal tube ending in a wooden or ivory cup-shaped mouthpiece similar to that used for a trombone. Indeed, people taking up the serpent nowadays are more often than not trombonists or other low-register brass players. It emits a rounder, more organic tone than a metal instrument, somewhat bassoon-like yet also rather human. It’s fiendishly difficult to play in tune, plus you need exceptional dexterity to negotiate its holes swiftly and unerringly.

As musical instruments go, the serpent enjoyed a distinguished career about 300 years until it was phased out first by the ophicleide (a less zigzaggy version made of metal and employing keys rather than simple holes) and then finally the euphonium and tuba by the late nineteenth century. George Frederick Handel employed the serpent in his Royal Fireworks Music (1749), Beethoven in at least one of his marches, Berlioz in Messe Solennelle (1824 but lost until 1991), and Wagner in his opera Rienzi (1842). Christopher Monk, Alan Lumsden, and Andrew van der Beek founded the London Serpent Trio in 1976, which continues to perform in a wide range of musical genres to this day with a newer generation of players.

Aside from the Trio, two of the serpent’s strongest exponents are currently Douglas Yeo and Michel Godard. Yeo has been a bass trombonist with the Boston Symphony since 1985 and a hands-down authority on the subject, but when it comes to virtuoso serpentry he’s clearly a Man on a Mission. Check out his newest CD Le Monde du Serpent (with free MP3 excerpts). Says Fanfare Magazine, “It’s obvious Yeo meant to entertain as well as to educate, and this lively CD succeeds at doing both brilliantly. The performances are expert and loving, and the production values demonstrate the utmost in care and discernment.” Michel Godard’s CD, Sous Les Votes le Serpent, is a different reptile entirely but intriguing in its own way, featuring selections such as “Tuba Chant” and “A Black Dust Cloud and Stars Embedded in Gaseous Nebulosities (For Carl Sagan).” I’m afraid Garrison Keillor won’t be standing in line for either of these, though, having said of the serpent, “The urge to perform is not a sign of talent.” To each his own, I guess.

This article comes from the Curious Thing of the Week section of my site Sui Generis at http://www.CuriousNotions.com where you’ll find only the world’s rarest, best, oddest and most legendary. If you crave the exotic and march to your own drummer, or serpentist as the case may be, please stop on by!

There seems to be a substantial body of evidence in support of the Mozart Effect. While skeptics advice us to take the whole “Mozart Effect” thing, with a very large grain of salt. Whatever the truth, maybe there are other effects that have come from studying Mozart that have had tremendous influence on whole music learning, piano playing through the study and research and practice of new methods and technology aids. And it does seem to work for many people, similar to the Mozart effect.

Mozart was probably the greatest improviser on the piano, ever. Mozart revolutionized various forms of music and put unusual combinations of instruments together. He had an interesting head start, he began listening to his parents play the piano and the violin months before he was born, while most people develop a special fondness for the music they listened to during adolescence.

Plato in ancient Greece believed studying music created a sense of order and harmony necessary for intelligent thought. Plants exposed to classical music grow larger and give higher yields than plants without this stimulus. Countless studies have shown the physiological benefits gained from listening to enjoyable music, as well as studies on the use of music to improve memory, awareness, and the integration of learning style. A relationship between music and the strengthening of math, dance, reading, creative thinking and visual arts skills has also been vastly reported in the literature.

Some of the research and methods utilized today, need to be tried and experimented with when allowing our children to take advantage of the options that are available to them. If you have a piano, let your children bang on it, notice their facial expressions, and see if they enjoy doing it. Give the child the confidence that they need to untapped a new world of experiences and talents. Imagine one note struck upon the piano by them is a melodic concert for him, never heard before. Let him enjoy the moment and the many more that will come, if you just let him.

There is a wonderful method that is on the market today that can speed the keyboard learning process tremendously – Piano Wizard. It comes bundled up in a software package that works with a home computer and a keyboard. It shows that beginner student all the fun elements of music learning in an easy, colorful environment full of instrumental sound options.

You will find plenty of information about this innovative piano learning game on the Our Sponsor page of MozartsWorld.com. Here’s their current headlines page on the Mozart effect.

In this piano lesson you will learn to play Mary Had A Little Lamb without the use of sheet music. We will be a little bit professional and use both hands!

As you probably know Mary Had A Little Lamb is a popular nursery rhyme. Here is the first verse:

Mary had a little lamb
little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
its fleece was white as snow

In When testing his invention of the phonograph in 1877 Thomas Edison used this poem and it became the first audio recording to be successfully made and played back.

We will not use sheet music in this piano lesson. Instead we will use a form of piano tablature or shorter piano tab.

Tablature is a form of musical notation, often with numbers and letters, which tells the player where to place his fingers on a particular instrument rather than which pitches to play.

First you’ll have to locate the note C on the piano. On a piano C is the first white key that is to the left of two black keys.

The C we are interested in most is the C on the middle of the piano. This C is called middle C because on the piano keyboard it is right in the middle, near the keyhole.

In our piano tab we will give this C note a number: 1

The white key to the right of C we call 2 and so on. Let’s play some notes:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

When you have played these seven notes you will come to the next C on the piano.

Let’s try to play a bit of Mary Had A Little Lamb:

Mary had a little lamb

3 2 1 2 3 3 3

You can use the index finger on your right hand to play this melody or be a little bit more professional and use your thumb for all number 1, your index finger for number 2 and your middle finger for number 3.

Let’s continue this piano lesson with the next line:

little lamb, little lamb

2 2 2 3 5 5

Use the little finger for number 5 if you want. The next part is the same as the first piano tab:

Mary had a little lamb

3 2 1 2 3 3 3

Now we are about to finish this song:

its fleece was white as snow

3 2 2 3 2 1

How can you use your left hand? Well, you can make this piece a little bit more difficult and also more rewarding to play by using your left hand for bass notes.

The notes from C to the next C is called an octave. You also have these notes to the left of the middle C. We can call these notes the left octave.

If you use the notes 1-7 in the left octave to play bass notes with your left hand we can notate this in the following way:

3/1 2 1 2 3/1 3 3

3/1 means that as you play the first 3 you also play number 1 in the left octave with your left hand at the same time.

The rest of Mary Had A Little Lamb with bass notes included looks like this:

2/5 2 2 3/1 5 5

3/1 2 1 2 3/1 3 3

3 2/5 2 3 2 1/1

I suggest that you play you left hand 1 with your little finger and number 5 with your thumb. This is the whole song and your piano lesson is over!

The best way to practice is probably to take one line at a time and learn it by heart. When you know the song by heart you can play it anytime and anywhere!

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and learn to play piano resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com