Music

I am delighted to announce that my latest article on intuitive improvisation has been published in the December/January issue of American Music Teacher, along with a number of other great articles on improvisation. I chose to focus on games and exercises for teachers who may not have ever improvised themselves. I give practical approaches that will enable them to not only encourage their students to improvise, but to also enjoy the process alongside them. I based it on successful experiments with many of my own students over the years. It was a fun article to write.

I apologize for not having blogged in a while -- I am in charge of a pilot program in Kodály musicianship for Kindergarden through second grade students, and conducting two middle-school choirs -- teaching three hundred children per week. It has been extremely absorbing and energy-consuming. The program is going well, and we hope, with the help of the Ojai Music Festival Education Committee, to expand the Kodály program to all schools in the local district.

Young children are wonderfully responsive and enthusiastic. It has been amazing to see how rapidly they are progressing. I am excited at the prospect of so many young children receiving a solid foundation in musicianship and enjoying music making so much. My intention in the coming semester is to regain more balance in my life, so that I can once again have time to blog, make music, write articles, and actually have a social life as well!

OK, I guess I blew it. I was in London during the Proms a couple of weeks ago and I missed Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra from Venezuela. There has been such a buzz around this orchestra and "El Sistema", the miraculous music organization that has literally saved so many poverty-stricken children from a life of drugs and crime by offering them the chance to learn a musical instrument. They then become part of an amazing national network of after-school instruction which is producing thousands of wonderful musicians. Dudamel himself, who at 26 has just been appointed principal conductor of the LA Phil, is a product of El Sistema, and by all accounts an incredibly talented and inspiring musician.

Here's Dudamel being interviewed by the BBC during the interval of the Prom

And here's a clip from the performance in question.

Astounding musicianship, relaxed confidence, utter joy and playfulness. How did a performance this miraculous take place? I'm honestly not sure. What fascinated me about the interview is Dudamel's emphasis on the importance of humility, and also the sense in which he feels himself to be very much part of the orchestra, rather than a 'maestro'. But there's so much more going on ...

Food for thought as I work with the choir I've just taken on.

As if 88 keys weren't enough.... a fascinating look at the possibilities of a Steinway with two keyboards.

I'll be taking on a new enterprise this fall besides my coaching clients-- teaching the Kodály Method to 5-8 year olds in a local school. I'm being employed to train teachers alongside kids in the method, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Two of my best years of musicianship training took place in London starting about twelve years ago. I've always been able to do aural exercises extremely easily, as I have perfect pitch, but had never found a great way to assist others in learning dictation, sight-singing, being able to hear music inwardly, etc. Now, with the help of the great teachers David Vinden and his wife Yuko (who both trained in Hungary, the birthplace of the Kodály Method), I learned all of this and more, using the Kodály technique. And the best part about this training was that I could feel my own aural abilities being stretched to the full-- being asked to play a single line of a Bach melody as a three part-canon on the piano, attempting to tap an ostinato whilst sight-singing using the alto clef and sol-fa syllables (do, re, mi, etc.).... and having tremendous fun in the process, thanks to my wonderful teachers.

Of course, I'll be starting much more simply with my Kindergarteners. The idea is to start with two notes only (soh and mi) and introduce new notes and concepts gradually. I'm hoping I have as much fun with the kids as I did in my own studies. And I'm hoping to give them the very best start as musicians. Of course, five years old is the best time to start, but it's never too late. If you'd like to know more, one great place to start is http://www.oake.org/ .

Placido Domingo has invited Woody Allen to direct his first opera in '08-- Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" for Los Angeles Opera. Yesterday, Allen was quoted on NPR as saying:

" I have no idea what I'm doing, but incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm."

N.B. Don't try this in your next audition/interview.

The other day I saw a marvelous television program in which Bill Moyers interviewed Pema Chödrön, an elderly American lady, now Buddhist nun, who has become famous for her wisdom mixed with common sense.

One of the subjects she dealt with that struck me with great force was the difference between pain and suffering. The interpretation she chose to differentiate between those words was powerful. She described pain as being for example, an unwelcome event, an injury, a disappointment, and so on. And suffering is what we then do inside ourselves in response to that event.

I've been finding Michelle Bennett's recent posts on her blog very thought-provoking. She's been extremely courageous in revealing her inner challenges as a student and a professional singer, and how these have led her to psychotherapy and inner work alongside her musical life. So often musicians, like any professionals, are extremely hesitant to reveal anything less than perfection. Yet, the reality is that we are all dealing with inner challenges every day. And, as Michelle says:

"There is no doubt that the process of facing one’s self is hugely difficult, especially if, like many artists, you have been hurt badly or are very sensitive. I would wager that most people will never do it because of the enormous effort required and pain of the task. It is an odyssey."

I heard this morning that Mstislav Rostropovich, one of the greatest cellists in history, has died. I was immediately reminded of time spent in his London home back in the 90's, when I played piano for one of Vishnevskaya's students.

I think I just found the most horrible classical music website on the net. Or useful, depending on where you're at. Here's the blurb from www.kickassclassical.com .

"Get to know the most popular Classical Music in pop culture today! You've heard these famous Classical Music pieces in movies, trailers, commercials, cartoons, video games and ringtones. Now you can find out what the pieces are called and who did them! Just click the PREVIEW links to immediately identify the piece. It's all the cool Classical Music you know, none of the boring stuff. "

This is followed by such tempting offerings as

LOONEY TUNES SUNRISE MORNING MUSIC and

INTENSE EVIL SOUNDING CHOIR IN MOVIE TRAILERS (any guesses?), etc.

At this point I could make intelligent and sombre predictions about the future of classical music, but hey, it's the weekend! Enjoy!

I'm really enjoying Christopher Foley's Collaborative Piano blog at the moment. He has some wonderful tips for collaborative pianists (otherwise known as piano accompanists) on getting work and learning to be a professional. Lots of advice I would love to have had when starting out.

Hugh Sung also has some great practical tips for budding professionals about getting organized, amongst many other interesting posts. I thoroughly recommend these two blogs for a good read. Anything which can help in training musicians to be entrepreneurs!

Today's Washington Post story about Joshua Bell posing as a street musician was so thought-provoking that it has been on my mind all day. Joshua's magnificent playing apparently aroused so little attention that he himself was alarmed and the reporter certainly bemused.

Should we be so shocked? Does it really mean the end of civilization as we know it? Does it mean that no-one has time any more for great art and great artists? It's certainly tempting to see it that way. Yet as my husband and I realized, context is everything.

I turn on the car radio to a blast of sound from KCRW, our great local indie station. My tastes are eclectic these days, partly thanks to Robert, but today I'm not in the mood to be blasted out of my seat. Instead, I switch to Classical KUSC. Instantly, a different world opens up before me-- it's Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto. Coming from a pop station, I'm hyper-aware of its clarity, containment, prettiness, sense of order-- it's almost shocking. And it gets me thinking.

Just got back from a fantastic concert of Persian, Armenian and Arabic music by the Salaam Ensemble, right here in Ojai. Led by the multi-talented John Zeretzke, these world-class players assembled a couple of years ago at the request of the Music Center of Los Angeles and have since performed in concert and also in schools throughout Southern California.

I was riveted by the consummate artistry, virtuosity, commitment, versatility, sensitivity and the infectious joy of these players. Nothing I could say right now could adequately capture the experience. Apparently, there's a CD in the works. I'll be first in line.

Christopher Foley pointed out an article today on his excellent blog, written by Kerry Miller of Business Week on "Teaching Musicians to be Entrepreneurs". As soon as I saw the title, it felt like a no-brainer. Of course musicians need to be entrepreneurs! What a wonderful initiative! Yet, the proposals in several prestigious institutions in the US have apparently met with a certain amount of resistance and skepticism.

I was completely stunned by two video excerpts I saw yesterday on the ubiquitous youtube of Dawn Upshaw singing Messiaen's "Saint François d'Assise", directed by Peter Sellars. (I'm indebted to Alex for posting one on his blog).

The excerpts show the rehearsal process, Dawn's valiant struggles with the virtuosic music and Peter guiding, encouraging and sometimes being extremely exacting with her.

At times, Sellars appears to be making excessive demands-- why on earth is he asking for such elaborate postures and insisting on such a precise quality of movement when the music is already so taxing? Can't he see that just singing the piece accurately would already be plenty? As a coach myself, I'm an advocate for sensitive treatment of singers, and was at first perplexed.