On this day when I count my blessings, I give thanks, I am grateful for:
1. The joy that I feel when I practice music on my piano,
2. The joy that I feel when I master a piece of music on my piano,
3. The fact I can be joyous about both the destination (mastery) AND the journey (practice), and
4. The joy that playing for friends and family brings to us all.
What other hobby provides such rich rewards?
And even though on other days I am sometimes weak and become frustrated and irritated with the work piano demands, on this day of Thanksgiving I express my gratitude for every correct note, for every fine rhythm, for every beautiful melody, for everything that music study brings.
Thank you.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
A Tool Called "The Piano"
American Heritage Dictionary:
"Tool" ...#3: Anything used in the performance of an operation; an instrument.
Some would think it blasphemy to refer to a sacred object such as the piano as a mere "tool." What could I be thinking? Yet, that is EXACTLY what the piano (and all other musical instruments) are: ways of getting the work of music done. They are artifacts with a purpose - an artistic purpose, to be sure, but a purpose nonetheless.
Thus, it is not only valid, but critical to ask yourself, "What is the job of the piano?"
Essentially, there are two:
1. Playing for your own enjoyment, and
2. Playing for the enjoyment of others.
This is simple enough to state and accurately reflects the fact the people are in the mix. The piano is nothing without people. People must be considered when working with, purchasing, studying, learning, and using the piano, our so-very-useful tool.
Why do I bring this up? Basically, I am sick to death of the worship of this tool, and the accompanying exclusion of people themselves. This act of putting the piano "on a pedestal" has done more harm to music and musicians than just about anything. Honestly, I suspect that idiot musics and musicians that pass for quality in some circles wouldn't even exist if higher quality music hadn't been made out of reach by stupid "piano cultists."
Let me give you an actual example from my life, and the interchange that got me thinking about the issue. I have a video on youtube. Here's the link if you want to check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC4alD2qP8U
This week some person made a comment that was complimentary in one sense but completely insulting in another. In short, they said, "....The only complaint would be that the sound quality really suffers because it is played on a digital piano. Real piano PLEASE! There is no comparison." Of course, this is pretty stupid comment, as he makes a comparison and then says "there is no comparison." Duh. But here's the rest. I personally chose the digital piano as my tool because it was the best tool I could have used for job. This guy is unhappy with me because I didn't choose the tool he thinks is superior. That's bcause he's a piano cultist. If I followed his lead, I'd not have made this video at all. Do you have any idea how much trouble it is to record a "real" piano? It's a hard tool to use for such a simple thing as a youtube video. I would simply have not gone to the trouble.
I guess, before you all think I'm just venting on my blog, that I'd better bottom line it for you.
When you go to choose a keyboard instrument you have many choices these days: a regular piano, a digital piano, a portable keyboard, an electronic organ, a synthesizer. Choose the tool that provides you with the means to do the job YOU wish to do. For many, many people, this tool is the digital piano. I wrote a whole book about why this is a fabulous tool for the purpose of making music for self and others. Here is some info on that book:
http://danstarr.com/pages/digital_keyboards.html
And please, if you think the piano is your God or THE ULTIMATE MUSICAL TOOL, suitable for all uses and all occasions, then just stay away from the rest of us normal folks.
"Tool" ...#3: Anything used in the performance of an operation; an instrument.
Some would think it blasphemy to refer to a sacred object such as the piano as a mere "tool." What could I be thinking? Yet, that is EXACTLY what the piano (and all other musical instruments) are: ways of getting the work of music done. They are artifacts with a purpose - an artistic purpose, to be sure, but a purpose nonetheless.
Thus, it is not only valid, but critical to ask yourself, "What is the job of the piano?"
Essentially, there are two:
1. Playing for your own enjoyment, and
2. Playing for the enjoyment of others.
This is simple enough to state and accurately reflects the fact the people are in the mix. The piano is nothing without people. People must be considered when working with, purchasing, studying, learning, and using the piano, our so-very-useful tool.
Why do I bring this up? Basically, I am sick to death of the worship of this tool, and the accompanying exclusion of people themselves. This act of putting the piano "on a pedestal" has done more harm to music and musicians than just about anything. Honestly, I suspect that idiot musics and musicians that pass for quality in some circles wouldn't even exist if higher quality music hadn't been made out of reach by stupid "piano cultists."
Let me give you an actual example from my life, and the interchange that got me thinking about the issue. I have a video on youtube. Here's the link if you want to check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC4alD2qP8U
This week some person made a comment that was complimentary in one sense but completely insulting in another. In short, they said, "....The only complaint would be that the sound quality really suffers because it is played on a digital piano. Real piano PLEASE! There is no comparison." Of course, this is pretty stupid comment, as he makes a comparison and then says "there is no comparison." Duh. But here's the rest. I personally chose the digital piano as my tool because it was the best tool I could have used for job. This guy is unhappy with me because I didn't choose the tool he thinks is superior. That's bcause he's a piano cultist. If I followed his lead, I'd not have made this video at all. Do you have any idea how much trouble it is to record a "real" piano? It's a hard tool to use for such a simple thing as a youtube video. I would simply have not gone to the trouble.
I guess, before you all think I'm just venting on my blog, that I'd better bottom line it for you.
When you go to choose a keyboard instrument you have many choices these days: a regular piano, a digital piano, a portable keyboard, an electronic organ, a synthesizer. Choose the tool that provides you with the means to do the job YOU wish to do. For many, many people, this tool is the digital piano. I wrote a whole book about why this is a fabulous tool for the purpose of making music for self and others. Here is some info on that book:
http://danstarr.com/pages/digital_keyboards.html
And please, if you think the piano is your God or THE ULTIMATE MUSICAL TOOL, suitable for all uses and all occasions, then just stay away from the rest of us normal folks.
Monday, November 17, 2008
What Might be Holding You Back as a Pianist
Ouch - unpleasant answer (or so it seems at first):
You, your very own self !
It's possible that your ideas and considerations and self-imposed limitations might just be keeping you from being the pianist you'd really like to be. It's not what people usually call "talent" that often slows or stops a person, but their own "flinch" and fear at various aspects of playing, practicing, and performing.
"No so!" you say. "I simply don't have the time to become the pianist I'd like to be." My friend, even this is based on your attitudes, in this case, the fact that you've decided that other matters take precedence. Can you see the truth that, even if you've made the sanest of decisions, it's still your DECISION?
Then there is the person who will only be happy when they can finally play they want to. Talk about a set-up for unhappiness! Many adults undertaking the job of playing the piano come loaded with ideas of what constitutes "good playing" - ideas which they have picked up over the years from professional pianists. Unfortunately, such aspiring pianists are hobbyists and in no way willing to devote years to perfecting the pianistic craft. Yet, such folk often feel all sorry for themselves because their hobbyist playing sounds like...well...hobbyist playing! And, for them, only professional level skill will make them happy.
Hobby, Hobby, HOBBY ! I can't say it enough. Enjoy your hobby for what it is. Maybe you aren't Liberace. Or Jerry Lee. Or George Winston. Who cares? You can still enjoy yourself at your own level - if you will let yourself!
Also on the trouble list is the student who's afraid of their piano teacher. Adults have often had some seriously bad experiences with past piano teachers, or even teachers in general. They come to the study of piano with lots more fear than might otherwise be there. It doesn't help. A person can get so afraid that they simply can't play. I've even had students so "on edge" that they made a mistake and ran out of my studio, never to be heard from again. Of course, such a person really should be spending their money on therapy...
These are just some examples of self-defeating attitudes. There are others. Too many.
What to do? A self examination is sometimes called for. Or a long and frank discussion with a good and understanding piano teacher. If you don't have one, email me and let me suggest a course of action.
You, your very own self !
It's possible that your ideas and considerations and self-imposed limitations might just be keeping you from being the pianist you'd really like to be. It's not what people usually call "talent" that often slows or stops a person, but their own "flinch" and fear at various aspects of playing, practicing, and performing.
"No so!" you say. "I simply don't have the time to become the pianist I'd like to be." My friend, even this is based on your attitudes, in this case, the fact that you've decided that other matters take precedence. Can you see the truth that, even if you've made the sanest of decisions, it's still your DECISION?
Then there is the person who will only be happy when they can finally play they want to. Talk about a set-up for unhappiness! Many adults undertaking the job of playing the piano come loaded with ideas of what constitutes "good playing" - ideas which they have picked up over the years from professional pianists. Unfortunately, such aspiring pianists are hobbyists and in no way willing to devote years to perfecting the pianistic craft. Yet, such folk often feel all sorry for themselves because their hobbyist playing sounds like...well...hobbyist playing! And, for them, only professional level skill will make them happy.
Hobby, Hobby, HOBBY ! I can't say it enough. Enjoy your hobby for what it is. Maybe you aren't Liberace. Or Jerry Lee. Or George Winston. Who cares? You can still enjoy yourself at your own level - if you will let yourself!
Also on the trouble list is the student who's afraid of their piano teacher. Adults have often had some seriously bad experiences with past piano teachers, or even teachers in general. They come to the study of piano with lots more fear than might otherwise be there. It doesn't help. A person can get so afraid that they simply can't play. I've even had students so "on edge" that they made a mistake and ran out of my studio, never to be heard from again. Of course, such a person really should be spending their money on therapy...
These are just some examples of self-defeating attitudes. There are others. Too many.
What to do? A self examination is sometimes called for. Or a long and frank discussion with a good and understanding piano teacher. If you don't have one, email me and let me suggest a course of action.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Lessons: Online? Live? How to Decide !
2008 has been a very interesting year for me. I've spent these last many months experimenting with methods of teaching and advising piano and keyboard students online. My goal was to find out if I could achieve the same level of success with online students that I enjoy with my "live" clients.
This past year has also seen the enormous growth of "youtube" and other video websites. At these sites, tons of wanna-be piano teachers have posted tons of "free" videos supposedly covering every aspect of piano education. I've watched a huge number of these episodes, and, honestly, I've been quite appalled at how bad the vast majority are, either as videos or piano instruction or both. I guess you really DO get what you pay for!
Not wanting to add to this morass of totally poor teaching, I've tried quite a number of different online approaches. I knew I needed to find ways of solving piano student's problems as well as guiding their further piano "explorations" without ever meeting these folks in person. I'm happy to report I've created methods which do both quite successfully - with a few critical exceptions.
What I've concluded is that success with online lessons is definitely possible but not for everyone. Some piano/keyboard students absolutely need a "live" piano teacher to learn to play successfully. A determination must be made. Here, then, in convenient list format, are my recommendations for making that decision:
1.A live teacher is mandatory for beginning students. There're simply too many new things to learn, too many things that can go wrong, and too many good habits to be established (and bad habits to be prevented.) The ONLY exception are adults who simply cannot find even a mediocre piano teacher in their area What does a good teacher look like? Read my essay here: http://danstarr.com/pages/lessons.html#choose
2. However, even beginners who have found a competent live teacher will find greater success by buying, reading, and applying my book How to WIN at Piano Lessons: Successful Strategies for Non-Mozarts. Examine and purchase it here: http://danstarr.com/pages/books.html Make sure you tell your teacher that you are using my book so they can coordinate their instruction with my advice.
3. If you already know how to play and can learn new pieces, then online lessons should work very well for you. Your next step is to email me with full details of your needs and wants. I will quickly reply with my recommendations, along with costs, which will be very reasonable.
4. If you already play but are having problems learning new music, the news is also good. Many, perhaps most, of your piano problems are very "fixable" or "improvable" via online training. Some of these problems are:
A. learning new music too slowly,
B. not knowing what music or exercises to use,
C. not enjoying practice,
D.a lack of any real progress
E. technical problems (too many to list here),
F. difficulty reading music, especially the bass staff,
G. problems with the left hand,
H. problems putting the hands together,
I. troubles with timing,
J. fingering problems, and
K. not enjoying your lessons.
There are many more such items. When in doubt, email me with details. If I can help online, I will suggest a course of action and be clear about costs (again, very reasonable ones.) If I can't help, I'll tell you that as well. My email reply time is 48 hours.
4. Online lessons can be very useful in a very short time if you already play well but want to "broaden your horizons" by learning new styles of music. Have you noticed that so many piano teachers ONLY teach reading and playing classical music? However, you might now want to learn about using chords or improvising or learning how to get the most from your digital piano/keyboard. There is a whole host of things which can be successfully taught online. Again, email me with your details.
To wrap this up, online lessons work, but only when:
A. the online teacher is really understands both teaching and ONLINE teaching. That's what I've been working on this past year, basing my online methods on my twenty one years of experience as a full-time ADULT piano instructor,)
B. the online teaching format is done is a way which actually works. As I said, free videos are a great example of "getting what you paid for,"
C. the student already plays somewhat well.
Wonder if you could benefit? Then email me. I will let you know what I think would work for you, what it would cost, etc, all within 48 hours.
This past year has also seen the enormous growth of "youtube" and other video websites. At these sites, tons of wanna-be piano teachers have posted tons of "free" videos supposedly covering every aspect of piano education. I've watched a huge number of these episodes, and, honestly, I've been quite appalled at how bad the vast majority are, either as videos or piano instruction or both. I guess you really DO get what you pay for!
Not wanting to add to this morass of totally poor teaching, I've tried quite a number of different online approaches. I knew I needed to find ways of solving piano student's problems as well as guiding their further piano "explorations" without ever meeting these folks in person. I'm happy to report I've created methods which do both quite successfully - with a few critical exceptions.
What I've concluded is that success with online lessons is definitely possible but not for everyone. Some piano/keyboard students absolutely need a "live" piano teacher to learn to play successfully. A determination must be made. Here, then, in convenient list format, are my recommendations for making that decision:
1.A live teacher is mandatory for beginning students. There're simply too many new things to learn, too many things that can go wrong, and too many good habits to be established (and bad habits to be prevented.) The ONLY exception are adults who simply cannot find even a mediocre piano teacher in their area What does a good teacher look like? Read my essay here: http://danstarr.com/pages/lessons.html#choose
2. However, even beginners who have found a competent live teacher will find greater success by buying, reading, and applying my book How to WIN at Piano Lessons: Successful Strategies for Non-Mozarts. Examine and purchase it here: http://danstarr.com/pages/books.html Make sure you tell your teacher that you are using my book so they can coordinate their instruction with my advice.
3. If you already know how to play and can learn new pieces, then online lessons should work very well for you. Your next step is to email me with full details of your needs and wants. I will quickly reply with my recommendations, along with costs, which will be very reasonable.
4. If you already play but are having problems learning new music, the news is also good. Many, perhaps most, of your piano problems are very "fixable" or "improvable" via online training. Some of these problems are:
A. learning new music too slowly,
B. not knowing what music or exercises to use,
C. not enjoying practice,
D.a lack of any real progress
E. technical problems (too many to list here),
F. difficulty reading music, especially the bass staff,
G. problems with the left hand,
H. problems putting the hands together,
I. troubles with timing,
J. fingering problems, and
K. not enjoying your lessons.
There are many more such items. When in doubt, email me with details. If I can help online, I will suggest a course of action and be clear about costs (again, very reasonable ones.) If I can't help, I'll tell you that as well. My email reply time is 48 hours.
4. Online lessons can be very useful in a very short time if you already play well but want to "broaden your horizons" by learning new styles of music. Have you noticed that so many piano teachers ONLY teach reading and playing classical music? However, you might now want to learn about using chords or improvising or learning how to get the most from your digital piano/keyboard. There is a whole host of things which can be successfully taught online. Again, email me with your details.
To wrap this up, online lessons work, but only when:
A. the online teacher is really understands both teaching and ONLINE teaching. That's what I've been working on this past year, basing my online methods on my twenty one years of experience as a full-time ADULT piano instructor,)
B. the online teaching format is done is a way which actually works. As I said, free videos are a great example of "getting what you paid for,"
C. the student already plays somewhat well.
Wonder if you could benefit? Then email me. I will let you know what I think would work for you, what it would cost, etc, all within 48 hours.
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