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20/20 Sight Reading
Sight reading is reading an unknown score while performing the music. The skills for sight reading are different than the ones that we use for performing music that we have spent time practising. For amateur musicians sight-reading is the most significant step towards musical independence. They can keep learning and enjoying music-making even after they…
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Donating My Body to Science
The University of Ottawa Piano Pedagogy Lab is as busy as ever researching and challenging pedagogical theory and practice. I recently participated as a test subject in a study researching the effects of Feldenkrais sessions on piano playing. Many musicians believe that disciplines such as yoga, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, and Feldenkrais Method are beneficial to us.…
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Hey, what’s that sound?
One of the subjects I teach is harmony. It is a big step up from rudiments. In rudiments students learn the building blocks of music as well as how to draw the elements correctly. “…stems go this way…key signature first, then time signature.” Harmony is all about learning how the sounds in music behave. There…
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Everything Old is New Again
Johann Sebastian Bach’s two volumes of the Well-Tempered Clavier have sometimes been called the pianist’s Old Testament. They are excellent examples of Bach’s amazing ability to write in contrapuntal style. As such, they remain an important part of teaching repertoire. Timeless, really. Equal temperament tuning had just been “invented” in Bach’s time (1685-1750), and our…
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An Evening in Grenada
Ah yes, a trip to sunny Spain was just what I needed at this time of year. And I was there for a moment. On Sunday afternoon I attended a master class at the University of Ottawa School of Music in collaboration with the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association. La soirée dans…
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Share and share alike
A great thing about belonging to a professional music teacher’s association is the chance to exchange ideas with colleagues. This week I was honoured to be the presenter at an Information Sharing Session of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association. It’s an informal forum to share teaching ideas. Lately I’ve been studying…
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Listen Up!
The hallmark of a good pianist is the beautiful tone they create when they play. I recently attended a workshop presented by clinician and pianist Marc Durand called Technic: Understanding the relationship between the piano and how one uses the body. Marc Durand teaches at the University of Montreal and the RCM Glenn Gould School in…
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All grown up and still waiting to be a Rock Star
C’mon, ‘fess up. You play an instrument, and you dream of being a rock star. The League of Rock is here. You can join a rock band and have all the fun without the “I’m sleeping in my car somewhere in northern Ontario because I didn’t get paid from my last gig.” They provide rehearsal space,…
