Music Education
In Parts 1 and 2 we considered how the pedal works and its effect on tone, texture and legato. Now we will examine how pedalling applies to one of my favourite pieces, the Danza de la Moza Donosa from Danzas Argentinas by Alberto Ginastera. This dance is graceful and gentle,
Music Education
It’s precisely the absence of philosophical reflection that has led to the invasion of the musical arena by half-baked ideas. Not as music, I grant, as philosophers need music, but nevertheless the need is real. In the past our musical culture had secure foundations in the church, in the
Music Education
If you’ve not yet seen Connection Lost (The Tinder Opera), you should probably stop what you’re doing and watch it now. Seriously, it’s our current obsession. Written and directed by Adam Taylor, with music brilliantly composed by tenor Scott Joiner, Connection Lost isn’t just funny “for
Music Education
We’ve all been there. It’s a Friday night after a long week. We’re exhausted. Our boss has taken every ounce of motivation and joy out of our job, which otherwise would be palatable. We get home and scramble to fix something remotely tasty, disregarding to a certain
Music Education
In the previous article we considered the tone enhancing function of the pedal and this time we will explore how to use the pedal for best results. It is essential, for correct use of the pedal, to have good use of the whole body. Although some professional pianists can adopt
Music Education
There’s no faking what opera singers do onstage. It’s the result of legitimate hard work, and the staggering skills they show come precisely from not taking shortcuts or band-aid approaches to fixing problems. Real as it is, these artists have their bags of tricks. Singers, please forgive us
Music Education
Last but not least, the burning question of repertoire. For classical music as a genre to survive in modern times, renewal of the repertoire is a fundamental requirement: without renewal, the art form petrifies and audiences will stay away because they will have the repertoire of works on CD at
Music Education
Satyajit Ray’s cinema was redolent of Indian and Western sensibilities. So was the music he loved, listened to, used in his movies and composed. By Manohar Parnerkar Satyajit Ray (1921-92), along with Sergei Eisenstein, Ingmar Bergman, Charles Chaplin, Federico Fellini and Akira Kurosawa, has been one of the giants
Music Education
If classical music is the art of “therapeutic” interiority, then thinking about presentation, marketing, funding, etc. needs to be developed from this insight. “Selling” music in wrapping paper which belies its nature will inevitably lead to disappointment: the regular listeners will feel their experience is being diminished and dumbed down
Music Education
When we were children, my sister and I called the pedal on the left, the ‘soft’ pedal and the pedal on the right the ‘loud’ pedal. The left pedal on an upright piano is indeed the soft pedal but on a grand piano the mechanism is different and the correct
Music Education
ON Stage brings you excerpts from the NCPA Quarterly Journal, an unsurpassed literary archive that ran from 1972 to 1988 and featured authoritative and wide-ranging articles. In the second installment of a two-part series, William P Mann dissects the belief that music is universal. So far, we have spoken of
Music Education
Pianists, you’re a busy bunch. So how do you learn all that music, and prioritize like a pro? When it comes to playing for singers, pianists are often in one of three situations: 1. They have practice time to learn a song or aria. 2. They know the song
