Music Education
From works of non-fiction to novels, and video documents to feature films, Xerxes F. Unvala, General Manager – Symphony Orchestra of India & Western Classical Music at the NCPA, recommends essential reading and viewing to widen your understanding of and delve deeper into the genre. Framing a list of resources that
Music Education
The first half of the 20th century bears testimony to the tragically ephemeral career of the Polish violinist whose virtuosity belied his age. By Cavas Bilimoria “Full many a flower is born to blush unseen and waste its sweetness on the desert air” – Gray’s Elegy Most teenage prodigies are
Music Education
I favour a gradual, playful approach to teaching young children to play the piano, with an emphasis on a diverse range of musical skills and concepts. My ideal piano curriculum for young beginners includes exploring all the elements of music; experimenting with making different sounds; creating music; listening and moving
Music Education
Healthy Playing, Healthy Teaching, Vanessa Cornett, Editor A common refrain among teachers in the developed world is that twenty-first-century students are over-scheduled, anxious, and unable to focus during their limited practice time.1 Compounding these stress, anxiety, and distraction issues for my students is that they are awake late into
Music Education
The music classroom, in which the subject is being taught through the locus of performance, is a unique learning space. In such an environment, the students’ view of how much control they have over the outcome of their learning depends to a large extent on how they prioritise motivational factors.
Music Education
Breathing is the only function of the autonomic nervous system that can happen both consciously and unconsciously. Research has shown the many benefits of practicing controlled breathing techniques such as stress relief and improved functioning of the immune system.1 When applied in a pedagogical setting, teaching controlled breathing techniques
Music Education
Paul Harris offers some thoughts for parents to help their children get the most out of practice. One of the benefits of lockdown is that many young learners have more time to spend with their music. More time to practise. And, of course, many parents are home more to help.
Music Education
What can little children do in music? May I present Lyonya Shilovsky, a three year old Russian drummer playing the ‘Can-Can’ tune from Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, along with an orchestra of adult musicians. I hope Lyonya wears ear protection! Is Lyonya unique, we might wonder, or are
Music Education
Water, in music, is more than just a drop in the ocean. Composers imagine water in rivers, water falling from the sky, water jetting up to the sky, water as a single raindrop, or as the entire sea. Water creatures, such as nymphs or mermaids, also have their place. In
Music Education
We have all heard it from our beginning (and sometimes more advanced) students that awful, wooden, unmusical playing. What can we do to fix it? If we tell them to crescendo to a certain note and then get softer, they stiffly climb up and down the dynamic ladder, and it
Music Education
A long time ago, a smart voice teacher once said, “the most important thing in music is rhythm.” That statement still rings true; the elements of music, like a melody that moves people, and lyrics that mean something, are held together with rhythm. It’s the same thing in speech;
Music Education
The advent of COVID-19 has forced teachers to move group piano instruction online. While the online medium is not ideal to teach performance skills, there is a silver lining. Online learning does present many benefits; chief among them is the great degree of flexibility it gives students and teachers. Students
