Pathways to memorization

How do you memorize music?  Do you incorporate more than one method? Imagine the pathways in the brain. Until recently, scientific brain mapping has involved tracking responses to stimuli as affected areas light up in brain scans.  Now there is a new method researchers are just beginning to pursue.  In it, specific pathways would be [...]

Happy Birthday!

My piano is 28 years old today! During my first year in New York, I had keys to four friends’ apartments.  They had pianos, but I did not. That arrangement was certainly better than nothing, but unsatisfactory just the same.  When crunch times came, I needed more access to an instrument. Besides, calling your friends [...]

Merry Christmas

Mindset gets it done!

Tasha Danvers, British Olympic athlete ~ Image via Wikipedia A recent New York Times article talks about the mindset athletes need to push through pain during competitions. This post is not intended to suggest that musicians play through pain!  The mindset, though, can be very useful. The following is a paraphrase of some of the [...]

Chance: of trial and error and “Aha!” moments

Say hello to Calvin! ~ Image by dolescum via Flickr For some time, ​I have been fascinated with the various ways in which people learn.  Observing the process is always full of surprises! A New York Times article about creative problem-solving caught my eye.  In it, Benedict Carey describes a study at Northwestern University about [...]

Reader Q & A: stiff neck when practicing piano

Image via Wikipedia A stiff neck could be caused by any of several factors. Some things that come to mind: Vision ~ have you had yours checked recently?  Make an appointment if the answer is “no,” even if you don’t think it’s necessary. Do your glasses need to be adjusted?  If the frames are out [...]

‘Tis the season…

Image via Wikipedia …to play the same music over and over! Thanks to my best buddy Louise for the blog post idea!  She wonders how musicians manage to do this several times a day for weeks at a time.  Good question! The easy solution would be to “phone it in.”  I’ve made a personal resolution [...]

Reader Q & A: how to get students excited about learning tempi

Image by 姒儿喵喵 via Flickr When a student has only minimal interest/ involvement in a piece s/he is playing, we need to ask ourselves why. I’m going to assume that the student had some say in choosing the piece.  Assigning repertoire and expecting compliance is not the way to go, in my opinion. Background:  when [...]

Split fingers ~ what to do?

Image via Wikipedia Pianists, do your fingers split or crack? I have dry skin.  Callouses build up from playing the piano, then split due to the hours spent playing or from cold weather. Sometimes the split turns into a deeper cut, similar to a paper cut.  Ouch!  When that happens, blood can get onto the [...]

Give me a break!

How many hours do you practice at a stretch? During my freshman year in college, a senior named Becky accompanied the Male Glee Club.  Fairly often, as most people were headed to dinner, she would stay behind in the music building to practice.  No amount of cajoling would change her resolve.  This would occur most [...]