Posts Tagged "performer"
Left Hand Pizz. and the Beginning Student
If you think back in your journey learning the violin or viola you probably were taught extended techniques at the intermediate or advanced stages of learning. There is good reason for this; many extended techniques are too difficult for beginning students and with all there is to learn as a beginner, unnecessary complication should be […]
Dependency and the Musician
In this post I would like to expand the discussion of learning by rote/ear and music reading to discuss the relationship between each and the connection to dependency. By dependency I am referring to that which we need in order to learn a piece of music. In our earliest stages of learning as a student […]
The Value of Teaching Open String Songs
The Beginning Violinist: A Companion Book for Children and Adults starts out with Open String Songs. I wanted to briefly give you some of the benefits of using Open String Songs with your students! 1) Open String Songs help students more quickly understand where notes are located on the fingerboard. Students of any […]
Studio Recitals and Teacher Performance
Studio Recitals are a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase for family and friends all the hard work they have done. It’s also a great benchmark for students to work toward and a time for them to realize how far they have come since their last performance. I recently got asked by a parent if I […]
Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety and nerves come in varying degrees. They can range from a mild feeling of anticipation to a debilitating fear. Some nerves can be helpful, providing stamina and excitement for the performer. However, performance anxiety can often be crippling as it sucks the joy out of playing, and can cause the performer to be […]
Can’t I Learn to Play Without Performing?
A good question—and as someone who has battled with extreme performance anxiety I would like to say “Yes,” however personal experience as well as research shows otherwise. I recently ran across a blog post (Kavbar’s Blog: Recital Retrieval) which does a very good job of explaining why we need to perform in order to learn. […]
Are Computers Composers?
Emily Howell, a computer program created to compose contemporary classical music has been given full status as a composer by “her” creator. However, there has been much controversy surrounding whether or not her compositions are really music, and whether or not they should be performed. Check out the article: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6884631.ece While many interesting issues are raised in […]