Should you play lego with your music?

When you find yourself getting more and more frustrated the more you practice, it's time to separate the elements that make up the music and put them back together.

In other words, play Lego with these music components:

1. Harmony
2. Rhythm
3. Melody
4. Tone quality
5. Words if you're a singer

There's just too many things to think about when learning a piece, to not deconstruct and reconstruct it bits by bits.

Are fingerings necessary?

Author Thad Carhart got to attend a master class by famous piano teacher Peter Feuchtwanger, and quotes the master's view on fingerings in his book "The Piano Shop on the Left Bank."

"The most dangerous thing is 'finger memory'; if you really know a piece harmonically, it doesn't matter what finger you use, but if finger memory fails you, it falls apart utterly."

Are recitals out of fashion?

New generations are not connecting to classical music because they think it belongs to the past.

How can we prove them wrong when so many recital musicians wear clothes from twenty years ago?

What you wear on stage sends a message about the music. To make recitals look current and relevant, you have to wear contemporary and up-to-date clothes.

Or you're the one making recitals out of fashion.



Picture from http://www.thisnext.com/tag/piano-training/

Do you change your teaching style with the music?

We teach in the mood of the piece we teach.

This doesn't matter much when you teach a happy piece, because you'll speak to your student in a light and relaxed ton of voice.

But it is important for you to be aware of it when you teach a dramatic and emotional piece, so that you keep yourself in check and remain calm and in control.

Otherwise, you may just scare your students away.



Picture from http://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%BAbor:Mood_dice.svg

2 things to avoid when marking

Marking is an important part of a singer's life, so here are the two ways of marking that are more detrimental than useful.

1. Mark constantly
   If you mark every time you sing other than during the performance, you actually lose your stamina and your vocal strength. You end up more likely to hurt yourself when you suddenly go back to singing full out.
   
   By marking constantly you miss the chance to create muscle memory, which will make it harder for you to hit the high notes and the fast runs during performance.
   
   
2. Mark all aspects of the music
   Because you give less vocally when marking, you will tend to give less in all other aspects of the song. You create bad habits when you stop paying attention to diction, energy and musicality, so make sure you stay engaged.  

Marking is a great tool to protect your voice as long as you make sure to remain focused while doing it, and to use it as a side kick of full out singing.

Picture from http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/conferences/Pict

Why do you do what you do?

Why do you do what you do? Find out how the answer to this questions makes a difference in your life in this inspiring talk by Simon Sinek.

Minimum audience required?

Music schools require students to give recitals for their degree. Some of those recitals don't have much more of an audience than just the student's teacher.

Is it still a recital if there is no audience?

Should schools of music require students to get a minimum of maybe 15 or 20 people to a recital for it to count as one?



Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/99573715@N00/1217496599