What Do Dynamic Markings Really Tell Us?
Dynamic markings are not the composer's indication of volume, but rather, an expression of mood. This should be my new mantra because I find myself saying it a lot lately. For those of you who follow my blog posts regularly, I am a big proponent for creative practicing, and a significant component of that comes from the decisions I make with the printed dynamics on a page. One of the things that I always stress to my students when they are practicing is to question the meanin
5 Most Influential Classical Music Recordings
During my college years, I would get together with some friends to listen and compare our favorite recordings. I always found this to be a lot of fun because we always had different CDs to share and it was great to see what other masterpieces were out there. Now, several years later, I would like to pay it forward and share with you the recordings that shaped my musical development in my early years. 1. Beethoven, The 9 Symphonies; Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, La
Practicing Creatively At the Piano
As I mentioned in my last post, slow practice is very helpful in many situations to improve listening skills and raise overall awareness at the piano. On the contrary, there are certain instances, however, where employing other methods such as practicing at faster speeds, reducing the score to its bare qualities, and distorting rhythms can yield better results. Let us examine two specific situations: Solving technical problems I say this all the time to my students when they
