There isn’t much written about the tune “Turkey in the Straw” but in honor of Thanksgiving, her
e’s my take on it, and a version you might enjoy using for students at various levels. They can use it to learn a simple tune, learn about variations and improvisation, and about phrasing and structure. Below I’ll give a little history and here’s a thumbnail of the music stripped to its basics, with phrasing and variations shown — you can click on it to enlarge it:
Although I’ve worked with many styles of music, one style I have specialized in is Scottish music, and having played and studied many of these tunes in historical context, I’m convinced that “Turkey In the Straw” originated as a type of tune called Read more…
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Posted in Music History & Facts
I recently was requested to review a site called LYRICSnMUSIC. I was told that the site had lyrics, band bios, tour dates, and useful links one one page. This sounded interesting to me, as I frequently search for music, lyrics and backgrounds on the internet for my students. When teaching a student a new song, I find they are more interested if they have knowledge of the artist, history, etc.
I decided to give the site a try, so I went to www.lyricsnmusic.com and was impressed by the homepage. I saw several tabs at the top for Lyrics, YouTube, Touring, Buy Song, Images, and More. Below the tabs was a search box as well as icons linked to popular music players, such as Pandora, and music news sites, including Billboard and MTV. It was now time to try a search, either by song title, artist name or words in the lyrics. I tried each and, to my surprise, was taken to the appropriate page. Read more…
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Posted in Music & Technology, Music History & Facts, Music News
During the last decade, the music scene on the Internet has transformed. Now we can legally listen to just about anything we want to, whenever we want to, for a small fee, or we can choose the genre and stream our own personalized radio frequency (such as Pandora, in the States) for free.
Several years ago, when I moved to California, I began to subscribe to Rhapsody, which at the time cost around $15 a month. Previously I had been living in London, and a member of not just one, but three specialist music libraries with CDs available to borrow. Now this opportunity was not available to me, I was feeling deprived, not only personally but professionally, as I was not easily able to share the vast world of classical music with my students (apart from my own private collection). With Rhapsody, I was delighted to have the opportunity to listen to a wide variety of classical music again. It had some bugs, to be sure. Some days it would decide not to play, or not to sign me in, and it could be difficult to get online support. Then too, there was the problem of the catalog. Read more…
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Posted in Music & Technology, Music History & Facts, Professional Development, Teaching Tips
Reason #1 to Keep Believin’: Chords for Keeps
Most pop songs are really just “four-chord songs.” At least that is what “Axis of Awesome” (a comedic rock band) claim and explain in this PG-13 clip. They begin with Journey’s “Don’t’ Stop Believin” and continue with a medley of countless hits that feature the same four chords (in the same order, too!). After watching this video I decided that my students must watch it as well (with parental consent), memorize those four chords and learn the opening line of Journey to play anywhere, anytime. Turns out, they not only enjoy the fact that they can play the “Glee”-remake but also take pride in the fact that they now know the secret behind most of their favorite pop songs. Bonus: their friends love to sing along and actually “believe” they can play the piano like the “pros”.
Teaching Hint: If your students know the Heart and Soul Pattern, they know the chords of most four-chord songs. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Music History & Facts, Music News, Music Theory, Teaching Tips
The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature is a fascinating book with the premise that there are six functions of song (music) in human culture. He backs up his ideas with scientific data, and he frequently uses tales from his own experience as a musician and record producer (in his pre-research scientist days). He works to answer the questions “Why is there music?” and “Are we musical because our brains made us that way, or are our brains adapted to music because we are musical?” He explores the social advantages to being a musical being and through the six categories of song, he presents a very cohesive and coherent argument.
The six categories of song, as posited by Levitin, are: Friendship, Joy, Comfort, Knowledge, Religion and Love. Songs of Friendship are songs of camaraderie, togetherness and creating a functional large group. The selective advantages (Levitin talks of evolutionary advantages) of being in a group that works together for a collective whole are obvious. Society as we know it could not exist if we were unable to get along within larger collectives of people. A big way of getting a group to work as a unit is through music. Think of the last time you were at a baseball game and everyone sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” The entire stadium is able to work together as a unit. Also, “Music has historically been one of the strongest forces binding together the disenfranchised, the alienated.” (61) Read more…
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Posted in Music History & Facts, Product Reviews
The other day I received a call from a parent asking to discuss his daughters progress in her band she is enrolled in. I run a small music school called the Brooklyn Music Factory and a cornerstone of our program is the bi weekly band rehearsals. Kids can sign up for different styles of music like the all Motown band, Atlantic Ave. Soul Review or the New Wave synth group, Club Keyboard. The kids love the chance to practice and eventually perform and for the band leaders (teachers) it is wonderful to dive head first into one genre or songwriter. What the phone call from this father made me realize is that it is not as easily apparent to those observing the actual musical value of a band program. Sure, they see that their child is having fun, in fact, tons of fun, but as this parent pointed out, “sometimes if a kid is having too much fun, how can they really be learning anything?” This entry is dedicated to how to respond to parents effectively and what I see to be the value of the group learning environment that can be both tons of fun and extremely educational.
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Music History & Facts, Performing, Practicing, Teaching Tips
In four weeks my studio will hold the first concert of the year. As well as memorising & polishing repertoire and refreshing concert etiquette, my students are currently in the midst of preparing program notes. This is a particularly difficult task for students, and I believe that it is vital that students are able to articulate their thoughts about music elegantly and intelligently, using appropriate musical language.
My top five hints for writing effective program notes are: Read more…
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Posted in Music History & Facts, Music News, Music Theory, Performing, Teaching Tips
A candy dish has been a long-standing tradition in my piano studio. I enjoy indulging students and they have come to “expect” a treat on the way out the door for no other reason than for Ms. Leila to spoil them. However, lately, I have enjoyed designing teachable moments before they exit with candy in hand.
A small picture frame stands by the candy dish and each week the frame features a new riddle or question of the week. In October, I enjoyed including jokes such as “What instrument does a skeleton play? A tromBONE”. During the holiday season as students were preparing solos and duets for the upcoming Christmas recital, students were required to name the composer, arranger, the key, the time signature, or the form of their pieces. These weekly questions helped all of us memorize essentials that are amazingly easy to forget when deadlines demand narrow-focused practice. Read more…
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Posted in Music History & Facts, Music Theory, Teaching Tips, Using Music Teacher's Helper
The art of being a dedicated music teacher goes far beyond merely teaching students to play an instrument. If we teach classical music, we need to act as standard-bearers of a living musical culture that is passed down to our students. Here are some things that many of us take for granted, but that those new to classical music need to learn from scratch:
What are the instruments and what do they sound like? Are there different types of classical music? What does a conductor do? What on earth is one supposed to listen for in a concert? Read more…
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Posted in Music History & Facts, Professional Development
Photo: Alessandra Cimatti
In this week’s post on Christmas music, I am focusing on 20th and 21st century additions to the repertoire. Many modern composers have been inspired by the heritage I touched upon last week– European sacred choral music from the medieval period onwards.
Kenneth Leighton, an English composer and pianist (1929–1988) was influenced in particular by Vaughan Williams, who was in turn influenced by his field research into traditional British folk melody. Leighton’s setting of the Coventry Carol has become his most famous work. Written in 1948, it is a setting of a text whose earliest known version dates from 1534. Using a modally influenced melody and luscious close harmonies, it is an instantly appealing work. A soaring soprano solo aptly evokes the vulnerability of the child Jesus, and contrasts dramatically with the full-choir verse describing Herod’s rage at the news of his birth. This outstanding version is by Polyphony, conducted by Stephen Layton.
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Posted in Music History & Facts, Performing
e’s my take on it, and a version you might enjoy using for students at various levels. They can use it to learn a simple tune, learn about variations and improvisation, and about phrasing and structure. Below I’ll give a little history and here’s a thumbnail of the music stripped to its basics, with phrasing and variations shown — you can click on it to enlarge it:
