Annette returns to the pipe organ at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Hollidaysburg, PA! She has currently endeavored to work on 8 Kleine Präludien und Fugen, BWV 553-56 by (allegedly) J. S. Bach... Why do we say allegedly? You'll have to tune in and listen to hear why it is alleged and also hear the progress for this week!

Some of my friends think I'm funny like a clown, and I make them laugh - and on Sunday, I realized I could go on a 30 minute tirade about an eyebrow. You're invited to take a listen and see if my friends are right about the funny thing, or if I just need to stick the nerdy topics. I hope you enjoy!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love a good challenge, and I am rather competitive, and I love languages - so I have chosen for the past year and a half to challenge myself with learning a few difficult languages all at once. Why? Because I want to! If you are also an aspiring polyglot or simply curious about what goes into learning multiple languages at once, take a listen! I've made a personal challenge for myself to speak about various things in my daily life for a period of 30 seconds, and I want to treat these language focused episodes as a time that I get to excitedly babble about languages and the cultural and historical insights they provide as I'm learning.

Hello everyone! Annette made some time to update you on her music endeavors - one of them being starting to perform at local open mics in the central Pennsylvania area and building connections with other musicians in the area. In this episode, she shares with you some insights, discoveries and also things she finds particularly endearing about specific songs she chose to perform at open mics. Bonus: Listen to some meager progress on a prelude by Scriabin!

Feel free to listen to the original artist rendition of these songs:

"My Life" - Billy Joel

https://youtu.be/h3JFEfdK_Ls

"הזמן עושה את שלו" (HaZman Ose et Shelo) by Avraham Tal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmBMvy1M8-I

"Be Good to Yourself" by Journey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PZxhOtO01g

Bonus: My parents from their rockband era also singing Journey!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUO1UdgOg1Q

Another facet of my work involves playing the pipe organ, and I had the pleasant fortune of having time to share an introduction to the instrument, some basic mechanisms involved in playing the pipe organ and pieces I've been assigned to play today. Come on over, take a listen, learn about a few hymns, and chill with me at the pipe organ - you know, "chill" like the '90s kids say. Enjoy!

Jeff and I are back and return to Mendelssohn, and also discuss which factors led to the suppression of Mendelssohn’s music for a time, how he helped Bach return in popularity, his sister Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and our newest project: Scriabin Op. 11 Preludes!

YouTube links mentioned in the podcast:

“IGUDESMAN & JOO - Rachmaninov had big Hands”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKKlhYF53w

“Chick Plays and Improvises on Scriabin's Prelude Op. 11 No. 4 in E minor”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6osIb8KdPLo

The Hunting Song is a piano work by Felix Mendelssohn, from Songs Without Words, Op. 19 No. 3.

Take a look at the music here (thanks to IMSLP.org):

https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:IMSLPImageHandler/52241%2Fhfcn

Follow and support the pianist Jeffrey Hampton at:

https://www.facebook.com/HamptonMusicEville/

https://www.sixpackandasong.com/

Did I, perhaps, abandon Mendelssohn (Songs without Words, Hunting Song, Op. 19 No. 3) for a short time because I had to, as the kids say, “adult?” You bet I did. However, I decided to record and show you which parts of the Mendelssohn pieces came together, and which parts, inevitably, fell apart. We (Jeff and I) will be back in business on Sunday and show you our next endeavor!

So, how is the Hunting Song by Mendelssohn turning out for Annette and Jeff? Who has made, in your estimation, the best progress? We discussed how we reach our performance goals, the role that metronomes plays in putting a piece together, and how our practicing approach between undergrad life and adult life has changed.

Please note this episode was recorded in July 2022, before Annette (and a little bit on Jeff's part as well) got attacked by a serious bout of adulting.

The Hunting Song is a piano work by Felix Mendelssohn, from Songs Without Words, Op. 19 No. 3.

Take a look at the music here (thanks to IMSLP.org):

https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:IMSLPImageHandler/52241%2Fhfcn

Follow and support the pianist Jeffrey Hampton at:

https://www.facebook.com/HamptonMusicEville/

https://www.sixpackandasong.com/

One of my best friends, Chris, was very kind to come to my house and record it with me, and share his adventures to Germany with me.

He shares his observations about Germany with me and all that his trip entails; we talk about the locations he visited, including Dresden and Berlin - we also talk about the weather, food, and cultural differences between the United States and Germany. Spoiler alert: Pennsylvania and Germany are actually not quite that different?

Und für eine kleine Zeit haben wir in Deutsch gesprochen! (Excuse the poor grammar, my German grammar is a work in progress.)

Jeff and I are continuing our journey with The Hunting Song by Mendelssohn! We share our work thus far, and we discuss practice strategies, challenges and practice tips for other pianists as well. 

The Hunting Song is a piano work by Felix Mendelssohn, from Songs Without Words, Op. 19 No. 3.

Take a look at the music here (thanks to IMSLP.org):

https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:IMSLPImageHandler/52241%2Fhfcn

Follow and support the pianist Jeffrey Hampton at:

https://www.facebook.com/HamptonMusicEville/

https://www.sixpackandasong.com/