MusicBasics4Keyboard

We're on a roll dear listeners with just four days remaining before the ball drops on Friday, New Year's Eve in Times Square, NYC. That was the goal, was it not? One song. Music means commitment ... thanks for listening.

The role of a teacher is to help motivate music students learn how to sight read among other things. Finding the right teacher is a different matter starting with disposition. Check future episodes. Thanks for listening. 

A teacher who makes music sessions seem more like rehearsals will increase "public performance" skills more rapidly. At the very least, lessons should boost self-confidence as long as students practice on a regular basis and the money holds out. Music lessons for "one person" or two for at least one hour, once a week will produce faster results. The music teacher formulates the rate, schedule and style best suited for students. Two students attending the same session, pay the hourly rate set for one student. In my case, students paid $20 for a 90-minute or two-hour session. Time flies when you're having fun. Thanks for watching.

On your mark! Five days left to play one song on New Year's Eve before the ball drops in Times Square, NYC. What is the name of your song? Will you be ready?

Like the main characters in the movie "Call of the Wild", it takes will power and belief you have what it takes to play a musical instrument. Your success depends on your self-confidence, commitment and passion. A dream to play piano and/or compose music requires all these things. Thanks for listening. 

CALL OF THE WILD

Buck is a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life gets turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Alaskan Yukon in the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail-delivery dog sled team, Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime as he ultimately finds his true place in the world.

IMPROMPTU - film with Hugh Grant. Released in 1991

Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin, better known in the literary world as George Sand, not only took a man's name, but trotted around wearing pants and smoking cigars in public. No great shakes today, but in the 1800s she was perhaps the most famous (or infamous) woman in the world. One of the first original celebrities, aside from her garb and literary output, she was known to inspire many duels and broken hearts among other famous hedonist artists. One character describes her in Impromptu, as "that graveyard."

How should we go about this? Take it one step at a time starting with the music and learning more about the man. Let's get started with a CD and watching "The Pianist" in 2002 produced by Roman Polanski starring Adrien Brody as Chopin. Soundtrack and sheet music from sheetmusic.plus available from the film. Songbook publisher: Hal Leonard: 9 pieces by Frederic Chopin.

The Story of Chopin in Words and Music - One Hour of Music with Narration - available on Amazon: An Introduction to the Classics priced at $11.83 for the audio CD (plus $4.00 delivery). One review goes like this: Chopin changed the nature of the piano, making the piano what it is today. He wrote over 200 pieces for the piano. Chopin is the true classical pioneer of the piano. As the CD says, Chopin kept the spirit of the Polish people alive through all the wars and invasions from Russia and Germany and others. Chopin was a gentle intellectual musician whose music helped his beloved Poland as it has done to this day.  The story is mixed with his story and music. Vamos a Escuchar! SOURCE: Amazon Music

THE FILM - The Pianist" with Adrien Brody as Chopin.

As well as practising the piano for four hours a day, Adrien Brody made a lot of personal sacrifices to star in Roman Polanski’s gripping war film, The Pianist. The Pianist tells the heart-wrenching story of acclaimed Polish Jewish musician, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who faces a series of struggles after losing contact with his family during the Second World War.

Directed by Roman Polanski and released in 2002, the haunting Holocaust drama is inspired by the autobiography, The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945, and follows a radio station pianist (played by American actor, Adrien Brody) as he embarks on a harrowing journey through the ‘Warsaw Ghetto’.

By the time the Germans close the gates of the Ghetto on 15 November 1940, Szpilman’s family have sold all of their belongings – including his precious piano, and are forced to hide in bleak surroundings.

Using his pianism to help him survive, he plays at Café Nowoczesna, a café on Sienna Street frequented by the Jewish elite, and the Ghetto’s largest café, the Sztuka, before tragically losing his loved ones during Operation Reinhard. Brody won an Academy Award for his performance at the age of 29, making him the youngest person ever to win Best Actor. SOURCE: CLASSICfm

What music is used in The Pianist?

Polanski’s screen adaptation demanded a melancholy soundtrack to match its sombre themes. And who better than the Romantic composer, Frédéric Chopin...

Szpilman would often share his love of Chopin with listeners while working on air, so many of the late Romantic’s masterpieces feature in The Pianist – all played on the soundtrack album by Polish classical pianist and actor, Janusz Olejniczak. SOURCE: Wikipedia

 Thanks for listening.

Maybe not, but you could be a "struggling" composer of sorts, a place where many musicians find themselves from time to time. What's your story? 

Welcome to the music/media room in my home with a Norway spruce tree, domestic bobcat nearby, music by Chopin and apple pies. Merry Christmas, happy holidays and Happy New Year! Stay safe. Be Well. Thank you for watching/listening.

Here we are again playing a carol on a toy keyboard. First, it was Jingle Bell Rock at Sam's Club. Today, it's Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Merry Christmas! 

Playing from memory, we awoke this morning with "Santa Clause is Coming to Town". The sheet music was nowhere to be found. Thanks for listening.