Lola Rosemary

I move faces, figurines and statues around in my studio periodically so that the students (and the statues) have something new to see. Some students look forward to the game, other students don't ever notice. I don't point it out. But, I am always on the lookout for whimsy.

So look at this terrific pot I found! She came with the name Lola, I'm going to put Rosemary in her head. One of the pictures showed her with fruit. That might have been fun too. I just had to open the seed starting mix and delight in the aroma of dirt! Won't she look fantastic with wild green shoots coming out of her bandana! And her earrings and lipstick! I imagine she makes that sing-song sound like Joanne Worley. AhhHAAAA! (Think of Laugh-In or the Wardrobe from Beauty and The Beast). Then I get to give her a haircut and cook with it! OK, that's weird.

The students will get to see the seeds grow too; they will mark the progress once per week, I'll get the pleasure of every day. May you find some whimsy in YOUR every day.

A TV In Every Corner, A Chicken In Every Pot

I went out to lunch today. It was fast food. The food was not fast, nor was it food, per se. But that is not my distraction point. My dining pleasure was interrupted by CNN, on a now "convenient" flat screen in the dining area. Does the Colonel really need 2 TVs, one in each corner? Does John need to expand his Taco experience to include the Dow Jones Industrial Average looping across the bottom of a screen? LeeAnn Chin, Perkins, Chipotle, Burger King-they have better TVs and more TV than I will ever want.

I can't get away for even a moment anymore from the noise of the world. And noise it seems to be. Long ago in a McDonald's far away, I remember hearing music, or in some cases, Muzak. Even a crude makeover of a Billy Joel tune was better than the dire announcements of yet more layoffs, and failing banks.

I've seen televisions that blare to no one, soap operas that bore, and products advertised that spoil my lunch. Do you really want to see that feminine itch resolved over your mandarin orange chicken salad? Is the friendly dining experience of sitting in a booth and talking to the person you came with an antiquated ideal? Do they really think that they can compete with the sports bar/grills? Is it an attempt not to choose a type of music that will then label their restaurant as "Oldies, contemporary pop, country, or hip-hop"?

May I grouse about one more thing as long as I'm a curmudgeon today? The service is even more poor; the help is watching the TV. Turn on some tunes, friends, I want you to listen to music, and turn off the tube. Thanks, I feel better now. And I'll try not to stumble coming down off the soap box.

A Toy?

I had a really fun and difficult time with the topic this week. I've thought about it since it was posted on Sunday. I've roamed my house looking at the items I consider toys.

But I thought most about my pianos. The question I kept coming back to, the one that bothered me, haunted me, and followed me around all week was: Is my Steinway a toy?

Most of us would agree that the little piano below is a toy. I love garage sales and picked this up a few years ago. It sounds just like you think is does. Younger siblings love to play it. New students like to try their first pieces on it. It's cute and it's quirky that I own it.

I also have a very new-fangled keyboard with every bell and whistle. It has a whole band, choir voices, synthesized everything, drums, and it is FUN! I do most of my composing here. It is hooked into the computer and I can hear my compositions through its speakers. I get the luxury of hearing the flute as a flute. I think of this as a toy however. Why IS that? Because it's got lots of gadgets? Because it's FUN? I should take it pretty seriously as I use it for serious business. But I don't. I don't teach on it. Many teachers teach on keyboards and uprights. Students at this studio warm up on it using the headphones, or put a saxophone on their jazz piece, or play along to the drummer in swing rhythm. They love it too.

So, I'm in a bit of a quandry about this. I asked a friend today whether his Steinway was a toy. He got rather indignant and scoffed, "of course not, my Steinway is serious business!" I understand what he means. It is an instrument, a tool that is used to make music, to express one's self. At the root of my issue is the fact that when I ask people if the keyboard is a serious musical instrument, they invariably use the word "fun". So, if the grand piano is fun to me, is it a toy?

People work very hard, get a Porsche and put a vanity plate on it: MYTOY. Is it really a toy? We understand that it is an outward symbol of hard work. It's also a high performance vehicle similar to a Steinway.

Another friend said that the degree to which you use it makes it a toy. He views "toys" as parts of hobbies, rather like a man who gets lots of woodworking equipment to make things on Saturday in his garage. so, he couldn't see my piano as a "toy" because I make my living with it.

I asked some of my teaching and performing colleagues. They were a bit ruffled to even pursue the question. (That could be a whole blog in itself now, couldn't it!) If I could ask Lang Lang or Leon Fleisher, I am pretty sure that the answer would be absolutely not. So, why can I see it both ways? Can't my students find great joy, passion and FUN in learning to adore the beauty that is music? Does it have to be serious all the time? Am I doing it and my profession a disservice by even thinking about it as anything other than a high art form?

What I decided today (only because the time was up and I needed to post) was that my grand piano is and is not a toy. Brilliant aren't I. I play popular music, lead church music, and compose. I practice and perform as a classically trained artist. It's work, serious business and a tool, part of my teaching and performing, yet it's also sublimely, deeply rewarding. There is a duality here that is both amazing and challenging.

So, I guess the bottom line for me at this moment is: it depends how you play it.

Practice Makes Perfect?

A mom and I were having a conversation about the increase in practice time that I had asked of her children. It had been significant because they had big goals. She said that it had been working, that she and her husband had really heard progress in their music, and best of all, it had changed the student's perspective. Because they knew that they were going to be on the bench for awhile, they really dug in and did some hard work, rather than playing through the music and being satisfied. She thanked me. Can you believe it? She thanked me for asking more of her children. Then she smiled and said, "Practice makes perfect, right?"

One of the children on the couch sat up that moment and said, "That's not what Chris says. Chris says that practice makes BETTER." This is true, I do say that. I've never really heard myself quoted before however. It wiggled in my gut. Oh my.

There are so many influences on children these days. The research says that it still comes from home the most. But this is a realization that who you choose for other coaching matters too. We private teachers spend precious amounts of time one on one with your kids. I spend years, YEARS, with some of them. We go through middle school, braces, drivers permits, first dates and prom together. They end up on my Facebook-I play at their weddings. I am so blessed to be part of their lives.

I can't imagine choosing a teacher because the lesson time on Tuesday at 5:30 is available.

After the student had spoken, there was an awkward pause, the mom looked back to me in gratitude and said, "You're such an influence on my family." I smiled. May I always treat my relationships, especially with students, with care and compassion, even when I need to kick 'em in the pants.

To Make an Omelette...

first you have to break a few eggs, or so the saying goes. It is the height of piano season now. The many holidays that break the schedule into small pieces are behind us and from January until spring break we can make significant progress. That is, of course, if you decide to.

I have 2 younger students that don't like to get messy, so to speak. It's actually work to move a piece from pretty good to really great. They play a piece to about 70% and then it's difficult for them to see the need to work on what I perceive to be the best part! After the omelette eggs are in the pan, the time is ripe to add the green pepper, cheese, onions, and bacon bits. What would you put in your musical omelette? Let's add some dynamics and season it with a few staccatos. I'm also of the mind that you can choose to leave out an ingredient or two that doesn't suit you. It's ok if you don't like tomatoes on your eggs. We'll at least have to try a musical tomato at some point. I may suggest one on your hamburger next time? Or a fresh one from the vine standing in the garden in the heat of the day? Taking a salt shaker with you and feeling the juice run down to your elbow? Heaven.

I may have tomatoes on my brain. Despite the snow, I bought Beefsteak organic tomato seeds yesterday. I can't plant them, even indoors yet, but I'm planning. I'm drooling with the thought of smelling dirt and getting into the warm soil. But it doesn't have to be today. So, now I ask myself, "in what area of my life can I improve my 'playing' of it?"

(Picture from the seminar, breakfast, day 2. It's a dozen dozen-that's gross?)

A Dardos Honor

I am a little overwhelmed at your generous praise, Iris313. Let us continue to inspire each other!

A Year of Beauty author Iris313 wrote this in her blog today:

The Dardos award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

The rules:
1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog. [Note: Don't forget to copy and paste the award jpeg itself to include on your own blog!]
2) Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

I've decided to send this to Chris Wolf for her site, Piano Posts. On the surface, Chris writes about her experiences teaching music, and what she writes about her students is often both eye-opening and amusing. She has great passion for what she does, so her posts usually also include personal observations, wisdom to share, or worthy questions for readers to ponder. Always I come away from this site with a sense of inspiration and something worthy to consider.

Self ________

How would you fill in the blank? Self centered (selfish), selfless, self interest (self aware)? At our conference, we were given the task to write synonyms for these 3 categories. It became clear that though selfish and selfless had different attributes, many of the consequences of being selfish or selfless were similar. Both brought about physical, spiritual, and/or mental illness. Although one might become arrogant and the other become a doormat, both seemed to turn in on oneself.

Self interest has been turned (like power) into some sort of "bad word". Thank politicians I guess. Turning to the root of the words, it really more about being aware of self in the midst of others. I loved the synonyms we had in this list: ambitious, balanced, connected, centered, steward, confident, assertive, highly mutually relational* (personal fave), truth and accountability.

In a nutshell,instead of being me me me, or them them them, when you are self interested you are about us us us. We were then asked to get out of our heads and into our guts. (I loved this turn about.)

Your self interests come from who you are, what shaped you, and where you are going. We took who we are and analyzed some of the reasons we are. Your self interest will come from some significant things in your past: from joy, sorrow, family, labels (mom, brother, etc), dreams, aptitude, milestones, culture, faith, ethnicity, generation, orientation, gender. We were given time to think about what really drove us to who we are, and drives us toward what we will be.


We were asked to come up with our epitaph. What is my legacy? What is the one thing I'm going to be remembered for? What's the unique difference I will make having been here? Where's my passion?

(The seminar was held in a beautiful church with stained glass. There were "people on yard sticks" made by children, all around the sanctuary-I thought they were as lovely as the windows)