Thoughts for the New Year

A friend of mine shared this music video with me. It's not a style I normally listen to (I'm the kind who will usually listen to hymns with orchestral accompaniment or, of course, the classical masters), but the lyrics are so powerful that I thought I'd share it with you. It's something I want to keep in mind going into 2020 -- an eternal perspective bigger than myself. I also love the call-and-response format. Plus the people who shot it did an amazing job with the video. 

   Anyways, I'll let you listen to it, and let the words speak for themselves. 


Recap on December

   I realize I haven't written about how the student recital went. Well, I can sum it up in two sentences:

   It was good. Everybody made mistakes.

   *laughs* Did I make anybody do a double take there? 

   Yes, I really did write that, and yes, I am serious. Here's why: Everybody made mistakes, but not one of my students let their mistakes derail their performance. Every single one of my students, from the five-year-old to the eighteen-year-old, did the hardest thing in the world to do in performance: they kept going. Not one of them burst into tears, threw back their head and shouted "Noooo!", or stopped and stared at the piano in blank confusion. 

   Can you tell I'm, maybe, just a little bit pleased with them?! 

   So, piano parents, go congratulate your kids on a job well done! 

   Myself? I'm still working towards my Associate Diploma. Music History 3 happened two weeks ago. (I have a whole boatload of interesting thoughts from what I learned to share with you when I have some more time to blog. *optimistically ignores planner full of things to do*) Next are the Harmony & Counterpoint and the Analysis. They're as intense as they sound. Needless to say, I'm enjoying my Christmas break. :) 

Happy New Year! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

And to this I said Amen

Image
 (Note for those who may not know: The word "Amen" comes from an ancient word -- whether Greek, Hebrew, or some other language, I do not remember -- that expressed agreement with truth. It is a transliterated word; that is, it's very similar to the original word in the original language. One person claimed it was one of two words that has been transliterated rather than translated across all languages, the other word being Hallelujah. Fun fact for the day. 😀)    Again, I had writer's block and didn't know what to write about. All I could think about was how it's February, it's a theme month, and I haven't finished planning the theme, even though the month has already started. So, once more, I turned to Pinterest . (If that link doesn't work, let me know, because I'm not sure it will actually take you to my Pinterest profile.)    This time, instead of music humour, I found this beautiful musician's prayer. And I went, "Yes! That is exa...
Read more

Gloves: For More than Keeping Your Child's Hands Warm

Image
   Snow swirls around the streets of Leningrad, Russia. Pedestrians pull winter coats tighter around themselves. Car lights shine through the flurries. In one large, multi-story building, a window on the corner of the building is lit. Inside the room, frost decorates the window panes. The only occupant – a young man, with a spark of life in his blue eyes – turns out music, gorgeous music, on the upright piano against the wall. He wears a heavy overcoat and plays with a pair of medium-weight, knit gloves – for his dormitory room has no heat.    At this point in the narrative, the music teacher jerks his enraptured student back into the present – modern Edmonton, a warm and very comfortable music studio, and the two Yamaha baby grands sitting side by side – with this question:    “ Have you ever practiced with gloves on?”    Ahh . . . no, I hadn’t. My house always had heat?!     My music teacher, undeterred by my blank look (w...
Read more

When Music Teachers Meet

Image
It was Sunday evening, and various members of  PMTA  were gathered at one member's home for the Annual General Meeting. Since I've only been a member for less than a year, this was the first time I'd been to one of their meetings. As we were setting up for supper, I asked the president, "So, what goes on in the meeting?"    She looked at me, and her face instantly displayed drama. With gusto, she replied, "You'll be thrilled, and chilled, and ... bored out of your mind!"    LOL!    That's the great thing about hanging around with other artistic minds. There's plenty of room for drama. :)    Seriously, though, I like getting together with other music teachers, because all of us can talk for hours about music. :) It was a lot of fun comparing notes back and forth and getting to know some of the other teachers. I pick up ideas from these exchanges, including other teachers' favourite methods and new things to include -- or new ways ...
Read more