Songbird Piano Lessons

 Staccato Short and detached

 Many of the historically great composers, especially in the Baroque and Classical periods, professed faith in God. Even into the Romantic era, composers continued to at least acknowledge the God of the Bible. But few of the composers lived a life that was consistent with their lip service. They may have claimed to be Christians, thought they were Christians, but they certainly didn't act like Christians.     Oliver Messiaen was one of the few exceptions. Humble about himself as a person, yet bold in his faith as a believer. Peaceful and loving towards those around him. Historically, Messiaen was a 20th century composer, living in an era where Western culture was visibly moving away from its Judeo-Christian roots. The French-born composer enlisted during WWII, and was captured as a prisoner of war by the Germans in 1940. He survived the prison camp, composing one of his best-known works, Quartet for the End of time , while imprisoned. Naturally, this work draws its s...

 Doloroso Mournful or sad

 Grazioso Gracefully

 When  Mr. B and his wife  moved out of our area, I was left scrambling to find a new piano teacher. Mr. B had suggested that I would do well under his former teacher, but, for reasons I might delve into another time (in fact, probably should, because it might be helpful to those of you who are looking for a piano teacher), I wasn't sure I was ready for that. My personal preference was a female teacher in our own community, not a male teacher which we would have to drive 45 minutes to get to every week. (I was shy. That was the real issue.) Mr. B, ahead of his time, was also offering  online lessons  to the students he was leaving behind, but we lacked the most important thing needed for a successful online lesson: an internet connection that would not cut out after three minutes.     Thus I wound up with Mrs. C (yes, I am nicknaming my former teachers in alphabetical order). Compared to Mr. B, she was quite tame, but at that point I didn't care. ...

 Fine The End

 First things first:    I hope you have a blessed Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday!    This song was one I learned years ago. I was at a week-long youth retreat, in which part of the required activities was participation in choir singing in the evening. It was my one chance to sing in a choir, and I enjoyed it! This song especially stood out to me, although many of my less-musical peers failed to appreciate the haunting beauty of medieval melody.     Now for the less-important things: what we've been up to in the studio. ;)    I'll admit, most of my focus was on Parkland Music Festival. I tried to keep  February's unfinished compositions going, but there's only so much you can do in half an hour, some students were falling behind in their theory lessons, and of course, there were still games to be played. (Games are very important. Just ask the students. 😁) Short story: the compositions are still unfinished. Hopefully that will...

 Forte Loud