Songbird Piano Lessons

 Classical music lovers fall into two camps when it comes to Wagner: either they think he's awesome, or they think he's awful. Christians who are into classical music tend to completely shun him without completely knowing why. So then the question becomes, is this a fair case?     Growing up, my mom had a pretty good selection of classical music, but Wagner did not make her hit list. I hear rumours about this notorious composer, but then I hit Music History 3 and found that I was expected to actually study him. Of course, by the time one hits their ARCT in music theory, one has also amassed a collection of books that are not textbooks. Let me share with you what I learned about Wagner, and then we'll return to the question: Should Christians (or anyone else for that matter) listen to Wagner's music?    In order to answer that question, you have to know where you're going to draw the line as far as what music you will and won't listen to -- and why.  Mu...

 Presto Very fast

 Staccato Short and detached

 Whoops... I missed a tip for you parents in October. 😦    Anyways, another tip is here from my favourite unknown source.     Have a great weekend, and keep smiling! 

 Decrescendo Gradually getting softer

 Sorry to the photo lovers. I forgot to take pictures. Completely.    So, what's new in October?    Basically, what's new is me trying to be a balanced teacher by having weeks planned out for covering everything -- ear training, sight reading, technique, etc. And in trying to be balanced, somehow the theory books get neglected, and then I berate myself for not achieving my goal to teach a balanced course!     Of course, we had Canadian Thanksgiving in October, which demanded Thanksgiving-themed activities! (I was going to take a picture of the activities I used. But for some reason, maybe because it was mostly worksheets and composing activities instead of actual games, I can't seem to find the same sheets I used. I have the PDFs on my computer, of course, but none already printed out.) I try to use Thanksgiving as a time to get to know my students ("what are you doing for Thanksgiving?") and also to encourage them to be thankful. Which is probabl...

 Grazioso Gracefully

 I hate it when I remember things at the wrong time.    Like, falling asleep. Or when I'm in the middle of a conversation with friends. Or trying to make lunch. Or the morning that I'm supposed to be doing something that I completely forgot about up until then.     That's what happened with the October Update. That's also what happened with Composer Month. I remembered... last night.     But, as it stands, it is Composer Month again -- starting today! Here's a quick review of the rules of the game: Students are assigned their teams. This year we are back to the Baroque era, with the Bach, Handel, and Purcell teams! Each student brings in as many facts as they can for their specific composer each week. E.g. a student on the Bach team will bring in facts about Bach, not Handel or Purcell. Titles of pieces they composed and pictures of or related to them count too.  On December 3, I will tally up the points each team has collected. This yea...