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Learning versus Education
Have you heard of Seth Godin? He’s an American author and entrepreneur who specialises in marketing strategies. Godin has written books and articles on marketing strategy, and he writes a daily blog, which goes out free to his thousands of subscribers. Some of Godin’s blog posts are longish, but many are very short. I was…
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Did you get the message?
Not the messages that ping into your phone, nor the ones people leave on your voicemail, but…. …the messages you send to yourself. You’re about to perform at the Showcase. Or you’ve turned up at a particular venue to take your music exam. Or you’ve got guests in your house, and they’re all urging you…
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À La Mode
Remember to “View The Post” to get all the graphics! According to the Chambers Thesaurus, “À la mode” can be used to mean “elegant”, “fashionable”, “smart”, “stylish” or “sophisticated”. That’s all of us, right? In music, a mode is a type of scale. Did you know that the word “scale” comes from the Italian word…
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The London Eye
Before we get on board the London Eye, I want to point out that if you only read these articles in the email text, you miss some of the graphics. I didn’t realise this until a couple of weeks ago, and forgot to mention it in “How Many Ps?” last week. Please always click on…
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How many Ps?
Many of you will know that I like to differentiate between the three Ps of playing music (on any instrument). But in case you’ve forgotten them (surely not!) here they are: P is for Practice (= Progress) P is for Playing (= Pleasure) P is for Performance (= Plaudits) Look! Our three Ps just turned…
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Metronome Practice Record
In the Humoresques of 23rd April (“Enemies to Lovers”) and 30th April (“Vingt-et-Un”) I gave you guidance on when, why and how to use a metronome as part of your practice. Remember, I suggested you only use numbers between 60bpm (beats per minute) and 144bpm. [I am sticking, as always, to traditional metronome marks, although…
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Playlists!
The pianist in the photo was Radu Lupu (1945-2022). He was Romanian, and one of the greatest pianists ever. We are very lucky to have recordings of his performances. Lupu started studying piano when he was six years old. In 1969, at the age of 24, he won the famous Leeds International Piano Competition. In…
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Do you listen to classical* music?
It’s never been easier! There are YouTube playlists, Spotify playlists, mp3 recordings to buy, borrow or stream – and, of course, CDs and even vinyl records! What a choice! So it’s easy to listen – but why should you? Here are three great reasons: 3. Listening helps your hands follow your ears. This isn’t just…
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Vingt-et-Un!
Vingt-et-un is a card game in which you have to collect twenty-one points. Here’s a quick summary of the rules: I hope you’ll have a go at this age-old gambling game! I grew up on it! And now the reason we’re diving into “vingt-et-un” today: old-fashioned metronomes are the answer. Old-fashioned metronomes, those lovely pyramid-shaped…
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Enemies to Lovers!
Many of you will know that I write novels – Medieval Fantasy Adventures. This is just one genre of fiction, and there are many others. We all have our favourites, but one of the on-trend genres right now is called “Enemies to Lovers”. The “enemies to lovers” trope describes a romantic narrative where two characters who…