This is a violin arrangement of the slow movement of the guitar concerto, recorded Jan 2014.

And Why Not?!

Classical music is good for you! It helps your thinking and it is good for the soul! You have probably heard of Mozart’s music influence on babies’ mental development. But this is not just for kids, and it does not mean just Mozart!

Classical music is very structural both in terms of the form of the tunes and in rhythms. Our brain is very receptive to patterns since we recognize our world by patterns, both visual and auditory. Listening to classical music clarifies your thinking and helps your organization skills. Have you heard of the Japanese researcher who experimented with the effects of music on the water molecules?  (more…)

Why am I talking about Attitude?

Because I know it can make a huge difference not only in music, but in our lives!

If you take two individuals with similar level of capabilities and talents, one could succeed while the other one can fail, only because of how they perceive themselves and how they look at the world.

Many a times I get reactions from students just glancing at a piece of music for the first time and saying: “that’s too hard!” Now, if you think that I have never done that myself, think again! I have said it many times, but then later in life I learned something about this thing called attitude!
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What is anticipation and why do I need to know this?

Anticipation, according to the dictionary definition is an expectation, foreknowledge or foresight. In playing an instrument, anticipation refers to thinking and preparing ahead. What do we prepare ahead? We prepare the fingers, we prepare the hands movement and we prepare looking ahead when we read the sheet music. Anticipation in playing gives you a flow of movement which translates in the easy, natural flowing of the music you play. Otherwise you’ll stumble, hiccup and feel like you are ready to fall on your nose!
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Notes Duration and Rhythm

Music is made of sounds, silence and rhythm. On the piano you make the sounds by pressing on the piano keys. The silence is the space between the sounds. The rhythm is what gives the music a beat that will make it flow. This is why learning how to count at a steady and consistent pace is very important.

Music is divided into units of time called measures. Measures are shown by vertical bar lines on the music staff. Measures usually contain the same number of beats or counts. The number of counts in the measures is specified in the beginning of the music piece or song, at the “time signature”.

The time signature is similar to a fraction in math. The upper number tells you how many beats are in each measure. The bottom number tells you what type of beats you have as the unit of time. For example 4/4 means each measure has 4 beats and each beat is a quarter note. Each quarter receives 1 count, since it is the unit of time. So in each measure you will count up to 4. If it was 4/8, the eighth is the unit of time, and each eighth receives one count. 3/4 means you have 3 quarters in a measure and you’ll count up to 3. In many ways, counting is like simple math. However it is crucial that you count evenly, like a clock, without slowing down or speeding up (unless of course, the music specifies this, which you’ll learn later).
The music notes have different time values which indicate how many beats you’ll need to count on one note. This is what makes some notes shorter and others longer. (more…)