PRIVATE LESSONS | Music

Mikael Eliasen Interview - Part I - Celebrating 25 Years at Curtis

2011-05-22T06:53:00.005-05:00

PHILADELPHIA | Here's a fascinating two-part video. Hold on to your seat. Mikael Eliasen is a fearless and colorful personally.

I invited Mikael to give a master class at the Russian Opera Workshop 2011. As usual, he is booked for a few years in advance. We'll plan for 2012.

Interview Part I - http://youtu.be/MrqlKHhJ0n4
Interview Part II - http://youtu.be/SA0xYscvc_Y

Recently, Mikael celebrated 25th anniversary as the Artistic Director of the Curtis Opera Theatre and Head of Vocal Studies Department. Curtis' "Overtones" publication honored Mikael with an eloquent article contributed by the Wall Street Journal opera critic, Heidi Waleson.

In Part I, Mikael talks about the 25th anniversary concert, his collaboration with violinist Pamela Frank and Curtis Institute of Music director, violist Roberto Diaz. He talks with great pride of his former students, Leila Claire and Elliot Madore, currently in the Metropolitan Opera Lindeman Program, and current Curtis students who have joined him in the celebration.

Enjoy!

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Mikael Eliasen Interview - Part II - Auditions & Listening to Music

2011-05-22T06:43:00.005-05:00

PHILADELPHIA | In Part II, I talk with Mikael Eliasen about how we listen to music, both for pleasure and in auditions. With 500 applicants for Curtis voice department alone, it is a fascinating look at the audition process.

Interview Part I - http://youtu.be/MrqlKHhJ0n4
Interview Part II - http://youtu.be/SA0xYscvc_Y

Enjoy!

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

How do you get to the MET?

2011-03-18T11:43:00.003-05:00

NEW YORK | In front of the Metropolitan Opera House, I caught up with soprano Danielle Pastin who just made her Met debut in Tchaikovsky's "Queen of Spades" (Pique Dame). Recently, she also made her Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra debut in Tchaikovsky's "Romeo & Juliet." One might say she is now well exposed to Russian repertoire. It was a busy afternoon in Lincoln Center on a very windy New York day. As we were shooting the interview, AVA alum Jason Switzer sang Beethoven 9th in Avery Fisher Hall. A bit later, the Met held its National Council Auditions Grand Finals where AVA Artist, Michelle Johnson and Joseph Barron from Curtis where named winners. Enjoy!

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Interview with composer Daron Hagen

2011-01-17T20:27:00.003-05:00

NEW YORK | Enjoy this fascinating interview with New York based composer and a friend, Daron Hagen. From day one, Daron is a huge supporter of PrivateLessons.com. In this interview we reminisce about student days at the Curtis Institute of Music, lessons with his teacher composer Ned Rorem and performances of his student compositions. Now with six operas under his belt, Daron talks at length about the making of "Amelia" his recent work commissioned by the Seattle Opera.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Wallingford, CT

2011-01-16T20:01:00.004-05:00

Sandie shares this message:

Your fees per year are so worth it! Since I joined I've gotten 144 inquiries. I still have 20 families (some with 2 or more children studying with me) that came to me through your site. Have taught 30 total inquiries. Thank you!

Sandie Apuzzo, Violin and Viola Teacher

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Crossover arts with Matt Herskowitz

2011-01-14T19:09:00.003-05:00

NEW YORK | Here is a mini class reunion and an impromptu interview with pianist Matt Herskowitz who was in New York to promote his latest album "Jerusalem Trilogy." Since he was a teenage piano student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Matt was fascinated with jazz improvisation. Since then his career evolved as a versatile pianist composer, fusing classical, jazz and middle eastern influences. A Montréal resident, Matt teaches an improvisation course at the Montreal Conservatory.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Alexandria, Virginia

2011-01-12T19:32:00.005-05:00

Morgan shares this message:

... let me say that my $99 has every year been the best investment I've made in my teaching career. Your site is simple, well run, and gets the job done well.

Morgan Henry, Guitar and Bass Teacher

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Ottawa, Canada

2010-12-11T12:55:00.003-05:00

Jamie shares this message:

I really appreciate the students you send my way. Out of all the sites I've joined, yours has brought me the most.

Jamie Anderson, Guitar and Mandolin Teacher

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

PrivateLessons.com | Happy Holidays 2010!

2010-11-27T18:50:00.006-05:00

I am Ghena, the founder of PrivateLessons.com. Welcome and happy holidays to all! We are now in fifteenth year of operations and we are very proud of the fact that we assembled and attracted an enormously talented group of musicians to our roster. They are private teachers, they are performing and recording artists, they are film composers, songwriters. Every day, they share their love of music with so many different audiences, and one of the more important of audiences is you, the music student. And so this season we want to wish you lots and lots of music making for next year. Thank you and happy holidays!

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Back to Renaissance Music II

2010-11-22T10:02:00.003-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Fall Street Scenes - Music in the Park

2010-10-02T06:17:00.003-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Street Scenes - Music in the Park

2010-09-18T20:20:00.004-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Summer Street Scenes -- Music in the Air

2010-09-01T20:38:00.003-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Summer Street Scenes -- Music in the Park

2010-08-04T16:26:00.002-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Happy Birthday America!

2010-07-04T15:19:00.004-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Street Scenes: Independence Day Celebrations

2010-07-04T07:16:00.001-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Music in the Park

2010-07-02T16:52:00.002-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

PrivateLessons.com turns 14 years old!

2010-06-30T05:53:00.001-05:00

... from music capital of New York City

2010-05-25T12:15:00.003-05:00

Eric shares this message:

I just wanted to thank PrivateLessons.com for such wonderful service and for being such a great company. I've gotten many messages since I've joined, a few students, a job with a company, opportunities, and people inquiring about other advice for things like what percussion equipment to buy, etc. So, many thanks and all the best!

Eric Roberts, Percussion Instructor NYC

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Street Scenes - Spanish Music in the Park

2010-05-23T16:27:00.003-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Into the World of a Music Agent

2010-05-16T15:19:00.006-05:00

In PrivateLessons.com interview with Eric Amada, we venture into the business side of music and entertainment. Born into a successful musical family, Eric was a Vice President at Columbia Artists Management, Inc. (CAMI) in New York, where he worked for 14 years. Now he is the owner of Arts Management Associates, a boutique firm that represents performing artists and entertainment acts.

You come from a family of performing artists. Talk about growing up around such talent.

Coming from a musical family, I was always around classical musicians. My mother, pianist Susan Starr, performed so much when I was little and I was exposed to many, many great concerts. She also taught piano from home and I can't tell you how many times I woke up to a student warming up with Pischna. In little time, I was able to tell who was going to get hollered at and I’d get out of bed faster! My grandfather was a violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, so I was also exposed to a lot of orchestral performances, especially during the summers at the Robin Hood Dell and at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga, NY. My sister, Lori Amada, was a very talented pianist who later moved over to French Horn. All three made their living performing and all went to Curtis Institute of Music. Almost everyone I knew performed an instrument at such a high level, but I was more of the black sheep of the family. I was obligated to choose an instrument to study and I chose clarinet, and was required to practice a minimum of one hour a day. I would have far preferred to be out playing baseball. As a teenager, I realized that most of my social life was due to the fact that I played clarinet yet I never seriously considered this as a profession for myself, especially after speaking with a neighbor one day who was such a talented clarinetist and him telling me he had no intention of playing professionally himself because he “did not want to be told what to play, when to play or where to play,” but simply did it for himself. Up to that point, I thought such talented people making a decision like that would be wasting their talent. However, it actually paved the way for me to realize that I did not need to go into the “family business,” and not all would be lost if I stopped playing as well one day. However, all of the exposure to such great musicianship and performances and studying music myself assisted me immensely later on in my chose field of Artist Representation as I had developed a really good ear for superior musicianship.

How did you become interested in arts management business?

While I do consider myself a natural candidate because of my early exposure, I initially wanted to be a sports announcer and went to Temple University to make this happen. I soon changed my focus to advertising, yet I was reluctant to move to NYC to work in that cut throat environment. After speaking to a few people in the industry, I landed my first job out of college working for the Florida Orchestra in Tampa as an assistant to the Director of Marketing. A year later, my name was recommended to Columbia Artists Management, Inc. (CAMI), as they were looking to fill a spot in the marketing department. So, I wound up in NYC after all. The director of sales there had worked with my mother years early and I guess he figured I had decent pedigree and he could turn me in to an agent. Well, he worked me hard, and after 14 years at CAMI, I started my own company in Philadelphia.

Many young artists dream of building careers. How does one get on the radar of artist managers? When is it the right time to engage in a business relationship?

A natural reaction is “how do I get concerts until I have an agent?” There are several organizations that prepare an artist for a career including Philadelphia’s Astral Artistic Services and Young Concert Artists, and a host of International Musical Competitions. The hard truth is that a majority of agents and managers want to manage careers, not artists.

Very, very few agents sign artists who contact them directly. I often get cold calls from young artists looking for representation. What I often tell them, if I find the time to reply, is that an effective agent is one who either believes in you and/or he thinks he can financially benefit. I think artists should be a little more careful and protective of their careers by not just signing with just any agent. I strongly believe artists need to carefully consider the magnitude of to whom they are entrusting their career. It’s almost like entering into a marriage. Just because you always wanted to get married one day and then you feel you are now ready does not mean you should just accept a proposal because that person seems like a good candidate on paper. Truth is that just because someone is an agent does not mean they will even book a single performance for you, and poof, you just lost a year or two of your life. An effective agent must be inspired and passionate about the artist they represent or it simply will not work.

People sometimes find me through directories and know nothing about me or my agency… I think it is like someone finding a potential spouse on an online dating service and then talking about marriage before dessert is served. Wouldn’t you want to be introduced or speak to someone who knew your “date” before you went out? However, if someone I knew and respected set up this interview and said “she is fabulous, you are going to thank me,” I’d be a lot more receptive, right? If Martha Argerich or Fima Bronfman were to write to me and tell me I simply had to hear this pianist that they thought was the next Evgeny Kissin, do you think I might find that of interest? So, in a nutshell, I would recommend speaking to colleagues and teachers who are familiar with the managers and really familiarize themselves with how to prepare to make a good impression. This means knowing what is unique about your talent. What separates you from the rest? What conductors are ready to hire you if I were to call them? Do you have quality recordings and references and reviews?

You represent Igudesman and Joo, one of the funniest acts exploding on the music scene since Victor Borge. How did this relationship come about?

I saw one of their videos. I immediately recognized their uniqueness, and their marketability, and the fact that they were working with such musical luminaries as Gidon Kremer, Emanuel Ax, Julian Rachlin and Mischa Maisky, I knew they would be received well with the organizations who book talent. At the same time, I also knew they were not a household name, and were virtually unknown in North America outside musical circles…. which means a tough sell to the general public. They were in the process of changing their representation in the states, and I was quite fortunate to have contacted them when I did. Although they were already in discussion with far larger agencies, I think it was my familiarity with them and my obvious passion and enthusiasm for their artistry that piqued their interest in me. We have a long way to go before we are successful in getting them into the largest performing arts centers in the states, but they are clearly on their way… and 15 million views on YouTube does not hurt!

With emergence of Internet technologies, recording industry went through major challenges and changes. At the same time, how did arts management business evolve and adapt?

Record companies are no longer operating in the same fashion as they did even 10 years ago. They are now looking for what has been coined 360 deals, where they pretty much control all aspects of an artist’s career, including management, booking, publicity, music publishing, etc. Very few classical artists ever made money on classical recordings anyway. If a classical artist were to sell 10,000 CDs, this would have been quite extraordinary. Not like the pop artists. It seemed to me that they would go out on tour to generate more record sales, where the classical artists would generate recordings to help secure live performances.

While it is now easy to put up a wonderful video recording of yourself performing on your website, or on social media outlets and gain exposure, it also means 1,000,000 other people are also doing it. What is required is that you do something that really sticks out. Anyone can make a recording of Chopin Preludes or Bach Fugues. And it hardly matters if you play exceptionally well because that is practically expected. You need to find a way to make your outstanding performance stand out. Perhaps an agent can open some doors. Some artists have received attention for their appearance, whether it is because of how attractive they are, or because they have overcome physical limitations or even because of the color of their skin. If you are a pop artist and you write a hit song, no one does it better than you! In the classical world, what are you going to show me that I haven’t seen a hundred times and that my grandfather didn’t himself see?

It was not my intention to be so harsh here, but this is a tough and unfair business and this is because it isn’t about who is fastest or scores the most points. The same could be said about Hollywood, I guess. But I will share with you, paraphrasing what I used to hear my mother telling her students: if you can find happiness making a living doing anything else, you may be well-advised to pursue that avenue because you will undoubtedly find tremendous hurdles and damaged feelings. You should not venture down this avenue unless you truly know you wouldn’t be happy doing anything else and you are ready to sacrifice… tremendously.

-- end --

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com |Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Street Scenes - Music in the Park

2010-05-13T18:03:00.002-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Musical Street Scenes - May 2010

2010-05-12T18:13:00.001-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Jennifer Hamady on The Art of Singing

2010-05-08T16:07:00.007-05:00

In our interview with PrivateLessons.com member Jennifer Hamady, we discuss her book "The Art of Singing - Discovering and Developing Your True Voice". Based in New York City, Jennifer is a vocal coach and a professional singer. She worked with Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Def Leppard, Christina Aguilera, Wyclef Jean, Lee Ann Womack, Smokey Robinson, Jessica Simpson, Delta Goodrem, Babyface, Kid Rock and Usher on tour, in the studio and on television. Jennifer also toured as the lead singer in Cirque du Soleil's DELIRIUM.

What was the "aha!" moment that encouraged you to write the book? How many aha's did you have while writing it?

The book actually began as a series of emails. I traveled quite a bit when I started my practice, both as a coach and a singer, and would stay in touch with clients electronically while on the road. I noticed after a time that the same questions would come in, and that my answers seemed to be both unexpected and helpful. This- coupled with my growing belief that there had to be a healthier and more integrated way to both train the voice and educate the singer- led me to refashion my ongoing conversations into a manuscript.

There simply isn’t enough time in the day, much less the year, to share all of the ‘aha!’s I had while writing the book. Each page contains the result of so many of these moments; understandings born from revelations as a singer and/or in working with other singers that not only supported, but indeed created in many ways the foundation of my ideas and approach. And it is an evolving one; I believe that there is no certain wisdom any of us can possess… in singing, teaching, or in life. I’m fully aware that in a few years I’ll sit down to work on a second edition armed with completely new and possibly even contradictory experiences and insights.

Perhaps the biggest ‘aha!’ in the book writing process, if you’re up for a story, occurred about seven years before it was finally released in 2009. At that time, I’d just finished writing the manuscript, and went with my family to Italy for the summer… a vacation for them, and an opportunity to do a final edit of the book in style for me. So it was with great horror that not only was my laptop stolen when we first arrived in Rome, but that the files I’d left at home were corrupted. Meaning… that I had to write The Entire Book Over Again…

Having no other choice, I decided to do my best to recapture what I’d spent years meticulously and loving compiling. This proved to be a losing battle… and happily so. So much had happened to me and in my life since completing the first version of the book… as a woman, a singer, a student, and a teacher. My desire to prove myself in all of these areas in my early twenties had shifted into a passion to witness and humbly share, and I believe the current version of the book reflects that shift, and is vastly if not altogether improved for it.

Another revelation came from my decision about the cover art. Writing a book is a very personal process, and as you progress, it becomes more and more challenging to imagine releasing it to your editor, much less to the world. So it was a beautiful lesson for me to follow my instincts when they whispered that I should turn the cover completely and entirely over to my friend Randall Hasson. I literally handed him the manuscript one day, told him I loved and trusted him, and waited with bated breath for the result. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Randy poured himself into the project, and gave me such a gift with his beautiful work of art; I couldn’t have dreamed of anything more special or reflective of what I believe the spirit of the book to be.

All of this came into being for me- the book, the cover, the learning- from a series of grand ‘aha!’ moments in the area of ‘letting go’… of right and wrong, of good and bad, of perfection, of control, of ‘shoulds’ and ‘what if?’s. This release is, I believe, one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves. It opens up the possibility of powerfully partnering with others and truly sharing ourselves with the world.

You talk about trusting one's instincts, unlearning bad habits and envisioning before creating. Please elaborate.

Much of our learning today is additive. Meaning, we’re constantly taking in information and trying to reconcile it with what we already know, rather than standing without prejudice or intent in the face of new ideas. Because of this, we continue building up the dam of ‘what we believe to be true’ that blocks, rather than allows, the freshness of wisdom to flow to us, through us, and change us.

In singing, as in other areas of our lives and learning, we need to deconstruct this dam that’s been built for us by society, and by us in our compliance with it, before we can properly survey the landscape and ascertain what structure is truly best. In the realm of singing, this means addressing our culture’s subtle and overt perceptions of singers and singing, as well as our understanding of the nature of our voices- and the bodies in which they’re housed- and what the use of our instruments mean to us as people. While these ideas may seem simple, they in fact involve very complex relationships that transcend vocal production, including issues of fear, ego, control, expectation, perfection, personal value and worth.

In my experience, to properly begin the exploration of vocal training, the aforementioned issues must be addressed and resolved. Once they have, instincts and intuition step in... they’ve always been there, but are often hushed by the louder voices that plead for perfection, control, and notoriety. In the stillness, we can listen to ourselves and hear the whisperings of where we as people- and as singers- want to go… not because we should or need to in order to validate some personal or societal expectation, but because we dream and long to go there. When we are solid in this vision, its creation becomes a joy-filled journey.

Discuss learning how to learn, becoming one's own best teacher, and breaking away from negative conditioning.

The third chapter is dedicated to the realm of learning, and in my opinion, is one of the most important parts of the book. After all, the answer to the question of what we learn follows, rather than precedes, how it is that we will learn.

Many of us had less than optimal experiences in school, where the memorization and regurgitation of facts trumped the process of learning and its enjoyment. We may have believed that we were passive and second-class receivers of information rather than co-creators of relationships with curiosity, experience, and eventually, wisdom.

I have found that in all learning, particularly in singing, we must bring to the table a sense of equality and confidence as students if we want to participate optimally. That doesn’t mean that other people don’t hold incredible amounts of wisdom for us to absorb. It simply means that the process of empowered learning is in the context of relationship, with the specific information being the byproduct rather than the goal of the dance. When this respectful balance is achieved, new wisdoms easily and powerfully replace previously held ideas, stereotypes, and illusions- both mental and physical- because we had a both a say and a role in creating them.

Your chapter on fear covers a range of issues. Talk about managing fear.

These are such great questions… all with answers that could fill an entire book if addressed comprehensively. Perhaps the best way to briefly summarize my view is that I believe fear to be a positive, rather than a negative force. Our fears are, in my opinion and experience, calls to action that encourage us to move into new areas and experiences.

Unfortunately, many of us hear this call to action as a cry to retreat. We resist fears when they come, dismissing the pull to somewhere new in an effort to remain still, safe, and often, stuck. Our pride and egos compound the issue, frantically insisting that any effort to stretch out of our comfort zones will necessitate risking personal annihilation. And so we remain, longing for a great adventure while floundering in mere survival. We’re alive, but we’re not thriving.

In reality (my reality, anyway...) ‘failure’ is a myth. It’s an illusion. One look at nature will demonstrate this point. There is no wrong or right in the birth to death cycle. There is no judgment upon how a flower or a tree sprouts, blossoms and reaches for the light. Things simply are. It is we human beings that decide to create and impose the illusions of good and bad on what is simply an experience of and participation in the passing of time… an imposition which keeps us from really enjoying and being present in life. Look at young children… do they fear failure? Do they fear rejection? Do they worry about how it will look if they fall when learning to walk? Hardly. It is time we unlearn these illusions and remember the truth.

Interestingly, many singers are drawn to the profession in order to work through and reconcile these issues of fear and failure. Often, they have become convinced- incorrectly- that in an otherwise ‘unsuccessful’ life, their talent is the thing that will make them valid and worthy. Yet when this theory needs to be tested upon the metaphorical and literal stage, the fear that created this bizarre agreement rears its head and insists on neither trying to succeed (for fear or failure) nor giving up and pursuing something else (for pride and fear of ‘looking bad’). It’s a painful dance to both experience and witness. Fortunately, this very struggle, if approached with care, can result in its eventual resolution, and thus, personal and vocal freedom.

Define a healthy voice.

In my opinion, a healthy voice entails three equally important things: a healthy vocal instrument (larynx, vocal folds, strong and connected support mechanism, etc.,), a healthy body (physical health and somatic wellness), and a healthy mind (lack of stress, a sense of humility and confidence, and trust and faith in one’s place in the world). They are wildly and fascinatingly interrelated; without one, there will be a struggle in the long, if not the short term.

Recording sessions have their challenges. How do you achieve a sense of live performance in the studio?

In my opinion- and experience- the biggest piece of ‘technology’ that gets in the way in the studio is the mind. Certainly there are audio variables that in both their newness and foreignness to the natural singing process can cause problems (see below). But generally, it is concerns regarding the experience that singers bring to a recording session that exacerbate, if not cause, a less than optimal performance.

This is largely due to the inherent nature of a recording session. In a way it is a performance, but in another way not, as it will be immediately revisited, checked, tweaked, tuned, overdubbed, and ‘fixed’. It is hard therefore to be in the creative moment- which necessarily involves releasing the moment and performance- when we know that in one minute or less, we’re going to clinically analyze and even alter what we just created.

I therefore suggest to singers that they treat their recording sessions as live performances. I find that it’s best to walk into the booth and sing a song straight through, without thought, without listening back, and without thinking too much about headphone levels and mix and such. Just go for it. Afterwards, you can put your analytical thinking cap and intellectual listening ears back on to critique and, if necessary, correct what you’ve done.

While I’ve learned over the years to embrace and enjoy the process of performing in the studio, certain sessions still present challenges for me. I recently did a gig, for example, where in my headphones I was singing powerfully and perfectly in tune to the track, only to hear after stepping out of the booth that I was a quarter-tone flat throughout the whole line.

It is in this moment that the quality of a session is determined… it is in this moment that a singer has a choice: to get frustrated, embarrassed, angry, and critical of others, or to remain practical and curious about the cause of and solution to the discrepancy. Nine times out of ten, lowering the volume of my voice and/or the overall track in my headphones, or removing one headphone will correct my aural perception and therefore, pitch and performance accuracy. This seems to be true for most of my clients and colleagues as well.

Therefore, remain calm and committed to doing your best rather than to perfection. The former you can control, the latter you cannot. Any attempts at the converse will inevitably weaken your performance, as well as your experience.

You provide an example of how The Washington Post critic dismissed Andrea Bocelli's operatic skills while the audience was enthralled with his passion. What value did the critic bring to his readers?

I think the critic shared quite a bit of value regarding standards in and ideas about classical vocal technique. My issue was not necessarily with the content of his commentary, but rather, the lack of context, which included a moving and powerful presentation that left people in tears and cheering. I felt that this omission did a disservice to an accurate encapsulation of the performance and experience.

My intention in including the review was to provoke a conversation about this very issue… how in our desire to measure ‘quality’ of technique and levels of talent- in all forms of art- we often relegate to the background the effort and passion that leads artists to step onto the stage in the first place. In my mind, this passion is as valid an art form as the ‘technique’ itself. I loved this example because the reviewer’s staunch dislike of Bocelli’s performance was in such sharp contrast to the audience’s reaction. As singers, we are familiar with this conversation… whether it involves a debate of classical versus commercial technique, or training versus inherent ability, there often seems to be very little middle ground. I wanted to open that space up, and encourage us all to spend some time breathing and dancing in much larger ideas of ability and success…

How do you advise your clients to remain centered and unaffected by negative reviews?

I love the Tao Te Ching, and reference it often. It, along with the tenants of Buddhism and other eastern philosophies, discuss the nature of duality, and how a lack of attachment is the first step on the path to peace. I agree with these views, and feel readings in these areas would benefit all artists, and indeed, all people.

One of the most foreign and challenging of these concepts for us Westerners involves releasing attachment to both the negative and the positive. We must not only let go of the bad reviews. We too, while appreciating them, must also let go of the good ones. If we’re attached to either, we’re attached to both. Once we are able to achieve this full release, the process of singing and being in the present moment open up with a thrill that far surpasses any external or internal validation.

It is tempting to dismiss these ideas as spiritual mumbo-jumbo, but before you do, consider those performances and performers that you feel to be top-notch. Those you remember and think of as truly transformational. I’d bet that for most of us, it is those artists that from the moment they step on stage powerfully draw us into their worlds and experiences. We are attracted not to their ‘perfection’ but to their sincerity… to the permission they give us through their own vulnerability to bring forth a similar honesty within ourselves…

Certainly we all need critics, and I suggest that clients welcome reviews and constructive criticism as opportunities to see themselves through new eyes, to stretch, and to grow. But while on stage, let prior, future, and even current opinions fade- including your own. They no longer and do not yet exist. All that is present is the moment. Do your best, open your soul, and share your song.

You were a lead singer in Cirque du Soleil's DELIRIUM, touring in 16 countries. What was it like to perform for over 1 million people?

Mind blowing. Breathtaking. Frustrating. Humbling. Surreal. Awe-inspiring. Spiritual. Like a beginning. Like coming home.

I remember when we walked into the arena in Budapest… the largest we played on tour- something like 20,000 seats- we all stood there for a moment before sound check and just listened to the stillness… the quiet. The space was filled with expectation for what was to come… for what we would deliver to That Many People. I still get goose bumps thinking about it. Thank you for allowing me to re-experience that.

And thanks to you & your readers for sharing this wonderful conversation with me. Always a pleasure.

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Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Sacramento CA

2010-04-21T08:35:00.003-05:00

Judith shares this message:

Thank you for the wonderful service..........you all are great!!!

Judith Lynne Favero, Speech Level Singing Instructor

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Some of my favorite people

2010-04-20T12:27:00.004-05:00

Rare footage of pianist Vladimir Sokoloff. He was one of my piano teachers at Curtis -- unassuming, remarkable musician! I also played lessons for Julius Baker's students, which generally started at 7 a.m. with a bagel, coffee and a joke.

This footage is from a TV program in the early 60s featuring flutist Julius Baker and pianist Vladimir Sokoloff

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Spring - Primavera - Весна - Frühling

2010-04-06T12:03:00.003-05:00

Spring is enchanting. It explains why so many songwriters are inspired to write songs of Spring.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Dr. Chuan C. Chang on Fundamentals of Piano Practice

2010-04-03T06:01:00.004-05:00

In PrivateLessons.com interview with Dr. Chuan C. Chang, the author of "Fundamentals of Piano Practice" we touch on a complex subject of learning. Passionate about piano, Dr. Chang, a physicist, puts on a hat of analytical research scientist to explain a more efficient approach to learning to play piano. The book offers a clear path to improving learning skills.

What was the impetus for your book?

The invaluable teachings of Yvonne Combe, probably one of the greatest piano teachers of all time. Without this book, her teachings would have been lost forever. However, my book, after over 15 years of further research, goes even beyond Combe's teachings because of advances in knowledge not available to Combe and because of the application of scientific methods of project management.

I further made this book freely downloadable in order to accelerate the adoption of good practice methods because you can't put a price on musicianship, and piano students have suffered long enough from a lack of properly trained piano teachers and teaching materials.

Principles of Learning: Talk about the missing link between traditional teaching practices and teaching how to learn.

My entire book is about this topic! Here, I talk only about teaching piano (and probably most musical instruments and music in general), because teachings in schools and universities for science, math, etc., are not missing significant links and do excellent jobs; in fact my book is an attempt to pattern music teaching to those proven practices. The differences are far-reaching, but amazingly simple in practice. I list some major ones:

(1) Documentation. No one has any knowledge of how Liszt acquired technique (including Liszt, apparently). Great pianists were unable to analyze their technique acquisition methods or were unable to document them. One motivation may have been to enhance the myth of a genius who can do things others can't -- a very convenient excuse for not teaching every trick and aggrandizing their stature. With the exception of a few fragmentary attempts, no teacher or pianist has documented these methods until my book was written. Thus piano learning was one of few fields with no standard text book, which meant that the wrong intuitive methods were re-invented and taught ad infinitum (see my book for definition of "intuitive methods"). Note that an important aspect of documentation is providing accurate definitions of everything that is discussed in the book, something that has been sorely lacking in practically every book written on learning piano.

(2) Research. This is most clearly demonstrated by reading any book on piano; the majority have no references to other books. This means that the writer simply wrote down her/is ideas without checking them with those of others or researching what was previously investigated, or comparing his methods with those of others to see which ones are right and which are wrong. True, teachers such as Whiteside had experimented with different teaching methods and recorded the results. But research by one teacher doesn't get you very far; it is when all available research is assembled, analyzed and written up, do you really benefit. In addition, even when written, most writings of pianists are not sufficiently organized in terms of theory, correctness, and completeness, to be useful because of their lack of formal training in pedagogy. Scientists like me must learn and teach practically every day of our lives; otherwise we fall hopelessly behind very quickly; by contrast, piano teachers rarely interact with each other to improve their teaching methods.

(3) The Power of the Intuitive Magnet. Because the intuitive methods and their pitfalls were never identified, they became the standard teaching methods. For the first time, my book defines the intuitive method and discusses its pitfalls.

(4) Knowledge vs Art. Artists are understandably wary about reducing art to a science, because that can put them out of business, and every student becomes a talented musician or even a genius. Their lack of understanding of science makes them utter statements such as "Art is not Science" or "Music is not math", and thus they tend to separate the two while in reality, science provides possibly the greatest help that artists can get. Under the intuitive methods, artists did not have time to acquire other knowledge because it required a lifetime to learn art. The floodgates are opened when science is finally added to art because learning is accelerated and there is plenty of time for artists to learn everything else. This is one reason why many piano teachers cannot teach from my book, because they can't speak the same language and make too many mistakes when they try. Thus one requisite for raising the level of piano teaching is better education of the piano teachers.

(5) Misconceptions about inborn talent. Talent has never been clearly defined and has been overvalued as a requisite to becoming a successful pianist. The truth is that talent is more created than inborn. If you give the same set of students to a poor teacher and a good teacher, the good teacher will produce many more talented pianists than the poor one. "Lack of talent" has been the most convenient scapegoat when a teacher fails to teach. Of course, there are differences in the abilities of every student. But we must more carefully differentiate between inborn talent, the educational opportunities, and age effects, etc., because any of these factors can dominate the effective talent level of a specific person.

(6) I can go on and on. I may have sounded facetious or derogatory in some of the descriptions of piano teachers above because I did not have space to discuss the justifiable reasons for their shortcomings, and I made statements that are clearly one-sided in order to make a clearer point.

Learning Rate Calculation: Excluding mathematical formulas, in broader terms, how do methods in your book reduce learning curve vs. intuitive methods?

(1) Hands Separate practice, (2) Shortening difficult passages, (3) Memorizing before practicing, (4) making music, (5) avoiding exercises of the Hanon type and "practice music" such as Czerny, (5) a large class of "learning tricks" such as parallel sets and outlining, (6) Mental Play (allows practice without a piano, helps memorization, etc), and (7) details of technical acquisition such as the Thumb Over method, glissando motion, cartwheel motion, etc.

Photographic Memory: Is it truth or fiction?

Truth; it is easy once you start practicing it; but it is more acquired than inborn. In many students, it appears inborn because the differences are so huge between good photographic memorizers and poor ones. And the good ones seem to have acquired it "in no time". But the good ones learned to do it at an early age, which makes all the difference. For example, absolute pitch is totally learned, but a 2-yr old can learn it in minutes while a 50 year old may not learn it well in 3 years. Photographic memory is Mental Play, and is learned by practicing Mental Play. Thus the statement "photographic memory is inborn" is fiction.

Mental Play: As we have seen in recent Olympics, athletes do a mental exercise, visualizing the routine before they start. Talk about the benefits of mental play in music.

Very well put, because it is huge; for a pianist, it is just as important as finger technical skills, yet most teachers don't even teach it. Without it, you can lose your absolute pitch in a matter of years. Your recitals will be full of errors. You have no way of controlling nervousness before a performance. But most importantly, Mental Play (MP) is a measure of your musical IQ. Memorization is the skill most closely associated with MP, and good memory will raise your effective IQ just as adding memory to a slow computer will speed it up. As you pointed out, every one of those giant slalom skiers would either not win, become injured, or worse without MP. All accomplished pianists eventually compose music, and without MP, composition is impossible, so they eventually learn; however, they progress much faster if taught correctly from the beginning, instead of "random invention by necessity". This is similar to the situation whereby a school student will learn to add, subtract, and multiply much faster if taught in class than if left alone to figure out how to do it.

Practice Routine: Talk about the right and wrong procedures.

That's basically the difference between intuitive and correct methods. In the correct methods, you are either taught exactly what to do (e.g., practice relaxation, Thumb Over method), or given a set of tools to solve problems (hands separate, parallel sets). The human hands/brain are incredible instruments in the infinity of motions they can execute, most of which are totally unfamiliar to most, and must be taught. In the intuitive method, you are asked to try to play something you can't by repeating it. Again, the incredible ability of the brain/hand appears here in that eventually, the hands will accidentally discover the right motions, and in most cases, the pianist is unaware of the accident -- s/he just feels that s/he can play it all of a sudden. It is easy to understand that a good teacher can explain the necessary motions in a lesson or two, while it may take longer -- sometimes a lifetime, for a student to accidentally discover it. Liszt took 2 yrs to discover Thumb Over, AFTER he had already become a recognized pianist. Today, a teacher can teach it to an eight-year old in a few lessons. The wrong methods are discussed in great detail in my book, because so many of them seem so intuitively correct -- the reason why I named them "intuitive methods", although obviously, not all intuitive methods are wrong. To be strictly correct, they should be called "wrong intuitive methods".

Technique: You suggest that finger dexterity of advanced pianists and regular folks is not much different, and that technique is a function of brain/nerve development. Please elaborate.

Some of that was covered in 6. above. What I meant by my statement is that with proper training, the majority of humans can acquire finger dexterity of concert pianists, just as the majority of humans can grow muscles by weight lifting. Note that even concert pianists must practice every day in order to have sufficient finger control for performances. Thus finger dexterity is definitely more training and conditioning than inborn. As several famous musicians have repeated said, ‘If I don’t practice for a day, I notice. If I don’t practice for two days, my friends notice. And if I don’t practice for three days, the whole audience notices.’

Slow Practice: Sergei Rachmaninoff was known to practice extremely slowly. What developments happen during slow practice? What are the negatives, if any?

This is controversial, as I have no concrete research evidence to show that it helps; however, it is entirely consistent with the ideas in my book. With very slow play, you can practice the Basic Keystroke (BK) concepts in my book. BK consists of an accelerating keydrop (gravity drop) followed by rapid relaxation, followed by a relaxed hold and finally a quick lift at a very precise time. You can't practice these components while playing a Chopin Etude at full speed. Playing at about 1 note/second will allow you to practice them. The idea is to practice them sufficiently so that they become automatic components of every note you play. The negative is that it requires an inordinate amount of time -- but that may not be an issue, if learning it is a NECESSITY.

Transferable Skills: You liken learning a musical composition to project management. Please explain.

Technique acquisition and composing are all project management issues, and any expert in project management will agree with that, and when they read my book, they will recognize the basic elements of project management everywhere in my book. That is why my book (and learning piano) can be so useful for success in school and in life in general. Some basic principles are: (1) work only on segments of the project that you can manage and hopefully you can choose segments that are easy to manage, (2) once finished, have a way of maintaining that segment so you don't lose it, (3) define a hierarchy of segments with different difficulties and attack each in the most logical way -- for piano, you should start with the most difficult because it takes the longest time to learn; for warfare, you may want to start with the easiest so as to disrupt your enemy and not have to fight their strength until absolutely necessary, (4) all segments must be contiguous; isolated units are vulnerable to deterioration from all sides and are harder to maintain. Etc. You must know how to begin, continue, and finish a project, and have some way of knowing how long it will take. You must have a basic theory as well as the knowledge base to carry the project through. That is, theory is only the beginning; every project is knowledge based.

Your book is quite thorough, yet you state it is just the beginning. What other research on this subject do you see in the future?

The best way to illustrate this is to say that the invention of the transistor was a great breakthrough because it replaced the vacuum tube which was large and expensive to make and operate, and it totally changed how we communicate. This might represent the first appearance of my book. But it was only the beginning; then came integrated circuits which essentially put most of the electronics of an entire radio or TV on a chip, etc., and now 50 yrs or so later, we have the internet and Google. Thus the addition of science to any discipline usually causes that discipline to advance to levels not initially predictable. This has been repeated in medicine, biology, chemistry, psychology (neurology), architecture, etc., except in piano until my book was written. Some possible research topics are the role of momentum in rapid passages, brain studies of musical response, especially as a function of age (especially the very young), quantitative measurements of genetic and other factors that affect the musical brain, the physiology of fast and slow muscles, the different roles played by nerves vs muscles, -- there is basically an infinity of them because each advance will engender new questions. Music conservatories must now embark on these endeavors instead of trying to maintain the status quo which has led nowhere for hundreds of years. Make no mistake; change WILL come. Look how the electronic pianos are cheaper, always in tune (the modeled [vs sampled] pianos now allow you to play Chopin's Pleyel or Mozart's harpsichord all in one instrument), sound much better than practically any upright piano, and can do many things that mechanical pianos can't. But obviously, the most important questions center around technique development and the human brain.

---

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of New York City

2010-03-27T14:38:00.003-05:00

Jennifer shares this message:

Thank you so much for creating this wonderful site. I've worked with a number of great clients thanks to it, as well as have had many people buy and enjoy my book.

Jennifer Hamady, Voice Teacher/Vocal Coach

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Josef Lhevinne on Beautiful Music Making

2010-03-22T19:51:00.005-05:00

Recently, I decided to re-read "Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing" by Josef Lhevinne (1874-1944). Originally published in 1924, the book is only 45 pages, and says it all.

It took a brilliant musical mind and a lifetime of music study to articulate with crystal clarity the foundation of beautiful music making.

Lhevinne outlines basic principles, the keys that help unlock freedom of expression. It is a starting point and the rest of the journey is as individual as there are musicians in this world.

Here is 1928 recording of Lhevinne playing Schultz-Evler "The Blue Danube." It puts a smile on my face every time. Enjoy!

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

"This is my career, not a job"

2010-03-09T19:09:00.009-05:00

PrivateLessons.com Member, Ron Jackson offers a snapshot of a life of a busy working musician. Based in New York, Ron has an established presence on the international Jazz scene and is a dedicated private guitar teacher.

How to survive in the music business when it's always up and down

By Ron Jackson

In the music business it's either sink or swim! When it comes to gigs, either it's dead or it's crazy busy! You know the saying, "How do you make a musician complain?" ---"Give them a gig" I prefer to have a gig!! Sometimes I'll do some crazy things to make a gig. Here are some examples of some things I've done recently........

1.) Play a gig in the evening in New York, then drive 3 hours that same night to play in Maryland the next morning @ 7am then drive back 3 hours to Brooklyn, teach privately for 3 hours then make another gig that night.

2.) I was playing 3-5 gigs a day when I was performing at schools for Jazz at Lincoln Center a couple of weeks ago, the call times were so early, that I had to wake up @ 6am, sometimes drive for an hour, then play.

3.) Wake up with only 4 hours of sleep, teach for 7 hours, then play a duo gig (guitar and saxophone for 5 1/2 hours, while driving to make each gig.

It's rough trying to make all these jobs, I run on steam, trying to rest in bed in between some days so I don't get sick.

Here's the question?
"Is it worth it?"
YES !!!!!

This is my career, not a job. I am one of the lucky musicians who can say when some straight 9-5ver asks, "What kind of work do you do?" I can proudly say, "I play music". They always look surprised!!!!

It's a tough business, it's takes more than just being a great musician to make a living.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Happy 200th birthday, Mr. Chopin!

2010-03-01T12:50:00.001-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Anchorage, Alaska

2010-02-21T07:06:00.005-05:00

Mary shares this message:

I really appreciate your website ... I get results from it, and it helps my bottom line ... Kudos to YOU!!

Mary LaFever, Guitar Teacher

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Artistic Liberty

2010-02-13T16:57:00.011-05:00

PrivateLessons.com Member, Ney Mello explores the future of classical music performance standards. Based in Silver Spring MD, Ney is a performing and recording artist and a dedicated guitar teacher.

Can we please have actual artistic Liberty for the classical guys and girls?

By Ney Mello

Recently I have been studying String quartets and symphonic writing in order to increase my grasp of multifocal arranging techniques and approaches. I have also become aware of how few are and were the real artists playing concerts in the classical world today and last century.

One artist who had the real classical music spirit was Glenn Gould. Now..What IS the real classical music spirit and why is it not happening in more than a handful of "controversial" masters in the last century and today?

In fact classical repertoire is poised for an inevitable return to its source as a living art. A restoration of the old living values of genuine artistry and humanism has become the only way for classical music to stay relevant in today's world.

If it does not it will die completely. Attendance to classical recitals and concerts is decaying fast to nothing and record downloads and CD sales are almost non existent these days and orchestras are being eliminated.

The source of all this decay and death in the classical establishment is precisely its own decision to be dead in spirit and to teach the classical musicians to play alike as quasi-automatons devoid of personal vision and interpretation (except affected, directed and precisely dictated musical conduct regulations - as is done in so many master classes which are de facto indoctrination seminars of a most totalitarian nature).

Classical musicians have been indoctrinated on how to play the works “correctly" and as "they should be played".....This fascist cultural gestalt was not the reality in the 16th to 18th centuries, when the music was alive and Franz Liszt was a "rock star" phenom as well as Paganini and so forth. In fact very much like today's Gwen Stefani, Paganini influenced fashion trends with popular apparel items such as “Paganini style" gloves.

Mozart was like Andrew Lloyd Weber in popular impact with is opera productions etc... so was Puccini.

However the 20th century was a deathly period for classical music and the final days are almost here...unless: The renaissance of real feeling and real musicality gets going soon.

When it happens (if it happens) improvisation will be re-instated as it was in the times of living classical music. Embellishments will be again a common practice. Performers will be again musicians instead of recitalists quoting the printed page as they were ordered to do and always in the same standard spiritually dead manner.

Furthermore the forced ideological concept of recitalist versus composer must be dropped as it is one of the most poisonous forces that has weakened the classical world to it's knees.

Any composer is also a player and when they played they changed things around a lot and added sometimes an hour of "extra" improvised on the spot variations during a concert's solo cadenza. This was forbidden in the 20th century and remains prohibited today in spite being a blatant violation of these composers’ fundamental values and artistic intentions. The classical player has been reduced to a flesh and blood ipod!.. Just play the file and nothing more. No room for human creativity.

In my estimation, among the very few artists who actually lived and live as real classical musicians free from the collective death inducing directives of the oppressive classical ideology of the late 19th and 20th centuries are: Julian Bream, Martha Argerich, Muza Rubackyte, Gidon Kremer, Ivo Pogorelich, Yehudi Menuhin and Glenn Gould among a few rare others.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

One Line Drawing, a Performance Art

2010-02-07T16:28:00.003-05:00

Once, I wrote songs on poems by Ben Wolf. He was so touched, in appreciation he gave me his one line drawing entitled The Accompanist.

I just rediscovered it in my library. It’s time to frame it.

Ben Wolf was an artist, author and a great supporter of the arts in Philadelphia.

The more famous of his one line drawings is of Leopold Stokowski, which graces the cover of Abram Chasins' book.

One line drawing is quite a performance art. Once you start a drawing, it’s show time.

Mr. Wolf told me a story of how he was working on a drawing of Stokowski but couldn’t quite capture it, and then, in one magical moment, there he was.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Westminster CO

2010-01-31T12:19:00.003-05:00

Vince shares this message:

I love your service and have had a number of new students through your site, more than any other site I've tried.

-- Vince Madison, Piano Teacher

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-29T20:30:00.010-05:00

Thanks to all our patrons, 2009 was our top performance year since we started in 1996.

Thank you for making PrivateLessons.com an exceptional network.

Happy New Year!

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Choosing the Right Vocal Coach

2009-12-28T12:38:00.006-05:00

PrivateLessons.com Member, Debora Lebendiker, shares her article on the subject of choosing the right music teacher. Based in Miami, Debora is a singing coach specializing in stage performance and artist development.

The Only Thing That Counts Are the Results
By Debora Lebendiker

Often, I see singers who come to my studio looking to fix different problems. They all have something in common though. They do not feel comfortable with their voices. It would be normal to see artists who want to improve their vocal technique, but what is interesting is that many of these students have already been studying with other vocal coaches.

That is where I start to emphasize the importance of obtaining results in the short-run. It is true that the vocal development takes some time, however working with a vocal coach should generate improvements within a month of vocalization exercises. There have to be some improvement which creates a feeling of comfort with one's voice. This will advance the progress. It would not be sensible to wait a whole year to see results. If within a month or two, results are not seen, then it might be time to seek another vocal coach.

The vocal coach has a great responsibility of taking a student and helping him/her to improve his/her voice each day. The harm is done when the coach does not let the student go because the coach cannot accept his or her own teaching limitations. On the other hand, the student continues taking classes because there is a good relationship with the coach, continuing with the classes without realizing the consequences this can have on his/her voice and also takes away from his/her professional opportunities. My advice is not to go just by nice words and compliments. Seek results that can lead you to achieve excellence as an artist.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

The Art of Flute

2009-12-07T11:12:00.004-05:00

NEW YORK CITY | On a recent trip to NYC, we visited with PrivateLessons.com Member, Jun Kubo. Jun is a concert flutist who graduated from the famed Juilliard School, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and NYU. Trained as a classical flutist, Jun is delving into a world, as she calls it, of music creation. This includes branching out into a variety of musical styles such as jazz and contemporary improvisation, fusing Asian musical traditions, electronic music and original compositions. It seems that there is a renaissance of sorts, where highly trained classical musicians take the strength of their training foundation and move into most interesting directions, shaping new creative frontiers.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

The Lap Harp Magic

2009-12-06T07:54:00.005-05:00

NEW YORK CITY | In NYC, we visited with PrivateLessons.com Member, Mia Theodoratus. Mia is a private harp teacher and performer who does not know the meaning of the word NO. She is always ready to perform. She is enthusiastic about her love for harp and in this interview we get a clear picture of her creative outlook. She improvises, writes her own music, and performs with singers and dances in original show productions. Mia recorded with TV on The Radio, Leona Naess, FischerSpooner and other independent artists. Mia also teaches how to play and interpret Irish and Celtic folk music.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Music, Literacy and Dale Hubert

2009-12-03T20:57:00.007-05:00

In PrivateLessons.com interview with Dale Hubert, we are exploring the creative ways to reach children and encourage interest in literacy. Dale is a 3rd grade teacher in Canada, and for eleven years he taught special education. He is the creator of Flat Stanley Project, now an international phenomenon.

Before you became a schoolteacher, you had a music career. Tell us about it.

I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a teacher, but I had several other interests along the way. I grew up when folk music was making a resurgence and I was drawn to the guitar. I began with no skills and through perseverance and understanding parents I slowly learned the fingering of chords and began playing songs that were important to me. After university I went to Europe and while in Spain I saw a street singer and I figured I was as good as he was, so I bought a guitar and sang in the street. I made enough to pay for food and rent with some left over, then got a job singing in a bar.

I did that for a few months then teamed up with a duo from England and we lived in a van and sang in the streets from the south of Spain to Sweden and as far west as Crete. After a year I returned home and performed in the lounge circuit in Manitoba and northern Ontario. I did this for a couple of years and along the way developed skills in handling crowds that would later on come in handy in the classroom. No matter how unruly the students, they don't compare to a drunken crowd of loggers and miners from northern Ontario!

As an educator, how do you ignite students' imagination?

The first thing I try to do is build a feeling of safety and community. I tell the students that the most important word they will ever learn from me is YET. Then I tell them that some grade 3 students already think that they can't read or can't do math and I tell them that perhaps they can't - yet. As soon as we add the word "yet" to the statement, it opens a world of possibilities. It's OK to not be able to do things yet. When I began learning to play the guitar I was very unmusical and had very limited natural talent but since I was intrinsically motivated to succeed, I stuck at it, made the effort, and eventually achieved my goals. I believe the key to success in the classroom is through offering authentic and meaningful opportunities to develop skills. For example, when teaching graphing in math I'll have the students graph data that is important to them such as baseball stats or favourite hobbies. It's been a long time since I was a student, but I often ask myself what I would have liked my teachers to have allowed me to do, then I try to manipulate the curriculum to allow that to happen. I've taught special ed, Grade 6, and Grade 3 and for last couple of years have been team-teaching with an excellent teacher, Zillah Moss, in a 3-4 split class with 2 teachers and 44 students in one room. Because the students are intrinsically motivated, classroom management issues rarely arise.

Talk about Flat Stanley. What was the aha moment?

I'd taught Grade 6 for five years and had applied to teach Grade 3 for the first time. I wanted to find a way to develop literacy in an authentic and meaningful way. This was in 1994 and the World Wide Web was in its infancy. There was very little appropriate material available for 7 and 8 year olds, so I decided to create something. As a special ed teacher I'd invented an adaptive computer keyboard and written the software for it, so I was used to crafting my own materials. I came across a reference to Flat Stanley on a school's website and I thought I might be able to turn this storybook character into a traveling mutual friend that we could write about. I was hoping to arrange 8 or 10 exchanges for my students, but I planned to create a site that would allow others to share their experiences as well. I asked one of my former Grade 6 students to teacher me HTML coding and began the Flat Stanley Project. This was long before the social networking that's now so common, but I created a place for teachers to share ideas, a List of Participants, a Success Story section and a Picture Gallery. Eventually I was contacted by Jeff Brown, author of the original Flat Stanley story. Jeff was delighted with my efforts and the resurgence of interest in his book. The numbers of participants rose from 13 the first year to hundreds the next, then thousands a few years later and now millions of children are familiar with Flat Stanley as a world traveler and penpal. So rather than a single aha! moment, it's been a perpetual list of inspiring events and opportunities.

Flat Stanley met important people in high places. Who are some of them?

I enjoyed making contact with Jeff Brown. We became friends and he visited me and my family here in London, Ontario, and we stayed with his family in Connecticut. We remained friends until his death in 2003. But the little flat guy continued to make interesting friends in high places. Clint Eastwood took his daughter's Flat Stanley to the Academy Awards when he won the Oscar for Million Dollar Baby. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took his son's Flat Stanley to work and appeared on late night talk shows with it. There have been many visits to the White House and Flat Stanley has been photographed with Carter, Clinton, Bush I and II and Obama as well as numerous governors and mayors. Scientists have taken the little flat guy to Antarctica to study penguins and to labs to conduct research and there have been several trips to space. Then there are the TV stars and movie actors. A reporter from In Style Magazine once told me that new celebrities didn't feel they'd quite "made it" until they'd been asked to host a Flat Stanley! One Flat Stanley that I treasure the most is one I sent to Pete Seeger, one of my idols, and "old Pete" returned it and had written on the back of it, "Kids, if YOU keep your sense of humor and reach out to other kids in ALL the world, and get them to reach out to you in their own way, there may be a human race here in another 100 years!" But the main support remains students in schools who are developing literacy skills and building community through Flat Stanley exchanges and I am overwhelmed at the interest in my Flat Stanley Project.

What is next for Dale Hubert?

What's next? Well, as the old saying goes, the future is one of the hardest things to predict. I've been a classroom teacher for 31 years, so retirement is in the fairly near future. I've continued to enjoy music and recently bought a mandolin to add to my mountain dulcimer, banjo and guitars, so I could spend a great deal of time improving my musical abilities. I recently earned my black belt in karate and could spend the rest of my life improving those skills. Over the last few years I've taken Flat Stanley with me on vacations to Scotland, England, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Egypt and Mexico and this March my father and I are planning on visiting the Galapagos Islands. I'd like to continue the Flat Stanley Project and to remain involved in education as I look for additional opportunities.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

… from music capitals of Santa Monica & Brentwood CA

2009-11-19T13:32:00.003-05:00

PrivateLessons.com members, mother and daughter, Kathleen and Kelly Kernohan share this message:

You have helped us build our business. Thank you so much. Especially my daughter’s business in Santa Monica. (Kelly Kernohan) We now have a studio together in Brentwood, CA -- Kathleen Kernohan

Kelly Kernohan is a voice teacher in both Santa Monica and Brentwood, CA

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Flat Stanley Explores Musical Instruments

2009-11-14T22:00:00.006-05:00

Crossing the street at City Hall in Philadelphia, I noticed a woman with Flat Stanley in her hands. Her little nephew from Canada sent Flat Stanley in the mail along with a handwritten story of his latest adventures.

Because he fits in an envelope, Flat Stanley travels widely. It is an idea meant to encourage letter-writing by school children around the world. Visit Flat Stanley Project. See Story Synopsis.

Here is a look at Flat Stanley exploring musical instruments.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... once again, from music capital of Atlanta

2009-11-11T15:52:00.003-05:00

Rebecca shares this message:

As always, YOU ROCK!!! I've told other professional musician/teachers about you and they've signed up and are doing great with it!!! -- Rebecca Windham

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-28T11:17:00.002-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Baseball Uniform or a Costume?

2009-10-27T11:04:00.005-05:00

Some years ago, on Saturday mornings, a sleepy 10-year-old Josh Goldsmith came to my studio for piano lessons. During lessons he effortlessly improvised jokes that kept me well entertained.

At about the same time, Josh played on a little league team. Since he called his baseball uniform a “costume” it became clear he wasn’t going to follow in Reggie Jackson’s (CHS ‘64) footsteps. Another creative calling was in his future.

Last week I was invited to attend Josh Goldsmith’s (CHS ‘88) induction into Cheltenham High School Hall of Fame.

Josh is a film and TV screenwriter and producer in creative partnership with his wife Cathy Yuspa. Some credits include What Women Want (Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt), 13 Going on 30 (Jennifer Garner), a long-running CBS hit series The King of Queens (Kevin James) and FOX comedy ‘Til Death (Brad Garrett).

Here is one final and curious thing. For a small suburban Philadelphia high school, Cheltenham alumni success reads like a chapter from Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers. The quantity and quality of individual excellence is remarkable, ranging from a head of state to a Nobel Prize winner, scientists, judges, professional athletes, Grammy and Emmy winners, TV/film producers, artists, authors, musicians and educators.

Simply amazing.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Oak Lawn/Chicago IL

2009-09-12T07:49:00.003-05:00

Heather shares this message:

I just want to thank you so much for creating this fabulous service to independent musicians/music teachers. With all of the music academies/stores out there today, it can be very challenging to compete as an independent musician, even for some of the more seasoned instructors. I just want to applaud your website. It is allowing me to do what I love and am going to school for, and make a living off of it! It's quite liberating to be in charge of my own business, and your website is giving me comfort and security in my career choice. A lot of musicians settle for working for a music store or music school that takes half to two-thirds of what a student pays for tuition even though the instructor is 100% what the student is paying for just because it's a steady, dependable pay check even though they know they're being taken advantage of. Many music instructors are afraid to go on their own for fear of the uncertainty of running your own studio, and I've been in that place, and it just doesn't feel good. But your website offers me a sense of security that I will always have a steady stream of student inquiries coming in, in case one of my current students decides to take a break for a bit. Since I signed up two months ago, I have acquired seven new students, one of which is the lead guitarist for a very famous rock band! Who would have thought!? And I've received about seven more inquiries from people who were just not in the area I teach in. Anyways, before I start babbling, I sincerely just want to thank you for this excellent website and service. I will definitely be renewing my membership next July. Excellent work. Thank you.

-- Heather Sluga, Voice and Piano Teacher

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Guitar Master on Right Hand Picking Style

2009-09-03T18:54:00.003-05:00

WASHINGTON, D. C. | We recently visited with PrivateLessons.com Member, Ney Mello. Ney is a concert performer, award-winning recording artist and producer, and a dedicated guitar teacher. Originally from Brazil, Ney was born into a family of diplomats, and that's how his worldwide travel adventure began. He speaks Portuguese, French, English, Spanish and Italian. In this interview, Ney talks about his new 2-DVD teaching product, dedicated to the right hand alone, entitled "Maximum Speed Picking with Ney Mello"

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C.

2009-09-02T18:26:00.003-05:00

Ford’s Theatre is a site of an unthinkable history. While attending a performance of Our American Cousin on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in the theatre box pictured below.

Today, Ford’s Theatre is a beautifully restored, live, working theater. It is a moving tribute to Lincoln’s love for the performing arts.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

New York City – A Summer Day in Central Park

2009-09-02T17:24:00.003-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

The Original Voice of Riverdance

2009-07-27T08:51:00.006-05:00

Born in Dublin, now a Minneapolis-based PrivateLessons.com member, Katie McMahon is widely known as the original voice of the Irish phenomenon, Riverdance. Majoring in both Harp & Voice at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin, Katie’s career soared high. She performed and recorded with the vocal group Anuna, traveled the world as the lead singer with Riverdance and Secret Garden, and went on to record critically acclaimed solo CDs: After the Morning, Shine, Celtic Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day.

What are your most cherished memories of touring the world?

I've been so lucky to tour the world with both Riverdance and Secret Garden. Some cities and shows stand out like the premier of Riverdance in Hollywood where we could see movie stars like Christian Slater and Goldie Hawn giving us a standing ovation or the time I got to perform for and meet president Clinton or arriving in Sydney for the kick off of the gay mardi gras. With Secret Garden my favorite experience was getting to climb the great wall of China while in Beijing.

How did you come to make Minneapolis your home?

I met my husband Ben Craig backstage at a Riverdance show in Minneapolis. We had a long distance relationship for a while and then we decided to get married and I settled with him in Minneapolis.

How important is teaching in your life?

I really enjoy teaching and have been doing it for 17 years. It's great to see some of my students growing up, becoming their friends giving them a real sense of accomplishment.

How do you approach a new CD project?

I usually know what kind of CD I'm going to record years before I go into the studio. Ideally I will have performed the songs live with my band so they're tight and together by the time we're in the studio and then we record them as live as possible.

What is next for Katie McMahon?

I'll be going into Wild Sound Recording Studio in January to record a Christmas CD. After that I'm finally going to get around to recording the lullaby CD that I've been working on for years. Show wise I'll be playing the International Bazaar Stage at the State Fair on August 27th & 28th, a cancer benefit in Aitkin, MN, have a Christmas tour booked for this December and one with the O'Neil Brothers in 2010. With my teaching I have been expanding my studio, taking on more students in both harp and voice and have been investigating offering a national exam qualification for my students.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Miami, FL

2009-07-23T08:29:00.003-05:00

Debora shares this message:

Thank you for your service..... So far the best service in Websites for teachers.

-- Debora Lebendiker, Voice Teacher

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Summertime Street Scenes 2009

2009-07-19T08:16:00.003-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Fulbright Scholar Delivers the Joy of Music

2009-06-29T11:47:00.002-05:00

HOUSTON, TX | Just before her dress rehearsal of "Memories of Spain" at the Hobby Center's Zilkha Hall in Houston, we sat down for a brief conversation with PrivateLessons.com member, Dr. Isabelle Ganz.

Shuttling between New York City, where she is the founder and director of Sephardic music ensemble, ALHAMBRA, and Houston, Dr. Ganz is a successful voice teacher and performer who traveled the world. During our conversation in front of Zilkha Hall, Dr. Ganz was cheerfully greeted by her ensemble cast and even two of her Lamar University students who happened to be passing by. It is clear, she is well liked.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Life Between Mouse Clicks

2009-06-27T14:24:00.006-05:00

HOUSTON, TX | Recently, I was invited to speak to a group of music teachers and administrators at an Early Childhood Music Education Conference in Houston. Fun, fun. Life Between Mouse Clicks is my presentation on meaningful online interactions. Here are a few stills from 75-minute presentation video.

Introducing a mouse click :)

Look, a movie screen.

Conducting?

No, no. Not conducting.

Keeping it light.

It’s about 325°F baking temperature.

We are all friends now.

Wrap-up. Conversation continues.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Wyncote, PA

2009-06-25T12:07:00.001-05:00

Ian shares this message:

Your site rocks!

-- Ian McGuire

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Letting the Song Be the Star

2009-06-24T21:14:00.002-05:00

HOUSTON | We sat down for a short interview with PrivateLessons.com member Deborah Boily. Having lived and performed in Paris, London and major centers around United States, Deborah is also a dedicated voice teacher with an established studio in Houston. In this interview, it is immediately apparent that Deborah is passionate about her art, telling the story of the song, being an honest messenger, and letting the song be the star.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Houston Street Scenes

2009-06-23T16:30:00.007-05:00

I was recently invited to speak at a conference in Houston. Nice city. Hot. By the end of the trip I discovered a much cooler underground city. Sadly, too late. I was already baked.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Winter Springs FL

2009-06-15T15:22:00.003-05:00

Shirley shares this message:

I signed up for membership on May 19th, 2009, and today is June 15, 2009. So far, I have signed up 6 new students through your website and adding! Being part of your website gives me the credibility and the foot traffic I deserve. Thank you for making this service available!

-- Shirley Wang

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Graduation of the Stars 2009

2009-05-09T11:04:00.007-05:00

PHILADELPHIA | This year Academy of Vocal Arts graduated 8 artists, a huge class by our standards. That’s about 1/3 of our roster of 28 artists.

I enjoyed working with each of them. I also enjoyed attending their last free concert. As I mentioned to Angela Meade, to hear her next season at the Met I will probably have to pay $500 a ticket (close enough) in the nosebleed section. It will be worth it.

Their professional accomplishments, while still students at AVA, are remarkable. To eliminate redundancy, please click on artist’s bio link.

Congratulations to all!

Pictured far left AVA Executive Director, K. James McDowell; far right President, B.A. (Mackie) MacLean, Jr. Also, 3rd from right is tenor Cody Austin (individual photo missing).

Angela Meade (See Bio)

Michael Fabiano (See Bio)

Jessica Julin (See Bio)

Nina Yoshida Nelsen (See Bio)

Ben Wager (See Bio)

Zulimar López-Hernández (See Bio)

Jeremy Paul Milner (See Bio)

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Edmonton AB - Canada

2009-04-16T12:11:00.004-05:00

Billy shares this message:

I have been a member for over two years and most of my referrals come from your website. I don't advertise in the local papers anymore. Thank you for helping me build my business.

Thank you! -- Billy Boissonneault

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Music Should Be Personal

2009-03-24T12:47:00.002-05:00

BOSTON | PrivateLessons.com member Tammy Scheffer is a senior at the New England Conservatory of Music. College students have to do all kinds of jobs to support themselves, and it is nice to see a college student dedicated to private teaching and working in her field. Tammy is a jazz singer. She fuses middle eastern melodies with jazz to achieve a signature sound. She writes her own songs and performs in jazz clubs with her sextet. On a recent trip to Boston, we had a brief conversation with Tammy, discussing teaching and music making.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

To Graduate or Not to Graduate?

2009-03-23T20:11:00.006-05:00

BOSTON | If you are booked for several years in advance, the answer is simple. In the case of Bryan Hymel, he is slated to graduate Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts in May 2009, however, for the last year or so he has been living out of a suitcase. I am hoping he shows up at least for the graduation recital.

I saw Bryan last summer when he came to me to coach Rimsky-Korsakoff’s “The Snow Maiden” for performances in Wexford Festival in Ireland. As I travel around the country, it gives me great pleasure to attend performances by recent AVA students. Last Friday night, Bryan made a stellar debut with the Boston Lyric Opera in Dvorak’s “Rusalka”

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

300 Songs and Counting for Singer-Songwriter Karen DeBiasse

2009-03-23T20:03:00.005-05:00

BOSTON | On my trip to Boston, I visited with PrivateLessons.com long-time member, Karen DeBiasse. Originally from West Chester PA, near Philadelphia, Karen graduated with honors from the Berklee College of Music. A busy voice teacher, she teaches a vocal method that seems to work magic with her students. Rock is hard singing, and the technique certainly works well for her own singing, leaving her voice fresh after each show. Karen’s rock band “Girl on Top” performs her original songs and is found regularly in the East Coast venues.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

How do you tell your kid is a drummer?

2009-03-23T19:48:00.004-05:00

BOSTON | Fear not if your kid, to the annoyance of school teachers, is in constant motion, tapping out rhythms with feet, hands and pencils. This is not a behavioral issue. It’s a matter of expression. Your kid just happens to be a drummer.

On my visit to Boston, I sat down for a conversation with PrivateLessons.com Member, Dave Rodenhiser. Dave attended the Berklee College of Music but it became apparent that with a full performing and private teaching schedule he needed to focus on the work at hand. Dave shares a charming story of how he built his first drum set, paying for it by doing variety of chores and odd jobs.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Boston Street Scenes

2009-03-23T10:19:00.004-05:00

On my recent trip to Boston, the official first day of spring was beautiful yet chilly.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

So you want to audition for the Berklee College of Music?

2009-03-22T21:25:00.002-05:00

BOSTON | This weekend we sat down for a short conversation with PrivateLessons.com Member, Gil Graham. Gil is a private drum teacher in Arlington, MA area. Previously, Gil spent 14 years on the faculty at the Berklee College of Music. Competition for top tear music schools is serious business. Berklee places an important role on private instructors to offer proper audition guidance and preparation. Here is an insider’s take.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Celebration

2009-03-15T11:52:00.004-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Atlanta

2009-03-10T10:36:00.002-05:00

Rebecca shares this message:

You all rock!! PrivateLessons.com - Best referral service on the internet in my profession, and you can quote me on that. -- Rebecca Windham

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Teaching Students to Become Music Lovers

2009-02-24T08:44:00.003-05:00

NEW YORK CITY | Italian-born pianist and conductor Giacomo Franci has an enthusiastic approach to teaching music. He wants everyone to enjoy music making and become concert goers. In addition to teaching in his New York City private studio, Giacomo is an active concert pianist and is the principal conductor New York Chamber Players orchestra. As of this interview Giacomo is embarking on a concert tour to Beijing, both as conductor and soloist.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

New York Jazz Vocalist Dori Levine on Scat Singing

2009-02-23T20:39:00.006-05:00

NEW YORK CITY | In her Tribeca music studio, we caught up with New York jazz singer Dori Levine. Dori is a performer and recording artists who works extensively with another PrivateLessons.com member, jazz guitarist Ed Littman. The two create musical magic. One of Dori's favorite subjects is vocal improvisation and scat singing. How does one even approach scatting? Good news, it can be learned!

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

New York City’s Lincoln Center Maze

2009-02-23T10:49:00.005-05:00

I came to New York yesterday, went to Lincoln Center and discovered a maze of construction aimed at modernizing this remarkable cultural center. When done, it will surely look great. Alice Tully hall and The Juilliard School have a facelift and look spectacular.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Sights & Sounds of San Antonio

2009-02-19T08:41:00.002-05:00

Every city has its unique beat. San Antonio is delightful, serving up lots of contrast, active nightlife and music everywhere.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

San Antonio Street Scenes

2009-02-18T15:39:00.004-05:00

On my recent trip to San Antonio, I discovered a lovely city. The snapshots below are of a local music instruments merchant demonstrating the guitarrón, street scenes, the Alamo, and the breathtaking river walk.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Jane Jenkins on Speech Level Singing (SLS)

2009-02-17T21:48:00.007-05:00

SAN ANTONIO, TX | On a beautiful Valentines Day, we sat down for a short interview with Jane Jenkins, a PrivateLessons.com Member in San Antonio. Growing up in an air force family, Jane calls San Antonio her home. She recently relocated back after a long residence in the Denver area. Jane is a certified Speech Level Singing (SLS) instructor and in this conversation she briefly outlines the method, which helps many renowned and aspiring singers.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Comcast HQ Ice Castle – Attempt at Winter Storm

2009-01-31T09:55:00.004-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-13T18:26:00.002-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Paperless Pianist Hugh Sung on Digital Music Direction

2008-12-09T09:57:00.001-05:00

PHILADELPHIA, PA | Music and technology have been married for a long time. Yet, much of the classical world is still playing catch-up in adopting certain tools that seem like an obvious thing to do. I spoke with my colleague Hugh Sung in his studio at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. For the last six years, Hugh has been using a tablet PC in performances which holds a library of over 6,000 works in digital format. His latest development is a wireless page turning device called AirTurn. This is an insightful look into the future of teaching and performing technology tools.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Stars at the Florida Grand Opera

2008-11-26T11:21:00.002-05:00

While in Miami, by day I was interviewing PrivateLessons.com Members and exploring the city. By night I was enjoying the performances of four (4) of the Academy of Vocal Arts’ graduates in La traviata at the Florida Grand Opera. Only a few years out of school and their careers are soaring high. That was a treat that kept me smiling the entire trip.

Eglise Gutiérrez, Soprano (See Bio)

Ailyn Pérez, Soprano (See Bio)

Stephen Costello, Tenor (See Bio)

Luis Ledesma, Baritone (See Bio)

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Kids and Jazz

2008-11-26T10:37:00.002-05:00

MIAMI, FL | How does a music teacher approach teaching kids Jazz? Miami-based PrivateLessons.com Member Allen Paul talks about Jazz as being the art of conversation, exploration and taking chances. All these concepts are innate to kids and that’s where the fun begins.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Sights & Sounds of Miami South Beach

2008-11-25T20:17:00.001-05:00

On a warm November day, Miami South Beach is a symphony of sounds -- from tropical breezes rushing through the camera microphone to bustling life on Ocean Drive.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Kids and Playing Music Together

2008-11-25T12:08:00.001-05:00

MIAMI, FL | Practicing piano can be a lonely job. In our interview, PrivateLessons.com Member Melissa Maccarelli Slawsky talks about collaborative music making approach with young students. An accomplished pianist and violinist, Melissa recently moved from Tampa to Miami to pursue two doctorate degrees. In three short months she already rebuilt a thriving new private studio.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Miami Street Scenes

2008-11-25T06:58:00.003-05:00

I love Miami. There, I said it. I visited the beautiful and warm Miami shooting video interviews with PrivateLessons.com Members. In Philadelphia it was 24°F and snowing when I was strolling down Miami’s South Beach and enjoying my espresso at a sidewalk café on Ocean Drive. Back home, many were jealous and vowed not to speak with me again. But, this is my job folks. It must be done.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Music to Philadelphia Phillies Fans

2008-11-06T11:05:00.001-05:00

PHILADELPHIA, PA | Fans poured into the streets for a well deserved parade in honor of their Philadelphia Phillies World Series Champions 2008. City transportation system couldn’t handle so much human traffic. Many revelers got stuck in Center City for the entire day extending their festivities into the late Halloween night.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Pasadena, CA

2008-11-03T14:07:00.000-05:00

Tony Emanuele shares this message:

Your site is great. I love it.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Maia Amberstone on Multi-Sensory Piano Teaching Approach

2008-11-02T22:03:00.003-05:00

SAN DIEGO, CA| We met Maia Amberstone four years ago at a conference in Vas Vegas. At the time she was demonstrating some remarkable video examples of her piano teaching approach. In our video interview, Maia gives us a glimpse into her continued work in learning methodologies.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Investing in Learning

2008-11-02T21:58:00.002-05:00

SAN DIEGO, CA| Learning process is full of mysteries. In our video interview, Macello Amuchastegui, a San Diego based businessman and a psychologist with a masters degree, speaks of his involvement in exploring music learning methodologies.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Dallas Sights & Sounds

2008-10-26T19:23:00.002-05:00

DALLAS, TX | Just having a little fun! Nice people, nice city.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

The Joy of Lifelong Learning

2008-10-26T19:01:00.004-05:00

PLANO, TX | Margaret Brothers is a huge fan of PrivateLessons.com and is a longtime member in Plano, Texas. One of the greatest musical inspirations in her life was her private teacher, a famed pianist Sascha Gorodnitzki, then a Juilliard faculty. In this interview Margaret shares her cherished memories of lessons learned, a tradition she hands down to her own students.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

From Houston to Fort Worth, a Success Story

2008-10-26T18:53:00.001-05:00

FORT WORT, TX | Laurie Lee Cosby is a longtime PrivateLessons.com Member. Three years ago Laurie moved from Houston to Fort Worth, Texas and quickly established a thriving private voice studio. An accomplished performer Laurie moves with ease between classical and commercial genres. In this interview we also touch on the subject of working with teenage students.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Dallas Street Scenes

2008-10-24T19:22:00.002-05:00

Dallas is perfectly beautiful on a warm fall day. While shooting video interviews with Dallas/Fort Worth area PrivateLessons.com Members, I took a little break in downtown Dallas. Here are some photos from Historical and Arts Districts.

Lunch time. When in Texas ...

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Los Angeles

2008-10-22T18:44:00.001-05:00

Oksana Kolesnikova shares this message:

Thank you for creating such a wonderful website that - for a change - delivers what it promises and doesn`t leave you empty-handed. - Oksana Kolesnikova

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Peter Hilliard on Writing Musical Theatre

2008-10-18T16:33:00.002-05:00

A longtime PrivateLessons.com Member Peter Hilliard is a prolific musician who is a singer, pianist, conductor, arranger, composer and a dedicated teacher. As a composer he is equally at home in songwriting, opera and musical theatre writing. Some of Peter’s works for stage include Going Down Swingin’, Don Imbroglio - An Opera You Can't Refuse, The Brazilian, The Filthy Habit, and works in progress A Schooling in Love and Empty Plate In the Café du Grand Boeuf.

You have a longtime working partnership with a librettist. How do you decide on a subject of a particular musical theatre work?

Matt Boresi and I believe in having source material for all our work; nothing we do is ever completely ‘original’. Usually we base our shows on existing plays, operas, or historical events. Sometimes we start with a genre idea, and then flesh it out, for example, The Brazilian began when we wanted to write an Offenbach-style opera comique. Then we spent some time looking for a short French farce to adapt, and we found the perfect one. Our current musical is an adaptation of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, and it’s our third Mozart-DaPonte homage. The story is updated to a high school, and it’s a screwball comedy. Basing our work on existing material gives us a framework to go from, and an idea of where to begin.

Many composers have performers in mind as they craft roles. Do you write for specific people or specific types of voices/actors?

I suppose some people don’t write to a specific voice, but I think that’s a mistake. If you don’t write to a specific instrument, you’ll wind up writing all the songs for your own voice, which is pretty tiresome to listen to. We’re actually very specific about this. Matt and I go through the parts and dream-cast them. If it’s an opera, I say to myself, “this part is going to be Bryn Terfel, this is going to be Natalie Dessay,” and so forth. Then we listen and re-familiarize ourselves with the core repertoire of those performers and find out as best we can what those voices do well. And then we write. With a musical it’s the same, only we pick musical theatre actors or popular singers. The current show has roles for Melissa Etheridge and Laura Bell Bundy in it. They’ll never play those parts, of course, but the material is suited to their type. Musical theatre has types just as clearly as Opera has its fach categorization, there’s just not a common nomenclature. Incidentally, I’m pretty sure this was Mozart’s way of doing things too. He would write the arias at the end, after he’d met the singers, and I believe he compared it to fitting a suit to a buyer.

Compare the approach to writing a musical theatre work and an opera.

They are equally rigorous, but somewhat different in approach. An opera normally allows you far better singers, and the training an opera singer gets allows you to write very difficult music and have it come off well. In musical theatre, I’m sad to say, you are less likely to find the technical command of the instrument or the musical knowledge to work out difficult rhythms and harmonies. On the plus side, though, you are likely to find better actors. In both cases, one has to decide on a sound-world for the piece, but in musical theatre, that world is more likely to be a world of popular music. Going Down Swingin’ was a piece set in 1956, so that score was supposed to sound like the Great American Songbook, with a little rock in there. Our new musical has more rock and pop in the mix. So I spend a lot of time listening to music in the style of the piece I’m writing. When I write opera, I actually have far more freedom to mix genre and come up with my own hybrids. For me, opera exists in a place that is less culturally referential. It can really be all about what this character needs to sing at this moment. A musical is to some extent about style in addition to everything else.

If you come up with a great tune while walking in the park, what is the first thing you do?

Sing it to myself. I sing it over and over, and improvise on it, then I forget it. Brahms said something to the effect that if he had a tune that occurred to him and he had no time to write it down, he would deliberately force it out of his mind. He believed that it would come back if it was worth anything, and that it might come back better. That’s generally how I feel about it too.

Generally, do you compose at a desk, at the piano, or using a computer?

I rarely compose at a desk. I need the piano to work out the sorts of harmonies I prefer. If that was good enough for Stravinsky, it’s good enough for me. I usually run a circuit between the piano and the computer, playing and then notating. When I’m really strapped for time, it’s just the computer and me, but I find when I actually play it on an acoustic instrument, the ideas are better formed. The computer suggests things to you that don’t sound as good when you actually do them. I use Finale 2008. I’ve known it for years, and it’s like an old friend that drives me nuts occasionally.

What are some of your upcoming projects?

Well, I’m hard at work right now finishing our newest show, which is currently called ‘A Schooling in Love’ for Abington Junior High School, which will be premiered in the Spring. I’m also writing a lot of choral music; I’m trying to simplify my choral writing, and it’s taking some time. I have a short film score I’m trying to finish that is currently on the back burner. We’re also plugging away at An Empty Plate in the Café Du Grande Boeuf, but it’s a big piece, and is taking a lot of time. When I ever get some unscheduled compositional time I hope to write a song cycle for the tenor Vale Rideout, with whom Matt and I have a long working relationship and a flute sonata for my wife. But we’ll see!

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

... from music capital of Littleton, CO

2008-10-03T17:59:00.000-05:00

Valerie Mishek shares this message:

Since I joined PrivateLessons.com a few years ago, I have found that the quality of my students has continued to increase. …Thank you for making your site a big part of my teaching success!!! - Valerie A. Mishek

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Back to Renaissance Music

2008-09-21T09:44:00.002-05:00

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Ralph Schuckett on Writing Hit Songs & Film/TV Music – Part One

2008-08-21T18:52:00.000-05:00

In this PrivateLessons.com Member interview, we attempt to cover Ralph Schuckett’s 35-year career in music in 10 questions. He is a performer, songwriter, original score composer for Films and TV, arranger, producer, record executive and a patient music teacher. In part one, Ralph reminisces about Carole King, James Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Bette Midler, Saturday Night Live and more. It reads like there is a book in the works. Enjoy!

You have worked as a keyboard player and arranger with Who's Who in the music industry. What artists evoke some of your fondest memories?

I'd have to write a book to fully answer that question, but I'll try to narrow it down, in no particular order of importance. Here's some that come to mind:

1) When I was very young I did several records and four tours with Carole King and James Taylor, during the peak of their popularity. I can't say that I have specifically fond memories of those years, because my personal life was full of conflict and chaos. But Carole and James are such warm, enlightened, and inspiring people, that I'll always be grateful to them for accepting me into their family. They taught me by their example, not their words, so much about music and life. I'm also grateful to (guitar player/ record producer) Danny Kortchmar, my musical older brother, who hooked me up with James and Carole. You may know him as the producer of Don Henley's most popular album. (The name escapes me). He was a great mentor to me. As was the late Joel Bishop O'Brien, who played drums on many of Carole's and James' records and was my roomate on tour. Officially, I never attended college, but Danny and Joel were my equivalent of inspiring professors. They schooled me on, not only music, but all forms of culture, politics, world events, business, and on life in general. They really encouraged and nurtured my own talents and instincts.

During that same time period, Carole and James' respective producer/ managers, Lou Adler and Peter Asher, taught (also by example, not words) about creating a comfortable, secure atmosphere in a recording studio, so that the musicians could give their best performances, un-encumbered by the constraints of judgement or ego. They also introduced me to the great pop recording paradigm: "less is more". They had incredible ears, great patience, faith and sensitivity. Which, I feel is why they've each made, not only so many hits over the years, but so many high quality, timeless, soulful recordings.

2) Before my time with Carole and James, I joined a band in LA called Clear Light. Our debut album was released on Elektra Records, produced by Paul Rothchild of The Doors fame. Clear Light toured the US several times, and was especially popular in New York. One of our songs, "Mr Blue" was an adventurous, groundbreaking underground radio hit all over the country. Some of the members of that band went on to fame and great success in other bands and as songwriters and film actors. I was a child when I joined Clear Light. The time I spent with those five guys, was a life awakening. They were (and still are) all wonderful, talented people, who gave me my 1st taste of life on the road. It was also my first professional recording experience. It was through Clear Light that I got the incredible opportunity to hang out and jam with Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Neal Young, BB King, Howling Wolf, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, Gregg and Duane Allman, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the original Blood, Sweat and Tears, and of course, Jimi Hendrix.

3) I was seeing a girl in NY at the time, whose roommate was with Dallas Taylor, one of Clear Light's drummers (we had two). After Clear Light broke up, Dallas went on to be the original drummer for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and is now a well-respected drug and alcohol rehab counselor. Anyway, Dallas's girlfriend was also one of Jimi Hendrix's many girlfriends (hey-- it was 1967, hippies, free love, etc). Dallas and I and other guys from our band often hung out in the girls' tiny East Village apartment, just talking, listening to music or watching TV.

Sometimes Jimi would drop by and just hang. He was a really nice guy, kind of shy, but when he spoke it was obvious that he was very perceptive and smart. He could see through bullshit, but was also polite, never wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. At times he'd kid around and be really funny, in a sort of stream of consciousness, hippie pothead way (for lack of a better description). He had a large vocabulary and his own stylized version of the English language. Everyone close with him ended up using a lot of his expressions. About four or five years later, after he'd died, coincidentally, I moved in with a new girlfriend, who had been one of Jimi's close friends and companions. I guess Jimi had lots of friends. She was a single mother with a little boy around a year old. She shared an apartment with a couple of other girls from Jimi's "inner circle' and they still used all of his expressions. I'm trying to remember some of them, but at the moment I can only think of one, which was "Blah blah, woof woof." That meant, roughly, "etcetera".

One time, when a tour landed us in New York, Jimi had bought a building in Greenwich Village, that had previously, through the years, housed various restaurants. He and his managers had turned it into a very popular night club, where a lot of just-breaking acts played when they came to New York. Sly and the Family Stone and Buddy Guy were among the ones I saw there. A couple of years later Jimi & Co built Electric Lady Studios in the basement of the same building, but he never lived to see its completion.

A few times, after the show, the club would close its doors for a jam session, over which Jimi would preside. They would allow a few people from the audience to stick around, either to play, or just to listen. Since Dallas and I knew Jimi through the two girls, he and I ended up staying and jamming. I think Doug Lubahn, the bass player in Clear Light did too. A lot of famous musicians would take part in those jams, including BB King, Eric Clapton and Ted Nugent.

By the time we'd get to the club after our own gig, a keyboard player named Al Kooper, the leader and founder of Blues Project and the original Blood Sweat and Tears, would usually be playing the house Hammond B3 organ. He was a very bright guy with a great sense of humor. He and I were friendly but I always felt competitive with him. He’d played on most of Bob Dylan's big records, as well as the Rolling Stones' and lots of other big hits and I was jealous. He was also a Columbia Records executive, and his name was always mentioned in the press. I felt I was a much better player than he, but Al always seemed to be in the right place at the right time and had a lot of self-confidence. I kind of resented him, although when I got to know him better, I learned that he was a soulful, nice, caring guy. Great songwriter and producer, too. He discovered and produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, one of the great Southern rock bands.

So I would sit on the edge of the stage listening, and every few minutes I'd go up to Al and ask him if I could play. He'd always say, "A little later." I'd be seething inside as I sat there listening, always thinking about the cool things I would have played if I'd had a chance. Eventually, with me pestering him all night, he would say, "Okay, Okay! Christ, be pushy why don't you!" Even though he acted angry and kidded me a lot, I could feel that he liked and respected me, as sort of an annoying but cute little brother. I'm grateful to him for letting me play. He was never competitive. He'd had a lot of success, had made his mark and had nothing to prove. He was just having fun. He's one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. He even wrote a well known book about his experiences in music, with Dylan, The Stones, and a lot of other rock'n'roll greats. I think the title was "The Man Who Ate Dog Food" and it's probably out of print, but it was very funny.

Jimi and guests jammed till 8 or 9 AM and it was always strange and surreal to leave the club in daylight, after being up all night. The club was on a busy street and there were all these ordinary people on their way to work, and all the restaurants, pharmacies and news stands that catered to them. They were just waking up, and we were ready to sleep all day. At the all-night sessions, there was often a shortage of drummers, so Dallas would end up playing all night-- for hours with no break. By the time he hit the street in the morning, his clothes were drenched in sweat and he was several pounds lighter.

When there was another great guitar player like BB King, Jimi would lay back respectfully and play rhythm guitar -- just a guy in the band groovin'. Eventually as the night wore on the other guitar players would get tired and leave the stage. Then Jimi would start to really play, and experiment with new sounds. The sounds coming from his amp were amazing, and nothing like anyone had ever heard before. It was amazing to witness. Sometimes he strapped on two guitars at once, one on each shoulder and tried all these crazy things with both hands, or knocked the two together or rubbed the strings of one with the strings of the other and let them both feedback. Jimi had a two track reel-to-reel tape recorder on stage and recorded everything.

I hear Jimi's influence in so many popular bands these days. The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against The Machine come to mind at the moment. He was a guitar God. One morning, a couple of years after Jimi's jams, I was back in LA after a tour with Carole and James. I turned on the radio and heard of his death, and I cried.

4) In 1974 in New York I had been playing on a Bette Midler album. One night about 2AM, I was fast asleep in my apartment when the phone rang. It's hard to imagine now, but this was pre-voice mail or answering machine. I tried to ignore it but I finally got up to answer. It was the producer of the Bette album, who said in a conspiratorial stage whisper, "Ralph, you won't believe who just walked into the studio with Bette! Bob Dylan! And they want to record some duets right now. Call some musicians and get down here immediately!" Dylan was like a God to me and if asked whom I'd want to play with out of anyone in the world, he'd have been in the top two or three.

So I started waking people up, eventually found a few musicians to do the date. I bought about twelve coffees for everyone and headed downtown (I lived uptown). The studio was still set up from the previous day. When we donned our headphones, the Bob and Bette, now on mike in a booth, were in the midst of a running, sort of stream of consciousness conversation, which they kept on for the whole session, between takes. They were such extremely bright, witty people, at the top of their game, and were very funny. They really got a kick out of each other, and cracked everybody up. Moogy Klingman, the producer, kept tape rolling throughout the whole thing. Somewhere in Atlantic Records' vaults are some multi-track tapes with their repartee, in addition to the songs we recorded. We worked till past daylight, trying a few things, including a new Dylan song, "Buckets of Rain". It's the only one that ended up on the record. I can't remember the details, but my guess is that on the other tracks, Bette or Bob, or the band must have sounded pretty dreadful. We all were smoking, drinking or inhaling God knows what (don't tell the kids). That night was like witnessing a comedy special with two living legends. I never talked to Bob, though I had the
opportunity. I was too shy and in awe.

5) In the '80's I arranged and played on couple of songs on a George Benson album. I haven't ever heard the final tracks. Recently, when looking for the album online, I saw my name on the credits of a George Benson compilation so, figuring that was the one, I ordered it. When it arrived I unwrapped it excitedly and threw it on the box. I discovered that, though I was credited as String Arranger, I'd never even heard or HEARD OF the songs I was credited with. So I still haven't found the exsisting tracks. I can't remember the name of the original album, but I recently found the string chart in my attic for one of the songs I arranged. It's called "I Almost Believed You."

I had been a fan of George's great guitar playing on many jazz records, way before anyone knew he could sing. When I worked on one track, I put in some sophisticated jazzy chords and basslines, which I rarely got the chance to do on most of my arranging gigs, which were mainstream Pop or Rock'n'Roll. Kashif, the producer, was really hot at the time and doing at least three other albums concurrently, including Whitney Houston’s. She was at the peak of her popularity. I also did a track for Kashif on her album. He would pop in the studio every now and then, but pretty much left me on my own. Kashif's state of the art studio was in his beautiful home in Stamford, Connecticut. The house was a historic landmark because it was where Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player, and his family had lived when he’d played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the '50's.

Anyway, Kashif came in to tell me George would be arriving soon, but that he (Kashif) couldn't be there since he had an important meeting. So eventually George came in, with his son, who was probably in his late teens/ early twenties at the time. George said, "Let's hear whatcha got." So I played my midi arrangement for him to sing along with, (thinking to myself, he's gonna love this shit.)

George listened to about four or five bars, and made the gesture of a finger across his throat, to signal "Stop". I stopped the track and he looked at me, seeming very annoyed.

He said, "Man, don't be doin' no JAZZ shit on MY record! I was momentarily devasted, then he smiled and put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Damn, boy! We want this M***F*** to sell! Ain' no room fuh NO jazz on heah!" I felt like a jerk and realized I should've known that, but I'd let my ego get in the way of my Pop judgement. Then he said, "We gon' go get us some dinner, but when I get back, I wanna hear some pop music, boy. No jazz. We makin' HITS here!" As it turned out it was pretty easy to change the track and when he got back he listened and was satisfied.

To make sure the tracks were in the right key, I asked him to sing along a few times, in a couple of different keys. Most great improvisers I know get bored with repeating a song over and over the same way. George was no exception. So, to keep himself interested, each time he sang he imitated another well-known singer. He did Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Al Green, and I swear, if your eyes were closed, you'd think that they were all right there in the room singing! An astounding thing about George is that, even though he's recorded with so many great singers and musicians, including Frank Sinatra and Quincy Jones, George never learned to read music. He has such a good ear, as well as instincts and memory, that he could learn quickly. So despite not reading, he could still play his ass off without getting lost in the chart.

You have Gold Albums to your credit. What are the magic ingredients that helped achieve them?

First and foremost always, is the songs. The songs have to be memorable lyrically and melodically. Great pop lyrics these days have to be conversational, not poetic or pretentious. If you're in a rock band with great players, a great sound and a distinctive sounding singer, there's more leeway. Also with certain types of singer-songwriters. But a good pop song has to sound like the artist is talking to you personally, in the simple language that everyday people use.

My own personal opinion these days, is that a hit song needs to be both clever and sexy. It has to express one main opinion, emotion or concept and has to get to the point quickly. The title and chorus have to be about one idea only, and every verse line has to support that idea and build up to it. To me, that's a lot harder than it sounds. I myself don't like triteness and cliches-- things that have been said in songs a million times before. It's possible to have a hit with something trite, but it wouldn't move me. The hardest thing to write these days is a love song that is simple, sincere and real, but not corny, cliched and sentimental. But that's just me. A perfect example of a recent song that hits all the marks is "Crazy" by Gnarles Barkley. I never met a person who didn't like that song.

Sometimes you played with the Saturday Night Live band. What were some of your other collaborations with SNL cast members?

I'll answer that in a minute, but first here's a funny story of my first SNL experience:

On occasion I subbed for one of the keyboard players in the SNL band. The first time, I was hired by Tom Malone, the trombone player from the Blues Brothers Band, who'd played in the SNL band since the show's inception, and wrote a lot of their arrangements. I was pretty nervous because that band was like an exclusive club. I'd worked or played with most of the guys before, and had hired some of them on sessions. But those guys were not only very cocky, but sarcastic, merciless pranksters.

On that show at that time, there were three separate stages in the main sound stage, which was a huge warehouse-like room deep in the bowels of Rockefeller Center. It had seats for the audience, and some little side rooms where the producer, director, sound engineers and video mixers did their thing. The idea was that each stage would be the home for a skit or bit, and as soon as that one was over, the cameras would all roll to the adjacent stage and film that, while the crew tore down the previous stage and set it up for another skit later in the show.

The band played on a platform directly above the main stage where the guest host did the opening monolog. That night it was Harry Anderson, star of Night Court, who's an amazing magician. It was really interesting to watch his slight of hand tricks from above and behind, where we could see the gadgets and gizmos he used to accomplish his impressive feats. While he kept up his casual, humorous patter, one hand or another was speeding around behind his back, in and out of pockets, up sleeves, etc. The audience saw him casually reading a newspaper and laughed at his little witticisms, but one story above on the band platform, we could see the required craft and artifice needed to make a trick look simple and effortless to the audience. Harry must have practiced for years to perfect his act. People don't become stars by accident.

At that time, no one in the live or TV audiences could actually see the band, who were behind a screen. In earlier and later years, the band was visible to all, but for some reason that year they were hidden. That gave the guys in the band the freedom to engage in lots of shenanigans, which no audience (or the bosses of the show) would ever see. They were all great, seasoned players who could sight read well and always kept their cool, but they always tried to tease and mess with each other when they were on the air. It was a badge of honor to remain unflustered and play the charts even if your buddies were trying to make you laugh or screw up.

When you do a live TV show like that, the musicians wear headphones. In the headphones, in one ear you hear (hopefully) your own instrument in a mono mix with the rest of the band, the dialog that is on the air at that moment, and the voice of the person you are accompanying. In your other ear you hear the director shouting cues to the three or four cameramen, who are scrambling to move where he tells them to. If you're accompanying a singer for example, it’s hard to hear yourself or the singer, because the director is shouting in your ear, "Camera one! Tight shot on Eddie on three. One, two three! Beautiful! Camera two, wide shot on the girls from the left side on three! One, two three! Excellent! Where the fuck is Harry? He's supposed to be at the door right now! Somebody find Harry! Who forgot the table? Somebody grab the table! Not you, Jack! Jesus, everyone can see you! Oh fuck! Camera one, dissolve! George, go to commercial! " And stuff like that. No one had warned me that, when I played for the skits, I would barely be able to hear a note of music or the voice. I was, to say the least, unprepared.

It was in that crazed atmosphere that I made my SNL debut. In the first musical bit, I was supposed to accompany Eddie Murphy, (just him and me). It was a very funny skit where he played a black militant terrorist armed to the teeth, and decked out in camos and bandolero belts. His character, who spoke hard core ghetto slang in a loud, harsh voice, had the absurd ambition to be in a Gilbert and Sullivan musical on Broadway. The G & S light opera, "Pirates of Penzance", written by two upper class Englishmen in the 1880's, was a hit on Broadway, produced by the famous theatre impresario Joseph Papp. Eddie hadn't come to the rehearsal that afternoon, but I'd gone over the music a couple of hours before in Tom's office. Though it was a pretty simple part, I hadn't any idea of how Eddie's performance would be phrased or paced.

This is the routine: Eddie, playing the high strung, desparate terrorist, breaks into Joseph Papp's house, where Papp (the real Papp, playing himself) and his nice little family are curled up in front of the TV, and threatens to kill them all unless Papp will let him audition for "Pirates of Penzance". A terrified Papp gives him the go-ahead and Eddie, accompanied by yours truly at a piano thirty yards away, with the director shouting in my headphones, proceeds to sing "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General", a very British, stiff, white, upper class, polite, prissy 19th century song with lots of complicated, tongue twisting syllables going by, at lightning speed. All the while holding Joseph Papp and family at gunpoint. I was struggling to focus, knowing that millions of people were tuned in at that moment.

Seated next to me at the time, was a young, charismatic enfant terrible guitar player, David Spinozza, who was the most in-demand recording guitar player in New York. You can hear David's work on classics by Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Paul McCartney, Dr John, Paul Simon, Carly Simon and James Taylor among others. David's inspired acts of outrageous humor are the stuff of legend. So David, lounging casually in the SNL Band guitar chair hears Eddie Murphy in his headphones, as I do, yelling, "Shut Up, Joseph Papp! On the floor! All of you! You gon' LET me audition, Papp, or you and your whole family gon' DIE!" And we hear, "Camera one, tight shot on Eddie on three! One two three! Good! Music get ready! Music on three! 1, 2, a-a-a-a-nd three! Music!" And I play the intro and Eddie begins to sing, and David Spinozza leaps out of his chair and in one swift motion, knocks my headphones off my head, sending them skittering across the floor.

So if you're ever watching TV late at night, and you see an SNL rerun where Harry Anderson is the guest host, look for the part where Eddie Murphy plays a Gilbert and Sullivan-spewing terrorist, and if you listen very carefully, in the background you'll hear the piano part fall apart and disappear. You might even hear the whole SNL Band's cackling laughter. And, as long as there are SNL reruns, so will millions of people around the world.

As a Record Executive at Columbia Records/Sony you had to do some serious multitasking. What are the top traits/skills a successful producer should have?

There are many kinds of successful record producers. Some write songs for or with the artist. Some make cool tracks to which the artist adds lyrics and or melody. Some are engineers, who get great sounds and hire the right players. Some producers don't engineer, write or play an instrument, but have a great instinct for nurturing an artist and finding hit songs for the marketplace. Ideally, these create a comfortable, secure, creative environment for the artist and musicians to do what they do best, without having to think about finite things like schedules and budgets. I've produced bands, where they had the material and the sound, and my job was to manage everybody's sensitive egos, and make sure they don't end up killing each other before the record is done.

No matter what their style or physical function, the main job of a producer is to be the one responsible grownup among the children (artists and musicians). To make a great record, the people performing the music should be in a free, childlike state of mind to create something special. Frankly, I usually prefer to be one of the kids. It’s possible to be both, if a person is a great multi-tasker, or have a brilliant assistant or tag-team partner to fill in the cracks. In general, I think a producer should:

1) Be a true fan of the artist or band. Love and respect what they do. Understand not only their art, but their personalities and what makes them tick. Be alert and mindful at all times on the job. Be perceptive enough to recognize how and when the artist gets inspired. Be selfless in the studio, always making the band or singer's comfort a priority. There are exceptions, where you need to shake someone up to get a good performance.

2) Know when to speak, and when to shut up and let them do their thing. When you have a creative comment or a direction for a musician, you have to sense the right time, and the right words, without talking too much and ruining the vibe. Also, know when everyone needs a break and some fresh air, or when a good meal is needed. People tend to get obsessive in recording studios and forget that life exists in the outer world. You have to have an interact with the outer world or your music could become stale. Lots of musicians who create tracks, tend to be introverted and self-indulgent. They might get all hyped on their own work and think they're geniuses, but if no one ever hears it, what's the point? Music is a form of communication. You have to remember that you're making music about people and for people. If you don't get up to date input, you're working in a vacuum, which is the absence of air. No air = death.

3) Have a strong, cohesive, objective vision of what the record should be and never lose sight of that. Sometimes an artist will go off on a tangent that doesn't fit the concept of the record, so the producer has to gently nudge the artist back on track, without the artist's realizing it.

4) Many inexperienced record producers make the mistake of viewing the artists as their own vehicle to fame and fortune. If you're a good producer, it's never about you or your career. It's about how to bring together all the elements to make a great recording.

5) VERY IMPORTANT! The producer is the bridge between the artist and whoever's paying for everything. Major labels are not as powerful as they once were, which I think is a good thing. Still, there should be clear communication with the money source. Sometimes the money source has different goals and tastes than the artist does. You have to help maintain their enthusiasm, without squahing the artist's vision. Adept diplomacy is essential. Your job is also to plan carefully how and on what you intend to spend your budget. It’s true that most superstar producers go over budget, but who has to ultimately pay for it? The artist whose name is on the record. It’s a tightrope dance that everyone who combines art and commerce, has to do. When there’s money at stake, every factor has to weighed, but quick decisions are necessary too.

To be continued ...

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

All Roads Lead to Nashville

2008-07-04T06:55:00.002-05:00

Music City USA is a thriving center that attracts enormously talented musicians from all over. Below are Nashville scenes and interviews with our local PrivateLessons.com Members.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

Dreams Do Come True in Music City

2008-07-03T19:37:00.001-05:00

Jessica Ford moved from California’s Bay Area to pursue her passion in Nashville. Here she became a PrivateLessons.com Member and developed a thriving full-time studio as Nashville’s premiere vocal coach. We sat down with Jessica to talk about her recording career as a singer-songwriter and her work as a vocal coach.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

From Big Apple to Nashville

2008-07-03T19:26:00.001-05:00

Dave Isaacs, a talented guitarist and singer-songwriter, was on a concert tour when we visited Nashville. In this PrivateLessons.com Member interview, we are catching up with Dave in a blog Q&A format to explore his passion for composing, performing and teaching, and making Nashville his hometown.

What brings you to Nashville?

Having lived most of my life in New York I was ready to make a change, and the cost of living in the New York metro area was becoming a greater and greater source of stress. My wife and I had visited Nashville numerous times exploring music industry opportunities and already had friends and contacts there; we also felt it might be a more hospitable environment for the music I make. The cost of living is far more manageable, and the high concentration of creative people in a relatively small town makes for a very stimulating environment.

You have released several albums, performing as a guitarist and singer; are the songs your original work?

For the most part. I've recorded a handful of cover songs but of the seven projects I've released I am the writer or co-writer of almost all the music.

As a songwriter, do you write both lyrics and music?

Yes, though music comes to me more easily. Since I've been living here in Nashville and doing more and more co-writing I'm finding the balance to be more equal. The prevailing view in Nashville is that songwriting requires a concrete set of skills which can be practiced and polished, and I've found this to be true in that the more I write the more ideas I have and the better my songs become.

Do you write songs for other artists?

I do write songs that don't necessarily fit my own style as an artist but could suit another, and while I have yet to have my first "cut" as they say here I am working towards that as one of my career goals.

As a teacher, how do you approach songwriting?

My focus in teaching songwriting falls primarily into two main areas: vocabulary and form. A wide musical and lyrical vocabulary gives the writer more expressive range both in terms of lyrical theme and musical genre, and a command of form and structure helps communicate the writers' message and intent to the listener. The greatest shortcoming I find most aspiring writers have is that they struggle with meter and don't always understand the rhythmic implications in a spoken or sung lyric, so rhythm work is a major component of what I do as a teacher.

How do you characterize your performance coaching?

My goal as a performance coach is to help each student identify and hone their own artistic voice and personality. This involves making stylistic decisions based upon their musical tastes and natural inclinations, and then working to build up the skills to reinforce that persona in any areas that might be lacking. This could mean focusing on the physicality of how they sing and play and working to make that more fluid and natural, or it might have more to do with training the ears so that the student is more musically aware and attuned. In most people these aspects are all wrapped up together, and so my role as a teacher and coach is to shine a light on each area and show the way all the elements are interconnected.

In addition to working as a busy solo guitarist and singer, what are your other performing collaborations?

I perform steadily with singer-songwriter Briana Hardyman in a duo we call Good Souls; we've just released a CD which is currently going out to radio nationwide and being pitched to labels on Music Row. I also work with a steady rhythm section, bassist Brook Sutton and drummer Robert Crawford, two fine jazz-trained musicians and teachers themselves. They back Good Souls on full band dates, and the three of us also perform as a trio playing my music, rock, and blues (as the DI Trio), playing free-improvisational jazz and experimental music (as Chupacabra), and as a rhythm section for hire backing other artists onstage or in the studio.

How does life in Nashville influence you as an artist?

Nashville is a magnet for talented people from all over, but it's a small enough place that the concentration is tremendously high and nearly everyone you meet is involved in music either directly or indirectly. So there's a lot of synergy being created by people working together in various ways, and while mainstream country music is the dominant style there is a large and healthy underground rock scene as well as a strong jazz community. In terms of the direct influence on my work, I am far more prolific and am writing a greater variety of music because of the amount of collaboration I'm doing with a variety of people, all of whom bring their own experience and perspective to the table.

Give us a glimpse into your upcoming book and DVD on songwriting.

I've been offering workshops in conjunction with the Nashville Songwriters Association for five years now, and over the course of that time have developed a curriculum that addresses the most common issues I find in aspiring writer/performers. So while the project is aimed at songwriters it's most specifically focused upon how to help them most effectively communicate what they have to say, rather than addressing the writing process specifically. The areas I look at include rhythm skills and the ability to create and experiment with different feels and grooves, ways to unlock more options on their chosen instrument, and ways to identify and remove and physical or technical blocks that might be limiting their playing or singing. Overall the goal is for these ideas to be transformative....to offer tools and solutions that can impact the students work from that point forward.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada

When Blues is in the Blood

2008-07-03T19:18:00.002-05:00

On our visit to Nashville, we met with PrivateLessons.com Member singer-songwriter Terri Brinegar, now a Nashville resident. Terri shares a fascinating story of growing up in a family of performing Bluegrass musicians, of studying classical voice in North Texas State University and of being accepted at the Juilliard School in New York City. But now, following the call of her heart, Terri is back to the music of her roots.

Ghena

Join PrivateLessons.com | Since 1996 | USA/Canada