Make piano learning fun with Piano Wizard Academy - Great Christmas Present!

I've known about Piano Wizard Academy for years. After all, I helped Sonlight negotiate the agreement by which they acquired the rights to sell the product.

But I learned something tonight that I had never known before. Check out this video by Chris Salter, the developer of the Piano Wizard program:



Jed, a profoundly mentally handicapped young boy, took three weeks to learn Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star under the tutelage of this video-game-style learning program. . . . At the time (he was seven and a half years old), he could hardly speak; he couldn't do a four-piece toddler jigsaw puzzle. Now, two and a half years later, he is playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, and Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik two-handed, and his mom figures he's ready to participate with other children in a regular classroom.

The story itself is delightful. But, from my perspective, it "merely" provides one more reason to take a games approach to education when it makes sense.

What's so special about the Academy that it helped Jed? And why might you want to give such a gift to your children or grandkids?

Find out more here.

And NOTE: Right now--till Thursday noon (MST), Sonlight is offering a a great deal on the Academy. You get the Academy, plus a free keyboard (Retail value of $149), free FedEx two-day shipping (to the Lower 48), plus several other bonuses.

Check it out.

Chicago's Magical Piano - What a beautiful, heartwarming, at times funny and other times revealing video!

You're on Candid Camera!



Surprises throughout.

And for the back story, check out Andrew Blendermann/Blenderful Music, beginning November 30th.

Yipes! Off the charts phenomenal.

Okay. Okay. The first guy: Good. Really good. But . . . not all that amazing. I mean, I can see how someone could do that. (Percussion with his mouth. First minute and a half.)

Second guy, too. Fun. Real fun. (Vocal harmonica. Next minute and 45 seconds or so.) Well worth watching. Amazing! But, again, sorry . . . his show is highly imaginable.

Third guy (beginning about 3:20) . . . oh, my goodness! What a voice! And quite hilarious. (Human bass fiddle with a concluding number that ought to get you out of your seat. The rest of the vocal band provides a "full experience." Fancy footwork thrown in for fun. Ends at about 5:05.)

But then the show goes off the charts.

Fourth guy: the vocal DJ. Now I'm impressed. Blown away. "How does he do that?!?" (Ends at about 6:25.)

And for the grand finale?

Sorry. You've got to watch and listen to the human electric guitar.

Yowzie! (About 6:30 to 7:22.) I didn't know a guy--any guy--could make his voice go that high, much less while he's blowing the speakers. But you've got to listen to it. Jimmi Hendrix has been . . . superseded. (I was going to say pwned, but I get the sense that that's so . . . 2009.)



With thanks to my brother David.

Pachelbel's Canon in D

An insightful and passionate rant about one of the most famous pieces of classical music . . . by musical comedian Rob Paravonian.

Excuse the language. . . .

Unbelieva . . . bly . . . gorgeous!

My step-mom forwarded these video links to me, assuming I had seen/heard them before. I had not.

See whether you can avoid crying from the pleasure. . . .



And, even more piquant:

Music today . . .

More and more, I find myself getting "fed up" with the so-called "worship" songs we are asked to sing at church. Apparently, I'm not alone. At least not in my extended family. I try to remain silent about my own thoughts and feelings. But, it seems, almost every Sunday someone says something about the music . . . how this, that, or the next thing bugs them.

Yesterday was no different.

Except that Sarita brought our attention to a short article in The Week's "Health & Science" section. It matched something someone had just noted: How worship songs ("hymns"), in general, used to be relatively theologically deep and focused on God. Indeed, I remember how I used to comment about the almost third-person nature of so much of the music: not focused on "You"--"Oh, LORD, You . . .," but, rather, "He," "The Lord, He . . ." --"Lifted up was He to die . . .," etc.

When our family shifted over to a more charismatic/pentecostal church, the music became a bit more, if I may suggest it here, "interpersonal": "Lord, You are . . .," "I love You, Lord . . .," etc.

But at this point, strangely, the focus has shifted more and more, it seems, away from God and toward the members of the congregation, indeed, not to "us," even, but to "me," "my" and "I."

Indeed, it struck me last week as we were singing Michael W. Smith's I'm Coming Back to the Heart of Worship (It's All about You) how, strangely, by the way the "worship leader" kept repeating one part of a single line, instead of being reminded about how much "it" really is supposed to be all about Jesus, about God, the song became a paean of praise for each one of us because "I'm coming back . . . I'm coming back . . . I'm coming back . . . yes, I'm coming back . . .," etc.

But back to the article to which Sarita directed our attention:

A generation’s favorite tune: ‘I’m So Vain’
Young people “love themselves more today than ever before,” says University of Kentucky psychologist Nathan DeWall, and the proof is in their music.

He and his colleagues analyzed the lyrics of Billboard Hot 100 songs from the past three decades and found a steady increase in self-centeredness and hostility toward others.

“In the early ’80s lyrics, love was easy and positive, and about two people,” study co-author Jean Twenge tells The New York Times. “The recent songs are about what the individual wants, and how she or he has been disappointed or wronged.”

The study found a marked increase in the prevalence of the words “I” and “me” in song lyrics, and fewer instances of “we” and “us.” It also registered a jump in angry lyrics about hating and killing, and a drop in songs containing positive words like “love” or “sweet.”

The researchers suggest that rampant narcissism may be making it harder for people to connect with one another. They point to other surveys that show that more people are apt to feel sad and lonely now than in previous decades.

Hmmmm.

Same narcissism making it harder for people to connect with God, too?

Using fun in order to change behavior for good!

Loved this video.



Notice how people not only walked up the stairs, but many of them added extra steps and even jumped around? How much wonderful exercise did this little experiment add?

TheFunTheory.com includes several other examples of making good behavior fun. I'm afraid the pleasure would be so short-lived that the fun would soon disappear. For example, the "deepest bin," designed to encourage people to throw trash where it belongs rather than on the ground:



Or the bottle bank arcade:



However, some other ideas, I think would offer long-lasting rewards. For example, the speed camera lottery:



What are you aware of that you could do that would make something truly good and useful--but less than compelling--to be more fun . . . so people would want to do it?

The joy of recognizing and encouraging your child to develop his or her gifts . . .

We've been astonished at our 2 1/2-year-old granddaughter's obvious artistic bent. Her sense of color (she has demanded to pick her own clothes--very creatively, yet with astonishing sense of color coordination--for over a year) and her musical ability (turn on some music and she is in a reverie almost immediately) have jumped out at us from very early. But she has some astounding facility with language as well.

So her parents and we, her grandparents, try to encourage the development of these traits as much as possible. Her mom intends to take her to her first ballet class tomorrow morning if the weather will permit. (It's been snowing rather heavily here!)

Anyway. With Natalia's unique giftedness in mind, I was astonished to see the following video of a budding musical conductor . . . at three years of age!



Think of how well he has to know the piece in order to anticipate the changes in tempo and dynamic range. As someone commented: he is not merely reacting to the music; he is anticipating the changes. He really knows this piece.

I first saw the video here at the American Choral Directors Society website. Allen Simon, who posted the video to the ChoralNet blog, noted, Jonathan, the conductor in the video, "could give us all lessons in enthusiasm." --There is a page full of admiring and thoughtful comments about his conducting style and understanding of the music. Lots of accolades to his parents, too!

One guy wrote:

I believe a major symphony orchestra could easily follow his direction (except for the finish [Where he falls off his "podium" and lies on the floor giggling from the pure joy of conducting such a fine piece of music--JAH]) and audiences would love his style.

I also think that this video would serve an excellent training tool for conducting students--it teaches music expression using the whole body (including conducting with your feet), unbridled enthusiasm, and how to deal with emergencies without dropping a beat (or a baton).

In the comments section to another video, one of his parents comments,

Since before Jonathan was walking he was trying to conduct and at 19 months he had picked his instrument. He fell in love with the violin. His passion is for classical music. We found him a wonderful violin instructor whom he adores. He has been playing now for a year.

You can find that video (also of him conducting) here.

And then there's the very recent (he's now 4 years old) Jonathan performs "Humoresque" by Antonín Dvořák.

Oh, my goodness!

Just about takes my breath away! . . . It certainly brought tears to my eyes.



Turn up your speakers!

As my father said, this is a piece of music never intended to be played on the violin; only on the organ.

He added, "Bach was a powerful organist. Researchers have known this for MANY years. Then, many years after his death, someone discovered Bach's truly amazing works for solo cello--stuff that challenges the BEST of the BEST soloists! How was it possible for Johann Sebastian to write world-class cello SOLO works unless he had mastered the instrument?"

A little about the violinist, Vanessa-Mae, whose musical style, she says, is "violin techno-acoustic fusion."

Hmmm. Maybe she's right.

I'll just call it beautiful.

Christmas music up to date

Just for fun. But pretty impressive.

Enjoy!

From North Point Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. The iBand plays Christmas music.

Happy birthday wishes by classically trained musicians . . . offered to an esteemed mentor

From a birthday tribute concert for pianist Claude Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music: a surprise encore arranged by at least one of Frank's students.

A couple of notes:

1. You'll need to turn up the volume if you want to hear the "apology" at the beginning . . . then turn it down when the music begins at about 1:02.
   
2. Understand that this is presented at a formal classical music concert. Enjoy the music for what it is. You will soon recognize the joke. --Very creative. (By the way: I am told that all the great classical composers--Mozart, Bach, etc.--would play these kinds of musical jokes or games with one another on a regular basis.)

Enjoy!



Viewing on Facebook? "View Full Note," then click on "View Original Post" to see the video.

Unexpected beauty

One of my sisters sent me a copy of and link to a story about . . . well . . . beauty in unexpected places.

Check out the story my sister sent--the quick version.

An even quicker "tease":

It's about Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists in the world, who played some of the most beautiful violin music ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million . . . during morning rush hour in a Washington, DC, Metro station.

Three days before, he had played to a packed house in Boston where only middling seats cost $100 apiece.

The question he and a Washington Post reporter wanted to answer: How would people respond?

For the complete story, complete with video, see the original Washington Post article: Pearls Before Breakfast. And, then, a follow-up, "story behind the story" article . . . complete with readers' discussion, including answers to a question the author of the original article asked:

This story got the largest and most global response of anything I have ever written, for any publication. I am still wading through more than a thousand emails. . . .

[B]ut there's one [question] I'd like to pose: . . . [M]ore than 100 readers so far have told me that this story made them cry. It was not a reaction I anticipated, at least not so universally, and it has somewhat taken me aback. Can those of you who had this reaction try to explain it?

What do you think?

Oh.

And an alternating super-sped-up and regular-speed video of the entire, 45-minute experiment (2:36):

Maudlin

The thought of it made me burst out laughing.

The Word Power column in the March Reader's Digest is based on words made from people's names. The introduction included life jackets named Mae Wests and the word jeremiad--meaning a complaint (from the biblical prophet Jeremiah, who wrote the book of Lamentations).

So one of the words featured in the column is maudlin, meaning [effusively or tearfully] sentimental, a word, we are told, that comes from Mary Magdalene--who is traditionally depicted weeping in penitence. What made me burst into laughter was the sentence chosen to illustrate the way one might use the word:

Instead of a maudlin wedding song, the couple chose Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love."

Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love.mp3

Found at: http://www.filestube.com

The thought of playing such a song with the overblown bass line put me over the edge.

And then one last tidbit for my friends from BH-BL High School: This reminds me of the day--sometime during my first year in Burnt Hills; I expect it had to have been in the spring of 1970--when someone told me we could listen to music in the Junior High library. And the specific album they mentioned was Led Zeppelin II on which this song was the first cut. I couldn't believe we could listen to rock music in the school library . . . provided by the school! But that's exactly where I must have first heard this song.

Fundamental music education . . .

Oh. My. Goodness.

I was involved with the early stages of a music education project at Sonlight Curriculum several months ago. I was intrigued . . . and inspired . . . and excited about the prospects of the program we settled on, but the developers really hadn't "put it all together" in a way that I felt comfortable promoting . . . yet.

I invested a number of hours in the project, offering input and feedback and critiques of what the manufacturer had done and was proposing to do. But I finally gave up. It was taking too much time. I still loved the concept, but considering the minuscule profit potential for Sonlight and all the other things I have on my plate, I bowed out.

Just this morning, having returned from a "Family Fun Week," I noticed that the rest of the Sonlight team and the manufacturer did not give up and, in fact, took much of my input and put together a tightly integrated, truly complete music education package . . . for preschoolers to adults. Truly.

Amazing.

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tried it myself . . . and seen and heard the responses and remarks of other people--from preschoolers to adults.

What a brilliant integration of computer gaming technology and education! Absolutely riveting.

******

If you've ever wanted to learn how to read music and/or play the piano, I encourage you to check out the truly astonishing special offer Sonlight and the Music Wizard Company have put together.

Music education: Waxing nostalgic a bit . . .

A couple of employees at Sonlight have started a blog about music education. Their first post inspired me to write about my musical training/background.

I'm curious to see where Tim and Anne Marie go with their blog. (I have some knowledge of what they have in mind. But they are also doing "their own thing," here, so there's also a huge gap in my knowledge and I really am curious to find out where they take this.) Even more--and this is why I'm writing this post--I am curious to find out what others think about music education and what they remember as they think about their own experiences with music education.

Indeed, I got thinking about writing this post because I want to ask my best friend from elementary school (whom I mention below) what he might have to say about these things.

Got any inputs you might want to share?

Here's what I wrote:

Let me start with my dad: He was a fairly accomplished pianist and violinist and--by everything I ever saw--really LOVED classical music. I mean, it MOVED him.

He wanted his 6 children--of whom I am #2--to love it the same way he did. As a result, he pushed me--at least, I think he pushed me! (I don't know anything about my other brothers and sisters)--to take piano when I was in first grade.

I hated it.

I hated having to walk the three miles to the lessons. I hated the practice. I thought it was "stupid." And it was certainly boring.

I don't remember the psychology of it all. Maybe I had asked for the lessons. Maybe. But, whatever, he kept on threatening me: "If you don't practice, I won't pay for your lessons."

I think I finally escaped the pain within about six months. Something like that.

But then, when I was in 4th grade, we (everyone in my class at school) learned a bit about the flutophone (cheap recorder). In 5th grade, we were encouraged to take up a real instrument.

I chose clarinet. I loved it. I got pretty good at it. My dad sent me to private lessons in addition to the public school lessons. I got up to Mozart's Concerto in A. Loved the music. Loved the sound of the instrument.

But my public school music teacher ("our" teacher) was an absolute witch. She verbally abused so many of the kids so badly, I "couldn't take it" anymore. (Honestly, as I recall: I don't think she abused me very much, if at all; I "simply" remember she would yell at kids and abuse them . . . and there was enough other noise going on in my life at the time at home that) I quit. I "just" left my instrument in the music hall at school one day with no intention of returning.

And I didn't.

My best friend went on with his clarinet playing and became quite good at it. In fact, last I knew, he does music for a living now (though not as a clarinetist).

Anyway.

I sang in church and in the church choir. Loved that outlet. Especially the tenor line.

Throughout high school, I used to listen to groups like the Moody Blues and sing along and especially enjoyed the high background wailing vocals.

Sometime about, maybe, 10 years ago, as the church moved more and more into "praise" music and completely abandoned four-part harmonized singing, I got the idea in my head that I would start harmonizing like the Moody Blues. So, at this point, whenever I can hear myself (i.e., the "worship band" doesn't play too loudly!) I try to improvise and add interesting ornamentations to whatever the rest of the congregation is singing.

*******

I think, honestly, if I had the opportunity to learn anything I wanted, I would love to learn how to play percussion (the only time I can recall ever laughing out loud for joy over someone's playing, it was because what a drummer was doing in the middle of a song; it moved me).

And the one other thing I would love to do is learn how to compose music. But/and, I'm afraid, I would have to learn a lot of music theory and, somehow, figure out (or be taught) the way music "fits together."

[I remember reading a good portion of Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter and being amazed at the patterns he described. I also recall watching/listening to and attempting to follow some of the early lessons in Piano for Life and being amazed at how regular the patterns are. --But I certainly don't understand these things! I can "feel" the harmonies when I sing; I have no idea where I am on the musical scale.]

Anyway.

FWIW.

John

--In case you're reading this on Facebook: This post originally appeared on my personal blog.

Musical Mystery Tour Ends

I didn't realize there was a 40-year mystery up for grabs until I read Beatles Unknown "A Hard Day's Night" Chord Mystery Solved Using Fourier Transform:

It’s the most famous chord in rock 'n' roll, an instantly recognizable twang rolling through the open strings on George Harrison’s 12-string Rickenbacker. It evokes a Pavlovian response from music fans as they sing along to the refrain that follows:

"It’s been a hard day’s night
And I’ve been working like a dog"

The opening chord to "A Hard Day’s Night" is also famous because, for 40 years, no one quite knew exactly what chord Harrison was playing.

Professor Jason Brown of Dalhousie University’s Department of Mathematics decided to apply a mathematical calculation known as a Fourier transform to solve the problem . . . and came up with the idea that George Martin, the Beatles producer, added an F note played by a piano.

The resulting chord was completely different than anything found in the literature about the song to date, which is one reason why Dr. Brown’s findings garnered international attention. He laughs that he may be the only mathematician ever to be published in Guitar Player magazine.

For the full technical presentation of Brown's triumph, see CHAAAAAAAAG...It's been a hard day's night! and, perhaps, Wired's How Math Unraveled the 'Hard Day's Night' Mystery.

Fun!

(By the way, in case you need a reminder about the opening chord, here is a copy from the Wired article:

)

Soundtracks of our lives

A few days ago I discovered Playlist.com. Kind of neat to be able to put together your own preferred playlist of music.

The first song I looked for was "Africa" by Toto. There's something about the yearning in that song that always grips me.

When I found it, I said to myself, "Well! This is pretty good!" So I added "Africa" to my playlist . . . and left Playlist.com to get on with work.

Then this morning I was listening to my "Placid Music" station on Pandora.com, when I heard "The Child in Us" by Enigma.

Oh! Talk about yearning! . . .

That song, along with several other Enigma tunes, always brings me back to the time, several years ago, when I was writing up notes on Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. --It was the music I happened to be listening to at the time. I didn't have access to Pandora nor to an MP3 player, so (poor me! ha ha.) . . . I was listening to CDs on my three-CD changer. But I was able to listen to the same three albums for two or three days in a row before I got sick of them. So, it seems, Enigma's first two albums were staples during that period of my life, and I am always reminded of the melancholy of A Farewell to Arms whenever I hear those songs from Enigma.

So this morning I heard "The Child in Us" and got thinking: what other Enigma songs would I like to hear more frequently on Pandora? I did some searching and found several--which I added to my Pandora playlist.

Meanwhile, realizing that I have no real control over what which songs I hear when on Pandora, I got thinking again about Playlist.com. So I visited and began adding Enigma songs to my Playlist.com playlist!

But then I got thinking. How much am I revealing about myself simply by the choices of music I make? Should I "hide" who I am by adding a bunch of music choices that I wouldn't have made right off the top? For example, Toto and Enigma are not Christian groups. And, in fact, especially when you get into Enigma . . . it's just . . . different from what most people listen to.

And then the next group I looked for: Moody Blues.

Boy! I used to listen to them all the time when I was in high school. . . .

Maybe it was while I was bumping through their songs on Playlist.com that I began to question what I was doing. Not because of my personal choices. But because of what it might reveal about me. and

There was that yearning again. The sadness. The desire for "something more." Indeed, I'd say, something holy and more.

The song that inspired me to write this post is "Watching and Waiting":

Watching and waiting
For a friend to play with.
Why have I been alone so long?
Mole he is burrowing
His way to the sunlight,
He knows there's someone there so strong.

'Cos here there's lots of room for doing
The things you've always been denied.
So look and gather all you want to,
There's no one here to stop you trying.

Soon you will see me
'Cos I'll be all around you
But where I come from I can't tell.

Don't be alarmed
By my fields and my forests
They're here for only you to share.

'Cos here there's lots of room for doing
The things you've always been denied.
So look and gather all you want to,
There's no one here to stop you trying.

Watching and waiting
For someone to understand me.
I hope it won't be very long.

Again, it's not Christian. And there are some rather weird aspects to the song. (Who is speaking, for example, at different points?) But . . . (and I used to think about this in high school) . . . isn't there some kind of holiness to that yearning . . . something that might pull someone toward God?

I wonder about that today, too.

Oh, yes! There is something holy and beautiful and satisfying about Twila Paris' thoughtful Christian songs (I'm thinking of The Warrior is a Child at the moment . . . though, come to think of it, that's a pretty plaintive/yearning song, too, isn't it?) . . . or Michael W Smith's songs, too (thinking of Lord, Have Mercy--because I just heard it on Pandora).

But there is something really wonderful, too, about the "songs from the other side" where there is still the great unfulfilled yearning. I think. . . .