Our Spring Recitals will be held at the Mission Viejo Civic Center at 1:15pm and 2:45pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012.
Community service recitals will be held later in 2012. There will be a Halloween Piano Recital and two Christmastime piano and voice recitals.
Community recital dates and locations TBA.
2012 MUSIC STUDIO CALENDAR
Mon., Jan 2nd, New Year’s Holiday
Monday, Feb. 20th, President’s Day
Tues-Friday, March 27-30, Studio Closure
Mon., May 28, Memorial Day
Vacation – 1 week TBA in June, 2012
Tuesday, July 3rd, State Music Education Conference: San Diego
Wednesday., July 4th, Independence Day
Monday, September 5th, Labor Day
Thursday Nov. 22 and Friday, November 23, Thanksgiving Holidays
Monday, December 24 – Friday, December 28th, Christmas Holidays
-The piano was invented in 1698 in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori.
-There are over 12,000 parts in a piano, 10,000 of which are moving!
-There are 230 strings inside a typical piano. 18 tons of pressure are being exerted by the stretched steel piano strings.
-The right pedal is the sustaining or damper pedal. It raises all of the dampers at once allowing the notes to continue sounding after the keys are released.
-The left pedal is a soft pedal, usually known as an una corda pedal. This pedal shifts the key action sideways causing treble hammers to hit only two strings instead of three.
-The middle pedal is known as the sostenuto pedal. It sustains only those notes which are depressed prior to and while holding the pedal down.
Our Spring Recitals will be held at the Mission Viejo Civic Center on Saturday, June 2, 2012. Recital times that day are:
Piano Students: 1:15pm
Vocal Students: 2:45pm
Both Events will be held in The Saddleback Room and refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the events.
Practice slowly. Practicing slowly catches the details of the music. Slow practice is like putting the music under a microscope….you see all areas for improvement and much more detail. Taking your time helps you to learn carefully and to master the piece.
Practice without the pedal at first. While the pedal makes everything sound better, pedaling too early makes it easy to miss details in the music. Work to learn the notes and phrasing first and then add the pedaling and dynamics.
Take small sections. Learn small portions of the music in the beginning. It is tempting to learn large chunks to save time. The problem is that taking on too much of the music can be overwhelming. If you take tiny sections at a time and master them, you will be able to sustain productive practice much longer.
Figuring out corrections. Fixing a mistake isn’t enough. After you have mastered a correction, go back and connect the music ahead of and behind the corrected area. This helps to ensure the error doesn’t recur.
Use the 80/20 Rule: If you focus the majority of your time on the few places that are weak, you will get much better results that practicing the whole piece from beginning to end.
Regular daily practice enhances the ability to learn new materials and your musicianship. Try setting aside a regular time of the day when life stops – for example, 7:30pm, I’m taking a break at the piano for 30 minutes. By making practicing a part of your daily routine your skills will jump ahead and so will your enjoyment. Have fun making music!