Paperman - Pixar Short

I must learn this piece - probably by ear, but I'll check out if there's sheet music available.  This is part of my youtube playlist "Uplifting and Serene."



Track from Paperman Short Movie before Wreck It Ralph

Monthly Wrapup: August 2014

A Few Facts: 

- It's been over 3 years since my last piano lesson.  I want to find a teacher for a 2 month stint.  I could also find some masterclasses to attend at a school of music.

- Film composers often have a motley assortment of projects they've worked on.  Often you can look up the works of your favorite composer and find new ear candy. 


 - Michael W. Smith's Freedom is one of my favorite instrumental albums.  Orchestral, celtic, drama, epic, sweet...

- Weird Al does the greatest parodies.  New album just came out!  You have to watch the music videos.

-  "From his earliest days as a prodigy in Bonn, Ludwig van Beethoven's great ambition had been to travel to Vienna to meet - and take lessons with - the man he knew was the greatest living composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." Read more.



Awesome thing from this month:  
- I've had seven prospective students with whom I've been chatting or arranging meetings.  Since I only taught ONE lesson this month, I realized how much I would miss it if I got much more of a vacation!  I'd miss the interaction, involvement, relationship, and I'd loose my touch.  Use it or loose it, as I always say.  For all you students/parents who read this, I hope you know that you make my day and add so much zest to my life! :)  Thank you!


To-do's and Goals for this Month: 
- Finish memorizing Finlandia.  I've performed this so many times over the last 4 years that it's almost there, and has almost been there for too long.
- Change my quickly updated cell phone answering greeting - It's many people's first impression of me!
- Speed up the first page of Flight of the Bumblebee - one of the pieces I'm reviewing. 

YouTube Sensation: Kyle Landry

http://kylelandry.com

This pianist and arranger (perhaps composer too?) is one of my new favorites.  His performances are stellar, though every time I see him sitting so cramped up and close to the keys I just want to give him a pull back so he's not so uncomfortable!  He offers many arrangements for free, so go get some free sheet music!!

http://kylelandry.com

This Hymn Might Make It in a 23rd Century Hymnal

It will be interesting to see what music from my lifetime will survive into the future.

Theme from the film Amelie

 I was practicing in the rooms at the USF School of Music one evening when I heard this.  I asked the girl playing it what it was, and found the sheet music on scribd and noteflight (also adding it to my youtube playlist). 

I find a lot of sheet music on Noteflight.  It requires registration to search it for music people have written/transcribed/arranged, but it's no hassle.  So register and search if you like, but for ease, here is the sheet music, courtesy of http://m-piano.blogspot.com. 

Playing by Ear and Jane Austen Music

  Playing by ear has no official term that I am aware of for when someone re-composes music based on hearing something, be it a simple melody, a vocal piece with accompaniment, or a complex jazz improvisation. 

When I "pulled this by ear," it was a special point in my aural training because for the first time I really "re-composed," so to speak, a full and rich rendition of a very excellent piece of music.  Before most of my aural renditions had been just completing an assignment.  When my teacher heard this, he said I had turned a page in my skill.  Those are special moments for a teacher. It just took the right piece to inspire me, no necessity or particular knowledge of what is achievable as far as aural renditions.  Sometime I'll get myself recording on my digital piano and put my rendition on here.
Later, I received the score of this piece in the book "Jane Austen's World."  The rendition there added a few touches to mine, but actually I had re-composed a much fuller rendition of the film soundtrack than the book offered.  One advantage of playing by ear! 
If you can hum it, you can play it by ear.

Musical Minds

Watch excerpt:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q49Bs0Gp7OU  

  I may be one of those "musically inclined," but I still think that this fantastic science documentary, Nova's Musical Minds would fascinate just about anyone.  Especially if you're reading this blog!  :)  (At a later point, I might post my thoughts on why everyone should be musically inclined!  For now, I'd just repeat music is God's gift to all. )


If you read the note left by the uploader on You Tube, you'll learn a little more about this film and its very personal .

 The site for the film is:

 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/musical-minds.html

I am trying to find out when it might air again, and also if it is available on DVD.  June 30 will mark two years since its premiere.

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