Composers

I find the life of composers fascinating! I have been listening to an audio lecture called, "How to listen to and understand great music" by Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. It has been very enlightening to do dishes to:) I've learned that Tchaivosky was afraid that his head would fall off while conducting, so he would hold on to his head with one hand and lead with another. I learned that Debussy preferred the company of cats to people, and Mozart was not as crazy as the movie Amadeus made him out to be.
I loved this series for also explaining the different styles of German, Italian, and French music. They correlate with their language. German is sharp with lots of consonants and so is their music. Italians have a perfect blend of consonants and vowels, and their music focuses on relationships. French language is full of vowels. You often cannot tell where one word ends and the other begins and the same is true of their music...there isn't a defined beat. It's very flowy. This is generalizing and paraphrasing, but it helped me to recognize the differences and appreciate the beauty of each style of music.

Your own Children

I read a great article about your own children in piano here. It really made me think about our recent adventures that my daughter and I have had. She and I have been trying to have piano lessons every week. I even went to the extent of setting an alarm on my phone once a week. Despite my best intentions, we had a piano lesson about once a month, and usually there was an episode of tears involved. I get perplexed when no fun is involved, and my daughter is a perfectionist that expects to get things perfect from the beginning. The two of us don't see eye-to-eye very well. Then about 3 months ago, I worked out an arrangement with another piano teacher friend of mine. I teach her daughter and she teaches mine! She is much more disciplined and expects more from her students. I am more into my students having fun and enjoying the process. I think our differences really compliment each other, and both of our daughters are reaping the benefits.

My daughter is 8 and her teacher believed she could learn all of her scales and other requirements in 2 months for an upcoming "Piano Achievement Days" at our local music store. Not only did she succeed, but she earned a medallion for exceptional performance!! I was so proud of her accomplishment and the high expectations that her teacher had for her. Even though there were tears in our practicing sessions, the deadline motivated both of us to overcome the bumps. Now she does enjoy her medallion and her memorized pieces. I think it is great to have another perspective, sounding board, and mentor for your children.

Does anyone have good suggestions for how they help their children practice? I'd love some feedback on that subject. We are still narrowing down a routine:)