Musicmama

Good activity for toddlers!

Some songs are easy to play, but not easy to play well. This video goes into the detailed technique of the Turkish March song. Enjoy!

Noriko Ogawa piano lesson on Mozart Rondo Alla Turca Noriko Ogawa gives an exclusive piano lesson on Mozart's playful Rondo Alla Turca. This Rondo is the last movement from Mozart's Sonata K331 and the score ap...

Baroque music is especially good for training young kids' mathematical mind as there are many repeating patterns in the pieces.

ABRSM 2017/18 Grade 5 Allegro Piano ABRSM Exam played by Theodore Lee

I'm sure many of you have had massage before! Whenever I find my mind stuck and my brain can't function, I try to get a Brain Massage--by listening to tranquil Baroque music. When I turn on the 2 part inventions by Bach, I can literally feel an invisible hand rubbing my right brain and then my left brain. Read on if you're interested in how music can do you good on the brain.

According to "Music on the brain: Researchers explore the biology of music" by William J. Cromie, A human brain is divided into two hemispheres, and the right hemisphere has been traditionally identified as the seat of music appreciation. However, no one has found a "music center" there, or anywhere else. Studies of musical understanding.... reveal that music perception emerges from the interplay of activity in both sides of the brain.

Music and other sounds entering the ears go to the auditory cortex, assemblages of cells just above both ears. The right side of the cortex is crucial for perceiving pitch as well as
certain aspects of melody, harmony, timbre, and rhythm. (All the people tested were righthanded, so brain preferences may differ in lefties.) The left side of the brain in most people excels at processing rapid changes in frequency and intensity, both in music and words. Such rapid changes occur when someone plucks a violin string versus running a bow across it. Both left and right sides are necessary for complete perception of rhythm. For example, both hemispheres need to be working to tell the difference between three-quarter and four-quarter time.
The front part of your brain (frontal cortex), where working memories are stored, also plays a role in rhythm and melody perception.

Whenever you come across the opportunity to attend a masterclass, don't miss it! My son had the privilege to sit in two such classes organized by his school, and he learnt a great deal from it. Here are good tips from world renowned violinist Ning Fung:
- A performance begins once you step on the stage, so be mindful as a performer even before you play your song
- Believe that "You are the best once you are on stage", show confidence in your body gesture!
- Understand the context, the historical background of your song to get the tone and dynamics right...(somebody was playing the Schindler's List a little too fast like a Waltz)
- Do slow practice of even the fastest songs. Make sure you get all the details right before you increase your speed.

HKAPA and HK Phil organize masterclasses too, you just need to monitor their schedule. Here is one held in early June. https://www.hkapa.edu/music/event/strings-masterclass-by-chamber-music-society-of-lincoln-center--co-presented-with-hong-kong-international-cello-association

Pianists in the olden days were trained using a chiroplast, an instrument to guide the hands and fingers of pupils, invented by Johann Bernhard Logier in the 18th century. While nobody still use this for training, this device does point out the importance of your hand position for playing the piano: i) fingers should be naturally curved in; ii) the wrists should be relaxed and leveled with the hands; iii) unnecessary swinging upward and downward should be prevented; iv) independent movement of individual fingers is important.

Fingers drilling is the only way to help you play quick songs, practice makes perfect! Contrary to what most people think, slow-motion practice is very important to super quick songs (see in the 2nd part of the video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv8bX4qPe0s).

Slow practice_Fantasie Impromtu Music education for parents

When I was young, I used to avoid technical practice as much as possible. Today, I understand that if you ever want to play beautiful songs like Fantasie Impromtu by Chopin, Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, you have to practice your techniques no matter how boring you find it. The picture below shows the famous fingers training exercises by Hanon (for more junior players) and Czerny.

Finger dexterity and velocity are very important for playing musical instruments, especially for strings and the piano. For young kids whose fine motor skills are not yet well-developed, there are tools that may help, e.g. play-dough, squeeze balls, or some devices shown in the picture below.

If you also have a Harry Porter fan at home, here are some free music scores for your enjoyment. The first two sheets are for the piano, and the last one is for cello, they are both in B minor. You may notice that the time signatures are different, so when my son and I play together, we have to do certain alterations to make it work!

If you have a hard time getting your kids to practice, get them a theme song that they like. Be mindful that boys and girls may have very different favourite theme songs--for my son, he loves Harry Porter. Here you go the Hedwig Theme Song!

Music Mama mother and kids music Music education for parents

For the parents who really want to grow the musical cells in your kids, I encourage you to take your kids to concerts as much as you can-- not every concert allows young kids though, but this one is for anyone at or above 3 years old!😄 My son loved it and I hope yours do too.