Operalady

Studio News - December 2023
With a wonderful Thanksgiving 2023 in the books, it's on to December and the winter break holidays. I wish to share with you what happened on Thanksgiving day 2023....

The week before Thanksgiving, the Greek Government approved my application for dual citizenship, a big milestone. Next, my name was to appear in the Gazette, which is the official journal/website of the Government of Greece that lists all laws passed in a set time period ratified by Cabinet and President. We didn't know the time frame of when my name would appear on the website, so my husband David has been diligent in checking.

On Thanksgiving night, my name appeared. Δόξα ο Θεος! (Praise God!)

The last step is to make an appointment with the Greek Consulate in Houston to take the oath. With enough patience (in my case, 8 years), dreams can come true. I would be lying if I said I never lost hope. I would be lying if I said I never thought of giving up. I've gone through the tenure of 3 different Consuls - with the 2nd one causing me to drive 2 1/2 hours back to Austin in tears. That was a low point. I have to thank my daughter Andrea, who is a bull-dog in finding ways to get things done. She kept my spirits up. She found a Greek lawyer that would take our case, which was truly unique. Ironically, her paperwork is still in process, but our lawyer says should reach completion soon. Chase your dreams. Be methodical, but most of all, be patient. Remember this.

Those of you who have been with me for a long time know that I sold my house in Austin in March 2022, with the intention of moving to Greece upon completion of my dual citizenship. I never thought the process would take this long, but am excited and grateful that I'm at the end of one chapter and beginning a new.

Starting in January, I will be closing down my teaching business. It is bittersweet as I love teaching one on one, and I've enjoyed being a presence in your lives! On the other hand, I am ready to begin a new journey. I've been toying with an idea of teaching Orthodox Christian choirs various church hymns by audio/video means - something similar to what TMEA does with their school choirs (only they don't use video). Over the years, I have made hundreds of audio recordings of soprano/alto parts. I started a YouTube channel ( http://www.youtube.com/ ) called "Orthodox Hymns", which shows sheet music with audio in the background. Listening to the audio while viewing the sheet music is something I tell students all the time when learning new pieces, so here it is in practice. I have other ideas on how to expound on this concept so I have plenty to do to stay creative.

I wish to thank all of you for enriching my life with your youthfulness, energy, happiness, and most of all, your talent. Thank you!

December Events & Deadlines:
• Thursday, Dec 21 through Monday, Jan 8: Winter Break. No lessons.

Practice Tip: Chase your dreams. Be methodical, but most of all, be patient. This mode of thinking applies to anything you set your mind to, especially in learning to play an instrument, whether it is the piano or your voice. I'm leaving you with a foundation that you can build upon. Want to learn a new piece of music of YOUR choosing? Be methodical - what's the time signature and key signature? Major/minor sounding? Start with the right hand, then follow up with the left. Work one phrase at a time. Put it all together slowly and methodically. Hit a snag? Be patient and focused. Think it through in your mind on how it should sound. Write in some note names if you keep missing a note. Voice students - also look at the time & key signature, major/minor sound, but then focus on the melody, pronunciation, vowel placement, and telling a story. Put it all together slowly and methodically, one phrase at a time. Record yourself so you can hear the piece from another point of view.

Chase your dreams......

I love you all!

Orthodox Hymns - YouTube Welcome to my YouTube page! This page is meant to help choir members and chanters learn the standard byzantine hymns of the Orthodox Church. As a past choir ...

My new set up in Jupiter, FL. Clean, simple and functional!

❤️❤️❤️

PRACTICE TIPS for young musicians! Download and place a copy on your classroom/studio wall or at the front of each students music book.
Download LINK - http://bit.ly/mtrPracticeTips
PIN for later LINK - https://au.pinterest.com/pin/173247916890430054/

http://music-teacher-resources.com/ten-practice-tips/

So happy to be back in Texas for the month of December! I even figured something out. Connected both of my computers to zoom. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner! Only one computer signs in under my account, the other enters as a guest (since two computers on the same account can not be on at the same time). Now one computer can function as a second screen while the other can share my annotations to sheet music or connect to classroom maestro. Now I'll always have two screens - can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!

On the tropical side of the island. Internet is sketchy (DSL 😳) but I'm making it work. Basically, David and I are not able to do video calls at the same time so he switches to audio only when I'm teaching. Foldable piano still works like a dream and I'm using the comically small "TV" as a second monitor. Works perfectly for my needs.

Here's my setup in Waikoloa Village, HI. Our condo for the month is a 2 bed, 2 bath so I was able to use the 2nd bedroom for my setup. There's a smart TV in the bedroom which I use as my second monitor. Works well and the foldable piano easily connects to my midi software programs. Students, I see you quite well on the big honkin' TV!

Got my foldable piano. I love this thing! WAY more functional than my roll-up. I have not hooked it up to my computer for midi access, but I'm pretty confident it will do just fine. Keys are somewhat weighted and it can handle 8 note mega-chords. It can also handle crescendo/diminuendo and the sustain pedal works great. This is NOT a replacement for an acoustic or full size weighted digital keyboard, but it is good enough for travelling.

Tomorrow I will put it through its paces during lessons, but today I was all about reacquainting myself with scales and old songs. Food for the brain!

My studio set up in Seattle. Scored an additional monitor from the son in-law. Thanks Francisco! The roll-up piano has a mal-functioning B-3 which is affecting my ability to play for students so I ordered a fold-up full sized keyboard. Will keep you posted on how that works.

I've been looking at different ways for you to see and hear what other students are doing, as in learning new pieces, compositions, performances, etc. Thought this might be kind of interesting since live recitals are not possible with my travel situation.
Anya has started my last three recitals so she was quite happy to be the first to try this new forum. She made two recordings - one from her last project piece, and one an original composition she calls "Queen of the Castle". I asked her three questions on how she created this piece, and those questions are answered at the end of the video.

So, here it is on a private link on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8BbPy1IgIkk

Thank you Anya!

Anya's Spotlight Spotlight on student series.This month it's Anya. She will be performing two songs:1. Fur Elise - a shortened version, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven2. Que...

Who said you can't teach on the road? As long as there is internet, anything is possible. My set up includes a surface pro 7 running windows 11, two cameras (one overhead and on the surface pro), iPad for extra lesson books and PDFs, mymusicstaff software to write in assignment notes, and most importantly, a roll-up piano with blue tooth interface connected to classroom maestro, a great teaching/theory aid. Cordless headphones allow me to move about.

The surface pro allows me to annotate PDFs when sharing my screen on zoom. This really helps the student because I can point directly to places in the music I'm talking about.

For advanced students, I can annotate directly on the sheet music and send to them right after the lesson.

I love my job!

Better late than never....

Studio News – June 2021

In the words of Alice Cooper – School’s out for summer! That doesn’t mean practice is over for the summer, but it does mean that you can practice for pleasure. What does that mean? What songs are on your top 5 list? Play them. What were your favorite lesson book songs? Play them. What were your favorite Beyer, Czerny, or Hanon technique exercises? Play them! Play whatever you want, but just play. This will keep your brain and fingers engaged and might even improve your musical skills!

In other news, David and I are spending the month of June in Geneva, NY which is on the northern side of Seneca Lake – one of the finger lakes. It is quite beautiful here but more importantly, there is WiFi! My roll-up piano works like a dream and the internet is stable enough for virtual teaching. Win!

June and July Deadlines and Events: None!

Heads up for July:
Use this month to catch up on your theory. Start in on your theory workbooks so you will be prepared to take the Whitlock Theory Test in the Fall.

Practice Tips: “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier. This quote made me think of daily practice. Small daily efforts will bring forth success, one measure at a time.

😂 can you figure it out?

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