Today was the last day of class
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I love that Debussy piece.
There’s a fabulous Stephen Hough master class on that piece on YouTube. Totally worth watching.
There’s a fabulous Stephen Hough master class on that piece on YouTube. Totally worth watching.
Thanks, jon-nyc. I will look it up.
I’m listening to the Debussy piece now, I think I’ve heard it before but it’s not a piece I know well. it’s lovely! Also sounds devilishly heard! Do you have a favorite recording?
I would say it has some difficult passages, but even though it is not 'easy' (is anything 'easy'?) it's a little more manageable than it sounds and looks, to me. My favorite recording (mind you, there are a lot of recordings I have not listened to) is Michaelangeli's:
Link to videoYes, the class is for performance practice. One needs to be able to play a piece as if it is ready for performance, and as I've learned, it's usually not ready.
We are lucky that there are only 2 of us students this semester which means we each get half an hour at the piano. After we play through our piece as well as we can, what with nerves and all, the other student(s) and teacher point out areas they feel might be lacking. That could be anything from rhythmic issues to dynamics to rubato to clarity etc. etc. etc. The one thing that is not officially part of the class is technical how-to, however the teacher is generous in making suggestions if he feels some technical difficulty might benefit from his knowledge.The other student is at a good level. She worked on the Prelude and Menuet from Debussy's Suite Bergamasque this semester.
The industrial revolution cheapened everything.
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There’s a fabulous Stephen Hough master class on that piece on YouTube. Totally worth watching.
Thanks, jon-nyc. I will look it up.
I’m listening to the Debussy piece now, I think I’ve heard it before but it’s not a piece I know well. it’s lovely! Also sounds devilishly heard! Do you have a favorite recording?
I would say it has some difficult passages, but even though it is not 'easy' (is anything 'easy'?) it's a little more manageable than it sounds and looks, to me. My favorite recording (mind you, there are a lot of recordings I have not listened to) is Michaelangeli's:
Link to videoYes, the class is for performance practice. One needs to be able to play a piece as if it is ready for performance, and as I've learned, it's usually not ready.
We are lucky that there are only 2 of us students this semester which means we each get half an hour at the piano. After we play through our piece as well as we can, what with nerves and all, the other student(s) and teacher point out areas they feel might be lacking. That could be anything from rhythmic issues to dynamics to rubato to clarity etc. etc. etc. The one thing that is not officially part of the class is technical how-to, however the teacher is generous in making suggestions if he feels some technical difficulty might benefit from his knowledge.The other student is at a good level. She worked on the Prelude and Menuet from Debussy's Suite Bergamasque this semester.
That was lovely!
Yes, the class is for performance practice. One needs to be able to play a piece as if it is ready for performance, and as I've learned, it's usually not ready.
What an interesting model, esp. outside of a conservatory or similar setting.
The one thing that is not officially part of the class is technical how-to,
That’s interesting. So the students really have to be self-sufficient in many ways. It’s almost like an extended master class.
Anyway thank you for sharing all those details!
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That was lovely!
Yes, the class is for performance practice. One needs to be able to play a piece as if it is ready for performance, and as I've learned, it's usually not ready.
What an interesting model, esp. outside of a conservatory or similar setting.
The one thing that is not officially part of the class is technical how-to,
That’s interesting. So the students really have to be self-sufficient in many ways. It’s almost like an extended master class.
Anyway thank you for sharing all those details!
What an interesting model, esp. outside of a conservatory or similar setting.
It is at the music school where a number of students take one-on-one lessons. This class is meant to augment those lessons. In fact, the teacher mentioned that he thought it was time the school started thinking of implementing a comprehensive program starting from beginner level to diploma. It would be cool if that happens. They teach many instruments in many music styles, and have classes on theory and analysis.
I have been giving some thought to signing up for one-on-one lessons with the teacher but I've been told that he is fully booked and one may well end up on a waiting list. I'm not interested in lessons with any of the other teachers there.
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What an interesting model, esp. outside of a conservatory or similar setting.
It is at the music school where a number of students take one-on-one lessons. This class is meant to augment those lessons. In fact, the teacher mentioned that he thought it was time the school started thinking of implementing a comprehensive program starting from beginner level to diploma. It would be cool if that happens. They teach many instruments in many music styles, and have classes on theory and analysis.
I have been giving some thought to signing up for one-on-one lessons with the teacher but I've been told that he is fully booked and one may well end up on a waiting list. I'm not interested in lessons with any of the other teachers there.
@Bernard said:
It is at the music school where a number of students take one-on-one lessons.It sounds like a really great music school! I wish our community music school was a little better. That’s where I took lessons for about a year and a half (after we moved here) until I figured out I could take lessons through the university music program. This community music school is relatively inexpensive, but somehow their model seems… like it’s missing some important pedagogical elements. (For lack of a better way to describe it). And there’s one other private music school in town, but their lessons are super expensive and the way they set up their trial lessons, it felt scammy and gross so I never actually went there.
This class is meant to augment those lessons.
And it sounds like a fantastic way to do that! I meant to ask you, is it expected that you’ll only work on one piece for the duration of the term (for the performance class)? How long is the term? If you wanted to, could you switch to a different piece after several weeks?
They teach many instruments in many music styles, and have classes on theory and analysis.
It sounds like a really big school! I remain impressed!
I have been giving some thought to signing up for one-on-one lessons with the teacher but I've been told that he is fully booked and one may well end up on a waiting list. I'm not interested in lessons with any of the other teachers there.
No reason not to get on the waiting list!
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@Bernard said:
It is at the music school where a number of students take one-on-one lessons.It sounds like a really great music school! I wish our community music school was a little better. That’s where I took lessons for about a year and a half (after we moved here) until I figured out I could take lessons through the university music program. This community music school is relatively inexpensive, but somehow their model seems… like it’s missing some important pedagogical elements. (For lack of a better way to describe it). And there’s one other private music school in town, but their lessons are super expensive and the way they set up their trial lessons, it felt scammy and gross so I never actually went there.
This class is meant to augment those lessons.
And it sounds like a fantastic way to do that! I meant to ask you, is it expected that you’ll only work on one piece for the duration of the term (for the performance class)? How long is the term? If you wanted to, could you switch to a different piece after several weeks?
They teach many instruments in many music styles, and have classes on theory and analysis.
It sounds like a really big school! I remain impressed!
I have been giving some thought to signing up for one-on-one lessons with the teacher but I've been told that he is fully booked and one may well end up on a waiting list. I'm not interested in lessons with any of the other teachers there.
No reason not to get on the waiting list!
I meant to ask you, is it expected that you’ll only work on one piece for the duration of the term (for the performance class)? How long is the term? If you wanted to, could you switch to a different piece after several weeks?
Yes, it's entirely up to us what we want to work on during the semester and how many weeks we want to work on it. We can also mix it up, bring the same piece in two or three weeks in a row then switch to a different piece then go back to the original piece and so on. The teacher will encourage further work on a piece if someone says they want to set it aside yet he feels they might be on the cusp of a breakthrough, but it's ultimately up to the student. This past semester I worked on 2 Nocturnes, half a semester each. The other student went back and forth between the 2 Debussy pieces.
The term is 10 weeks, I think. Didn't pay too much attention to that. The class is very affordable, coming to about $22 a class. Considering the teacher's CV, it's quite a bargain in my mind.
The school is not all that big. It started very humbly by one or two Vermonters who had a dream and a vision for a music school in the Upper Valley. When I got here thirteen years ago, it was cramped into a smallish place not far from its current location. But their enrollment kept growing and a year or so before COVID they purchased a mansion on the city common and are now expanding that. It continues to grow and they have lots of community outreach, and bring in some very good guest teachers and performers.
Here is their "about" page: UVMC
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I meant to ask you, is it expected that you’ll only work on one piece for the duration of the term (for the performance class)? How long is the term? If you wanted to, could you switch to a different piece after several weeks?
Yes, it's entirely up to us what we want to work on during the semester and how many weeks we want to work on it. We can also mix it up, bring the same piece in two or three weeks in a row then switch to a different piece then go back to the original piece and so on. The teacher will encourage further work on a piece if someone says they want to set it aside yet he feels they might be on the cusp of a breakthrough, but it's ultimately up to the student. This past semester I worked on 2 Nocturnes, half a semester each. The other student went back and forth between the 2 Debussy pieces.
The term is 10 weeks, I think. Didn't pay too much attention to that. The class is very affordable, coming to about $22 a class. Considering the teacher's CV, it's quite a bargain in my mind.
The school is not all that big. It started very humbly by one or two Vermonters who had a dream and a vision for a music school in the Upper Valley. When I got here thirteen years ago, it was cramped into a smallish place not far from its current location. But their enrollment kept growing and a year or so before COVID they purchased a mansion on the city common and are now expanding that. It continues to grow and they have lots of community outreach, and bring in some very good guest teachers and performers.
Here is their "about" page: UVMC
it's entirely up to us what we want to work on during the semester and how many weeks we want to work on it. We can also mix it up, bring the same piece in two or three weeks in a row then switch to a different piece then go back to the original piece and so on. The teacher will encourage further work on a piece if someone says they want to set it aside yet he feels they might be on the cusp of a breakthrough, but it's ultimately up to the student.
That sounds perfect! I would love that, to be able work on a few different pieces across the semester, and hear others' progress etc. What a great idea!
The class is very affordable, coming to about $22 a class. Considering the teacher's CV, it's quite a bargain in my mind.
Wow, that is definitely a bargain!!
Thanks for sharing the link, it looks like a really great place!!
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So does this mean @shirokuro will be house hunting near @bernard soon?
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