February 2023

Hello and Welcome to February! Please remember that your invoices are due by the first lesson of the month 🙂 We will be pushing forward and beginning to prep for March’s recital during lessons … things are moving fast around here!

Important Dates to Know –

~ Maternity Leave: Baby is due April 22, and I plan to take the week off before that date as well. Assuming baby doesn’t come early, I will teach through the week of April 10^th ,11^th , and 12^th. We will then resume lessons in July 🙂

~ Spring Recital: YES! Just a bit earlier 😊 It is scheduled Sunday, March 19^th. Please mark your calendars now!

January’s Highlights 🙂

Practice Tip: Because our recital is earlier this year, we will begin looking at performance pieces this month! The important thing to remember when you practice is that playing straight through a piece over and over is NOT effective practice. Taking the song in tiny bites will actually leave you accomplishing much more when you’re learning a piece than tackling the whole thing at once. Remember … SLOW PRACTICE = FAST PROGRESS 😉

Music History Time Period: Baroque Music 1600-1750

Baroque music is tuneful and very organized and melodies tend to be highly decorated and elaborate. Conflict and contrast between sections in a piece and between instruments are common, and the music can be quite dramatic. (taken from classicsforkids.com)

The opera was first created during the Baroque period. Musicians rarely achieved widespread fame, and most were employed by either the church or aristocratic families who wanted their own personal court musicians. The piano as we know it today was invented – until then clavichords and harpsichords ruled the day. The problem? The clavichord was always loud, and harpsichord always soft. Cristofori spent years blending the two to give us the instrument we have today 🙂

Book(s) of the Month –