The Voca People

No More Excuses!

A man named Victor is one of the wonderful people we met on our mission trip to Mexico this past week. He is an accountant, a husband, father and grandfather. I had met him and his wife on the first day in El Cercado, and had noticed his peculiar hands, but did not think anything about it. Until the last night there, when one of my adult piano students, Stephanie told me that he was going to play the piano for her. I really went up to the piano just to translate and ended up asking my own questions.

Victor was born with deformed hands. Actually when he was born his hands were completely shut and he has been able to open them as much as you see here in this picture. He told us that he had always loved music and when the opportunity arose in school to learn to read music he was the first in line. After that he started reading notes from his teacher's score and would memorize everything. Later in life when he owned a hymnal he started to memorize the hymns and has committed 88 hymns to memory.

Look at his hands. This is exactly what they look like all the time. He plays the piano with the side of his right hand and the middle finger of his left hand. That's it.

And he is happy to do it. He told me that his deformity has never been an obstacle to the things he wants to do.

He should be an inspiration to all of us. No more excuses!

Composer of the Month: Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi was famous around the world and one of the few to die rich!

You can read his story here.

And how about getting involved in an activity to learn more about his opera "Aida"? Then you must click here, and print these activity sheets from Classics for Kids.

Would you prefer to watch a video of part of his "Triumphant March?" then click here.

Bad Habits that slow down the student's progress ...#2

#2. Don’t go ahead in the student’s books without the teacher's approval.

Why not?:
Music lessons are not primarily about learning a lot of pieces. Rather, they are about learning a sequence of skills. The skill must be taught by the teacher, not just read about in the book. (That’s what you’re paying me for!) The piece is there to reinforce and apply the new skills taught by the teacher. If the student attempts to learn the piece without having learned the skills, the piece has been wasted. It is extremely difficult to add those skills after the student has practiced the piece incorrectly for a week or two.

What to do instead:
If the student wants to do something extra, he or she should ask the teacher first. There are supplementary material at the end of each book. Go there first. If the student runs out of things to practice (really?), he or she should focus on polishing previously learned pieces.

Composer of the Month: Clara Schumann

Yes! there are women composers! So, why do the text/piano books not mention them? Well, they do mention them, but very briefly.

Clara Schumann lived during the 19th century and was called "the high priestess of music" giving her first complete piano recital at the age of 11 and enjoying 61 years of concert life.

"Throughout her life, Clara was well-known as a piano soloist, gaining fame for her technical proficiencies, sensitive interpretations of musical works and her ability to express the composer's intent in the music. During her lifetime, she premiered pieces by Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms and her husband, Robert Schumann. A composer herself, Clara wrote 66 pieces, including works for piano and orchestra, solo piano and even cadenzas for piano concertos already written by Beethoven and Mozart! Widely respected for her musical opinions, both Clara's husband and Brahms sought her advice and guidance when writing music." DSO

Enjoy a performance of her Romanza 1, Op. 11 found on YouTube.

Student Spotlight - Jasmin Jones

Jasmin Jones, age 11, grade 6 at KAES.
Years at Dorla's Piano Studio - 3
Group Class - Music Makers: At the Keyboard Book 5
Composition title - Happy Thunderstorm (C Major) by Jasmin Jones

What inspired you to compose Happy Thunderstorm?
"I was mad at my sister Veronica, so I went to the piano and started playing "Happy Thunderstorm" and it made me happy!"

Do you know any female composers?
None, except me!

Well, Jasmin, I promise to introduce you to a few more! Congratulations on your creativity and willingness to share! (Ms. Dorla)

Yundi Li playing Chopin

Remember the composer of the month? Frederic Chopin.
Here is a video of Yundi Li, the youngest piano to ever win the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition at the age of 18 in the year 2000. He will be performing at the Bass Hall in Fort Worth on Tuesday night January 20, 2009. I'm debating if I should go...

Enjoy!