Author: glasshouseofmusic

I found this chapter of ‘Musicophilia’ especially intriguing. I had never heard of this condition before, as is the case with most people. This is largely because this syndrome is very rare (affecting maybe one in 10,000 children), and was not formally described until 1961. Awareness is growing, as is support for families who are […]

I’ve shared with you about the brilliant book, Musicophilia, now see the man share about how music can help patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Such a captivating genius of a man! 

Part 2 of my review of Dr. Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Pitch…Perfect? Absolute pitch has always sounded like such a wonderful gift to me, but there are problems associated with it that I’d never considered. Absolute pitch is when you hear a single note and know exactly which note it is, without […]

This book was incredible. I’ll try to break it down in a couple of blog posts, although I highly recommend reading the book yourself – I’ll definitely read it again someday! The Power of Music “Music, uniquely among the arts, is both completely abstract and profoundly emotional. It can pierce the heart directly; it needs […]

Some people never want to play for anyone else’s ears, and that’s ok. But music is meant to be heard! It’s meant to be shared, and this will only make you that much better (as a musician AND as a person) if you do. It will help make you stronger and braver, and take you […]

Think about your pieces. You need to have them in your head. Imagine hearing it played in your mind! See if you can hear every note of the melody and every note of each chord, every dynamic change, every phrase ending- see how many details you can remember without having the music in front of you […]

Tip number 4 for practicing the piano: Be self aware and realistic. Know when something isn’t working, and work on something else! Save that frustrating, just-can’t-figure-it-out section for your next lesson. That’s why you have a piano teacher like me! I’ll help you through that difficult section when we have a lesson. We all have […]

Practicing the piano can get repetitive, and that is what turns a lot of people off. It’s why you need to make things interesting for yourself. Switch it up! We talked about giving yourself freedom in the last post – but what does that look like when you’re practicing? Here’s tip number three for practicing […]

I was very excited when Jarred Dunn proposed we do a workshop together. Even more excited when he offered to play at the end of it, and more excited still when he offered to do it for nearly half his usual rate!  But it would seem that not everyone is excited as I am. We […]

Tip number two for practicing the piano: Listen to your pieces. Students have endless recordings available to them, right at their fingertips. They can listen to many different performers/teachers/other students playing and/or talking about the very same pieces they are practicing. I didn’t have such a luxury when I was growing up. YouTube and Apple […]