piano lessons rockport ma

It’s Never Too Late

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To learn to play the piano! I sure hope this article link comes through for some if not all of adults considering lessons reading this blog post. Although it is about learning the cello, it applies to piano lessons, or studying any musical instrument.

Even I was so inspired by it. The number one question I get from folks calling, especially those who’ve retired, is “I’m ___, is it too late to start lessons?” Answer: No. To quote a commenter from this article, “It’s only too late when you’re dead.” I know. I just used that word in a supposedly upbeat blog post!

I also hear from adults calling, “I took lessons when I was a kid, but I don’t remember anything.” You may not, but your muscles do! Muscle memory is an amazing thing. Even including the muscle of sightreading!

But it is so true. With patience and practice, you will find the joy in learning no matter what your pace. Not only does it feel so wonderful, the accomplishment, of playing a song or piece you’ve learned, it also feels wonderful if not more so, to experience the process of learning.

Give the Gift of Piano Lessons to Your Child This Holiday Season

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From now until December 20, the Cape Ann Piano Studio is offering a 20% discount off of the remaining Winter Quarter at the studio for school-age children (10 45-minute lessons). This offer applies to both beginner and transfer students. Lessons begin January 7.*

Please email or call for more information.

A young student plays a duet with his mom at our first-ever annual Holiday Pizza and Piano Party. 🙂

 

*This discounted offer is for young students only.
Adults seeking lessons, you can learn more by visiting my Adult Lessons page, and please contact me if you would like more information.

How to Practice Anything (especially the piano)

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This blog post by a fellow piano teacher is wonderful, I can say that her advice here is invaluable. (Beta-tested it this summer.) 😉

This is wonderful reading for not only parents, but for older students, too. And piano teachers!

Here is the link. You can also download it here as a PDF to print it out to read it again and again.

How to Practice Anything
by Regina Ngo
http://rmslearning.me/how-to-practice-anything/

Regina Ngo
Regina’s Music Studio, S. Pasadena, CA
Website: http://rmslearning.me

Elephants Get Help from Cape Ann Piano Studio Students!

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The Annual Cape Ann Piano Studio Recital was a great success, all the students did a wonderful job.
Here they are holding the sign, where you can see that all together, they practiced over 10,000 minutes (earning 2 cents a minute from sponsors and matching donors) to continue to foster our 10 orphaned elephants through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust! They actually raised more than $620, a whopping $730! So proud of all of them.

Cape Ann Piano Studio Annual Recital, June 2016
Cape Ann Piano Studio Annual Recital, June 2016

And here’s a video of that little guy in the front playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star: Fancy Version! After The Lion Sleeps Tonight, of course. 😉

One of our elephants:

Dupotto
Dupotto, the little one in front.

Cape Ann Piano Studio Annual Spring Recital Tomorrow!

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My young piano students will be performing in their annual spring recital on Saturday, June 11, from 4–5 pm at the First Universalist Church of Essex.

It’s free and open to the public, all are welcome to attend! The church is also handicapped accessible. We have a reception afterward downstairs, all are welcome there, too.
Students will be playing almost all contemporary composers’ pieces and songs, as well as arrangements of Mozart and C.P.E. Bach.

Come take and break, and put a smile on your face watching kids share their joy playing piano for all of us! 🙂

Performance from last year:

Cape Ann Piano Studio Annual Spring Recital
June 11, 2016, 4–5 pm
First Universalist Church of Essex
57 Main Street
Essex, MA 01929

Performance from last year’s recital:

For more info, click here, or call 978-491-1658.

 

North Shore Piano Teachers’ Guild November Recital for Students

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The first of the Guild concerts for the 2015–16 school year is:

Day: Sun. Nov. 15, 2015
Place: Second Congregational Church, 35 Conant St., Beverly 01915 (off Exit 20, headed toward Wenham)
Times: Two afternoon concerts start times TBD (to accommodate all of the teachers’ students, usually a 1:30 and a 2:30 program, each about 45 minutes long)

I encourage my students – of all ages and levels – to participate! Mostly families and friends attend and all the teachers and students are very supportive of one another. Recital is slightly more formal than the one I hold in June; it’s a good opportunity for those students who like the challenge of performing in front of a friendly and enthusiastic audience. 🙂
Students should be well prepared and are encouraged to play pieces from memory but use of music is allowed.
Any students interested in performing will be playing pieces they have already learned well; we will perfect them between now and the concert.

There is an $8 recital fee. Email or call or ask about the concert in the lesson!

Piano Parents: “15 Things You Need to Know…

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…About Supporting Your Child Learning to Play the Piano”

Here’s a wonderful blog post by Elissa Milne, a fellow piano teacher whom I “met” in one of my online pro piano instructors’ groups—she’s quite a teacher, and lives in New Zealand! So cool to now have input from teachers from around the world. 🙂
She has a lot of other informative posts for parents, too, on her blog.

https://elissamilne.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/15-things-you-need-to-know-about-supporting-your-child-learning-to-play-the-piano/

Valentine’s Week Special @ Cape Ann Piano Studio: 30-Minute Piano Lesson Just $15!

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Valentine’s Week Special
Come into my warm, cozy studio on Thursday Feb. 18 & Friday Feb. 20 and learn a song in one 30-minute lesson, guaranteed!

Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day!!
blurryheartpiano

Come into my warm, cozy studio in downtown Gloucester (there’s even a parking space in front!) and learn a song on the piano. Sample a lesson, to see what it would be like to learn to play the piano … 🙂
For both kids and adults, a single, 30-minute lesson is only $15, more than half off the 30-minute lesson rate.
Thursday, February 18 & Friday, February 20 during Valentine’s Week!
Contact Julie Cleveland
#ValentinesWeek #SupportLocal #LoveOnMain
More about the Cape Ann Piano Studio

I’ll be performing this Saturday as part of Trident Gallery Live Art Series

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I’m excited to be doing a collaborative performing arts piece with dancer Carl Thomsen at the Trident Gallery in Gloucester this Saturday night, Jan. 31, at 7:30 pm. We’re calling it a “structured improvisational” work.   🙂

Details below—if you plan on coming, email or call now, seating is very limited!

Trident Gallery Live Art Series Present Stone Stairway Stories
Photo of Julie Cleveland: Sheila Roberts Orlando.

 

From the Trident Gallery website:
“Stone Stairway Stories” is a performance piece by Carl Thomsen (dance) and Julie Cleveland (digital piano/synthesizer). Continuing Thomsen’s decades-long exploration of the interface between dance, music, and storytelling. In this performance the storytelling will come from the audience. The dance and music will reflect and respond to the experiences and memories of the audience itself, elicited through a series of questions, answers, gestures, and movements offered by those in attendance.

The performance is free, with donations to the artists appreciated. Seating is limited, so please reserve early to ensure a seat by emailing events@tridentgallery.com or by visiting the Facebook event page.

The great pianists: Arthur Rubinstein

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Arthur Rubinstein (1887–1982) was one of the greatest concert pianists who ever lived, and we are very lucky to have so many clips of his playing and concerts on YouTube. He was considered one of, if not, the best interpreter of the music of Frederic Chopin. Fortunately for us, there are many YouTube clips of his playing, including concerts he gave.

This YouTube clip is from a live concert he performed in Moscow (in Russia) in 1964. This clip is not the whole concert but near the end of his concert, plus many encores. An encore is when a performer plays more pieces at the end of his or her concert that are not written in the program. That’s why people in the audience cheer “Encore! Encore!” at the ends of concerts, they want the performer to come out and play more music for them!

At 22:30 is a very famous waltz by Frederic Chopin, you may recognize the tune!

At 28:30 is a piece by Robert Schumann called Des Abends (which means “In the Evening” in German)

At 37:10 Ondine (from his Preludes, Book II) by Claude Debussy, a French composer.

At 41:40 O Polichinelo (“The Punch”) by Hector Villa-Lobos (a composer from Brazil)
You will not believe how fast his fingers go!

Kids, you know how I am always bugging you about your posture, playing with arm weight and loose, flexible wrists? Watch Arthur Rubinstein play and you will see all of these in action; when I watch him play I just cannot take my eyes off of his incredible technique (or my ears away from the sound!)

Complete list of pieces and where they occur in the video:
Chopin:
00:19  Polonaise, Opus 44.
11:18  Impromptu, Opus 51.
16:30  Nocturne, Opus 27 N.º 2.
22:55  Waltz, Opus 34 N.º 2.
Schumann: 28:35  Des Abends, Opus 12 N.º 1.
Chopin: 33:02  Waltz, Opus 34 N.º 1.
Debussy: 37:36  Ondine ( Preludes, Book II ).
Villa-Lobos: 41:50  O Polichinello.

Here is a photo of him when he was 19 years old.

Arthur Rubinstein in 1906.
Arthur Rubinstein in 1906.