Piano Maestro: New Holiday Appdates

maestro-holiday

 

The holiday season is in full swing. The decorations are up, the presents bought (or in the process of being bought) but there’s no reason why our apps can’t get the same love this holiday.

So, without further ado, I’d like to jump into the updates we’ve made to Piano Maestro for you this holiday season!

Holiday Songs & Graphics

You’ll be able to impress your friends and family with a bunch of FREE holiday songs toĀ play! We also added some new ones to the mix for our veteran Piano Maestro players.

You’ll find 50 free (yes, free!!) songs in this category from Christmas to Hanukkah and even New Year’s too! We just added Mariah Carey’s ā€œAll I want for Christmas is You” (because who doesn’t LOVE that Christmas classic).

Also available is theĀ Christmas staple, “Jingle Bell Rockā€.

The only thing missing is the ability for our app to make a strong cup of eggnog! We’ll try and work on that for next Christmas

The free holiday songs can be accessed from two places. As mentioned above, you can get there directly from the “Free Holiday Songs”Ā button on the main menu as well as going to Library -> Songs -> and then choosing the ā€œFree Holiday Songsā€ category.

Make sure to download the latest update of Piano Maestro.

Learning on your own? Don’t forget to download ourĀ free iPhone app, Simply Piano, and learn to play “Jingle Bells” in just 30 minutes!

Adapted fromĀ http://www.joytunes.com/blog/featured/piano-maestro-new-holiday-appdates-performance-fixes

Remember that these apps are available at no charge as long as you’re a student at the O’Connor Music Studio

ā€˜Intervals Roasting’ – The Most Educational Christmas Carol Ever

music-theory-song

Music theory has never sounded so catchy with this witty remake of the holiday classic The Christmas Song (with apologies to Mel Torme) Try not to laugh at the ending.

Though it is a bit humorous, this version titled ā€˜Intervals Roasting’, with lyrics by David Rakowski, attempts to encapsulate the fundamentals of music theory in just over two minutes.

It does a good job of explaining the intervals and harmonic structure of the song and also gives you an idea of how to use music theory to analyse or compose music.

The O’Connor Music Studio has a copy if anyone wants to learn this šŸ™‚

Dr. Maurice Hinson

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I have always respected Dr. Hinson’s work and his music. Ā So much so that I went to Connecticut to take a class on Piano Pedagogy with him several years ago. Ā I have also attended several local piano teacher workshops with him. Ā At one of them, he claimed to remember me from that Connecticut class. Ā Whether true or not, I treasure that comment and the signature on a piano book he gave me.

We have several of his books at the O’Connor Music Studio and many are available for loan. Ā If you are interested in buying any for yourself, amazon.com has a great selection. Ā In addition to those books he has authored, he has edited the works of many composers. Ā Amazon lists 270 works edited and annotated by Dr. Hinson.

 

From his page on alfred.com:

One of America’s most respected authorities on piano literature, Dr. Maurice Hinson received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Music Teachers National Association at its Washington, D.C. convention in the spring of 1994, the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Florida in 1990, and the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Michigan in the fall of 1995. Hailed as a specialist in American piano music, some of his articles appear in the New Grove Dictionary of American Music in the United States.

Dr. Hinson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Michigan. He also studied at The Juilliard School and the Conservatoire National in Nancy, France.

While a Senior Professor of Piano in the School of Church Music at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Hinson’s curriculum included teaching piano, piano literature, and piano chamber music. He performed, lectured, and gave masterclasses worldwide. His books and editions have become classic standards in the studios of serious piano teachers and students the world over.


From his obituary at legacy.com:

Hinson, Dr. G. Maurice,Ā age 84 died November 11, 2015 in the company of his family. Dr. Hinson was Professor and Senior Professor of Piano at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1957 to 2015, and a member of Broadway Baptist Church. He was also organist-choirmaster of churches in Florida, Michigan and Kentucky from 1943 to 1980. Dr. Hinson received his BA degree from the University of Florida and his MM and DMA degrees from the University of Michigan, and also studied at The Julliard School and the University of Nancy, France (Conservatoire National).

He was the first president of the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association, and president of the Kentucky Music Teachers Association as well as the Southern Division of the MTNA. He also taught “The Dorsey Class,” a group of selected piano teachers from 1963 to 2015.

Dr. Hinson is the author of 14 books mostly published by Indiana University Press, plus over 100 articles for music publications. He was a senior editor for The Alfred Publishing Company of California. He edited more than 300 editions of classical piano music and recorded five DVDs of piano music.

As Professor of Piano at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for 58 years, he taught and nurtured many pianists who now hold distinguished positions in churches and universities throughout the world.

Dr. Hinson received many awards in piano pedagogy and performance. He was awarded the Liszt Commemorative Medal by the Hungarian Government and the Medal of Excellence by the American Liszt Society for his research on the music of Franz Liszt. He was hailed as a specialist in American Piano music and some of his most recent articles appeared in the NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN MUSIC. He gave recitals, lectures, and master classes in five continents and 50 states.

Hinson was the founding editor of the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN LISZT SOCIETY, past editor of THE AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER, and contributing editor of THE PIANO QUARTERLY and PIANO AND KEYBOARD.

Sleigh Ride Duet

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I have loved this version of Sleigh Ride since I first saw it on YouTube:

When I found out it was available in sheet music, I rushed to amazon to buy several copies for myself, my son, my friend, basically everyone I thought could play it.

Lots of fun to play and to hear.

Amazon says:

Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” is a holiday favorite, and this setting for advanced piano duet gives it a fresh twist. It begins with Anderson’s jingling melody and some musical “banter” between the Primo and Secondo players, and then it launches into a series of variations which take the listener on a journey through a variety of styles—from gently swirling, impressionistic arpeggios to a triumphant coda with brilliant, virtuosic passagework. Audiences will enjoy a number of other musical surprises along the way.

If you want to borrow it, let me know early because someone at the studio may already be playing it!

 

maryOpianoplayer

Pender Christmas VBS Registration

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Who: Kids Ages 3 (must be potty-trained)- 6th Grade

What:“Under Wraps: The Gift We NeverĀ Expected”

Where: Pender UMC Christmas VBS

Why: Celebrate Christmas and the Gift of Jesus Christ

When: Saturday, Dec. 5th @ 10 am – 2 pm

Cost: $10 per Kid or $20 total per Family

Ā 

Join us for Christmas VBS on December 5, 2015 while your parents enjoy the gift of time to prepare for Christmas. We will enjoy music, crafts, lunch, recreation, a story and more!Ā 

RSVP: Register online on our website by clicking onĀ this link, beginning November 1st & ending November 30th.

William and Mary piano class offers fellowship for vets

piano-dream

 

Rebecca Davy paced through her class Saturday, giving instructions to each student sitting at their keyboards.

This was no computer exercise though. “Keep your fingers super glued to those notes. Where’s E? Where’s G? Where’s C?,” she said. “You need to know where your fingers are mentally on the keyboard.”

In Ewell Hall on the College of William and Mary’s campus, Davy has been giving piano lessons to military veterans through a collaboration with the Armed Services Arts Partnership.

The program partners colleges and veterans to help them build communities and fellowships centered around the arts. The program, which is free for veterans whose applications are accepted, provides instruction in courses like writing, stand-up comedy, guitar and piano.

Armed Services Arts Partnership was founded by Sam Pressler, who attended W&M.

Pressler founded the group seeking to use comedy as a way to allow veterans to express themselves after he lost a relative to suicide and learned later about the high rate of suicide among military veterans.

“A single class soon blossomed into communities around writing, music, and comedy, and with such proof of concept and demand, he formed a nonprofit to scale the model to other communities located in areas with high military populations,” said Megan Brew, director of operations for Armed Services Arts Partnership, which is based in Arlington.

“I’ve done so many things. I work with veterans as a transition counselor, and a lot of our soldiers are leaving the service with mental health issues,” said Willie Burston, who attends the piano group. Burston himself is a retired Army veteran.

“Something like this will keep them focused on positive things,” he said. Burston said he also joined the group for a simpler reason. He enjoys singing in church and has aspirations to one day play some of the instrumental music. His favorite songs are hymns such as “Amazing Grace.”

“I came from a family of ministers and pastors and musicians, but I can’t play.”

On Saturday, he sat patiently as Davy taught him the beginning of “The Can-Can” by Jacques Offenbach.

“I heard about this from the VA hospital. My doctor said this would be good for you,” said Anita Jones Chow Yuk, a retired Navy Commander. She had aspirations to learn a musical instrument earlier in life but never received the encouragement she needed.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to help them find a teacher,” Davy said. “I wasn’t about to let the class not happen,” she said.

FromĀ http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-vg-jcc-vet-piano-lesson-20151013,0,1449853.story

Simply Piano Teaches You Piano, Listens And Corrects Your Mistakes

Simply-Piano

 

iOS: Learning to play the piano can be difficult, and even moreso if you don’t have someone there to help you fix your errors and learn good tempo. Simply Piano can do both of those things, and all it takes is your iPhone or iPad. Best of all, it’s free.

Like many ā€œpiano-learningā€ apps, Simply Piano teaches you various pieces of music by essentially displaying sheet music in front of you to play, guiding you to the right keys on your piano or keyboard, and showing you the right order in which to press them and when — that’s all great, and not terribly unique, even if it works well. Where the app shines however is its listening feature. Simply put the phone down near the keyboard, and Simply Piano will ā€œlistenā€ to you play.

As you play, the app identifies what you’re playing and gives you feedback on how to improve. Maybe you need to pick up the tempo, or maybe you missed a few notes here or there — whatever it is, the app can give you a few tips, and encourages you to try again, all while it listens and tries to help.

Simply Piano is free, and available now. It comes bundled with a ton of songs to learn (including classical and pop songs you’ll probably recognise), and is geared to all skill levels — and keyboard types, so you don’t need a fancy piano just to use the app, any keyboard will do. Hit the link below to try it out.

Simply Piano (Free) [iTunes App Store via JoyTunes]

FromĀ http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/10/simply-piano-teaches-you-piano-listens-and-corrects-your-mistakes/

 

Piano Maestro New Releases

bach-beethoven

 

JoyTunes (Piano Maestro) just released one of the most beautiful pearls of classical piano music, Bach’s Prelude in C major.

As a bonus, they also released the original version of Für Elise (till now we had the simplified version). You can find them in the Classical & Opera section.

 

Piano MaestroĀ is available to students of the O’Connor Music Studio for no extra charge.