SALISBURY, Md. – Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin wouldn’t be thrilled to hear that fewer people are choosing to learn to play the piano than ever before.
At B&B Music in Salisbury, people have been shopping for pianos since they opened 60 years ago. One think you won’t see on the display floor in 2015 is a grand piano.
“We used to have actual string pianos at one time,” said store manager Mike Jarrell. “The way the economy was, it wasn’t very feasible for a lot of people. They can cost up to several thousands of dollars.”
The best year for new piano sales in the United States was 1909, when more than 364,500 were sold. Now that number has plunged to between 30,000 and 40,000 each year.
Denise Crothers is on her 36th year of teaching people young and old how to play piano. She averages about 60 students per week.
“I teach for half an hour, usually for each lesson and half of I teach them in the note because I think it’s important to still know how to read. Half of it would be like the praise and worship and learning how to chord and how to play by ear,” said Crothers. “They can play what they hear on the radio. Some of them don’t even need me anymore.”
Nationally, increased interest in sports or electronics is blamed for declining interest in learning to play the piano. Denise says lessons have evolved over the years in order to keep it fresh.
“I think it’s important for teachers to be able to apply the real world into their teaching. Not maybe strictly Classical. Classical is wonderful, you know, don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love it, but I think it’s important for them to do fun songs and stuff like that,” said Crothers.
Rather than smashing old pianos on the curb, B&B Music is adapting to suit a more tech-savvy generation.
“Our more common models are the digital style models with weighted keys so it’s more like playing a real string piano. Then you start getting into more production type keyboards which are more for making your own scores and hip-hop beats and that kind of thing. It’s more of a production opposed to performance,” said Jarrell.
Despite a national downward trend in piano purchases and lessons, those in the biz can’t stress enough how important it is.
“In the music business, you’re constantly learning. It’s a never-ending thing,” said Jarrell.
“Once you commit to something, really having the work ethic to keep going and keep learning, it’s really rewarding and that’s something I think our culture lacks sometimes, you know the ‘stick-to-it-ness’,” said Crothers.
. 1699 ~ Johann Adolph Hasse, German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a considerable quantity of sacred music.
. 1784 ~ François-Joseph Fetis, Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and influential music critic.
. 1851 ~ The Playel piano factory in Paris was destroyed by fire. Playel was the favorite of Chopin in the 19th century, and it was identified with French composers known as the impressionist musicians of the early 20th century — like Ravel and Debussy.
Pleyel was founded in 1807 by Ignaz Pleyel, a composer and music publisher who studied with Franz Joseph Haydn.
. 1867 ~ Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor and musical director. Famed for his temper in rehearsals, he was director of La Scala and the Metropolitan opera houses. He also conducted the NBC symphony orchestra. With a career spanned 68 years, he was a cellist at age 19
Read quotes by and about Toscanini
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. 1881 ~ Béla Bartók, Hungarian composer and pianist, born. His knowledge of western musical techniques allied to the inspiration he derived from Hungarian peasant songs enabled him to become a unique musical force.
More information about Bartók
. 1913 ~ The Palace Theatre opened its doors in New York City. Ed Wynn was first on the vaudeville bill. Some 20 years later, Wynn would be named as radio’s top entertainer. He later became popular on television, as well.
. 1918 ~ Claude Debussy, French composer, died. His music, described as “musical Impressionism”, explored original avenues of expression.
. 1931 ~ Hal Kemp and his orchestra recorded Whistles, with Skinnay Ennis, for Brunswick Records. Both Kemp and Ennis sang in the Dorsey Brothers Concert Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Eugene Ormandy (later, conductor of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra). The pair were part of the orchestra vocal quartet that also featured Nye Mayhew and Saxey Dowell in 1928.
. 1938 ~ Hoyt Axton, Singer, musician and songwriter. Axton’s mother, Mae Boren Axton, wrote Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel
. 1940 ~ Anita Bryant, Singer
. 1942 ~ Aretha Franklin, American soul singer, known as the “Queen of Soul” and “Lady Soul”, she won 15 Grammy Awards and was the first woman inducted into Rock andRoll Hall of Fame (1987)
. 1947 ~ Elton John (Reginald Kenneth Dwight), Entertainer
More information about John
. 1948 ~ Kelly Garrett, Actress, singer
. 1949 ~ Neil Jones, Musician with Amen Corner
. 1951 ~ Maizie Williams, Singer with Boney M
. 1966 ~ Jeff Healey, Guitarist, singer, songwriter with the Jeff Healey Band, CBC radio show: My Kind of Jazz
. 1971 ~ Tom Jones went gold with his single, She’s a Lady.
. 1972 ~ The group, America, rode to the top of the pop music charts with their LP, America, and the single (included on the LP), A Horse with NoName. A Horse With No Name would be the group’s only gold record.
. 1687 ~ Jean-Baptiste Lully, French composer, died. He was an Italian-born French composer, instrumentalist, and dancer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French baroque style.
. 1840 ~ Clara Wieck wrote a letter dated today to Robert Schumann. Part of it said: “When I heard Liszt for the first time…I was overwhelmed and sobbed aloud, it so shook me.”
. 1842 ~ Carl August Nicolas Rosa, German violinist and composer. In 1873 he founded the Carl Rosa Opera Company.
. 1911 ~ Herman Jadlowker became the first opera singer to perform two major roles in the same day at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
. 1920 ~ Fanny Waterman, DBE is a piano teacher, and the founder, Chairman and Artistic Director of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition. She is also president of the Harrogate International Music Festival.
. 1925 ~ The first Japanese radio station, Tokyo Shibaura, began broadcasting.
. 1930 ~ Stephen Sondheim, American composer and lyricist of musicals
More information about Sondheim
. 1936 ~ Glen Campbell, Singer and studio guitarist
. 1937 ~ Johnny Ferguson, Singer
. 1943 ~ Keith Relf, Recording artist of The Yardbirds
. 1943 ~ George Benson, American jazz and pop guitarist and singer
. 1947 ~ Harry Vanda, Guitarist with The Easybeats
. 1948 ~ Andrew Lloyd Webber, British composer
More information about Lloyd Webber
. 1948 ~ Randy Hobbs, Bass with The McCoys
. 1948 ~ The Voice of Firestone was the first commercial radio program to be carried simultaneously on both AM and FM radio stations.
. 1956 ~ Sammy Davis, Jr. starred in the play, Mr. Wonderful, in New York City. The critics were unkind, saying that they didn’t care for the production. Audiences, however, gave it ‘thumbs up’ and the show went on to be one of Broadway’s more popular musicals — catapulting Davis into the limelight. His father had already launched him into the vaudeville spotlight when Sammy was just three years old. By the time he was Mr. Wonderful, SammyDavis, Jr. had played vaudeville and the nightclub circuit singing and dancing his way to the top over a twenty-eight-year period. He entertained us for sixty-two years! 1956 ~ Perry Como became the first major TV variety-show host to book a rock and roll act on his program. The ‘Incomparable Mr. C.’ booked Carl Perkins for the show and Perkins sang Blue Suede Shoes. 1962 ~ The play, I Can Get It For You Wholesale, opened on Broadway. It featured a 19-year-old named Barbra Streisand. She stopped the show at the famed Shubert Theatre in New York City. Streisand starred as Miss Marmelstein. Audiences kept coming back for more of Barbra for 300 performances.
. 1980 ~ The first CD (compact disc) was put on sale by RCA. The first major artist to have his entire catalogue converted to CD was David Bowie, whose 15 studio albums were made available by RCA Records in February 1985, along with four greatest hits albums.
. 1980 ~ Pink Floyd started a 4-week run in the #1 slot on the pop charts with their smash, Another Brick in the Wall. When the boys popped open their gold record and threw it on the stereo, they heard Flowers on the Wall by the Statler Brothers.
. 2015 ~ Norman O. Scribner, founder and artistic director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, one of the region’s preeminent symphonic choirs, died
Someone once said that music can change the world because it can change people.
Arnola Leverson, longtime piano teacher and accompanist for countless students and groups in Minot, is living proof of this simple quote.
Leverson began taking piano lessons when she was just 7 years old and has since taught lessons to more than 250 students and accompanied thousands.
As a child, Leverson would trek across the street to her piano teacher’s house, schoolbooks in hand. Having grown up in a musical family, Leverson said she and all four siblings were encouraged to take piano lessons. Her mother did not play piano herself but loved music and wanted her children to grow up experiencing it. While Leverson also played the flute and auxiliary percussion in her lifetime, piano was always her favorite.
In eighth grade, Leverson began taking lessons from Doris Schroder, a piano teacher who would greatly impact her life. While Schroder was an avid piano player in her youth, she had developed arthritis and couldn’t play anymore. Because of this, she could teach her students but could not demonstrate by playing any songs.
Leverson said Schroder was the first person who encouraged her to begin accompanying groups, which she quickly grew to love, and was eye-opening in the delight of being able to demonstrate. Now, Leverson demonstrates songs as much as possible for her students “because I can.”
The very first group Leverson accompanied was the boy’s chorus in Mohall when she was only in ninth grade. In the years following, Leverson has accompanied or still accompanies the Erik Ramstad Jr. High choir, Magic City groups and singers, Central Campus, Jim Hill Jr. High and many festivals in towns nearby. She also plays the piano for her church, First Lutheran, and has been involved in the production of “Messiah” for more than 50 years.
In addition, Leverson is president of the Minot Piano Teachers group, has been a member of the Minot Symphony Orchestra and has been chairman of the Gold Cup Piano Festival for 38 years.
“There are so many great piano players in the city of Minot but so many of them are not available to do what I have made myself available to do,” said Leverson, who dedicated her life to piano after receiving her bachelor’s degree from Minot State in elementary education and music.
Along with accompanying and being a member of the aforementioned groups, Leverson has been teaching piano lessons to students for 52 years, beginning at the impressive age of 16.
And still, Leverson’s love for piano is just as strong as it was more than half a century ago. “There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not happy to play piano,” she said.
Even Leverson’s grandchildren are learning to play. “The plan was always that they would take lessons from grandma,” she said with a smile.
Leverson said that because being able to play the piano is the basis of many other instruments, it teaches kids rhythm, names of notes and the discipline of being with a teacher. “It is also such a great way to communicate,” she said. “For me, piano playing has always been an outlet for my mood, and I encourage students to use piano for this as well.”
Because the lives of students are usually busy, Leverson said that she never wants a student to have to choose between piano and a sport. Though she usually teaches lessons during the weekdays, she said that she is flexible and will teach on the weekends if that is the only time a student can meet. She said that if seniors in high school, for example, have stayed in piano for as long as they have regardless of busy lives, she will work with their schedules as much as she can.
“The most important thing is the student,” Leverson said, beaming as she told many stories of students who came in to her class shy and nervous and left with excitement and “their true selves shining through.”
At 68 years old, Leverson said she would not change her dedication to piano for the world.
“It has given me a really interesting life,” she said. “It is something I’ve found great pleasure in doing, and through it I have met so many great musicians, had the chance to work with wonderful people and it has even given me the opportunity to travel. My life would not be what it is today without it.”
. Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer
More information on Boccherini
. 1878 ~ Thomas Alva Edison, famed inventor, patented a music player at his laboratory in Menlo Park, NJ. This music device is the one we know as the phonograph. Edison paid his assistant $18 to make the device from a sketch Edison had drawn. Originally, Edison had set out to invent a telegraph repeater, but came up with the phonograph or, as he called it, the speaking machine.
. 1902 ~ John Bubbles (John William Sublett), An actor: Porgy and Bess (1935 Broadway version), films: Cabin in the Sky, Variety Show, A Song Is Born, No Maps on My Taps; dancer: credited with creating ‘rhythm tap’
. 1927 ~ Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and music teacher. As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in his lifetime.
. 1940 ~ “Smokey” Robinson, American rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter
. 1942 ~ If there was ever such a thing as a jam session, surely, this one was it: Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded I’ll Take Tallulah (Victor Records). Some other musical heavyweights were in the studio too, including Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers, Ziggy Elman and drummer extraordinaire, Buddy Rich.
. 1981 ~ George Harrison was ordered to pay ABKCO Music the sum of $587,000 for “subconscious plagiarism” between his song, My Sweet Lord and the Chiffons early 1960s hit, He’s So Fine.
. 1571 ~ Michael Praetorius, German organist, composer and theorist
More information about Praetorius
. 1797 ~ Heinrich Engelhard Steinway, German piano manufacturer
More information about Steinway
. 1847 ~ Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and music teacher
. 1905 ~ Harold Arlen, (Hyman Arluck) American composer of musicals and songs
More information about Arlen
. 1918 ~ Hank Locklin (Lawrence Hankins Locklin), Country singer
. 1932 ~ George Burns and Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on The Guy Lombardo Show on CBS radio. The couple was so popular that soon, they would have their own Burns & Allen Show. George and Gracie continued on radio for 18 years before making the switch to TV. All in all, they were big hits for three decades.
. 1941 ~ Brian Holland, Songwriter
. 1941 ~ Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded one of big band’s all time classics on this day. Take the “A” Train was recorded at Victor’s Hollywood studio and became the Duke’s signature song.
. 1944 ~ Mick Avory, Drummer with The Kinks
. 1951 ~ Melissa Manchester, Singer
. 1958 ~ Get A Job, by The Silhouettes, reached the top spot on the music Tunedex. It remained at #1 for two weeks. Talk about sudden change in American popular music! One week earlier, the number one song was Sugartime, by The McGuire Sisters, a song that definitely was not classified as rock ‘n’ roll. Get A Job was replaced by Tequila, an instrumental by a studio group known as The Champs.
. 1959 ~ Ali (Alistair) Campbell, Guitarist, lead singer with UB40
. 1965 ~ This was a sad day in music, as singer Nat ‘King’ Cole died in Santa Monica, CA. The music legend was 45.
. 1986 ~ Whitney Houston reached the #1 spot on the music charts. Her single, How Will I Know, replaced a song recorded by her first cousin, DionneWarwick (That’s What Friends Are For). Whitney is the daughter of singer Cissy Houston.
. 1992 ~ William Schuman passed away. Schuman was an American composer and arts administrator.
. 1895 ~ France, There’s no business like show business, right? Well, this is where it all started. A patent for a machine “to film and view phronopotographic proofs” (in simpler words, a projector) was assigned to the Lumiere brothers of Paris.
. 1914 ~ The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (known as ASCAP) was formed in New York City. The society was founded to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
. 1918 ~ Oliver Smith, Scenic designer for Broadway Musicals such as On the Town, Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Camelot, The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly! and films Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, Porgy and Bess, The Band Wagon
. 1919 ~ “Tennessee” Ernie Ford, American country-music singer and songwriter
. 1920 ~ Eileen Farrell, American soprano, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera. Also successful in singing and recording popular music and jazz
. 1940 ~ Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines and his orchestra recorded the classic Boogie Woogieon St. Louis Blues on the famous Bluebird record label.
. 1925 ~ Gene Ames, Singer with The Ames Brothers
. 1929 ~ Jesse McReynolds, Guitarist, folk singer with Jim & Jesse
. 1930 ~ Dotty McGuire, Singer with McGuire Sisters
. 1944 ~ Peter Tork (Peter Halsten Thorkelson), Bassist, singer with The Monkees
. 1950 ~ Roger Christian, Singer with The Christians
. 1956 ~ Peter Hook. Bass with Joy Division
. 1957 ~ Tony Butler, Bass with Big Country
. 1971 ~ The Osmonds, a family singing group from Ogden, Utah, began a five-week stay at the top of the pop music charts with the hit, “One Bad Apple”. The song, featuring the voice of little Donny Osmond, also showcased the talent of Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay Osmond. The brothers were regulars on Andy Williams’ TV show from 1962 to 1967. The group began as a religious and barbershop quartet in 1959. Together, the Osmonds scored with 10 singles in four years — four of them were top ten hits.
. 2001 ~ Music critic George T. Simon, the original Glenn Miller Band drummer who swapped his sticks for a pen and eventually earned a Grammy for his acclaimed liner notes, died of pneumonia following a battle with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 88. In 1937 Simon sat in with the fledgling Glenn Miller Band. But he opted for writing over drumming, and became editor-in-chief of Metronome magazine in 1939. As a writer, Simon worked for the New York Post and the now-defunct New York Herald-Tribune. He also served as executive director of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Grammy Awards. In 1977, Simon won his Grammy Award for best album notes – his contribution to the collection “Bing Crosby: A Legendary Performer.” Simon was hand-picked by Crosby to write the liner notes for the release.
. 2002 ~ Waylon Jennings, whose rebellious songs and brash attitude defined the outlaw movement in country music, died peacefully at his Arizona home after a long battle with diabetes-related health problems. He was 64. Jennings’ list of hits spans four decades and includes country music standards like Good-Hearted Woman andMammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, both duets with Willie Nelson. Jennings made 60 albums and had 16 country singles that reached No. 1. His “Greatest Hits” album in 1979 sold 4 million – a rare accomplishment in country music for that era. Jennings won two Grammy awards and four Country Music Association awards. Other hits include I’m a Ramblin’ Man, Amanda, Lucille, I’ve Always Been Crazy, and Rose in Paradise. Jennings’ deep, sonorous voice narrated the popular TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard” and sang its theme song, which was a million seller. Jennings had been plagued with health problems in recent years that made it difficult for him to walk. In December 2002, his left foot was amputated. He traditionally wore a black cowboy hat and ebony attire that accented his black beard and mustache. Often reclusive when not on stage, he played earthy music with a spirited, hard edge. Some of Jennings’ album titles nourished his brash persona: “Lonesome, On’ry and Mean,” “I’ve Always Been Crazy,” “Nashville Rebel,” “Ladies Love Outlaws” and “Wanted: The Outlaws.” He often refused to attend music awards shows on the grounds that performers shouldn’t compete against each other. He didn’t show up at his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year. He made occasional forays into TV movies, including “Stagecoach” and “Oklahoma City Dolls,” plus the Sesame Street movie “Follow That Bird” and the B-movie “Nashville Rebel.”
. 2015 ~ John McCabe died. He was an English composer and pianist. He was a prolific composer from an early age but first became known as a pianist. He created works in many different forms, including symphonies, ballets, and solo works for the piano.
As we celebrate a Century of Service, Jordan Kitt’s Music wants to support the area Music Education Community by giving away a new Yamaha b2 Professional Upright piano for both an area student, and for their piano teacher!
Click to register for a chance to win (for you and your piano teacher)! Sweepstakes winners will be randomly selected from all qualified applications in December.
Sweepstakes Entry Rules and Requirements:
The student (or parent/guardian) must be registered with their teacher’s name to be eligible to win, and all requested information must be provided for the entry to be valid. One entry per family. Eligible student entrants must be current students of a piano teacher in good standing in Maryland, DC or Virginia. All entries must be received by online registration at www.jordankitts.com/win by November 30, 2014. Entrants under 18 must have parent or guardian complete entry form. Winners must be residents of Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia and will be chosen randomly from eligible entries received by 11/30/14. Student/teacher winners will be announced on December 12, 2014. No purchase necessary. Any related taxes are the responsibility of the winners. All winning entrants agree to allow use of their likeness and name for publicity purposes.
Employees and vendors of JKM Music Group, LLC, dba Jordan Kitt’s Music are not eligible to win.
Yuval Kaminka was faced with a difficult choice. The Israeli entrepreneur had built a successful music learning app called JoyTunes, and he found that it was particularly beloved by professional music teachers. In the span of months, “we saw a vibrant community of teachers revolving around the apps,” he says. All the metrics were growing: retention, engagement, number of student profiles per teacher, and so on. “All these figures really blew up. We saw it was really making a difference.”
The accounts teachers were setting up for students–who use the app to gamify music learning–comprised a very significant part of JoyTunes’s revenue. Every time a teacher set up an account, either for themselves or their students, they paid either $10 a month or $60 per year. Power users wound up paying as much as $1,000 a month. Kaminka says that about 40% of his profits came from music teachers.
See if a prospective teacher allows a trial lesson to test how the personalities mesh. And be sure to ask lots of questions. What’s the teacher’s background as a musician and as an instructor? What kinds of teaching materials and music does she use? How much practice time is expected for students, and does that vary by the student’s age? Does the teacher have access to student ensembles? What kinds of performance opportunities will he provide? Will the teacher allow the student to record the lesson? This can be a terrific practice aid, especially when it comes to remembering how something is supposed to sound. Does she teach any music theory or composition? What are the expectations for students and for their parents?
A good teacher can be a friendly, encouraging and inspiring presence — even when a student hits rough patches. He will point out the student’s weaknesses without being harsh or dismissive, suggest innovative ways to overcome challenges, and create engaging ways to tackle even rote activities like playing scales or honing fine motor skills. The instructor’s age and experience might or might not be a deciding factor; for example, I’m consistently impressed by the range of tricks my own child’s very youthful private teacher has up her sleeve to turn what could easily be drudgery into fun. Not to mention the huge helpings of good humor and patience she brings to her tiny charges!
Grammy winner
MaryO'Studio 