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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Piano Composers of the Classical Period - Heroes of Simplicity and Democracy

About the time of the American Revolution, European society was also changing. In the arts, the simple lines and elegance of the ancient Greeks and Romans were being used by artists, architects and composers. Like the architecture of this time, music of the Classical period presented clean lines and was uncluttered and balanced in form.This was in contrast to the Baroque period that preceded it with exaggeration and complex detail that glorified those who paid for it - kings, queens and wealthy business people. During this period of Enlightenment the political rallying cry was Jean Jacques Rousseau's "Back to nature."Western History, Greek democracy, and the Roman Republic were seen as models for the new age of Enlightenment. Eighteenth century artists and musicians were inspired by the ideals of beauty, order and simplicity from this ancient time, and tried to return to those ideals.This philosophical movement originated in France by those who wanted to build systems of government free of tyranny. It was an important time that restored government to a process allowing for creativity and diversity. It was under this influence that the American Revolution was born. Eventually victory over the British created a new country, the United States of America, founded on the idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, America's Independence Day. Powerfully written by Thomas Jefferson, it expressed the ideals of the Classical period and inspired the French Revolution (1789-1799).The composers of the classical period were Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), and early works by Beethoven (1770-1827). Some historians include music by all composers from the mid-1700s to the early 1800s as part of the Classical period.During this time changes in the political structure of society allowed for the emergence of a wealthy middle class who could afford to buy concert tickets. This meant that composers no longer had to rely on rich patrons for financial support. They began to market their music to a larger audience who enjoyed simpler melodies they could remember. Composers gained popularity by writing music that would be easily identified with their name. It was during the classical period that the Sonatina, or "little" Sonata, was perfected.With a Main Theme, followed by a Variation of this theme and finishing with a restatement (or Recapitulation) of the theme, it was simpler and more memorable than the longer Sonata Form. A favorite of piano students today is Muzio Clementi's Sonatina, Op.36, No. 3.Playing sonatinas is a great way for piano students to appreciate simplicity and the spirit of creativity that inspired the emergence of free nations.Here is a quote from a Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)"Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it."So, take it from this wise guy - Encourage your students or children in piano to play piano sonatinas, and develop simplicity and creativity in their playing - and their character!If you or a piano student you know would like to learn more about the Classical period, email cindy@tallypiano for a bibliography of music history literature written for piano students.

To learn the best way to share the gift of music with children visit Amazon.com for my Piano Bears Musical Stories for Children The exciting Piano Bears Musical Stories for children ages 5 to 11 feature the loveable characters, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Children love following along with Albeart to Mrs. Treble Beary's piano studio in Musical Acres Forest. Here they learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand and appreciate! Piano students laugh and giggle while reading "Little Bear's Musical Garden" and "Little Bear's Piano Goals."For a wealth of f'ree information and piano music online visit Piano Bears Music Education Resources Don't Wait to Share th

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Sunday, December 8, 2013

Smash Out Music Without Reading a Note - Part 1 - What Is Music?

Q: What is Music?A1: A Form of CommunicationWhen a child is born, she has the ability to communicate. From the moment she arrives in the world she can cry. This is how she says "I'm not very happy right now and I could use a hand please." or "What on earth is going on? I'm feeling a bit stressed at the moment!"The point is, she's letting someone know. What good would it do her to cry while no-one is there to hear and respond.We are designed to communicate from the word go.As she gets a bit older and settles in to the idea of breathing, home and Mum & Dad, she'll make other noises as well. We get so much enjoyment from cooing with babies and doing the "Goo goo, ga ga" thing.She doesn't have any particular reason to say that stuff except that she's really happy and content.Then after a while there's the laughing. Why does she laugh?? Have you noticed how people usually only laugh when they're with other people. Weird! But that's the way we are... and it's so good!One day soon she'll learn to talk, one word at a time. And she'll do something quite remarkable - She'll let you know exactly what her words mean by how she says them."Look, Mummy! Dere's a buddafwy!" The words come alive with the passion of the moment and Mum knows exactly how she feels about seeing that special butterfly. She's not scared of it, She's not just stating a scientific fact... she's just so amazed by it.Those words didn't come out in a monotone like a robot's voice but with all the beautiful ups and downs and louds and softs of a great musical work.How does she know how to do that? Funny how we take it for granted.She's just changed simple words into a form of communication that's easily understandable and nobody taught her how. She doesn't even know she's doing it.I don't know about you but I think that's absolutely incredible.You must be getting my point by now. We are designed to communicate in so many ways other than just using words and we use all of these ways every single day - I haven't even touched on body language and there are still other ways of communicating beyond that.I'm going to say something that you might find hard to accept.It is only a small transition from communication using your voice to communicating using music. This is the point where half of you will say "Yeah, right!" but hang in there... It's actually true.Music is the communication of feelings and thoughts.This is the most important concept of music to grasp... Just take it in for a moment.See an example of Steve's on the spot composing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x783c3xw0Y

Steve Nossiter Ramath Creations. Wollongbar, NSW Steve has been composing music for the last 25 years and has composed for advertising, film, TV, theatre, and more. He is currently completing his bachelor degree in Audio Production at SAE Byron Bay. Steve is a husband of Silvana Nossiter and Father of 3 awesome kids, all of which are following in his footsteps and creating mus

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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Vacuum Tube Amplifiers - Costly But True Value for Your Money

Vacuum Tube amplifier consists of vacuum tubes which are used to amplify audio, power and other alternating current signals before transistors were invented. This vacuum technology is still used by guitars. This tube amp basically operates on vacuum tube or valves. Audiophiles usually desire these tubes as tube amplifier is considered ideal for home listening as it produces natural and smooth sound.The Valve tubes in the vacuum amplifier produce even harmonic distortion and the sound produced is very pleasant to the ears as compared to that of transistors. Most musicians around the globe prefer to use such amplifiers because of their high reliability. Also known as Valve amplifiers, they use electronic components called Vacuum Tubes" or "Electronic Valves" for amplification purpose in the circuit and do not use solid state transistors.
A tube amplifier response is different as compared to a transistor amplifier towards the signal level clipping. In case of tube amplifiers, the transition is less abrupt compared to transition amplifier.It is based on the technology which was invented around early 20th century: the triode. Its major component being a triode provides high-power i.e. distortionless audio amplification. Commonly used vacuum-tube-based amplifier is the Class-A amplifier circuit and are commonly found in guitar amplifiers. This type of amplifier circuit issued where a high fidelity output signal is required.These tube amplifiers are used by musicians who always want to produce warm sound from guitars or other musical instruments. These are a bit expensive in comparison to other amplifiers reason being quality doesn't come cheap. It is the cost of raw materials in it that is more in number as compared to solid state amp and also the labor required is more. With the result the end product gives sound which is totally the true value to the money spent.Choosing the right amplifier out of many totally depends on the style of music you want to play. A 15 watt will be enough for use at home. For those who can really spend more can opt for 30, 50 or 100 watt amps in combo or single cabinet configuration. It all depends on the user's choice and requirement.Their classification depends o

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Monday, December 2, 2013

Examining Dream Sequences in Eragon

The fantasy adventure "Eragon," based on book one of Christopher Paolini's trilogy about a young Dragon Rider, has been drawing criticism for borrowing ideas from the "Harry Potter" series (Hagrid's dragon eggs and baby dragons), "Star Wars" series (Luke's uncle killed by evil empire), and most notably "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (darkly magical advisor, one young man must make a journey, etc). Another element that "Eragon" has in common with these other films is its use of dream sequences - in this case false dreams sent by an evil sorcerer working for a corrupt king.In the movie, a teenaged farm boy named Eragon (Edward Speleers) finds what appears to be the last dragon egg. After secretly raising the animal, Eragon reluctantly becomes a Dragon Rider in order to right some of the wrongs taking place in the kingdom of Alagaesia. In an earlier era, dragons and their riders soared through the skies keeping peace across the land until tragedy brought about the apparent extinction of the fire-breathing beasts.In addition to keeping a low profile for his own protection and that of Saphira (his dragon), Eragon struggles with other problems: when he was young his mother fled with no explanation; the uncle who raised him was murdered, despite his status as a Dragon Rider he receives little or no respect because of his young age; and he has disturbing dreams about a beautiful elf woman (Sienna Guillory as Arya) who is suffering in a prison and needs his help.Each dream provides more information about her identity, situation, and location. Eragon has no way of knowing that the dreams are not authentic, but are being sent to him telepathically by the darkly magical Durza the Shade (Robert Carlyle) who imprisoned Arya and hopes to set a trap for the young Dragon Rider.In accordance to scientific thought, most comedies and dramas attribute the source of dreams to the unconscious mind of the dreamer, but the fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres rely almost exclusively on the supernatural, pre-scientific conception of dreams originating from an outside evil source. Take Harry Potter's recurring dreams of Lord Valdemort and Anakin Skywalker's recurring dreams of his mother's death - all provided supernaturally from sources outside themselves.As with Harry and Anakin, Eragon's dreams propel him towards his destiny. This destiny is unknown to the dreamers, but is understood by older, wiser, more magical beings. In addition, as "Eragon" director Stefen Fangmeier no doubt realized, if carried out successfully, dream sequences are an excellent means of providing background information and moving the story forward without bogging things down with lengthy explanations.Copyright 2007 Leslie Halpern

For more movie news and reviews visit: http://home.roadrunner.com/~lesliehalpern Central Florida entertainment writer Leslie Halpern wrote the books "Dreams on Film: The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science" (McFarland & Company), an analysis of representations of sleeping and dreaming in more than 125 movies and "Reel Romance. The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies" (Taylor Trade Publishing), which reviews date movies and suggests romantic ideas inspired

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