While roaming Youtube the night before last, I found this video from a show called “A Little Nightmare Music”, by the music comedy duo Igudesman and Joo. In this clip, they make fun of excessively flamboyant opera singers…

Violinist Aleskey Igudesman and pianist Richard Hyung-Ki Joo have been friends since the age of 12 when they met in the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School. They have combined their musical genius and sense of humour in hope to achieve their shared goal: to bring “classical” music to a wider audience.

To find out more and to see more clips from the show, visit www.igudesmanandjoo.com

Sight reading can be fun!

When it comes to sight-reading at the piano, I’ve been almost hopeless all my life. But since January, thanks to discovering some of the right strategies, I’ve been experiencing a gradual improvement.

In our first chamber music lesson in January, my classmates and I were each presented with a book of children’s pieces. We were pretty surprised at being expected to play these short Grade 5 pieces for each other, and even more so when asked to play them together, one hand each.

It all seemed pointless at first, especially as we had just done our first semester in a music degree! But shortly the teacher’s idea became apparent. I found myself becoming gradually less self-conscious while reading in public, and also less intimidated by the score in front of me.

Another factor that helped me to understand my weakness, and why it was suddenly beginning to improve, was a project I took on a month later. A singer had just got in touch with me about doing some concerts together, so within another few weeks I received a folder of 28 songs to learn in as short a space of time as I could. I started reading through all of them with the intention of learning them rapidly.

Soon I began to realise that I was far too accustomed to playing from memory to be fully comfortable playing from the sheet music. Due to a habit of taking away the score after a short space of time, I had developed a sort of fear of being unable to watch my hands as I played. I began to see that working on my mental approach to reading had to change.

• So these are the tips I am now following, from my learning experiences, to improve my sight-reading:
• Read lots of easy, enjoyable pieces/song accompaniments
• Don’t be afraid of the page - trust yourself, you know how to read music!
• Read in public
• Remember that a piece can be well prepared whether memorised or not
• Don’t look down for too long - take short glances at the keyboard

I hope this will be helpful, please leave a comment if it works for you!

It is widely believed that talented musicians only emerge from families with a strong musical history. And for a long time I have thought that this is a big misconception. There is no doubt that growing up in a musical family has its rewards. Indeed, such heroes of classical music as Mozart and J.S. Bach owe much of their success to their families; Mozart and his equally gifted sister were taught by their father, while the tradition of music in the Bach family traces right back to Johann Sebastian’s great, great grandfather.

So does this indicate that growing up surrounded by music is necessary in order to become a successful musician?

I believe not. From my own experience, musical ability does not belong solely to those born into families of musicians. Neither of my own parents are musicians, nor did I get piano lessons as a toddler. There are many talented and successful musicians in the world with very limited musical background. British concert pianist Richard Meyrick is a fine example. None of his immediate family were musicians, and he had no piano teacher until his teens; yet at 16 years of age he won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London, and now performs at concert halls around the world.

So how did Meyrick become the successful concert pianist he is today? How did he even discover his talent in the first place? The answer is simple. He was inspired!

Inspiration is the key to discovering and exploring one’s skills. It is also the reason why growing up with music in the family can be valuable to a musician’s development. Meyrick discovered his passion for music when his father took him to a performance by a famous concert pianist. The Norwegian composer Grieg, taught piano by his mother from the age of six, was inspired by the passionate amateur performances of his parents and their friends.

So, is it true that a person’s heritage determines whether or not they are musically intelligent? My answer is no: music is not inherited, it is inspired!