Videos of my students

A handful of my students performed at the Allegheny Valley School this past weekend. We'll be done with events in the community for awhile, but in the meantime, here are a couple clips to enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgykS646p2yKm291H4JXZkw/videos

~Givi Girl

Play what your audience wants to hear

Performing can be super fun!! Especially when you have a favorite piece in mind that you are dying to play.




 But...be careful.  It might not fit your audience, no matter how great you may feel about the piece.  Before you select your pieces, ask yourself:

Where are you performing? Is it a casual place? A fancy restaurant? An extremely formal recital, or outside at a festival?  A family reunion?  Are you throwing your own recital like we discussed in the last post?




Who are you performing for? Who's your audience?  Is it a bunch of children at a birthday party?  Is it your uncle who loves Frank Sinatra? Is it a bunch of older folks at a nursing home? Is it in front of a panel of judges for an orchestra audition?

What should you perform?  This is the part where you might be disappointed: despite the fact that you put your heart and soul into your favorite piece(s), that might not be the most appropriate choice because that's not what your audience would want to hear.  For example, my students and I  collaborated with the piano section of our school, and we all played at a church festival this past summer.  The theme was fiddle music, because fiddle music fits the situation.  Let me be more specific about this festival: it took place outside, and the festival consisted of primarily families with young children running around.  There were rides, games, you know...typical festival stuff!! Of course there would be people in the crowd who would enjoy a piano student playing every movement of Fur Elise...but do you think that's what the majority of the crowd would want to hear?



The answer is no.

What would you guess our attire was?  GSOM Tee-shirts (which are on sale by the way!!)  Do you think we'd chose the fiddle theme wearing tee-shirts for our main, extremely formal, annual recital?  Of course not.  That's a totally different type of situation.  But in this case, the event was super casual, laid back, and that's exactly what fiddle music is.  It's also good to play familiar pieces to audiences who don't understand or appreciate the more difficult, classical pieces. 

It's important to play what your audience wants to hear. Don't worry, you'll be able to perform exactly what you want in time.  Just save it for the right opportunity!!!!!

Til next time,
 
~Givi Girl

Violin and...rap?!

http://youtu.be/gEIVzWCRSg8 Now this is something you don't see every day!!!!!!!




~Givi Girl

Throw a private recital

The holidays are coming up...why not add some spark to it this year?




Gather some family and close friends and host your own recital for them.  It could feature just you, you and a fellow musician friend(s), siblings, etc.

Remember, time and place.  Is it Christmas time?  Perform Christmas music.  Is it Halloween time?  How about something more Halloween themed, such as the Adam's Family or the theme song from the Exorcist.  Maybe you can keep it a completely classical performance and select your strongest and favorite pieces. Is it a birthday party for someone? Play the pieces of their selection, plus the traditional "happy birthday song."  Give them the gift of music :)

If you want to make it more formal, here are a couple other tips:


*Make a program.  Just a pretty piece of paper, (either decorate it yourself with stickers or get the specialty paper) with your list of songs.  Make sure to include everyone who is performing and the date.

*Make sure the area you perform is clean and tidy.  You don't want a mess!

*Have a reception afterwards.

*Dress nicely.  (See time and place entry.)

*Perhaps give a brief introduction to a piece before you perform it (composer, description, etc.)



You work so hard, so show it off and have fun with it!








Til next time,
Givi Girl

Keep it CONVENIENT for yourself!

This post is really random, but from my own personal experience, it helps motivate you to practice.

Let's switch gears from music to working out.  For me, personally, it takes a lot of motivation to drag myself to the gym.  I have to change into gym clothes, get in the car, go there, and after alllll that...work out (something I'm not overly excited about to begin with.)  AFTER THAT, I know I have to drive home, shower, re-wash my clothes, and then change into another outfit. 

A lot of this lack of motivation occurred ever since I moved out of my mom's house in Robinson Twp (5 min away from the gym) to Bellevue (20 min away from the gym.)  Why?  BECAUSE NOW IT'S MORE INCONVENIENT.

Now, let's apply this to practicing.  In this case, I'm going to reference my cello since it's more applicable.   My cello is obviously a bigger instrument and it's a bit of a pain to constantly take it out and put it back in it's case.  I find that if it's not staring at me in the face I tend to neglect it because I simply don't want to deal with opening it up.

US HUMANS, ESPECIALLY US AMERICANS, ARE LAZY!!! Why do you think fast food is so popular?? You get to stay in your car, the food is already made, it's cheap....you basically make no effort whatsoever to eat your food. 

Keep your instrument out, (in a safe place, of course,) so you can just grab it easily and play it.

 The less to get in your way of practicing, the better.   Your instrument is saying "Practice me!  I'm right here!  Practice me!" when it's left out. 

Growing up, I left mine on my dining room table that nobody uses. 

Make it convenient for yourself!!!!

Til next time,
~Givi Girl

Your family should always be there to support you

Whether it's a recital...a small gig...whatever...your family should be there to support you.  Not just internal family, but extended family as well.  Aunts, uncles, cousins, family, friends, etc.

A lot of family members might not have an interest or appreciation for music, or at least classical music, like you do.  They might not understand how much work it takes to learn how to play an instrument.  That's OKAY!  They don't have to.

 However, you put a lot of time and dedication of practicing, going to and from lessons, etc.  You deserve your own fan base.  Sure, it's fun to play for any audience: but if you're only playing for a bunch of strangers, then you're cheating yourself.  You are your family's superstar more than anyone else's.

When I was growing up, I lived in Buffalo and had so many different orchestra concerts.  My extended family (grandparents, cousins, aunt/uncle) all lived in Pittsburgh.  They drove to almost every single one-and one time they even spent hours in the car battling one of the worst blizzards on the way here.  Talk about dedication.  My aunt/uncle/cousins didn't care for orchestra music, but they cared for ME.  They were there for ME, and that's what's important.  When I was in rehearsals or lessons, it would motivate me so much to do my very best since I knew they were coming.  I wanted to get the very best seat in the orchestra.  I wanted to sound my very best for solo recitals.  Why?  BECAUSE MY FAMILY WAS COMING TO SEE ME!  Before I would play a single note, while I was playing, and after I was finished, I had one thing on my mind: that they were there watching me.  

My family is a big reason I was always motivated and always stuck with the violin and never quit.  I would have let them all down if I quit, and I'M SO GLAD I DIDN'T!  

Make it fun for them too. Once your performance is over, go out to eat!  Take pictures! Make a day or night out of it!

Your family is your support system.  They should make it a priority to be at your recitals to keep you encouraged.  If they haven't been to any of your past shows, they probably weren't invited!  Try inviting them to the next one!   They are your biggest fans-so it's important they show it.  

Also, remember:  You should support them at their events too, whether it's sports games, musicals, etc.  




Til next time,
~Givi Girl

Keep your instrument clean

Hello Hello!

Sorry I've been slacking with the blog posts...my computer was broken and it's been midterm time so those are the most legit excuses I can give you.  Anyways...my students are playing tomorrow at the local nursing home which I'm excited about.  Should be a good time.  I also have a handful of new students who will be joining us for an event for the first time so I hope they like it.  

The posting today will be simple but still necessary to keep in mind:

The cleanliness of your instrument affects your sound.  For my violinistas out there, here's how you clean it up:

Using a cloth with NO chemicals on it (unless they are meant for violin cleaning-absolutely stay away from anything else) :

**Wipe the strings:  Don't be afraid to use a little bit of force.  They won't break.  The strings collect rosin dust which negatively effects the sound, so that's necessary to do after every time you play!

**Wipe underneath the strings AND underneath the horsehair of the bow.  Underneath the strings, in between the f-holes, is where a lot of the rosin dust ends up.  Remember, the sound comes out of the f-holes, so you want that entire area to be rosin-less.  The bow is where the rosin is applied, so naturally some of it will fall off the minute it hits the strings.  It's important to wipe the STICK of the bow (not the horse hair.) **

Once a year or so, (NOT TOO OFTEN), take your instrument to the music store and have them clean it professionally with the correct polish.  You can probably purchase some and do it yourself as well.  Just make sure it's polish that is MADE FOR VIOLIN CLEANING.  I suggest doing this before a big performance so your violin is sparkling.  

Keep your violin pretty :)  

Until next time,

Givi Girl