Integrate Yoga practice into piano practice

The images of pianists sitting in front of a piano playing nice music could always give an impression of "playing piano is effortless". I would like to point out that piano playing is a physical activity. While music making is a sensual and spiritual experience; it highly relies on physical ability. Without physical fitness it is impossible for pianists to maintain a consistent and intensive practice routines,

It took me years to realize this.

Imagine feeling soreness and pain on your shoulder, neck, joints and arms everyday when opening up your piano cover. Imagine feeling numb and weak on your finger tips when playing Bach. Imagine feeling stiff in the back and hip getting up from your bench after three hours of practice session. It is painful.

We often won't pay attention to physical fitness until there are symptoms, until we caould no long play. Now I have come to understand that keeping regular exercise is not enough, you must actively build bodily strength and incorporate physical practice to your piano practice.

I highly recommend pianists practice Yoga. Not only Yoga manages muscle and joint health it enhances self confidence, strenghtens motivation, determines your goals. Having a very clear mind helps you focus and eliminate unwanted stress and negativity.

What I love about Yoga practice is that it is a practice and It is a way of life. I love this idea so much more than expecting a doctor or a physiotherapist to fix my tightened muscles by taking medication or expensive needling. If the mind does not change, the body wouldn't change.

I encourage pianists and musicians actively practice Yoga. I have started the jouney. It does not cost much. All you need is a mind that is believing, a mat and your body.

The Trial of the Ants

I started this piece about two months ago, after abandoning a piece I worked on from last summer, for that I tried to mimic Debussy's style in fluidity, natural sonority and melodic figuration. The reason why I abandoned it was because I did not like it anymore; and I did not know why.

The new piece that I now tentatively gave a name of The Trial of the Ants, started with a thought of being new, new to me. I wish to do something I never did before. So I threw in the first two bars of wholetone scale, not knowing I liked it or not. I just did. I had a hard time continuing this initial thought. I would sporadically spend a few minutes on the piano, trying to come up with something and gave up when I did not hear what I liked. I could produce nothing for two weeks and then have 20 bars done in an hour on a particular day, and then did nothing for a whole month or simply forgot about it for a long time. To be honest, I would not have produced 10 pages now if it were not because I had to meet my mentor every two weeks on Skype. Sometimes I produced some bars only because I had to!

Wholtone, is undoutedly "modern"; it is the other extreme from Bach, who I so far love the most. Wholetone scales literally hurt my ears, making me feel very uncomfortable, uneasy, and interrupted. Most of the body of the work was completed before Christmas and after I came back to Canada from Hawaii vacation. I wondered around trying to find connecting rhythms, melodies, ideas. Sometimes I created something that was non-modern only because, not knowingly, it has been what I am comfortable with, for example, major-minor tonality kind of resolution - very Bach.

Writing moderning work is more than just filling in untraditional scales; it is further about denying what you have alreay known and fighting against it! I finally have come to the stage where I can think of wrapping up this work - The Trial of the Ants.

The title suggests a few meanings in this work. The very dissonant wholetone scale was largely adhered to throughout the piece, indicating a story that belongs to a world that is very unfamiliar. In addition, the linear figuration of the wholetone and repetitive rhythmic patterns suggest a ruly and orgnized being; dialogues between characters speaking their particular languages are found everywhere. You can certainly hear disputes, discussions, panics, order, disruption and re-organization. Does it sound like The Trial of the Ants? The listeners are free to judge!

To perform this work will not be an easy work. First we will need to deal with fingering issue, for wholetone scales. Then the awkwardness in the flowing of the sporadically scattered melody lines, the syncopation, the frequent use of accidentals and the unconventional expressiveness will demand high level of performance skills.

Looking for interested pianist to perform it for me, for sure!!

Streaming - How we consume music in a digital world

It is intriguing for musicians to realize that there are less and less music listeners purchasing physical CDs now. As a consumer I do not buy or play CDs anymore. I play music on Spotify, iTunes and yeah there are so many music streaming platforms now vying for consumer's attentnion. New players such as Amazon Music and Youtube Music are trying to get into the muisic streaing market. Internet has dramatically changed how we consume music!

What is the music streaming service platform are you using/subsribing to? I use Spotify; so do my kids. The great thing about Spotify is that the catalogue is so large; you can literally find anything you wish by searching key words. The coolest thing is you can make your own playlist for your own enjoyment as well as sharing it instantly in social media with friends! Social medias work as a publicity form that can compete with magazine coverage, TV commercials, CD posters and disply in stores; and the interaction between artists and fans are more direct, frequent and dynamic.

Not only can I find current, new music, I can also find older music and albums, online. If I wish to purchase a physical CD that is iconic, such as Beatles, or ABBA, or Air Supply, or Glenn Gould, I go to Amazon to order and have it delivered to my door. The music industry has reached its height of efficiency no doubt like never before!

What is the inspiration for artists then?? As a pianist in the past year have tried to understand the current music industry by reading and researching, and I figured that nowadays if a musician does not change with the external environment he/she will definitely be left out. I am still learning, every single day.

There are a few music industry websites/blogs that I think can help musicians get insights about how to build and manage a successful career in a digital world. Let me list just a few below:

https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/

https://themusicentrepreneur.com/

http://cmuinsights.com/

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/

https://ledgernote.com/