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TONAL REFRACTION
A blog honoring vocal coach Barbara Maier Gustern, beloved vocal coach to so many singers of so many genres: brutally attacked on the street, died of injuries on March 15, 2022. Reflections on music, singing, teaching, listening….
Perfection rules. Or does it?
Perfection rules at this time of year: competitions, recitals, exams. Having physical disability, I was unable to do as I was expected...
artie73
1 hour ago1 min read
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Rule-Bending
A couple of days not posting nonetheless rich in reflection: my attention is repeatedly drawn to the over-reliance on conformity in music...
artie73
22 hours ago1 min read
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Why is music so difficult?
It has to do with time, not beats, but time as it flies - or doesn't: mental speed. Ear is faster than eye. Okay, but how can one make...
artie73
4 days ago1 min read
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Perfection be Damned
Having worked intensively on the Schumann Fantasy Pieces Dave Eggar and I did not have time to dig into the Brahms E minor. When we...
artie73
6 days ago1 min read
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I Always Hated It, Until Now
The life of the ear was proved yesterday when Dave Eggar came over for another life-changing rehearsal, this time of a work which I have...
artie73
May 311 min read
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The Box of Words
Hannah Arendt was clear on the subject of how trust in the ear was never brought up in all of her education. I have long felt that...
artie73
May 301 min read
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Vibrations Rule
It is only via vibrations that I can make myself be heard: words connect in a way, but within the commonality of the ear in no way...
artie73
May 291 min read
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Transforming notes into vibrations
Hey! Wait a minute! Notes ARE vibrations! If that is so, pray tell, why is there such a conceptual rift separating thought about them? ...
artie73
May 271 min read
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Why do you sing?
Why do you play your instrument? Isn't it because, deep down, you want to be heard? What are the chances that anyone will listen as you...
artie73
May 261 min read
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"A Life of the Ear."
That's my new title for my autobiography. The old one was "Chasing Vibrations." Why the change? First of all, that first word: "A" as...
artie73
May 251 min read
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C Major Triad
My collaboration with Dave Eggar began with my having picked a passage in a Brahms Trio which he had never played, a passage which was...
artie73
May 241 min read
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Bringing to life
Struggling to bring to life what has always seemed to me the single most difficult duo for piano plus one, I realize, at last, that...
artie73
May 231 min read
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What if tonalities were not, after all, generic?
Not having perfect pitch, as a listener I have enjoyed the game of discerning tonality via instrumental sonority which, in every good...
artie73
May 221 min read
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Fact is, the piano is a stringed instrument.
The most exciting piano lesson I had was my first meeting with Hans Neumann who, having played trios professionally with his brothers...
artie73
May 211 min read
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Ears du jour
Yes, there is such a thing! It is a tribute to the ear's fragility that it is apparent when I listen to early music that the players,...
artie73
May 201 min read
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Did you ever notice?
I awaken recalling vividly sensations when first playing piano/violin duos at age 13: The "real"sound happened only when the violin was...
Nancy Garniez
May 201 min read
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Going by Appearances
Animated conversation yesterday with two young people whom I scarcely know over coffee at the Cathedral, about barriers: race, religion,...
artie73
May 191 min read
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Easy? Peasy!
Last night a splendid gathering of amateurs amusedly trying to navigate the literally amazing maze of what I had erroneously introduced...
artie73
May 181 min read
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