Summertime!

Hello Piano People!

I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day! I am very grateful to all who have served and are serving our country.

It is going to be a hot one today.  I heard 90 degrees, and it is only the last day of May! I guess summer really is just around the corner.

I am finalizing my summer piano lesson schedule. I can still make room for a few more students, so talk to me if you would like a spot! :)

I will be giving an end of summer student piano recital on Sunday, August 28th at 5:30 at the Community Music Center.

This recital will be smaller than usual. I am working on memorization in my own practice. If time permits, I will play a piece that I have been working on - by memory!  This has been a weak point in my musicality.

I am a teacher, but always a student!

I am looking forward to a music filled summer.

Talk to you soon!

Peace,

Teacher Zita

Blues Piano Summer Camp!

 

 I am thrilled to say that I am able to offer a piano blues camp this summer at the Community Music Center!  It will be at the end of summer rather than beginning because of scheduling conflicts. But we are in!

This is one of my favorite classes to teach. No music reading. We learn the blues scale and chords. We listen, create and jam!  Most of all we have fun!  Here is the blurb that will appear in the CMC catalog:


 
"Piano Blues    Jefferson         M-F     12:00 PM-2:00 PM   4          8/22-8/25 age 9-13        Playing the 12-Bar Blues makes you happy! Use simple chords & scales to create original compositions at the keyboard. Listen, improvise, jam with others, & solo in this uniquely American style. Pick up basic music theory & history along the way while gaining confidence in practice & performance. Prerequisite - one year of group lessons or the equivalent. This class uses digital pianos that simulate acoustic grands. Students bring a nutritious, peanut free snack each day."  

 If you are interested, call 503.823.3177. 

Teacher Zita

End of Year Recital - Early this Year!

I have an early date set for the end of year recital. It will be April 24, 2016.
There will be one recital at 5:30 for my younger and more beginning students.
Another recital at 7:00 for my older and more advanced students.

I had a June date scheduled, but discovered that Portland Public Schools releases for
summer a week before, so I didn't want to miss any students due to vacation!

Usually during Winter Term, I focus on theory, notereading and basic skills. Which
we are doing.  But since the recital is earlier this year, we will be picking recital pieces
in the next few weeks.

Also, I wanted to let you know that my chamber music group, Portland Chamber Music
has some exciting concerts coming up. Would love to see you there!

Click the link below, to view our upcoming events.
http://www.pdxchambermusic.org/upcoming/

Happy Practicing!

Teacher Zita :) 

Sightreading, Recitals and Chamber Music, Oh My!!

Hello Piano People!

Fall is really here! There is a light drizzle outside. I just got back from a lovely walk on the Springwater Corridor Trail near my home. Leaves are changing color and dropping. This is my
favorite time of year!

This term I have been focusing on sight reading. Sight reading is seriously one of my favorite past times! I know I don't share this with much of the world's musical population. But I would like to share my knowledge with my students.

I have heard plenty of groans and moans from my students when I told them we are going to be working on sight reading. But now that I have been consistently working with most of them for the past month, I am seeing some remarkable progress!

If you are a parent, ask you child about "SBLAR"! That is my very own creation and method.

Any piece of music is acceptable for sight reading. I like to challenge myself with really difficult music. But at first, it is best to start at reading music slightly BELOW your level.

The most important element is RHYTHM. You can miss notes, but you may not stop and correct them. Try not to miss a beat.

Get hold of a metronome. If you don't have one, there are many apps online.  Set it to a nice slow steady beat (60 bpm is usually good).

I really like Bartok's Mikrokosmos for my students.  Starting with book one is appropriate for all levels.

http://www.amazon.com/Mikrokosmos-Pink-English-French-Hungarian/dp/1423493044/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1445287955&sr=8-1&keywords=bartok+mikrokosmos+volume+1

I've included a photo of the book above and a link to Amazon.com. But you can also try to find it in a local music store, i.e. Portand Music.

We will also be talking about performance pieces for our upcoming recital on December 20th. Mark your calendars.

And finally, I have joined a wonderful new chamber music group: Portland Chamber Music.

It is led by my friend, Anya an opera trained soprano from Russia. We are also joined by Lluis, a french horn player from Spain, Alaine, a lovely young clarinetist, and my friend Jon on cello.

Our events are free. I love seeing my students and friends in the audience!


Here is a link to our website and upcoming events: http://www.pdxchambermusic.org/events/

Happy Fall! 

Teacher Zita

Fall Term and Recital Dates!

I found this photo on: http://faithhopeandlove-dawn.blogspot.com/2011/10/autumn-leaves.html

NOTE:  The blog I found this picture on has a fascinating segment on why leaves change colors !  I loved this: "Have to have consistent rain also because if there’s not enough rain the colors aren’t as vibrant & vivid".  Yes! Rain! Please!


 Hi Piano People!

Wow! Fall!  My favorite time of the year, just around the corner!

I hope this means the end of the hot weather! Not to whine, but it was a bit too hot for me this summer.

But I do hope all of my students and their families had fun, relaxing times!

I will be taking next week off to rest and plan for fall term.

Fall term will begin Saturday, September 5th, 2015. Labor Day is September 7th.  So if you are doing family things, we can always start your lesson the following week.

I have scheduled my student piano recitals for the year. So save the dates!

End of Fall Term Piano Recital 

Sunday, December 20th:  4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

End of Spring Term Piano Recital 

Sunday, June 12th:  4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

 

As usual, I prefer to have the younger and beginning students perform at the earlier recitals.

As we get back into the swing of things, remember to make time in your busy schedules for piano practice.  I do not have a set time requirement. That depends on your family schedule, level and musical goals.  But I do recommend daily practice.  We can talk about a sample practice routine at your lessons.

I also find that people (including myself) put more effort into a musical piece that they really love. So as we start to think about recital, I would welcome suggestions for your performance pieces. Or I can just play a bunch of pieces and you can pick!

It is my desire to share with you the joy I experience in making music.  It has been my passion for over 50 years and I hope it will be yours too!  

Happy Back to School!

See you soon.

Teacher Zita :)

Zita's Cool Piano Concert: Sunday, August 23, 2015. 7:00 p.m. Save the Date!

Hot Outside?  Kids Bored?  Escape the heat and relax!  Bring the family to:

ZITA'S COOL PIANO CONCERT!

 Sunday, August 23rd, 2015 7:00 p.m.

 There will be some Mozart, Gershwin, Scott Joplin, Satie and Clara Schumann.  Also a special premier of original piano music! All played by Zita on the piano. 

And of course, refreshments will be served. We will be serving strawberry shortcake and lemonade. Yum! :)

Suggested Donation: $10/person or $25/family.  

No one turned away for lack of funds. 

Community Music Center

3550 SE Francis Street

Portland, OR 97202

For more information, please email Zita at pianoteacherpdx@yahoo.com

On Performance

Teacher Zita and Emily, a proud performer. (Emily performed the Theme from Star Wars and the them from the Largo by Dvorak)

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.

--YODA, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace*

I am reflecting on the wonderful performances of my students at the end of the year recital I held at the Community Music Center on Sunday.

I sit with my students on stage until they are ready to go it alone. Even as they get more advanced, they often need me to turn pages. It is a lovely, but surreal experience. I sit and bask in their music. And often, little snippets of our conversations from our lessons come to me. Because after all, I am sitting at their side, just as if we are in a piano lesson!
 

I was so proud of each and every one of my students. And as I congratulated them, I heard some remarks about "mistakes" and "mess ups".  

Were there wrong notes played? Yes! Of course! We are, after all, imperfect humans. Not robots.

Would I enjoy a concert of robots playing each note perfectly. NO!

Because with each performance, we offer ourself up to the audience. We make ourself vulnerable. We are not only sharing the music we learned from the page, that was written by a composer, often hundreds of years before us. We also share a little bit of ourselves.  

I have heard "Fur Elise" by Beethoven played hundreds of times. Maybe thousands. And it is never played exactly the same.

What I experienced at my recital was humanity.  Beautiful people who had spent time working hard on mastering a piece of music. And then sharing this through the vessel of their human flesh to a very appreciative audience.

Please do not regret mistakes. Instead, celebrate the beautiful music between the mistakes.  

You deserve applause just for putting yourself onstage.

And I, as your teacher, applaud you from deep in my heart.

Love to you all and a happy summer!

Teacher Zita :)

*Read more at http://www.top10-best.com/y/top_10_best_yoda_quotes.html#YPrMJQTkvHbe6Vh6.99