Saturday, May 21, 2005

Why Study Music?

Steven Coburn, who runs a piano studio on Brooklyn, gives some excellent reasons for learning to play an instrument.

Click here to get to his webpage and click on "Why Study Music."

He mentions that learning to play (in his case) the piano helps people to learn to deal with pressure, respond to criticism without taking things personally, learn persistence, increase their focus, and manage projects.

I can't think of a more fulfilling way to work on inner growth (especially for adults) than to do it by playing music. I think that Mr. Coburn's reasons for playing make sense for both adults and children because we are all in the process of growing.

There are a few differences between studying music as a child and studying music as an adult. When you are a child your parents usually pay for lessons (unless you are Leonard Bernstein), and when you are an adult you usually pay for them yourself. Parents also make (or find) time for their children to practice, while adults have to find their own. Other differences are minor.

No matter how you look at it, what you can achieve personally from the study of music at any time is of great and lasting value. Also, music lessons cost a fraction of what you might pay for other kinds of professional help.

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Saturday, May 14, 2005

Critic Forum

I found a very interesting forum about classical music on line in a very unlikely place where well known music critics Kyle Gann, Greg Sandow, Lloyd Schwartz, Anne Midgette, and Anthony Tomasini answer some very basic (and very important) questions about classical music.

Click here
for the classical critics survey.

If you click here you will get to a class-by-class outline for Greg Sandow's course (taught in 1988 at Juilliard) concerning classical music in an age of pop.