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June 2015

Music Notes

“Music tells us who we are.”

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Afraid of Falling Off the Stage? It's performance day, you know the music and have an outfit picked out, but what happens if you fall off the stage? While this is unlikely, practicing these simple stage presence tips will not only downgrade your fall risk, but it will help manage nerves and anxiety. Plus, you will come across as a seasoned professional. Get To The Stage Safely: Once it's your turn to show em' what you got on stage, don't let the nerves get the best of you. Gather your music and walk deliberately at a pace that feels slow to the stage. Once you arrive at the front by your instrument, turn around and nod to the audience. Cool as a cucumber. Speak Confidently: You may need to state your name and the title of the piece you are performing. Speak clearly, slowly and loudly so people can hear you. Stand on both feet without fidgeting, facing the audience with your head up and eyes out.

Slow Down: Often times with adrenalin and nerves running high, we have a tendency to rush through everything without even knowing it. Slow down consciously at every step. Take time to walk up to the stage and get comfortable. Take time to adjust your seat or music. Take a breath before playing the first note. And when finished performing, stand up calmly, bow to the audience and walk like the cool cat you are back to your seat, head held high. It may feel awful slow, but more than likely, you'll appear normal to everyone else. Bowing: After each time you play, it is customary to acknowledge the audience with a bow. In oldfashioned speak, the purpose is to show gratitude and humility towards the audience for being good listeners (even if someone's cell phone rang.) Here is the proper way to bow: Bow, don’t bob Place hands at your side or

lightly sliding down your thighs Bend at the waist Bend far enough that you can see your toes and then think or mumble "My shoes are untied." And then stand and smile since that's such a silly thing to say. Practice Stage Presence: It may seem silly to practice bowing or reciting your own name out loud, but practice can't be overrated. It builds muscle memory so these actions become automatic under pressure. Once you have mastered a gracious stage presence, try it out on some family and friends. Pretend you are at a recital and practice all of these steps; walk slowly, speak clearly, take your time, bow and then confidently walk back to you seat in the audience. Get feedback from those watching, and do this more than once. Now, you're ready!

Note from Fern: June is both one of my favorite and busiest months. We are just days away from our annual recital and competition, and with summer right around the corner comes new workshops and opportunities to make music. In this newsletter, beyond a few performance tips, I also want to take a moment and say congratulations to all our graduates this year! Keep up all the great musical work and have an excellent month. I hope to see all of you soon, and as always, thank you for allowing me to bring music into your lives!

- Fern

Music Notes, June 2015 Updates from Making Music & More: (Right): Daniel Boehmcke sings standards for the residents of Elm Terrace Gardens at their Mother's Day Tea.

To our 2015 graduates... Matthew Kaplan

(Below): The residents of Elm Terrace Gardens decorate a spring craft after listening to songs made famous by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald at our May program.

One Love One Heart Out of many, one people

One Love One Heart is partnering with two Jamaican schools in need to collect school supplies for Fall 2015. We are collecting the following school supplies: Notebooks Pencils Pencil Sharpeners Erasers Rulers Crayons Magic Markers Construction Paper Chalk Glue Sticks Scissors Softback books Flashcards Items will be collected by Making Music and More. Pick-ups can be coordinated directly through Fern by emailing [email protected] or calling 267-980-0706.

Save the Date End of Summer Recital

Aug. 15, 2015, at 2:00 pm Elm Terrace Gardens Lansdale, PA

Graduating 12th grade from Central Bucks East Attending University of Rochester and majoring in Audio & Music Engineering Teaching, assisting at Elm Terrace Gardens and participating in leading the summer workshop in songwriting this summer Taking piano lessons since 6th grade

Isabella Guida Graduating 8th grade at Penn Christian Attending St Basil in the fall Taking piano lessons since 2nd grade An accomplished gymnast

Luke Kibblehouse Graduating 8th grade at Wissahickon Middle School Attending Wissahickon High School in the fall Taking piano lessons since 6th grade Donated his hair to help cancer research

Emily Carr Graduating 6th grade from Mill Creek Elementary School Attending Unami Middle School in the fall Taking piano lessons started early 2015 A competitive runner

Alex Meyer Graduating 6th grade from Mill Creek Elementary School Attending Unami Middle School in the fall Taking piano lessons since kindergarten Will be doing the piano accompaniment at her graduation

Claudia Kasenchar Graduating 6th grade from the Montessori School Will be attending Wissahickon Middle school in the fall Will be making the speech at her graduation Aspires to be a meteorologist

Music Notes, June 2015

Summer Workshops Composer’s Corner: Visit our website (www.musicandmorepa.com) for links to sheet Making & More for Summer musicMusic from this month’s composer.

Know someone itching to learn music? Give them a Making Music & More, LLC gift certificate!

Singers is an intensive summer vocal workshop for students in grades 9-12 looking (1867 – 1944) to develop and grow their singing skills, such as ensemble singing, singing in harmony, Amy Beach was the first American vocal technique and performance skills. woman to find success as a composer. Culminates in a performance at Elm Terrace She was born Amy Cheney in New Gardens. Hampshire, and later moved to Boston, where she & became Making Music Morewell forknown Summer as a pianist and composer. Amy could Songwriters is an intensive summer songwriting music technology play by ear anyand music she heard, and atworkshop for inshe grades 9-12. her Thisfirst workshop the students age of four, composed will teach students to create original piano pieces in her head. Her mother arrangements of simple songs using actually taught her to play the piano Musescore. student should have when she wasParticipating six, and at seven she gave aher basic music theory background, some piano first public performance. experience and their own individual iPad, tablet or laptop. After her marriage to Dr. Henry

Amy Beach

Check Out These Weird Instruments Hyperbass Flute: How about that for some seriously low-end flute? This aptly named flautist foghorn is the largest member of the flute family, containing over 49 feet in piping. It's a relatively new instrument and, according to early reports, the tone is still under refinement as it's a bit growly. We don't care. It's massive and weird. Octobass: Constructed in 1850 by certifiable genius and fan of massive string instruments Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the Octobass is a massive double bass that stands at almost 11.5 feet tall. Which is ridiculous, really, seeing as it's too big to play with the hands - there are elaborate foot-pedals to make it possible. Apparently Berlioz was a fan, and wrote about it in his treatise on orchestration.

Beach, she turned her focus to composing, and the only website gave recitalsfor once Check more a year. Beach wasinformation! first known for her

It's Here!

Fluba: The brainchild of legendary tubist and general low-end enthusiast Jim Self (with the help of brass manufacturer Robb Stewart), the Fluba is exactly what you might imagine it is – a hybrid of a flugelhorn and a tuba. Which means it's a tubasized flugelhorn. Self-explanatory, really. Here's Jim himself giving it a play.

Making Music & More Recital and Competition James-Lorah House Doylestown, PA June 13, 2015 Recital: 1 2:3 0 pm Competition: 4 :00 pm Sun.

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Read more at http://www.classicfm.com/discover/music/weirdest-musicalinstruments/#F4lWEkZ2PeMG004f.99

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June 2015: 6/12 – Making Music & More for Seniors – 10:30 am, 1:30pm

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6/13 – Musicians on the Movie – Jazz Vocalist– 9:45am

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6/13 – Making Music & More Recital (12:30pm) and Competition (4pm)

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6/14 – Flag Day 6/21 – Father's Day

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Q: Why was the musician arrested? A: He was in treble

6/21 – First Day of Summer