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“Music tells us who we are.”

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Music Notes

May 2015

Tips on How to Prepare for a Recital Performance By John Clark, Music Teacher, North Fulton School of Music Performing at a recital can be great fun, but it can also be very stressful. Good preparation can help reduce your stress and make your recital performance more enjoyable for both you and your audience. Here are some tips to help you get ready for your big day. The “Milestones” are what you want to be able to do at that time. The “Goals” are what you want to start working on. 8 Weeks Before the Recital Milestones – You want to be able to play or sing through your entire piece with relatively few mistakes. It’s okay if at this point you cannot play the piece at full speed or if you don’t have your breathing and phrasing completely worked out. Goals – The next four weeks you should work getting your piece up to full speed, and focusing on the finer details like dynamics, phrasing, and general musicality. Work on mastering the difficult sections and connecting phrases between sections so that you can eliminate points where the tempo may drag or your concentration may waver.

2 Weeks Before the Recital Milestones – You should now be able to play or sing your recital piece reliably with few mistakes, and be able to recover from them quickly should they happen. Goals – Find some people to perform your piece for. You could perform for friends, family, or wherever you can find a place with people. The only way to simulate the nerves and pressure of performance is to perform in front of real live people. Establish a consistent physical and mental performance routine so that on the day of your recital there are fewer chances for surprises. 1 Week Before the Performance Milestones – If you’ve been keeping pace with the guidelines up to this point then you have reached the easiest portion. Just relax. You’ve got this! You know what you are doing and how to manage the odd disaster. Goals – Just perform the song for fun and enjoy listening to yourself. If you are enjoying what you are performing

so will others. The opposite can be true, too. The Day of the Recital Goals – Have your clothes clean and ready. Plan to get to the recital location early to give yourself enough time for traffic and other delays, plus any warm up time required. When you show up late it is not only very stressful for you, but is inconsiderate and distracting to those that are already performing. One last piece of advice that is not musically related at all: figure out where the recital is being held and map out your route a few days before the performance. Recitals are often held at locations that you do not normally frequent so don’t rely on your (or your parent’s) GPS on the way to the recital. Remove this stress from the day of your performance ahead of time. You have worked hard on your recital piece so take this opportunity to show off your hard work and enjoy the performance. Remember that everyone in the audience is on your side and wants to hear you succeed, so have fun.

Note from Fern: In 2005, Making Music & More was born, and I am so happy to have spent 10 years sharing and making music with all of you. There is no greater joy. In addition to our special 10-year logo, we have renamed our newsletter, “Music Notes” and hope to continue bringing you great information for the next 10 years and beyond. There’s a lot of great info and updates in this newsletter, so don’t miss a page! Keep up all the great musical work, have an excellent month, and as always, thank you for allowing me to bring music into your lives! - Fern

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Music Notes, May 2015 Updates from Music & More:

Making Music & More Internship Program

(Below): Tricia Paffen Knopka entertains the residents of Elm Terrace Gardens with the music from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.

We are excited to welcome Julia Coco to our internship program. She will be assisting our efforts with One Love One Heart to gather school supplies for our friends in Jamaica. She has already reached out to organizations at her school to hopefully get them involved in the movement! Julia Coco: Piano, One Love One Heart

Julia Coco is a sophomore at CB South High School. She is currently in her tenth year of piano lessons, nine of which have been with Fern Flicker. At school, she plays the oboe, is involved in the musical, and plans on joining choir next year. Her favorite part about music is the enjoyment of getting to see, hear, and watch a piece come together and become amazing.

Fun Music Facts & Quotes: 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.

Fun Fact: Tubas are made of brass, a metal made of copper and zinc. Both of these metals are found in vitamins. This means that during your life you may eat an entire tuba - and it would be good for you!

International Tuba Day Yes, Tuba Day is a real thing, celebrated the first Friday of every May. Started by Joel Day of Upper Merion High School, PA, in 1979, the day is now celebrated worldwide. The official statement: to recognize tubists in musical organizations around the world who have to go through the hassle of handling a tuba. http://www.tubaday.com/

Composer’s Corner: Visit our website (www.musicandmorepa.com) for links to sheet music from this month’s composer.

Amy Beach (1867 – 1944) Amy Beach was the first American woman to find success as a composer. She was born Amy Cheney in New Hampshire, and later moved to Boston, where she became well known as a pianist and composer. Amy could play by ear any music she heard, and at the age of four, she composed her first piano pieces in her head. Her mother actually taught her to play the piano when she was six, and at seven she gave her first public performance. After her marriage to Dr. Henry Beach, she turned her focus to composing, and only gave recitals once a year. Beach was first known for her art songs, but then received national and international attention for her larger works, including a symphony, violin sonata and piano quintet. Many of her works have returned to the concert stage, and hundreds have been recorded. http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers

Instrument Feature:

Tuba

The Tuba is the largest and lowest sounding member of the brass family. Its sound is very round and mellow. The tuba, along with the string basses and bassoons, provide the lowest sounds for the orchestra. The tuba is the youngest of all the brass instruments. It was invented in the middle of the nineteenth century, replacing the ophicleide (ahf-i-clyde). In the 1800s it joined the military band. About 100 years later the tuba was included as a regular member of the symphony orchestra. The three most popular tubas include the C tuba, Bb tuba and the Sousaphone. The C tuba is the most commonly used tuba in the United States symphony orchestras because of its ability to play in tune with the other instruments of the orchestra. The Bb tuba is the most common instrument of tuba among players in German, Austrian and Russian orchestras. It is also the most common instrument for student tuba players. The Sousaphone, invented by John Phillip Sousa, is the modern version of the helicon. Both instruments are designed to make the instrument easy to carry, and to project the sound toward the audience. The symphonic tuba player holds the instrument in his lap, with the bell pointing up. To make a sound the player buzzes his/her lips into a large cup-shaped mouthpiece. To change notes the player selects and presses down on different valve combinations.

Save the Date End of Summer Recital

August 15, 2015 at 2:00 pm Elm Terrace Gardens 660 N Broad St Lansdale, PA 19446

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Music Notes, May 2015

Summer Workshops

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

Making Music & More for Summer Singers is an intensive summer vocal workshop for students in grades 9-12 looking to develop and grow their singing skills, such as ensemble singing, singing in harmony, vocal technique and performance skills. Culminates in a performance at Elm Terrace Gardens.

Brief History of Marching Bands

Making Music & More for Summer Songwriters is an intensive summer songwriting and music technology workshop for students in grades 9-12. This workshop will teach students to create original arrangements of simple songs using Musescore. Participating student should have a basic music theory background, some piano experience and their own individual iPad, tablet or laptop.

The marching band originated with traveling musicians who performed together at festivals and celebrations throughout the ancient world. It evolved and became more structured within the armies of the early city-states, becoming the basis for the military band, from which the modern marching band emerged.As musicians became less important in directing the movement of troops on the battlefield, the bands moved into increasingly ceremonial roles - an intermediate stage which provided some of the instrumentation and music for marching bands was the modern brass band, which also evolved out of the military tradition. Many military traditions survive in modern marching band. Bands that march in formation will often be ordered to "dress their ranks" and "cover down their files". They may be called to "attention", and given orders such as "about face" and "forward march". Uniforms of many marching bands still resemble military uniforms.

Check the website for more information!

Outside of police and military organizations, modern marching band is most commonly associated with American football, specifically the halftime show. Many U.S. universities had bands before the twentieth century. The first modern halftime show by a marching band at a football game was by the University of Illinois Marching Illini in 1907 at a game against the University of Chicago. That same year, the first formation, breaking traditional military ranks on a football field, was the "Block P" created by Paul Spotts Emrick, director of the Purdue All-American Marching Band. Spotts had seen a flock a birds fly in a "V" formation and decided that a band could replicate the action in the form of show formations.

Save the Date! 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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http://www.bandhead.org/forum/topics/the-history-of-marching-bands

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May 2015: 5/1 – International Tuba Day (http://www.tubaday.com/)

5/5 – Cinco de Mayo 3

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5/9 – Musicians on the Movie – Vocal/Guitar – 10:30am 5/10 – Mother’s Day 5/25 – Memorial Day

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