WholeOctave.com has been experiencing a whirlwind of activity in recent months, and some exciting changes are in the air! We are presently making some changes and improvements, both in our tools and in the way they are presented. Some of these changes have to do with our free email newsletter, Whole Octave® News.

We've been asking our newsletter readers for their input. So far, most of you who voted preferred two separate newsletters, one for the customary, free Whole Octave® News from our community of pianists, and another for Integral Inspirations, where Susan Capestro, founder of WholeOctave.com and the satellite site, WholeMusicLessons.com, helps you teach jazz/pop skills alongside classics, so they complement and enhance each other. We will continue to collect enough votes to be absolutely sure that diversifying into two newsletters is the right decision. In the meantime, the March/April issue is combined to make a deluxe-sized, jam-packed "double newsletter."

One open question concerns the significant time, effort and money required to produce materials for Integral Inspirations.

Would you be willing to support such a newsletter as a paying subscriber?  

Our most recent survey asks this question, and is very quick, so even if you have voted before, please do continue to vote. If you haven't voted in one of our polls, why not start now? It only takes about 10 seconds.

Stay tuned, for there certainly will be plenty to report on, in the exciting months ahead!

When a Lovely Chord Progression Seeks A Melody

What is the benefit of playing a chord progression by itself, without a melody? It may be simply to appreciate the certain amount of beauty inherent in the way one note leads to another. Or, to strengthen the critical connection between the intellect's knowing the name of the chord and how it’s built, the muscle memory in physically producing the chord, and the ear’s memory of how the chord sounds. Perhaps it’s just because when you play the progression, it frees your imagination to hear whatever melody you’d like, at the moment, to go with it.

As you play a simple chord progression, do you ever internally “hear” a melody to go with it? But when you attempt to play that melody, the notes you physically produce don’t exactly match what’s in your inner ear? I’ve found that in my teaching, beginning improvisers are often concerned about this, having not yet discovered the spontaneous give and take nature of improvisation.

At first, it seems that ...sounds come out which you didn’t expect, but then you are able to direct the outcome, then unanticipated sounds happen again, then you are able to steer again. I believe this is normal, and once a player is accustomed to this process, it’s a lot of fun. Best of all, the ear progressively develops, as the process is repeated time and again. But instead of being blindly repetitive, practicing improvisations has endless variations. Here is an improvisation assignment my students have enjoyed:

What has been your experience as a pianist or teacher?

Two Web Spaces and a Newsletter Seek Your Opinion

Your opinion as a reader is very important, especially now, with so many changes in the air. As you know, WholeOctave.com for keyboard enthusiasts was founded primarily as a collaborative website, written by us and for us. On the other hand, WholeMusicLessons.com is a “satellite” site written by me, to show others how to teach in an integral way.

Please vote on one or both of the following:

1) What kind of newsletter (or newsletters, plural) should we have?

The Integral Inspirations column I’ve written to highlight the concepts of Whole Music Lessonshas been appearing in the Whole Octave Newsletter. Although it takes up a lot of space, this column has been enormously popular. According to a recent survey here, twice as many readers felt the Integral Inspirations column and its ideas are so important, they should be published in a separate newsletter. But more votes are needed before making such a big change. Please let us know what you think! Vote one way or the other by clicking here.

2) What type of website is most important to you?

Many changes are currently being made by our technology provider, so we are having to adapt quickly in order to stay afloat. For one, subscriptions to both WholeOctave.com and WholeMusicLessons.com are now available on a per month basis. Very soon, I’ll have to make some more important decisions, and I need your input. What do YOU need more: a site that is a keyboard blog and wiki for communication, or a site where you can find out more about teaching and integrating pop and jazz into classical repertoire? Or both? Please vote by clicking here.

As you probably know, WholeOctave.com’s wiki is a little like Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. The difference is, WholeOctave.com’s wiki has information on a variety of things related to piano and keyboard. Our members are free to contribute pages to it, and visitors are encouraged to make comments. Our wiki has things you can read, recordings you can listen to, and videos you can watch. The search feature in our upper right corner is very powerful; try it!

And now, all this information is even easier to find on our new Wiki Home Page, viewable by all public visitors. Our old wiki home page was becoming quite lengthy, so now, it's divided into sections. I hope this makes it easier to find things. Each section has a nifty corresponding icon, so hopefully it’s a bit more attractive, too. Clicking on any of the titles will bring you to a page with links to all sorts of information, recordings, videos, etc.

Here’s how to find the Wiki Home page at WholeOctave.com. All the way over to the left, click on the “Wiki” tab, then click on the word “home” underneath. You’ll see three short paragraphs, and then scroll down to see all the icons and categories. As an example, on that page, click on “Adult Piano and Keyboard Study." This takes you to a sub-page that lists all of WholeOctave’s materials on this topic. If you click on “Reasons Why Adults Take Lessons,” you’ll go to a page with that information. There’s even a template members can use for making one of the wiki sub-pages. You can find that here.

Imagine having a job where you listen to music at least 40 hours a week. For a break, what would you like to do on the weekend? Go to a concert? Well...perhaps not. It’s easy to fathom, why that's not always the best choice for “re-creating” yourself. That’s why I searched for music recreation with a bit of a twist this past week. Want to experience something a little different?

Open your mind to anything having to do with keyboards, and there’s truly a lot to choose from. They're used in countless genres of music, and when you consider the piano is inherently a percussion instrument, it widens the offerings even more. (I actually took this a step further at one point in my career, and studied African hand-drumming to improve my jazz playing.) Ah, another huge blessing, this leeway!

The sheer variety of performances we may be interested in hearing...or, in some cases, “experiencing...” So many fine musicians! These pianists, keyboardists, percussionists: solo classical recitalists, piano/vocalists, collaborative chamber music players, jazz quartet members, cocktail lounge pianists, percussion ensembles, and mute, bald, earless blue men. Blue? Mute and earless? Yup, you read that last one correctly!

Hmmm...exactly where does this trio, heads dipped in blue grease paint, banging on tuned lengths of PVC pipes and drums spewing so much liquid color into the audience that you have to wear a poncho, fit into the picture? Even more intriguing, what does this famous ensemble known as Blue Man Group have in common with the unique combination of meditation, martial arts, theatre, music and dance presented by the Taiwanese and Chinese troupe known as U Theatre?   I actually experienced both of these in the same week, and was struck by the sheer creativity of both performances. Both groups were extremely musical and played a great variety of percussion instruments, from the temple bells,

As a result, fully charged on Monday, I jumped into the myriad tasks necessary to prepare for my students with reckless abandon: everything from creating 5-finger exercises, troubleshooting computer software and working out jazz arrangements to producing videos and analyzing and creating a learning sequence for the first movement of Chopin’s Bb Minor Sonata. There are all kinds of little “performances” we must undertake during the course of a typical work week, and it’s nice to know, we keyboard teachers are not alone!

If you are a music lover, you are blessed. “Music is good for the soul,” the popular saying goes. And it’s true - even during an economic meltdown, for you can receive music’s benefits by spending very little or no money at all. You can enjoy the unique solace and comfort provided by listening to a favorite piece, whether it’s from a free radio broadcast, a personal collection of CDs, or an iPod playlist.

You may hear music as part of your job, or during another activity like cooking or driving. But when was the last time you did nothing but sit and listen? Ahhh...! If you had 20 minutes to completely immerse yourself, would you choose a symphony, a keyboard sonata, or perhaps selections from a high quality contrapuntal rock album like Fragile by Yes? How would this mini-vacation improve your day, your mood, your relationships with others?

Furthermore, if you are a keyboard player, singer or instrumentalist, and own an instrument, you are doubly, perhaps triply blessed. You have the luxury of being able to choose 20 minutes of listening, or a time of playing and/or singing. What type of energy would this activity bring into your day and the experience of those around you? What a wonderful, built-in opportunity to sit back and smell the roses, simply by appreciating your talents!

Best of all, in these musical listening experiences, nobody is left behind, even those of us who may be suffering under extreme duress, or dealing with multiple factors in a crisis. If you’re among this group, perhaps the best choice for your 20 minutes may be chants by Gregorian monks or Krishna Das, ambient tracks designed specifically for relaxation, or simply silence, to calm the mind completely...or perhaps the Goldberg Variations, by J.S. Bach.

Whatever our circumstances, and whatever selections we choose, we music lovers are truly fortunate. Even through an economic crisis, when we may be forced to make numerous changes and adjustments, such as selling a house at a loss or struggling to work past retirement, this simple act of music listening is extremely valuable, and will always be there. It’s something that can never be taken away. What a blessing!

The MusicLink Foundation has reached over 3,000 children nation-wide bringing musical training they might never have had the opportunity to experience.  View our video and see how this happens and how you can get involved.

What can be done with this simple chord progression?

/ E  / F  / G   F   / E  /

Please feel free to add your own improvisations to our blog!

How did your injury develop?

I had played piano since I was 4 years old, but it wasn't until I was in a college music program that I was told that I had to do finger exercises at the piano to make my fingers 'stronger'. It didn't matter that I had already played pieces like Prokofiev's Toccata op. 11 under the tutelage of my father, who always taught me to play in a very natural way. In fact, a lot of jazz pianists play much more naturally than classical players since they aren't usually told to practice finger isolation exercises. I never had a problem with my hands and I remember being able to play fast music without much effort. It wasn't until I was in college and being taught piano technique in a 'traditional' way (which included stretching and curling the fingers, pushing into the keys, twisting at the wrist etc...) that things started to fall apart. It felt sluggish and more difficult to play, not easier. Unfortunately at that time I was young and inexperienced, and far from home. I just kept thinking I didn't get it right yet, that I had to keep practicing to see the result of what I was being told to do. And boy did I practice! Sometimes five hours a day! Until one day my hands just quit on me.

What led you to the Taubman approach?

In 1996 I developed the repetitive stress injury called dystonia which caused both of my hands to close into fists. I had already heard of the Taubman approach and I immediately started lessons with Bob Durso, one of the leading teachers of the work. Within two years I was able to return back to college as a music major.

Which programs have you attended?

With the exception of 2003 and 2004, I have attended Taubman summer programs every year since 1996. I also attend teacher training seminars twice a year.

Where are the programs held?

The Golandsky Institute, founded by Edna Golandsky, the leading authority on Dorothy Taubman's work, holds a summer symposium at Princeton University every July. The teacher training seminars are in New York City.

What was your favorite thing about your Taubman experience(s)?

That my hands returned back to normal! Without this work I doubt I ever would've played the piano again and I most likely would've continued having trouble in every-day life. I would've been happy just with that result! But I am also a much better musician than I was before. The work has given me concrete answers to how to play musically and how to play technically difficult pieces that I could never play before. It also gives me great tools as a teacher. When a student says "I can't play this..." I know that there's an answer based on how they are moving at the keyboard and not based on their level of talent.

What was your least favorite thing? Any negatives?

I had to travel a lot to get to most of my lessons. (I took a bus from Boston to New York City every 2 weeks.) I finally moved to the NYC area to study with Bob weekly.

Have you met other pianists through this experience?

I've met many other dedicated musicians and teachers from all over the world. Some are looking for answers to technical limitations, while some have had to stop playing due to pain and injury. Others are happy with their playing but want to have more skills as a teacher.

How was the approach started?

Dorothy Taubman was a very curious and intelligent lady! She wondered why some people could play the piano easily and why others couldn't. She was especially intrigued by the fact that some children could play better than adults who had been working on technical exercises for years. She studied how people moved at the keyboard who naturally played well and the work developed from there.

How would you describe its most helpful points?

Unlike many of the traditional methods of piano technique, there is no isolation of the fingers. One never stretches, curls, or pushes with the fingers. Even away from the piano, if one were to hold their fingers in a tense and curled state, they would feel how difficult it is to move their fingers easily and/or with speed. The approach is based on what movements give the body coordination and ease of movement. The finger, hand and arm always play together as a unit. Coordinated movements give one control over tone production and facilitate speed without fatigue or risk of injury.

Who do you think benefits most from this approach?

Would you recommend it? I don't think anyone benefits more than another. A basic premise of the approach is that we are all built the same and we can all move in a way that creates ease in playing. I of course recommend it whole-heartedly!

After perusing a lead sheet of this song, you readers of Whole Octave® News were promised a sing and play version of Skip to My Lou, so here it is. You sing the top staff, and play the bottom two staves. This arrangement is quite fun and feasible for an early intermediate level student - enjoy!

My students and I have had a lot of fun with these types of arrangements! The melody is sung, so you don't have to play it. Notice how the LH plays roots, and the RH plays triads in a rhythm pattern. These bottom two accompaniment staves look a lot more complicated than they really are to play. I think it's a lot easier to read, just as a lead sheet. What do you think?

I will invest in a new iMac soon and I am wondering which one to buy. I will want to use the Sibelius music software and I'm hoping to hear from people who currently use the program to let me know which iMac would best support it.

Music students benefit from a noteworthy program

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Web links

• MusicLink Foundation