Author Archives: Ryan Libel
The Elements of Music: 4 of 7, Contour
As the elements go so far, Contour has easily been the most difficult for me to get my head around. The basic notion is not too difficult – does the music’s pitch rise or fall as the piece progresses? Consider Twinkle Twinkle: Little Twinkle Star How I Wonder What you Twinkle Are The melody […]
The Dave Matthews Band
One good thing about my lack of musical passion over the years is that I’ve never spent any energy on hating popular acts the way some people seem to need to do. Justin Bieber? Never heard one of his songs. Brittney? Same. Going further back in time we can look at New Kids on the […]
Steinbacher’s Booth
Yesterday I decided to spend a little time listening to Beethoven, and while watching Arabella Steinbacher play his violin concerto I started to wonder about her instrument – it’s a 1716 Stradivarius called “Booth.” I learned that, like many great players playing great instruments, Steinbacher has the Booth on loan. I’ve written about The Stradivari […]
The Elements of Music: 3 of 7, Tempo
Allegro, andantino, allegretto – all are titles of songs by Dr. Suzuki from Book 1. All are also tempo markers. Of the elements of music I’ve written up to date, tempo is easily the most straightforward. How fast or slow is the music? Convention dictates the tempo be expressed with an Italian word. Sometimes, composers […]
An Asterisk Is an Asterisk
Gavotte by Gossec is coming along. It’s the “graduation piece” for Suzuki Book 1, and I’ve just started in on my third week with it. I’ll probably get the rest of it next week. It’s complicated and wonderful, with slurs a-plenty (four note slurs!) and circle-bows and grace notes and string crossings and intervals the […]
The Elements of Music: 2 of 7, Rhythm
Dirty Dancing is the first pop reference that came to mind when I tried to think of one concerning rhythm. Remember when Patrick Swayze takes Jennifer Gray’s hand and puts it on his chest, “ka-KONG, ka-KONG?” In order to teach her how to dance he has to teach her how to feel rhythm, or the […]
The Elements of Music: 1 of 7, Pitch
I might ask Teacher about a music theory book. Most of my musical ambition has to do with playing songs for myself in my living room, but some of it has to do with expanding my horizons by learning about a discipline that, to date, I have not learned much about. In reading for and […]
I Need More Rosin
“I need more rosin,” grumbling my way out of my practice room – AKA bedroom – yesterday. Michael smiled. I had a very busy couple of days and hadn’t gotten to the violin as much as I like since my lesson on Wednesday. Even at this early stage in my playing it’s become an old […]
There’s No Place Like Home
Growing up in Kansas, I loved The Wizard of Oz. It was a little scary, right? Tornado, The Wicked Witch, her demon-creature like minions, the scary walk through the forest, being marooned away from home. But then there’s Dorothy, Toto, Dorothy’s kindly companions, Glenda the Good, the Emerald City – it’s epic in all the […]
When Wrong Sounds Right
To begin each lesson, Teacher asks me to play some song from some ways back, relatively speaking, in my repertoire. I have them all memorized, of course (it’s the Suzuki Way), and I do play them all through at least once every time I practice. When I’m practicing, I start with Twinkle Twinkle and work […]
Ryan Libel 