Category The Brain
Reading Music
I’ve been thinking about reading music the past couple of days, and about the Suzuki method and how it works. I have a missing piece – or, rather, the opposite of that – in my ability to evaluate the Suzuki method. Unlike most Suzuki beginners, I did learn to read music many years ago. Way […]
Bowing and Grooves
This past two weeks has been quite busy for me at work, and my practicing has suffered. So of course in yesterday’s lesson I had to confess to Teacher – she’d know anyway. It’s not that I’ve made no progress, but another week will be helpful on my newest piece. I’ve now written two posts […]
Musical Origins
A friend commented on a post on human origins and the oldest flute in the world a few days ago – she wondered about the impact of music on human evolution (or vice-versa), and it got me wondering about it too. I’ve done some very cursory looking on the subject, and there is, unsurprisingly, a […]
Your Brain on Music
My building’s laundry room has a swapping bookshelf – you can take or leave as many books as you want. Of course I’ve done my share of both – my most recent find is “The New Brain,” by Richard Restak, M.D., a 2003 book published by Rodale on the changes wrought by modernity on the […]
Fat Cats and Fourth Finger
Yesterday’s lesson was jam-packed. As I’ve mentioned, I’m getting a new song every week – Suzuki songs are sequenced to be skill-building, and this week’s is not only the longest to date, but it also brings in fourth (my pinkie) finger. I still find it quite strange how little I remember from my three years […]
Rhody the Right Way
Earlier in the month I wrote a post about re-discovering an old song from my first go-round with the violin back in elementary school – Go Tell Aunt Rhody. In my lesson earlier this week, Teacher introduced me to a new song – Go Tell Aunt Rhody! Of course I had some of the details […]
The Grand Schema of Things
The first time around, I played the violin for three years – the fourth through sixth grades, though there’s some chance I played in seventh grade. Strangely, I don’t remember it much at all. As I hold the violin and move the bow now, over 25 years later, it comes naturally enough – clearly I […]
In Search of Memory
I remember having this toy guitar, but that’s about it. The photo reminded me of it – I’m sure my brain would not have been able to produce any memory of the thing at all without the photographic prompt. When relevant to Musical Me, memory and cognitive neuroscience will be a theme of this blog. […]
Did You Remember the Camera?
My family has always mutually supported all of our musical pursuits. Piano recitals, church soloes, boys’ choirs, school symphonies, all city choirs, variety shows, church choirs, musicals, youth symphonies, high school ensembles. I’m sure there are more I’m forgetting. Remembering correctly is part of what I’m up to with this blog. As I head home […]
Ryan Libel 