The Well-Tempered Ear
Here’s how to donate a piano in the US
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By Jacob Stockinger
Maybe the kids have left home.
Maybe you are downsizing.
Maybe you have just stopped playing it.
Maybe you want to help out a school, a music student organization or a retirement center.
If you have an old piano you are looking to get rid of, you might find the following story helpful.
It comes from Hello Music Theory, a free website, and it offers helpful tips on donating old pianos, including tax deductions from the IRS.
https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/where-and-how-to-donate-piano/
Are you looking to donate a piano?
Why?
Have you already donated a piano?
What did you think of the experience?
Do you have tips or advice to share with others?
Are you looking to receive a donated piano?
Why, in what condition and what use will you put it to?
You could leave more information in the comment section.
Do have any tips or questions about donating pianos?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: The seventh annual Make Music Madison is on Friday, June 21, and features 17 different FREE classical concerts as well as dozens of performances of jazz, folk, blues, hip-hop, swing and other genres
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REMINDER: TODAY, Saturday, June 15, at noon in Grace Episcopal Church, 116 West Washington Avenue, on the Capitol Square, the Ancora String Quartet will give a FREE performance as part of “Grace Presents.” The one-hour program includes the String Quartet in A Major, Op. 13, by Felix Mendelssohn; the String Quartet in B-flat Major, “La Malinconia” (Melancholy), Op. 18, No. 6, by Ludwig van Beethoven; and “Entr’acte” by the contemporary Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. The Ear heard an earlier performance of the same program by the Ancora, and highly recommends it.
By Jacob Stockinger
This coming Friday, June 21, is the Summer Solstice, which arrives at 10:54 a.m. CDT.
That means not only the first day of summer, but also the seventh annual Make Music Madison – a day-long FREE mostly outdoor festival of live performances.
The event, which is organized and staffed by volunteers and costs about $45,000, will take place from easy morning until midnight. Madison will be joining more than 80 cities in the United States and more than 1,000 cities around the world for the global event. The estimated audience worldwide is in the tens of millions.
The local lineup is impressive.
More than 400 concerts at more than 100 venues will take place all around the Madison area.
Many genres of music besides classical will be featured: jazz, folk, ethnic, rock, blues, hip-hop, reggae, gospel, swing and more. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear a compilation of different music and assessments from Make Music Madison participants in 2014.)
And many forms of music, both instrumental and vocal, will be featured. (Below is the Madison Flute Club performing during last year’s event.)
Performers include professionals and amateurs, young people and adults, students and teachers, individuals and ensembles.
Some events will be more formal, while others will be jam sessions. Some events will have an open mic.
The Ear counts 17 different venues for classical music, including a public piano in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Alumni Park, between the Memorial Union and the Red Gym. Also featured there is opera singer Prenicia Clifton (below).
You will also find classical music at Metcalfe’s market in the Hilldale Mall; the First Congregational United Church of Christ near Camp Randall Stadium; branches of the Madison Public Library; and other places. You can hear the Suzuki Strings as well as violin, viola, cello, brass, winds, piano and guitar ensembles.
Unfortunately, though, specific programs and works are not listed, which might cut into the attendance at some performances.
To whet your appetite, here is a link to the Make Music Madison home website, with lots of background, some fine photos, a complete listing of events and the names of major funding sources, which include the Madison Arts Commission, Isthmus, Dane Arts, WORT FM 89.9, Wisconsin Public Radio. WSUM-FM 91.7 (the student radio at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) and La Voz de Latinoamerica Desde Wisconsin as well as individual private donors.
To help classical fans decide what to attend and what works in their weekday schedule, here is a map of concerts. Just click on “Classical” in “Filter Map,” which is first tab on the top right, to see classical events listed by genre, location and name:
http://www.makemusicmadison.org/listings/
Have you ever attended Make Music Madison?
What did you think of it? Did you have a good time? Did you hear good music and fine performances?
Do you have any words of advice, tips or recommendations for organizers, performers and listeners?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AlumniPark, #AmateurMusicians, #AncoraStringQuartet, #BandMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BluesMusic, #BrassMusic, #CampRandallStadium, #CapitolSquare, #CarolineShaw, #CelloMusic, #CentralDaylightTime, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #EthnicMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FirstCongregationalUnitedChurchofChrist, #FluteMusic, #FolkMusic, #GospelMusic, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GuitarMusic, #HilldaleMall, #Hip-hopmusic, #InstrumentalMusic, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JazzMusic, #JohannSebastianBach, #LatinMusic, #LaVozdeLatinaAmerica, #LiveMusic, #LivingComposer, #LocalArts, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonArtsCommission, #MadisonFluteClub, #MadisonPublicLibrary, #MakeMusic, #MakeMusicMadison, #MemorialUnion, #MusicGenre, #MusicTeacher, #OpenMic, #OperaMusic, #OperaSinger, #OutdoorConcert, #OutdoorMusic, #PIanoTeacher, #PreniciaClifton, #ProfessionalMusician, #PublicLibrary, #PulitzerPrize, #RedGym, #ReggaeMusic, #RockMusic, #StringQuartet, #SummerSolstice, #SuzukiMethod, #SuzukiStrings, #SuzukiStringsofMadison, #SwingMusic, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WindMusic, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WORT-FM89.9, #WSUM-FM 91.7, #YoungPeople, #YouTubevideo, 2019, adult, advice, Alumni Park, Ancora String Quartet, appeal, area, Arts, audience, Bach, background, band, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, blues music, branch, brass, Camp Randall Stadium, Capitol Square, Caroline Shaw, CDT, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Christian, church, cities, city, citywide, Classical music, classicalmusic, click, compilation, composer, Concert, contemporary, daylight, donation, donor, Early music, Episcopal, Episcopalian, ethnic, ethnic music, event, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Felix Mendelssohn, festival, filter, First Congregational United Church of Christ, flute, folk, Folk music, free, genre, gospel, gospel music, Grace Episcopal Church, guitar, gym, Hilldale Mall, Hip hop music, hip-hop, instrumental, instrumental music, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Johann Sebastian Bach, La Voz de Latina America, Latin music, Latina, library, link, list, listen, listener, live music, Living composer, local, location, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Arts Commission, Madison Flute Club, Make Music, Make Music Madison, map, Memorial Union, mic, midnight, Music, name, open, open mic, opera, organize, organizer, outdoor, outdoor concerts, Overture Center, participant, performer, photo, Piano, pieces, Prenicia Clifton, professional, program, public, Pulitzer Prize, recommend, recommendation, red, Red Gym, reggae, reggae music, Rock, rock music, share, singer, Sonata, String quartet, strings, Summer solstice, Suzuki, swing, tab, tag, Teacher, time, tip, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Viola, Violin, vocal music, volunteers, winds, winning, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, wisconsin public radio, world, WORT-FM 89.9, WSUM, young people, YouTube
Classical music: Here are practicing tips from pianist Emanuel Ax who uses software to help correct wrong notes
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By Jacob Stockinger
Even professional musicians can find practicing to be an ordeal.
“Ax is back,” says the publicity.
That’s because world-famous pianist Emanuel Ax (below, in a photo by Lisa-Marie Mazzucco) is back in Madison to help open John DeMain’s 25th anniversary season with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Ax will perform the monumental and fiendishly difficult Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms tonight, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
It is a piece that Ax performed live some 200 times before he would agree to recording it.
Here is a link to more about the MSO concerts with the famous pianist:
And here is a link to a story about how Ax, who describes himself as a slow learner and who teaches students at the Juilliard School in New York City, practices. It contains his own tips and also talks about special software he uses to detect and correct wrong notes that is available to students and amateurs :
https://lifehacker.com/how-emanuel-ax-makes-piano-practice-less-of-a-slog-1826402441
And as a follow-up, here is a short example of the many YouTube videos of master classes with Emanuel Ax. This one small passage in a sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven gives you a good idea of the hard work that goes into the 50-minute concerto by Brahms:
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ComputerSoftware, #EmanuelAx, #FacebookPost, #GoodIdea, #Hard Work, #JohnDeMain, #JuilliardSchool, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #NewYorkCity, #PianoConcerto, #PianoSonata, #PracticingMusic, #ProfessionalMusician, #TheEar, #TheWell-TemperedEar, #VerbierFestival, #WrongNotes, anniversary, Arts, Ax, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, Chamber music, Classical music, Compact Disc, composer, computer software, concerto, conductor, Emanuel Ax, Facebook, famous, good idea, idea, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, Juilliard School, learner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, master class, masterclass, Music, New York City, note, Orchestra, Overture Center, Pianist, Piano, practice, practicing, professional musician, publicity, software, Sonata, story, symphony, The Well-Tempered Ear, tip, tips, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verbier Festival, wrong, wrong notes, YouTube
Classical music education: Here are 10 tips from China for productive practicing. Also, this afternoon is your last chance to hear the Madison Symphony Orchestra and violinist-composer Henning Kraggerud
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ALERT: This afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall is your last chance to hear the Madison Symphony Orchestra with violinist-composer Henning Kraggerud (below). The popular “Pastorale” Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven is also on the program. Here are some reviews, all positive:
Here is the review that John W. Barker wrote for Isthmus:
http://isthmus.com/music/something-old-something-new/
Here is Jessica Courtier’s review for The Capital Times and The Wisconsin State Journal:
And here is the review written by Greg Hettmansberger for his blog “What Greg Says”:
https://whatgregsays.wordpress.com/2016/10/22/no-place-like-a-second-home/
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear, who is an avid amateur pianist, ran across these 10 tips for productive practicing – something he can always use.
He knew some of them before. But it never hurts to review the basics. That’s why they are called the basics.
And some tips — included on a website based in Hong Kong, China, where music education is booming — were new.
He thought that you too – no matter what instrument you play or if you sing – would find them helpful too.
And if you don’t play or sing, maybe these tips will still enhance your appreciation of the hard work that goes into playing and practicing.
So here they are:
http://www.interlude.hk/front/ten-tips-productive-practice/
If you have some practice tips of your own to add, just leave them in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
And to play better.
Tags: Arts, Asia, Beethoven, blog, Cello, China, Classical music, Classically Speaking, Education, Greg Hettmansberger, Henning Kraggerud, Hong Kong, instrumentalist, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Jessica Courtier, John W. Barker, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, Music education, Orchestra, Overture Center, pastoral, Pastorale, Piano, play, practice, review, sing, singer, symphony, Teacher, teaching, The Capital Times, tip, tips, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, What Greg Says, Wisconsin, Wisconsin State Journal
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