Dear Friends,

Today is Charles Ives’ 150th birthday. Charles Ives was an American composer who broke new ground in music by blending traditional American sounds with radical experimentation. Born on October 20, 1874, Ives worked outside the mainstream, composing music that drew from hymns, folk songs, and marching bands - sounds that were deeply familiar to everyday Americans of the time - while weaving in complex layers of dissonance, rhythmic irregularities, and polytonality. His pieces often sounded like a collage of life, reflecting both the cacophony and beauty of human experience.

Ives’ significance today lies in his bold approach to composition. He wasn’t afraid to experiment with sounds that were uncomfortable or challenging, and he valued emotional honesty over perfection. For us as musicians, Ives reminds us to push boundaries, to explore unconventional ideas, and to allow our music to reflect the world in all its messiness and complexity. His work encourages a fearless pursuit of creativity and a willingness to embrace dissonance, both in music and in life.

Here is one of my Ives stories: years ago, I was performing Charles Ives' piano trio in a concert in Westchester County, New York. During the scherzo movement, called TSIAJ (“This Scherzo is a Joke”) - which is highly virtuosic and full of playful irony and quotes from familiar tunes, my cell phone rang! My phone was INSIDE the piano - I had left it there during our rehearsal! My page turner had to leap up and silence it.

The ringtone? "O Susanna."

Despite being deeply embarrassing (turns out the performer was the person who forgot to silence her phone!), the irony was not lost on me. Ives loved integrating familiar melodies into his music, and the old folk song “O Susanna” sounding during the middle of TSIAJ was just too perfect!

👋 Have a great week! Happy practicing! 🎹

-Kate

Today's Practice Tip: Practice Slowly for Musical Expression

This morning, I was practicing a piece I’ve played for many years - veeeeeery slowly. It might seem surprising that I’d still need to practice slowly on something so familiar, but slow practice allows me to uncover new expressive details every time.

And so this week, we’re going to talk about using slow practice to refine your musicality. As you reduce the tempo, take extra care to bring out the subtleties in your playing: how you're shaping the melody, balancing both hands, and pacing dynamic changes. Listen beyond the notes and rhythms—listen to the sound and expression of the music you're creating.

It can be challenge to integrate all these aspects together, so be patient. Feel free to slow the tempo down even more if you find it too difficult to really hear everything. Be sure to do this type of practice at least two days in a row.

This week's Exercise:

1. Choose a Passage​
   Pick a short section of music where you want to improve your expression. Set your metronome to half of the normal tempo to give yourself plenty of space to focus.
2. Focus on Voicing and Balance​
   If you are playing a piece with multiple layers in the texture, pay close attention to the different voices within the texture. The melody (usually in the top voice of the right hand) should be the loudest—it’s what your listeners are most interested in hearing. The bass (usually the lowest note) should be slightly softer, in order to provide harmonic support, while the inner voices should be quietest. Play the passage slowly until you can clearly hear and control this balance.
3. Shape the Melody​
   Once you are satisfied with the balance, turn your attention to the melody. Try following the contour of the line: as the melody rises, gradually increase the volume; as it falls, let the sound soften. Avoid playing in a flat, robotic way—make the melody sing! Keep playing slowly until you feel comfortable shaping the line.
4. Add Dynamics​
   Next, think about the dynamics (loud and soft). Look for crescendos and diminuendos, and ask yourself: Where is the loudest part? Where is the softest? How quickly should the volume change? Work on these details while continuing to play at a slow tempo.
5. Practice for Two Days​
   Repeat this process over at least two days, paying extra attention to the areas that feel most challenging. After a couple of days, gradually speed up the tempo—first to 75%, and eventually back to full tempo within a week.

🎥 YouTube Video:

This week's featured video is How to Play TWO Against THREE Rhythms on the Piano.​

Being able to accurately play one rhythm in one hand and a different rhythm in the other hand is an essential skill for pianists. Because of the hand independence required, playing polyrhythms can be a challenge, even for more advanced players. In this tutorial, I go over suggestions for how to approach two against three rhythms, using Debussy's first Arabesque as an example.

👉 Look for my next new video on Tuesday, Oct 22 - the video will cover creative ways to practice Hanon exercises.

💜 Some of My Favorite Things

1. 🎹Performance: The Concord Sonata by Charles Ives is one of his most significant works for solo piano. Inspired by transcendentalist writers, the sonata captures the spirit of 19th-century New England philosophy, with each movement dedicated to a different literary figure: Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and Thoreau. Here is a performance of "The Alcotts" that I find particularly beautiful, by my former teacher Gilbert Kalish.
2. 📱App: ForScore. This is the music reading app that I use with my iPad, in combination with my bluetooth pedal. It allows me to have easy access to a huge amount of music in PDF form, and I can annotate the score in multiple colors using my Apple pencil. The app also includes a metronome. If you decide to switch to ForScore for performing, there is a learning curve while you teach your left foot how to turn pages, but I have found it to be well worth the initial effort. You can find links to all of the gear I recommend here. ​
3. 📚Book: Notes from the Pianist’s Bench, by Boris Berman. A wonderful read, consisting of Boris Berman’s artistic philosophy, as well as his musical and technical approach to the piano and its literature. Find more of my book recommendations here.

🎹 Stay Connected:

• 📆 Book a lesson or a coaching session with me. I have updated my available dates through the end of October.
• 🎓 Contact me to learn about applying to study with me at Butler University at the undergraduate or master's level. You can also see ​Butler University’s audition schedule​ if you are interested in studying with me here in Indianapolis. Go Dawgs! 🐾
• 📚 Check out my resource pages, where I share my recommended books, technical exercises, gear and more!
• 🎥 Subscribe to my YouTube channel!
• 📱Follow me on Instagram!