Dear Friends,

Several people sent me a link to this beautifully-written article by the pianist Jonathan Biss, where he talks about the cliché of the "tortured artist" and how it distorts our understanding of both art and the people who create it.

This made me think about how often we romanticize suffering in artists, as though it’s a prerequisite for great work. We tend to mythologize artists like Robert Schumann, Jackson Pollock or Vincent Van Gogh as unstable geniuses, but the truth is, plenty of artists are simply normal people who express themselves through their chosen medium.

Trying to rationalize mental illness in artists as somehow necessary to produce great art not only diminishes the work itself, but also discourages honest conversations about mental health. Schumann’s music, for example, is deeply human and vulnerable - not because of his illness, but because of his profound sensitivity and artistry.

So, my question for you this week is: what are your thoughts on the relationship between creativity and personal struggle?

👋 Have a great week! Happy practicing! 🎹

-Kate

PS I will be performing with some of my woodwind faculty colleagues on an upcoming faculty recital, Tuesday, November 17 at 7:30 pm Eastern US time. (If you'd like to tune in, it will be live-streamed at this link.)

This Week's Practice Tip: Focus on Phrasing! 🎶

On YouTube these days it's possible to find MIDI recordings of many famous pieces. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. To make a MIDI track, you feed in the notes and rhythms and it replicates them in a functional, but lifeless and mechanical way.

At times, hearing a machine play a great masterwork of a piece with no expression whatsoever can seem almost comical - here’s an example of that.​

A MIDI recording can serve as a helpful reminder to us of how important it is to phrase and shape the music we play. Without phrasing, music is not lyrical, human or beautiful.

Much like our speech patterns, music rises and falls. Just like a sentence has commas and periods, phrases have natural pauses. Composers group many measures together to create one overarching musical idea. Between these groups is a breath, a very subtle pause in the music.

To determine the phrase length, you need to look at the particular piece you are playing. Often the composer will give us clues in the score using markings like slurs and grouping notes into musical gestures.

This week's Exercise:

1. Select a passage: Choose a lyrical passage from a piece you’re playing. Look for music where you can see the notes grouped into clear musical “sentences.”
2. Mark the phrases in your score: You can do this by writing in slurs (if there aren't any yet), drawing in breathe marks or vertical lines between the phrases, or coloring them with highlighters or colored pencils (be sure to make a copy first!). If you’re unsure about where phrases start or stop, look for clues in the score and play through it with different phrasing ideas. Trust your ear for what sounds right!
3. Shape each phrase: Next, identify what is happening in each phrase. Where is the high point of the phrase? Where is the low point? In order to shape a phrase, we are going to use subtle dynamic changes from note to note. Experiment with building toward the high point and gently tapering off at the low point.
4. Play and listen: Play through the passage several times, emphasizing the phrasing. Try playing it with exaggerated shaping and then dial it back to find the right balance. As you practice phrasing, listening is key. Can you hear the shape of each phrase? Does your playing sound more lyrical and expressive as a result?
5. Record yourself and listen back: Can you hear the distinct phrases? Usually things sound more clear to our ear at piano, and we have to exaggerate them more so that it’s apparent to the listener.

🎥 YouTube Video

This week's featured video is a rapid-fire fingering tutorial, where I cover ten different piano fingering strategies, using excerpts from specific places in classical piano repertoire as examples!

​ Piano Fingering Tutorial: 10 STRATEGIES in 10 Minutes! ​

👉 Look for my next new video on Thursday, Nov 14 - about how to play ornaments in music by J.S. Bach.

💜 Some of My Favorite Things

1. 🎹Performance: A student of mine recently performed Kapustin’s Concert Etude in B-flat, op. 40, No. 6 “Pastorale.” Nikolai Kapustin (1937-2020) was a Russian composer who used both classical and jazz influences to develop his unique musical style. Listen to this performance of the piece by Kapustin himself.
2. 📚Book: Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments by C.P.E Bach Even though there were no recordings back in the Baroque era, we are fortunate to have treatises like this one. C.P.E Bach provides detailed guidance on fingering, ornamentation, and expressive playing. This is a foundational text that informs much of our modern-day understanding of how to perform Baroque and Classical style. You can check out all of my book recommendations here!
3. 📲 Podcast: "Boom Bang Pow" - If you’ve ever wondered what rhythms makes music irresistible to dance and move to, check out this episode of Switched on Pop, a podcast hosted by a musicologist and a songwriter who explore the making and meaning of popular music.

🎹 Stay Connected:

• 📆 Book a lesson or a coaching session with me. I have updated my available dates through the end of November!
• 🎓 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!