Dear Friends,

Imagine this: you’re performing chamber music on stage, but instead of using sheet music, you’re reading from an iPad. Up until recently that was considered rather unusual, but over the course of a few short years it has become quite normal. Audiences no longer marvel when they see musicians performing from iPads, using bluetooth pedals to turn the pages.

But now imagine that instead of flipping a page using a bluetooth pedal controlled by your foot, you simply tilt your head or squint, and the page turns for you. Thanks to a friend’s post on social media, I discovered (and enabled) that feature a few months ago. It works on ForScore, the app I use on my iPad for reading my music. Using the front camera on an iPad, it watches you and uses your facial movements to turn the page, leaving your hands free to keep playing.

Even a year or so ago, this would have seemed so futuristic I would not have been able to completely imagine it, but it’s amazing how little time it has taken for me to learn to squint at the music to turn it with my face. And here’s the funny part: I’ve used it so much that on those occasions when I am playing from a paper score, I sometimes catch myself winking or making a face at the page, waiting for it to turn on its own - only to remember, Oh right, this is paper.

It’s a small but powerful reminder of how quickly we adapt. What once seemed like science fiction has become a tool I rely on, and in the process, it’s changed the way I think about something as simple as turning a page. And yet, as much as technology has transformed the way I read music, the piano itself remains resolutely analog: a marvelous, synergistic combination of keys, hammers, and strings.

In a world increasingly dependent on technology, this timeless quality of the piano feels increasingly special to me with every passing year.

I sometimes wonder: what’s next? What will the next innovation be? So, my question for you this week is: How do you imagine musicians might interact with their instruments and scores 50 years from now?

👋 Have a great week! Happy practicing! 🎹

-Kate

This Week's Practice Tip: Polish Your Ornaments! 🎶

Ornamentation can be one of the trickier aspects of interpreting a score. Those embellishments are there for a reason, but now that it is no longer standard to learn the skill of classical improvisation, we are so used to having all the notes written out that it can feel somewhat daunting when there is something we are expected to improvise. The notes fly by so quickly, it’s sometimes hard to figure out the right fingering or make the ornaments sound effortless and natural.

There are dozens of different types of ornaments and each of them is executed uniquely based on the context. Here are some tips for practicing those tricky ornaments:

• Be a detective: Before you decide how you will play an ornament, take the time to understand it fully. If you’re unfamiliar with the symbol, look it up and learn what it meant in the composer’s time period: it can vary widely across eras. With trills, for example, you’ll need to determine which note to start on based on the context. Listening to recordings can also provide helpful insight into what your options are.
• Timing, timing, timing: Ornaments often sound unnatural when they disrupt the pulse of the music. Count out how many notes you will play and think about different ways of distributing them. Will the ornament last half a beat, a full beat, or longer? Does it start slowly and get faster? Write out the ornament in rhythm, and practice it slowly, to internalize the timing.
• Fingering matters: Experiment with different fingerings until you find what works best, and write it down. If possible, consult multiple editions of the score for suggestions. For adjacent notes you might find 1&3 or 2&4 fingerings more comfortable. (For more suggestions on trill fingering and technique, check out my video on trills!)
• Keep it light: Ornaments are often meant to be decorative, to enhance the melodic line. Keep them sweet, delicate and playful. A light touch can make all the difference!

🎥 YouTube Video: Elevate Your BACH Performance: A Guide to Trills and Ornaments 🎶

My latest video is about how to interpret embellishments in Bach’s keyboard music. I cover the basics of Baroque ornamentation, common mistakes to avoid, and how to play four frequently used ornaments: trills, mordents, appoggiaturas, and turns. Click here to watch it!​

👉 Look for my next new video on Tuesday, November 26: about developing the skill of looking ahead in the music.

💜 Some of My Favorite Things

1. 🎹Performance: Today marks 156 years since the birth of Scott Joplin, the American composer celebrated as the father of ragtime! You are probably familiar with his most popular tunes, The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag. His enormous body of work includes an incredible variety of piano music. Joshua Rifkin's performance of Joplin´s Solace is one of my favorites!​
2. 📚Book: In 2010, Alan Rusbridger, the editor of The Guardian, set himself an almost impossible task: to learn, in the space of a year, Chopin’s Ballade No. 1. In Play it Again: An Amateur Against the Impossible, he chronicles how he balanced this passion project with the demands of running a major international newspaper during a time when significant historical events were unfolding. Get it on Kindle, ​Paperback, or ​Hardcover. You can check out all of my book recommendations here!​
3. 📲 Podcast: “Dvořák in America” - In episode #111 of The Road to Now, host Bob Crawford and guest Matt Negrin discuss Czech composer Antonín Dvořák's transformative journey through America in the 1890s. Exploring his integration of African-American folk tunes, Native American culture, and natural sounds into compositions such as the renowned "New World" symphony, they discuss how Dvořák's experiences influenced his music and contributed to shaping an American musical identity.

🎹 Stay Connected:

• 📆 Book a lesson or a coaching session with me. I have updated my available dates through mid-December!
• 🎓 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!