Laurel Black Music

Not much has changed around here these days. Just keepin' on, keepin' on. I'm making videos about twice a week in preparation for competition. They're not made to share, but made for me to pick apart and plan the next day's practice session. Some have been close to being share-worthy, though!! In the meantime I made a satirical video about White Knuckle Stroll , one of the obligatory pieces in the first round. As it's by Casey I feel like I'm in the unique position of making fun of the preparation process. It's difficult to prepare a piece that is FAST and DOESN'T STOP. Practicing slow helps you learn it incorrectly, but in the end, how it feels to play it at tempo and how it feels to play it slowly are so far apart technically that there's no point in slow practice once the notes are down. Naturally, this makes preparation of this piece require organization, as I know I can't just practice it for 2 hours on a whim. I have to strategize w...

After saying all summer that my substitute church gig was just that, I accepted a longer commitment last week.  I'll be the pianist and choir director (let's call the whole deal Music Director ) of a local church in Princeton. I've worked out a trial period, through Christmas, with the pastor, at which time we can both evaluate and see if it's a good fit.  I'm comforted by things like this because I am a commitment-phobe about all things except marrying Casey.  Seriously, don't ask me what I'm doing tomorrow because I'd like to be free to change my mind and it affect nobody . I had my first rehearsal with the choir last night.  There will be some sneaky "lemme teach ya how to read music" moments, but overall I can tell that everyone just has a good time and is glad to be singing.  I think they've had almost 2 months off due to the whole substitute/no regular director situation.  Everyone there seems to be really nice and was courteous d...

It's funny how at the end of May I always feel like Laurel, you have plenty of time. Make your little schedules and don't procrastinate. And then I make the schedules and I stick to them, but here we are at the beginning of July and I feel like I have SO MUCH left.  I suppose this is the life of a musician and a general busy person, really.  I enjoy being active but hate having too many commitments.  In the "achievements" category, I've memorized 4 pieces for the Italy Marimba Competition in September and am now in the record/critique stage of preparation, which isn't too far behind where I'd like to be.  I'm still working on the final round rep choice. I finished one class only to begin another this week. I prefer face-to-face teaching, without a doubt.  Online classes always result in snarky emails and students accusing you of "losing" their submissions.  Plus, I like to use my computer time for blogs, writing, and research, and ...