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I love my violin. The violin is a lover. If you ignore her-she will ignore you. Spend time daily with her-I leave mine on top of the piano to admire and caress.
I start with scales to sweet-talk her. Two octaves of G major with a downbow-because today I am working on Amazing Grace in G. Next I descend with one upbow. I do not want to be too predictable-so I reverse the process. I upbow G major arpeggios, and downbow G major arpeggios. I play Amazing Grace on strings 3 and 2 with finger and note: 0D 3G-_1B 3G 1B_0A 3G_1E 0D_0D 3G_1B 3G 1B_0A 3D__1B 3D_1B 3D 1B 3G_0D 1E_3G 3G 1E 0D_0D 3G_1B 3G 1B_0A 3G__  I would warm up on some book drills with slurs and all the parts to this piece would have slurs marked. I would encourage you to make up your own or find an arrangement you like. I play arrangements for the discipline but I prefer to make up my own slur phrasing for performing hymns.
Now let us play in another key. Play the same fingerings on the first two strings (key of D major-the second note in this arrangement is the keynote). Are you using your “ear” to get the right note on the right string?

Now let us play in the original key of G in different positions. I would practice some shifting drills here.The 3rd finger plays C on the 4th string. A good drill is to play this note and then replace it with the first finger. Play D with the fourth finger and replace it with the second finger. Play E with the third finger. Play F with the fourth finger. You are in 3rd position because you are playing the first finger where you played the third finger in 1st position. Now practice the same string: 4 on D (4D), then shift to 1 on D. You are in 4th position. Practice 2E, 3F#, and 4G. We will use both positions in this arrangement. Let us begin this arrangement in 3rd position. We will use strings 4, 3 and 2: 2D 1G_3B 1G 3B_2A 1G_3E 2D_2D 1G_3B 1G 3B_2A 1D__3B 1D_3B 1D 3B 1G_(shift to 4th position: 1 is on 4th string D): 1D 2E_4G 4G 2E 1D_(shift back to 3rd position): 2D 1G_3B 1G 3B_2A 1G__
You should be able to tell where the strings change by remembering the melody. When you can do this, transpose it by playing the same fingerings on strings 3, 2, and 1. What key will it be in? Think about it before looking at the answer. Yes, it is the key of D. You can easily add open strings to harmonize when you are “up the neck” in 3rd and 4th positions. This “moveable” position can be moved up the neck (and down the neck) to play in all 12 major keys. Have fun in every key this way. Now kiss your violin before you put it away!

Coming soon: Voice; recording; flute; saxophone; drums; trumpet; bass guitar; and more guitar, piano, and violin blogs. KEN t ON

No matter what level of piano playing you may be at you should memorize the chromatic scale in one and two octaves. Whenever I play a passage that has a chromatic run I never use the written fingering-I use my memorized pattern. I always use the fingers 1 and 3 for a right hand white key and black key. I always use the fingers 1-2-3 for B-C-C# or for E-F-F#. There are other patterns-find one you can use repeatedly with ease. Play ascending and descending and both hands. Make it interesting so it is never the same if you like.     A pianist must memorize all the major and minor (natural, harmonic, melodic) scales in every key. These fingerings will help you interpret passages better and quickly.     The notes on the staff are learned in thirds: E, G, B, D, F. Use these to understand chords. E, G, B is E minor (a minor third and a major third). G, B, D is G major ( a major third and a minor third). B, D, F is B diminished (two minor thirds). The harmonic minor scale has an augmented chord. The A harmonic minor scale is A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, A. Can you find the augmented chord? C-E-G# is the augmented chord (two major  thirds). You should be familiar with the sound of these chords and how they are constructed. Also understand seventh chords, minor seventh chords, major seventh and diminished seventh chords. You need a minimum level of music theory to be a good pianist. Practice and understanding develop with sensitivity and time. How much of your schedule do you practice and listen to recordings?      The mark of a true professional is accurate rhythm. Do you use a metronome, practice with recordings, and count throughout the practice? Years of teaching have shown me the amateurs that drop out of classes are the ones that thought it was not important to count. It is the most important thing in interpretation to a professional and that is the one thing you can count on!     Until the next blog B #, Kenton

I am practicing “Leyenda” (Albeniz) on the guitar. John Williams plays it beautifully on YouTube. I practice the first section (A) separately from the second (B). This speeds up the memorization process and eliminates errors. The piece repeats and has a coda. I practice from TAB that has 6 lines-one for each string. I will purchase the piano edition to transcribe more notes than the version I have. When you record you can give yourself some credit for the transcription, but I always give credit to the original transcriber if I work from one. The guitar is written an octave different than the piano. Notes are written an octave higher than they sound on the guitar. If you do the math the piano notes will have to be played on the guitar an octave higher than the written note. I will play the note and then write the TAB . Sometimes I transcribe with no other reference than the piano piece.
My first goal is a steady tempo; then a moderate tempo. Speed will take care of itself if you are confident about the notes you are playing. Leyenda must be fast when it is performed. If I can play a piece with my eyes closed I can play it at a fast tempo. Know thyself is a good motto for practicing. When I perform I think about the next note. Some musicians think of mountain streams or whatever. I think about the music and let it tell the listener what to imagine.
If you want to perform professionally you should aspire to practicing somewhere around 5 hours a day. You must memorize a repertoire of pieces. This is part of your resume. I tailor my resume to fit the venue. If my audience is a retirement home I pick pieces that I think they can relate to.

I have been playing the guitar for 35 years. If you have any questions or constructive comments on what you would like me to blog about please say so. (Posted by KENtON-other blogs will include the violin and piano).

Treble clef (right hand on piano) space notes:
These are the four spaces between the 5 lines. We learned the line notes before. The space notes, from the
bottom space, are F A C E, which spells face! Draw it and
memorize it! More later! Bye! Have a great day!

The staff in music notation is made of 5 lines with 4 spaces between. Each line and space has a note name.
In the treble clef, which is played with the right hand on the piano, the bottom line is E, the next line up is G, then
B, then D, then F. You can remember this by the sentence: Every Good Boy Does Fine. Draw it, then memorize it! We’ll be back in a day or two for more
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