Johann Sebastian Bach (JS Bach)

Who?: Johann Sebastian Back (J.S. Bach)

When did he live?: March 21, 1685 – July 28, 1750.

What did he do?: He was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist and violinist.

To read more about Johann Sebastian Bach (JS Bach) please visit the Peggy Still School of Music website.

How Often Should I Tune My Piano?

First off, let’s establish what tuning a piano really entails. Piano tuning is the act of making tiny corrections to the tensions of the strings of a piano to properly support the note intervals between their pitches so that the strings of the instrument are all in agreement (Collins Piano Service). In other words, tuning a piano means to properly adjust the intervals of the strings to prepare the instrument for a beautiful sound. Cooper Piano states that, “Your piano will sound its best and give you and your family the most pleasure when it is tuned regularly and kept in proper playing condition.”

The rule of thumb when tuning a piano is to tune it twice a year, once when you turn on the heat in the winter, and once when you turn it off in the spring. Both of these are times of the year when humidity changes have the most significant affect on your instrument. However, this is not the only dynamic that affects the strings of your piano. Tuning your piano may be necessary more often, or less often, than you think depending on a few key factors:

To read more on "How Often Should I Tune My Piano?" visit the Peggy Still Website.

Want to go to College and Major in Music?

Many people assume that if you receive a degree in music there are only three professional options available to you; managing, producing, or performing. This is simply not true, there are countless professions involving a degree in music. Some of the standards are Business Manager, Booking Agent, Concert Promoter, Tour Coordinator, Music Therapist, Conductor, Music Journalist, Publicity Director, and Music Publisher. Most people are familiar with these positions, so let’s discuss some of the positions that may not be so familiar.

To read more of "Want to go to College and Major in Music?" please visit the Peggy Still website.

Dave Brubeck - American Jazz Pianist and Composer

Who?: Dave Brubeck (David Warren Brubeck)

When did he live?: He was born December 6, 1920.

What did he do?: He is an American jazz pianist and composer.

To Read more about Dave Brubeck please visit the Peggy Still website.

Composer of the Week - Robert Schumann

Who?: Robert Schumann
When did he live?: June 8, 1810 – July 29 1856
What did he do?: He was a German composer and influential music critic.
Where is he from/where did he live?: Schumann was born in Zwickauin, Germany. In 1828 Schumann traveled to Leipzig, Germany to study law and remained there until after his attempted suicide in 1854. He committed himself to an insane asylum that same year in Endenich, a quarter of Bonn in Germany, and remained there until his death.
Why is he remembered?: Schumann is considered one of the greatest and most symbolic composers of the Romantic era. He left the study of law to return to music, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He created a device intended to increase the size of his hands, thinking it would enhance his piano skills. Instead the device caused serious injuries and ended Schumann’s promising career as a pianist. Schumann then focused all of his musical energies on composing. Schumann's published compositions were written exclusively for the piano until 1840; he later composed works for piano and orchestra; many lieder (songs for voice and piano); four symphonies; an opera; and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Schumann had considerable influence in the nineteenth century and beyond. One of Robert Schumann’s most famous works is Carneval, Op. 9 which was written in 1834. He wrote one of his first piano compositions in 1832 as a law student, Papillons, Op. 2. His work Kinderszenen, meaning “Scenes from Childhood” was written in 1838 in a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano, and Kreisleriana also written in 1838 was dedicated to Chopin. He left a collection of highly praised music in virtually all the forms then known. Partly through his protégé Brahms, Schumann's ideals and musical vocabulary became widely dispersed.
Honors and Awards?:

Robert Schumann’s greatness as a composer was not truly recognized until after his death, therefore he did not receive many awards or much praise for his work while he was alive. He did however receive a doctoral degree by the University of Jena in 1840, and in 1843 a professorship in the Conservatory of Music which Felix Mendelssohn founded that same year.

If you would like to read more articles similar to Composer of the Week - Robert Schumann please visit the Peggy Still Website.

Composer of the Week - Charlie "Yardbird" Parker

When did he live?  August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955

What did he do?   He was an American Jazz Saxophonist and composer.

Where is he from/where did he live?  He was born in Kansas City, Kansas and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He moved to New York City in 1939 to pursue a career in music and remained there until his death.

To read more about Charlie "Yardbird" Parker please visit www.peggystill.com.  

Music is Good For the Brain

From the study of early civilizations we have found various examples of the link made by humans between music and the body.

Particularly in aboriginal culture, we see a strong link between music and the body. In this oldest living culture, virtually all aspects of human behavior have a fundamental link with music: eating, hunting, birth, marriage, and death are all music-filled activities.

The music of the Australian aborigines is heavily based in song. They have been linked to the most fundamental human instrument of all, the voice. Aboriginal songs include many kinds of vocalizations ranging from growling, grunting, and shrieking to bitonal syllabic chanting. This demonstrates how music has played such an important role in the history of mankind, and allows us to understand the importance of music on our body...

To read more about how Music is Good for the Brain visit www.peggystill.com.  

Five Ways to Bring Music Into Your Life

Five Ways To Bring Music Into Your Life

Music has been known to alleviate stress. Bring music into your life by...

1 Sing daily!
Singing can reduce stress, promote oxygen in your blood, stimulates brain activity, promotes healthy deep breathing, and make you feel great!

To learn other Ways to Bring Music Into Your Life visit www.peggystill.com. 

Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) and How they Can Help You in the Music Industry

What exactly is a Performing Rights Organization?

According to Donald S. Passman, author of “All You Need to Know about the Music Business”, a Performing Rights Organization or, PRO as it is often called in the music industry, is a business intended to represent music creators and their right to be paid when their music is performed in public.  In other words, a PRO is a company responsible for collecting the money from a public performance and supplying members with their share of the money. PRO’s collect money from public performances by issuing rights to establishments that are interested in playing a member’s music publicly; these rights are referred to as licenses. After the PRO collects the license fees, the company distributes each member their share of the money in the form of performance royalties....

To read more of Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) and How they Can Help You in the Music Industry visit www.peggystill.com.

Music Used for Therapy, Surgery, Relaxation and More

Many people have used music therapeutically at some point in their lives.  Whether you enjoy winding down to a classical song after a long day at work, or blowing off some steam while listening to the heavy chords of a rock song, music possesses the capabilities of relieving stress.

The American Music Therapy Association defines music therapy as “the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.”  Using music therapy on your own is great, but working with a professional Music Therapist can also be significantly helpful, especially in the areas of mental health, physical disabilities, illnesses connected with aging, developmental and learning disabilities, brain damage, and severe pain. Participating in music therapy not only manages stress, it also endorses wellness, amplifies memory, eases pain and grief, assists in conveying emotions, expands communication and speech, and supports physical and emotion rehabilitation.

To read more of Music Used for Therapy, Surgery, Relaxation and More visit www.peggystill.com.