Whether you're a long-time reader or a first-time visitor to the site, welcome! The Collaborative Piano Blog is a site that looks at the art of the piano in ensemble, various piano-related resources and events, the world of classical music, music education, and how to put it all together through technology. As this blog has matured, many readers have requested a way to navigate through all the articles (now well over 1200) in order to get to what they need. This guide will be an ongoing attempt to create as many pathways as possible through the enormity of content on the Collaborative Piano Blog. Main Links
Home Page (or type www.collaborativepiano.com in your browser's address bar)
Subscribe via an RSS reader such as Google Reader, Bloglines, or NewsGator
Subscribe via email and get updates sent directly to your inbox
My Twitter Page, another way to be informed of new posts and connect with me online
Contact me: collaborative piano [at] gmail dot com
Welcome to the world of collaborative piano, formerly called piano accompanying. This is the profession where fiercely dedicated, talented, hard-working, and successful pianists devote themselves to the art of playing, coaching, rehearsing, and performing with others for a living. Even though we still get omitted from concert programs from time to time.
Studying Collaborative Piano
So you're interested in entering the field. How do you get accreditation? What schools offer degrees and diplomas? What type of terminal degree do you seek? Here are some articles on the education of collaborative pianists and issues associated with the different types of programs.
The Collaborative Pianist's Skill Set
What are the skills that collaborative pianists need to develop? Here are some articles that take the mystery out of their wide range of sometimes superhuman abilities.
Jennifer Peterson on Subliminal Recit Technique
Collaborative Piano: The Career
Now you've got a degree...what happens next? What kind of work do collaborative pianists do in the field? What are the boundaries of the profession? The articles below feature issues related to the world of work in the collaborative arts, with an emphasis on freelance skills and resources.
Jennifer Peterson on 9 Categories of Excuses for Missed Rehearsals and Coachings
Practicing and Musical Development
In addition to being a performing pianist, I am also a teacher. Here are some articles I have compiled relating to how to improve the quality of your practice and maximize your time spent in the studio.
Highlights from 31 Days to Better Practicing
In October 2007, I set myself the goal of writing 31 posts in 31 days on the subject of practicing. Here are the highlights. You can also check out the complete series.
Piano Pedagogy
A few posts I've written about resources and ideas related to the art of teaching.
In late 2005, I got a gig playing piano for a opera reality show on Bravo!Canada called Bathroom Divas. Six singers chosen from Canada-wide auditions came to a house in Toronto and learned the craft of singing with the cameras rolling. Little did we know that this humble show would become one of the sleeper hits of 2006 and eventually win a Gemini award for its second season. Alas, CTV decided to cancel the show after season 2. However, you can still see the episodes from time to time on both Bravo in Canada and Ovation in the United States. Below is a synopsis of each episode. Spoiler alerts galore!
Season 1
Season 2
Social Media
Yes, I admit it. I'm a social media junkie. Feel free to follow me on Facebook and Twitter to see some of the other stuff I'm up to.
More Stuff
Here are various and sundry other articles I've written including link lists, an account of an opera creation workshop, a review I did for Sony, and more...
Categories
The labels below are the most common ones on the blog. There are numerous other categories that you'll find following posts--click on them to read further on a subject.
Thanks for reading to the end! You can always keep abreast of new postings by subscribing to the Collaborative Piano Blog's feed either in a feed reader or via email.
Terrific list, Chris! Thank you. I do have a question about something that I have decided to include in my Collab courses at LSU. I'm going to include orchestral excerpts for piano/celeste in the syllabus. Do you know of any published collections like they have for wind and other instruments? I'm thinking of compiling one.
ReplyDeleteJan, I don't know of any book of published orchestral excerpts for the piano. I'll ask around and get back to you. Sounds like a great project if no resource exists.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this summary, Chris. I'm still new here and the amount of info is staggering (wonderful though). I was particularly interested in your back post on adjudicators. Here in our local MTA group we have had ongoing issues with finding good adjudicators for our festivals. One recent event was an all-time low, with a particularly ill-suited individual making the horrible mistake of accidentally calling all the non-winners onstage and announcing them as winners, then having to retract and make them all sit down again in order to call up the real winners. Acka!!!!
ReplyDeleteI plan to read a couple of excerpts from your post, if that's ok, at our next business meeting. We are --thank heavens -- in the midst of a major discussion and overview of our whole festival regime and there is a serious movement for reform.
Thanks again for the reading riches!
Kathy G in Oregon
Thanks, Li'l Ned! Fortunately, the festivals I've adjudicated at recently have always provided me with extremely experienced assistants that keep me in line, on time, and write out my certificates.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of readers from the west coast of the US, so if you're looking for adjudicators for your festivals, don't hesitate to contact me--I would be glad to put out an APB on the blog to send some interested and experienced adjudicators your way.
Thanks for the offer, Chris. Actually, we have plenty of well-trained, kind, expert adjudicators available to us. The problem tends to be that one of our perennial festival chairpersons ignores the list and asks people who are unqualified, untrained or inappropriate in some way, for reasons of expected personal gain. But we're working on it!
ReplyDeleteI am a music lover and one of my favorite instruments is the piano. This site reminded me that I should play it again with my favorite music! Now I plan to set my long term goals with the help of your 31 days of better practicing series. The tune of the piano is wonderful that's why I encourage other people to try it too
ReplyDeleteExcellent resource. Will share with my students!
ReplyDelete