6 Positive Ways to Deal With Stress

These days, we’re so focused on getting more things done faster that stress seems to be everywhere.

Stress dramatically slows productivity and hurts your health; you’ll burn out if you let stress take over your life.

You might become overweight, depressed, nervous– the list goes on and on.

In short, you won’t be happy and you won’t be healthy if you’re stressed out.

So, stay healthy with these six ways to deal with stress positively.

Read More

12 Foolproof Ways to Meet Interesting Pianists Online

Meeting Interesting PianistsThe web is such an open place that you can meet virtually any type of person online.

Whether you’re looking for a new friend, an engaging discussion, or a new client, there is a whole world of amazing, interesting people out there.

Heck, you might even meet your future business partner online.

While you might stumble upon a few great friends online, there are certain things you can do and places you can visit, to deliberately meet interesting pianists online.

Without further ado, here are 12 foolproof ways to meet interesting pianists online.

Read More

Finding the Right Piano for Your Space and Budget

The Piano That Fits Your Space and Budget

Guest post by Arthur Stone

Sometimes, a full-sized acoustic piano might be just too expensive or too big for your home.

Upright pianos are cheaper and smaller than grand pianos, but they also come at a cost, and for those of us who live in small apartments, even an upright piano might be too big.

Does this mean you can’t play piano if your space and budget are limited?

Absolutely not. There are other options.

In fact, there are two.

Today, we’ll be looking at these two compact and budget-friendly alternatives to the acoustic piano.

Read More

Students Shove Piano Off Roof

40 years ago, a group of MIT graduates shoved a piano off the roof, onto another piano.

They started a tradition: graduates shoving pianos off the roof.

This year’s piano was shoved off a few days ago– 80 pianos destroyed and counting!

Hit a hammer, pluck a string!

MIT’s engineering pranks might be a tad more exciting than shoving a piano off the roof every year, but hey, where should useless pianos go anyways?

As a side note, the MIT engineers might cringe to see that the piano shoved off the roof didn’t hit the piano on the ground this year.

It’s all good fun, though.

See the action, captured on video, below.

Read More

How to Find the Perfect Piano Teacher – Part 1

How to Find the Perfect Piano TeacherWhat do you really need in a piano teacher?

Is your piano teacher taking advantage of you?

What is standard etiquette for piano lessons?

I’ll answer those questions and more.

Here’s how to find the perfect piano teacher for you.

Classical Musicians Can’t Play Jazz

For my last year of high school, I became the Jazz pianist for our Jazz Band. I considered myself a capable pianist– I taught piano part time at the school and I was working towards my diploma.

But I wasn’t prepared for Jazz.

As a Classically trained pianist, my technique was perfect.

And the perfection was the problem. There wasn’t any jazziness in my jazz. My playing, while impeccable from a classical perspective, was all wrong from a jazz perspective.

My rhythm was off, I didn’t know how to improvise, and I was too nervous to have much fun at first. The notes and chords were the only things I got.

How I Learned Jazz

My band teacher was a saxophone player who breathed jazz– he didn’t really know how to teach jazz to someone like me besides tapping along with me.

He recognized my technique and offered me the chance to act as a pianist in our upcoming musical.

A practicum from UBC worked with me on those solo jazz pieces almost every lunch hour for a few months– she explained the rhythm, the improvisation and the entire jazz business, in Classical music terms.

I worked on jazz at home and at school.

Somewhere along the way, I really got jazz. My playing started to sound natural and I became confident onstage. The production was memorable and we all enjoyed it.

The big lesson here is that your piano teacher is so important– he or she is so influential to your growth as a pianist and artist that he or she actually shapes your playing.

  1. Out of the three music teachers I had, only one was able to really help me improve in jazz because of our similar musical backgrounds.
    • All three individuals are amazing and they all have great strengths in music, but the practicum from UBC was the most helpful to me as a Classical pianist attempting to play jazz.
  2. I was a piano teacher myself at that time, yet I wasn’t fluent in jazz in the beginning of my jazz band career at all. If you came to me wanting to play jazz, I wouldn’t have been the right teacher. Of course, this changed throughout the year as I improved…
  3. I didn’t learn the art of jazz from my original band teacher and my piano teacher at all. In fact, my piano teacher freely admitted that she hasn’t studied much jazz.

You need to find the right piano teacher for yourself.

But how? Read on…

Read More

The 200 Best and Worst Jobs of 2012

The 200 Best and Worst Jobs of 2012Career Cast recently ranked 200 jobs based on physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook. The information is taken from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (and various other US government agencies).

Salary and other factors are calculated based on US standards, but Canada and US are quite close in many aspects.

I looked up the ranks for music/arts related careers, and here’s what came up:

  • Musical Instrument Repairer: 171
  • Artist (Fine Arts): 101
  • Elementary School Teacher (assuming it includes music/arts): 92
  • High School Teacher (assuming music/arts included): 137
  • Child Care Worker: 159

Arts Related Jobs

  • Architect: 56
  • Industrial Designer: 76
  • Set Designer: 91
  • Cosmetologist: 100
  • Hair Stylist: 105
  • Architectural Drafter: 110
  • Film/Video Editor: 121
  • Choreographer: 131
  • Fashion Designer: 133
  • Jeweler: 142
  • Photographer: 147
  • Photojournalist: 166
  • Painter: 168
  • Actor: 178
  • Dressmaker/Tailor: 181

The Top 10 Jobs of 2012

  • Software Engineer
  • Actuary
  • Human Resources Manager
  • Dental Hygienist
  • Financial Planner
  • Audiologist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Online Advertising Manager
  • Mathematician
  • Speech Pathologist

The Worst 10 Jobs of 2012

  • Broadcaster
  • Butcher
  • Dishwasher
  • Meter Reader
  • Waiter/Waitress
  • Reporter (Newspaper)
  • Oil Rig Worker
  • Enlisted Military Soldier
  • Dairy Farmer
  • Lumberjack

Read More