Personal – Page 4

February 28, 2022

The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance

There is a new book published just recently, in January 2022, that I believe is worth your attention. Especially if your interests include music psychology, performance science, musicology, and music education. Its title is The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance and the editor of the publication […]

January 31, 2022

Musicking Heals Loneliness

I was watching the YT video by my favourite globetrotter Eva zu Beck the other day, and her experiences from Iraq. At one point her guide Abo Haider, an old fisherman and peasant, starts singing and then explains his motivations: When I sing, I feel that […]

December 27, 2021

12 Most Interesting Music Books of 2021

The end of a year is usually the best time to evaluate results of the previous twelve months in many fields and areas. Here are twelve books that, for me, represent the best and/or the most interesting, what has been published on topics related to music. […]

November 30, 2021

CANADIANA by Canadian Brass

New album from the legendary Canadian brass quintet, playing their own renditions of famous Canadian authors. This is their 108th album on the 51st anniversary of the group. Here is a collection of songs from famous Canadian authors like Joni Mitchell, Rush, k.d. lang, Bruce Cockburn, […]

October 31, 2021

Be Musical or Be Musician?

Recently, at the ‘Neighbourhood Chilli Cooking Competition’ our kids had a chance to present their musical achievements. They showed how accomplished both of them are. Victoria, who just turned 13, played a violin concertino, while Martin (8) played an ‘ad-lib’ improvisation based on his previous practicing. […]

July 30, 2021

50 Years Fireball by Deep Purple

It was in 1972, in the country that doesn’t exist anymore, called Czechoslovakia. In the town where I was living, the communist regime allowed to build and open a new department store, as a part of a larger chain called ‘PRIOR ’. As was common in […]

June 30, 2021

Is MIDI 2.0 As Revolutionary As Its Predecessor?

It was year 1983 and after a lot of deliberations and persuasion, my parents relented and agreed to speak with the uncle living in the West Germany, about a possibility to purchase and send me a new keyboard synthesizer. This was not an easy task. Especially […]

April 30, 2021

Sachetization of music. Are you ready?

Sa-che-ti-za-tion. Have you heard this term before? Because for me it is completely new. Not that I don’t know what ‘a sachet’ means. But how does it relate to music? My Google search for the word ‘sachetization’ returned only 2,100 results. So it is quite new, […]

February 25, 2021

Why Some Music Teachers Are ‘Killing’ Music

Why are some music teachers and musicians ‘killing’ music for others? Their students? This question popped in my mind recently, when we were trying to find a new music teacher for our children. I have decided to describe this experience, because I am sure this happens […]