Another Summer Day...

Here we are, fully into summer.  In the Midwest, days are filled with swimming, biking, and trips to the zoo while nights are for star-gazing and fireflies. Have you ventured out into the community to take in all the free community concerts you can find in your area? Or taken a trip to the library to find related literature about the works performed, composers represented, or geographic/historical references found in the music as a preparation for or follow-up to the event?

Oppressive heat brings everyone inside for movie watching and book reading. Yet, if you awake to “another summer day” in the “in-door stage” of summer, consider adding something musically new to your traditions. Make a game of it. See who can listen or watch the most for a trip to the local ice cream store for the winner!

• Netflix: Try a new musical you’ve never seen before like Across the Universe that uses music of the Beatles or revisit some oldies like Fantasia or White Christmas for vicariously cooling off! You will also find interesting music documentaries on everything from Nina Simone to Tony Bennet, Pentatonix to Back Street Boys.

• YouTube:  Pick anything at all and you’ll find a hit on YouTube!  If that is too much from which to choose, visit the Focus On Piano YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dbwY0Oyn_53XiUCoyrubg. Here, you will find a variety of performances to widen your musical horizons: Music on the Trail, works written by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Mozart and Gershwin. Special related playlists have been created to make the search easier and to get you started: Eastman School of Music graduate and former Piano Place student Rosa Egge, fortepianists Malcolm Bilson and Tom Beghin.

• Pandora:  Pandora, Spotify, GooglePlay, and other similar sites offer the entire spectrum of music from which to listen and grow. 

If you are lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with several young musicians, consider creating a Young People’s Neighborhood Orchestra or Band in someone’s backyard or basement. Participants meet each week for a 30-minute jam session!

Another Summer Day…another chance to make music in a new way. What new summer tradition will you create this year?