Music, Poetry and Me

A couple of weekends ago I was on the second floor of our house brushing my teeth and I heard the sound of our piano being played - it was my wife, playing some “Czerny Studies” (basically very pretty finger exercises). This was unusual because even though my wife had taken piano lessons for six years in her adolescence, she hadn’t touched our piano for several years.

It turned out there was a good reason she chose to play this particular afternoon - and his name was Emil Liebling. Liebing edited these Czerny studies into the book that my wife was using that day. Since I thought these studies sounded so great I casually picked up the book once I came downstairs and skimmed through it. I stopped at the Preface and began to read Liebling’s thoughts and instruction on the studies. I was mesmerized. I hadn’t read such literate and fluent prose about teaching in many, many years (or maybe ever).

So who was this person? Here is is bio (courtesy of the Music Encyclopedia):

Liebling (lep’-ling), Emil. 1851-1914. Born in Pless, Germany, of Russian parentage, this talented musician came to America when quite young to become a leader in the art. He was one of four brothers, all of whom have become prominent in musical affairs. After arriving in this country, in 1867, Emil Liebling taught music in Kentucky and Chicago. Returning to Berlin he studied under Kullak and Ehrlich, and composition under Heinrich Dorn. In Vienna he studied under Dachs. He also taught in Kullak’s Conservatory of Music from 1874 to 1876. Mr. Liebling’s attainments along other lines are equally advanced. He is an accomplished linguist and as a writer he is a fluent and forcible contributor to American musical journals. He spent the summer of 1876 studying under Liszt at Weimar. Returning to Chicago the same year he impressed his audiences with his finished execution and a practically unlimited repertory. The concerts he gave in Berlin brought him enthusiastic praise from the severest of critics. He is as exceptional as a man, an artist, and a musician, possessing the most charming personality. He is a good common-sense business man, a famous composer, a pianist and teacher of world-wide fame, a most entertaining and instructive lecturer. Among his compositions are a valse de concert, Florence; a gavotte modern, Albumblatt; Serenade, Spring Song, Menuetto, Scherzoso, Lolita and Concert Polonaise.

A very fascinating man, no question. And his writing was indeed impressive, AND forceful. Almost forceful to the point of being overbearing, but I read this as more genuine passion than arrogance. Here is the core of what really grabbed me, and I’ve underlined what I consider to be the key lessons (I’d advise downloading this to a picture viewer and enlarging it - believe me it will be worth it!):

It didn’t take me long to figure out that Liebling was teaching me something quite valuable that went beyond mastering the piano - he was imparting great wisdom on how leaders should teach. Here were the three key lessons:

1. Liebling said this in flowing French - teachers should never instruct “sans raison et sans plaisir“; translated, “without reason and without pleasure“. We simply can’t be arbitrary and unfocused with our teaching, and it darned well better be fun, or else what you are trying to teach will not be learned.
2. This was my absolute favorite - “An ounce of demonstration is worth a pound of explanation”. You have to talk the talk, AND walk the walk, by rolling up the sleeves and showing how it’s done. I’m stealing this one (in fact, I’ve already used it with my team twice!).
3. Lasty, the indispensable “application of common sense“. Everyone must be taught at a pace and intensity that works best for them, and a good teacher should be able to calibrate this correctly, by simply using good ol’ common sense.

What happens if these principles are consistently applied? In Liebling’s own words, applied to the piano student, the “accomplishment….will mean to the student a fluent and reliable technic, brilliancy, versatility and endurance, and…..prove an “open sesame” to all the works from Bach to Beethoven”

Or, taken in the broader context, better teaching leads to lasting learning that can open the gates towards taking on even bigger challenges, and succeeding.

Now THAT’s a great lesson. From a 100 year-old preface to a piano studies book by a very talented teacher who probably had no idea that his beautiful writing would effect a 21st Century blogger so deeply and so beyond the subject matter.

Thanks Mr. Liebling, and thanks too to my wife for choosing to play the piano that day.

Remember those carefree and wonderful 80’s? In a culture which promotes nostalgia seemingly nonstop and where “oldies radio” is usually the highest rated fare, I had a remarkable run of “blankness” about that period of time.Sure, I’d get a bit of a twinge when Duran Duran came on my iPod, or better still, Flock of Seagulls (yes, I have “I Ran” on my iPod…….), but I hadn’t taken a full fledged dive into that decade for many months……..that is, until I recently watched the movie “Music and Lyrics”.

“Music and Lyrics” was a light and frothy comedy starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Grant played a music “has been” who used to be in a “Wham-like” (I bet I never use that adjective again) group in the 80’s, and was in the present day trying to revive his career as a songwriter. I won’t give away too much more of the plot, because it wasn’t the story itself that pushed my 80’s memory button. It was a “mock video” they did which tripped the switch. Take a look and you’ll see what I mean:

I keep cracking up every time I see the brilliant overacting, the split screens, the cut aways, the bad dancing - and I see my 80’s flashback as clear as a bell………

It’s 1984, and I’ve just bought the brand new “cool” car, the Pontiac Fiero - in red. I’m one cool dude as I drive my 80’s self around San Antonio to the sounds of (among many others) Depeche Mode, Hall and Oates, Prince (”Purple Rain”, of course!), Duran Duran and yes, Wham! This was before CD players so I had to make my own cassette mix tapes. I spend a lot of my free TV time watching those cool new videos on MTV, marveling at the excellent production values (!). I also admire those cool dudes on “Miami Vice“, cruising in that Ferrari in their pastels. One of my favorite movies at the time was “Flashdance”, another feel-good story of overcoming the odds to a pre-programmed soundtrack of synthesizers (an 80’s staple). My fashion look was typical of its time, with a moustache and a very questionable wardrobe.

Yipes.

Although I just went with the flow of the times, it almost seems like we were on a different planet compared to the lives we lead now. Could that much change in 23 years? I guess so. Maybe that’s why the specific memories are so easy to bury - too big of a disconnect.

I will say this too- I’m better at picking cars now. That Fiero I had - it was a big fat lemon. The engine block cracked in less than 12 months (it was a rear engine car, so you should have heard the “whooshing” noise it used to make as the radiator water labored its way around the vehicle), so by 1985 I acquired a nice, safe and reliable Toyota Cressida.

So I’ve spent a few days looking back, and now I can’t get that “fake” 80’s song from Music and Lyrics out of my head, called “POP! Goes My Heart“:

“I said I wasn’t gonna lose my head, but then

POP! Goes my heart.

I wasn’t gonna fall in love again, but then

POP! Goes my heart.

And I just can’t let you go,

I can’t lose this feeling.”

Thanks Hugh and Drew for the nostalgia trip - even if it was in a Fiero, it still was a fun ride to go back in time. Now I can’t wait for the inevitable 90’s parody……..

“………I’m pickin’ up good vibrations………she’s giving me excitations……..”

Who doesn’t remember this all-time classic song? And who can’t relate to how the music itself provides those “good vibrations” that the Beach Boys celebrated oh so many years ago (could it have been 41 years since that came out?).

My friend Hilda Caroll of Living Out Loud made this recent observation that resulted in a question:

“I noticed that I’m not alone in the use of listening to music and/or singing to raise our energetic vibrations, and it dawned on me: why not ask others what their number one energy-raising song of choice would be, and compile the lot into the ultimate spirit-lifting play list!”

Hilda asked me to pitch in my “one song“, so here it is:

“You Get What You Give“ - New Radicals (1999)

Why this song? It plays a key role in my “personal soundtrack” - this is what I said about it back in October:

“I remember walking the streets of London on a warm spring day and someone’s boom box blasted this song - it’s a true “reach for the volume” tune that never fails to get my adrenaline going. It also has a life lesson right in the title, pushed hard by the urgency of the melody. An all time favorite.”

There was another time I heard this that I vividly recall - I was driving on I-70 in the Rockies between Denver and Grand Junction, and the first few bars of this came on. My heart immediately started pumping faster. My hands started thumping the steering wheel. By the time the lead singer got to the call “one, two, three, four…” the vibe had cascaded through my entire being, and the car was floating.

Then, the core lyric:

But when the night is falling
And you cannot find the light
If you feel your dream is dying
Hold tight
You’ve got the music in you
Don’t let go
You’ve got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don’t give up
You’ve got a reason to live
Can’t forget
We only get what we give

Four minutes of extreme exuberance. Four minutes of full faith in the “music in us”. Four minutes of awesome.

That’s why it’s my “one song“.

Now I’m supposed to tag three more people. Be sure to do the “meme drill” - link to me and the originator. Bless you, Jesse, Connie, and Mary.

Who says bloggers can’t dance?

The fine folks at Chikita (and Sharon in particular) posted this video snippet from SOBCon07:

Yep, that’s yours truly leading the proceedings, to the 70’s rock chestnut “Rock and Roll, Part II“, by Gary Glitter

I was 12 years old when it came out in 1972, and you can be absolutely certain that I danced to it then in a much more “limber” manner than I did last weekend.

Somehow I don’t think I’ll be on “Dancing with the Stars” anytime soon…….

Nevertheless, this “Bloggy Dance” was indicative of the high energy and goodwill that will forever be the legacy of SOBCon07.

Another case in life’s astounding ability to amaze me: I’ve spent the last two days in San Antonio, Texas, visiting old friends (I went to college and lived there for about 9 years). Each of my visits were excellent reminders of the enduring bonds of friendship.

I was struck by how easy it was to slip right back into the conversation patterns and easy laughs that I regularly had with these people over 20 years ago. The bonds were clearly there, and time and distance couldn’t break them.

I take the time to make these side trips because I have this inherent need to stay connected to my past as a guidepost to the future - like the saying “you don’t know where you are going until you know where you’ve been“.

It was a very satisfying trip, and on the last night I drove by one of the places I had lived, slowly passing a boat-load of memories. They swept through me in waves, and all those little emotions came back, if only for a second or two. Reminding me of where I’ve been……

To top it off, as I approached the place I was staying the night the radio played “That’s What Friends Are For“, a song that was totally appropriate for several reasons. One, its age (it came out in 1985, while I was living in San Antonio), two, its sentiment (a celebration of the friendship I had experienced in the last 48 hours) and lastly one of its singers - you guessed it, Elton John.

Another musical marker, just when I needed it.

For good times and bad times
I’ll be on your side forever more
That’s what friends are for…..

Here’s to those friends I just visited, and to all of my other friends, both online and offline - thank you for the gift you have bestowed upon me. I will treasure it always.

Have a great week!