Category Archives: sheet music

What you’re also learning when you take a piano class

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Anne Ku

Rough draft for a future article or blog post Time management Multi-tasking Planning Listening Public speaking Presenting Overcoming stage fright Timing, rhythm Body coordination Focus Concentration Real time crisis management Problem solving Interpretation Individual self expression Accompanying Improvising Collaboration New … Continue reading →

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Most commonly used chords for ʻukulele

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Anne Ku

The common chord progression assignment I gave to my beginning music theory class caused an uproar. It was the secret formula that explained the Pareto Rule of Pop Music: 80% of pop music used only 20% of the chords. “You mean, … Continue reading →

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Chord shape thinking from guitar to ukulele

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Anne Ku

In my forthcoming paper on teaching yourself to play the ʻukulele, I venture into similarities between guitar and ʻukulele chords. If you already play the guitar, thinking in intervals and chord shapes will give you a head start to playing the … Continue reading →

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How to remember music intervals and why

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Anne Ku

Anyone who wants to sing a song by reading music notes will need to be able to identify the intervals (i.e. distance between notes) and how they should sound. Unless you have perfect, a.k.a. absolute, pitch, you will need to reference … Continue reading →

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More than teaching piano

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Anne Ku

I specialize in teaching adults how to play piano. More and more adults are learning to play the piano as a way to relax, exercise their mind and body coordination, and play songs they like. Adults learn quickly, but they are … Continue reading →

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Solo piano concert: tribute to the music of James Horner

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Anne Ku

When I learned of the plane crash yesterday, I immediately searched for the film music of James Horner. Still in shock, I quickly assembled a blog post on the theme from the Titanic. In the spur of that moment, I … Continue reading →

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A song for dad: diamonds and rust

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Anne Ku

My dad never hesitated to share titles of the songs he loved. In his last years, he took a liking to Youtube. One of his favorite singers was Joan Baez.

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Celebrating 300,000 visitors to Concertblog

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Anne Ku

My first WordPress blog “The Concertblog” passed the 300,000 visitor mark some time last week. Yay! When it hit 299,000, I started to monitor the stats more closely than before. These are number of visitors, not views. A visitor can … Continue reading →

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Jukebox Piano Class: Stand By Me for Easy Piano

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Anne Ku

I should call my piano classes “Jukebox Piano Class” because I take requests. Nothing motivates a new musician more than being able to play something he or she likes. Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” is one of these requests. … Continue reading →

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Elegant but easy to play music from “Still Alice”

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Anne Ku

I listened to the soundtrack to the film “Still Alice” on Youtube because I missed its premiere at the Maui Film Festival last December. I became mesmerized by the simplicity and beauty of the various short pieces played on piano, … Continue reading →

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