Author Archives: Anne Ku

About Anne Ku

Anne Ku is a composer who teaches the ukulele and piano.

Solo piano concert: tribute to the music of James Horner

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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Dad’s favorite songs

The third Sunday in June is declared for Father’s Day, first celebrated in 1910 in the USA but not proclaimed as such until years later. Coincidentally, June 21st is also Summer Solstice, the longest day in the year, and thus a very important milestone for those who … Continue reading

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A song for dad: diamonds and rust

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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Somewhere in time before iPhones

Before the iPhone, the video quality was not high definition. Before the iPhone, I wore a watch regularly. Sure, I always took it off whenever I practised the piano. Here is a video taken before I got my smartphone. It … Continue reading

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Celebrating 300,000 visitors to Concertblog

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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Classical guitar: intimate, personal, and vulnerable

There is something intimate, personal, and vulnerable about sharing a space with a musician — unplugged. Such is the case of experiencing the classical guitar, which is a rare thing on Maui. Once a year Ben Verdery draws students and … Continue reading

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Jukebox Piano Class: Stand By Me for Easy Piano

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”

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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How to write music people want to play

Times have changed. Perhaps it’s the instant gratification of search engines and the availability of free online videos. To write sheet music that people want to play, it has to be readable, printable, and playable.

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Maui Wordcamp: a WordPress conference in paradise

The subtitle is hard to resist. Paradise. Conference. WordPress. For $35, you get a T-shirt, lunch and refreshments for two consecutive days. I registered when it was half-full and eagerly looked forward to it. Part of me feared that it would … Continue reading

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