Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Classical Music….a help or hindrance to the church pianist?
A good question!
The answer is “Yes”…..classical music greatly benefits the church pianist!
How?
Advantages of being exposed to classical music:
*Conditions the ear for well-structured melodies and rhythm.
*Strengthens the fingers
*Demands a need for structured fingering which carries over into proper fingering for hymn arrangements.
*Introduces the pianist to scales and other rhythmic patterns in music that can be incorporated into the
hymns as well.
*Last but not least….classical music demands disciplinein the areas of technique and interpretation for the
best results.
Although classical music is vital to all pianists, the church pianist needs a balance of both: classical and hymn training.
I’m thankful for the teachers God provided for me in my early years of training.
I learned alot of improvising by just listening to the different teachers over the years. They also taught me ‘one on one’ how
to add runs and fill-ins. Most importantly, they taught me the theory to back up their training.
Tags: church pianist, classical music, improvising, pianist
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