In this article, I will provide you with a bit of information which will help you pick out the best ballet music for class for your requirements.
First, there are the surface issues: the 8-bar phrases, acceptable rhythms, correct length of introductions, and an acceptable tempo. Then it gets more involved, when you consider the additional neccesities, which include the right style of piano playing, phrasing, tempo fluctuations, rubato, expressiveness and all those various magical musical factors that must be considered, which can truly make all of the difference in effective ballet class music.
Where ballet is concerned, it's not so unusual for a pianist to play a collection of mazurkas, polkas, dances, nocturnes and varied other light salon selections from the 19th century inside 8-bar phrases. While on the surface there's little wrong with using these selections for certain ballet exercises, they seldom do much more than supply a beat for the dancers to keep time with.
A ballet teacher should work on finding music which is original, played by the composer, and written specifically for each ballet class exercise. If the composer is accomplished, and is also a great pianist this could give you the the best ballet class music that's out there.
One factor which is most commonly missed by ballet teachers is the recording quality of the music they use. This is important for a ballet class. There are some CDs that are transferred from LPs or cassettes that sound as if the recording was done in a storage container on a freeway.
You should be able to play your recordings at a good volume without hearing a hissing sound. Low quality recordings have been shown in studies to cause fatigue and irritation in the listener over time. The sound quality really does make a contribution, so it's best to listen to a part of the tracks ahead of time to make certain that you have something appropriate for class.
First, there are the surface issues: the 8-bar phrases, acceptable rhythms, correct length of introductions, and an acceptable tempo. Then it gets more involved, when you consider the additional neccesities, which include the right style of piano playing, phrasing, tempo fluctuations, rubato, expressiveness and all those various magical musical factors that must be considered, which can truly make all of the difference in effective ballet class music.
Where ballet is concerned, it's not so unusual for a pianist to play a collection of mazurkas, polkas, dances, nocturnes and varied other light salon selections from the 19th century inside 8-bar phrases. While on the surface there's little wrong with using these selections for certain ballet exercises, they seldom do much more than supply a beat for the dancers to keep time with.
A ballet teacher should work on finding music which is original, played by the composer, and written specifically for each ballet class exercise. If the composer is accomplished, and is also a great pianist this could give you the the best ballet class music that's out there.
One factor which is most commonly missed by ballet teachers is the recording quality of the music they use. This is important for a ballet class. There are some CDs that are transferred from LPs or cassettes that sound as if the recording was done in a storage container on a freeway.
You should be able to play your recordings at a good volume without hearing a hissing sound. Low quality recordings have been shown in studies to cause fatigue and irritation in the listener over time. The sound quality really does make a contribution, so it's best to listen to a part of the tracks ahead of time to make certain that you have something appropriate for class.
About the Author:
This post is brought to you by Gaylord Pannitron. For all the details about how to play the piano for ballet class, there is an example at this link: Click Here which isa video with a musical example. Mr. Pannitron recommends The First Class Albums, by Don Caron, which can be found in Amazon's categories listings.
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