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 obvious issues: the eight-bar phrases, appropriate rhythms, correct length of introductions, and a suitable tempo. Then it gets more complicated, when you factor in the additional need for the right style of piano playing, phrasing, tempo fluctuations, rubato, expressiveness and all those alternative mysterious musical factors that have to be considered, which can really make all the difference in effective ballet class music.
When it comes to ballet, it is not unusual for a pianist to play a collection of mazurkas, polkas, waltzes, nocturnes and numerous other light salon selections from the nineteenth century within eight-bar phrases. While on the surface there is nothing wrong with using these selections for certain ballet exercises, they frequently do little more than offer a beat for the dancers to keep time with.
A ballet teacher should consider finding music that's original, played by the composer, and written especially for each ballet class exercise. If the composer is good at what they do, and is also a great pianist this will give you the some of the best ballet class music you can find.
One factor that is most frequently overlooked by ballet teachers is the recording quality of the music they use. This is extremely 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 highway.
You must be able to play your recordings at a relatively high volume without hearing a hissing sound. Bad quality recordings have been shown in studies to cause fatigue and irritation in the listener over a period of time. The sound quality actually does make a difference, so it is often best to listen to some of the tracks before using them to be sure that you have got something satisfactory for class.
First, there are the obvious issues: the eight-bar phrases, appropriate rhythms, correct length of introductions, and a suitable tempo. Then it gets more complicated, when you factor in the additional need for the right style of piano playing, phrasing, tempo fluctuations, rubato, expressiveness and all those alternative mysterious musical factors that have to be considered, which can really make all the difference in effective ballet class music.
When it comes to ballet, it is not unusual for a pianist to play a collection of mazurkas, polkas, waltzes, nocturnes and numerous other light salon selections from the nineteenth century within eight-bar phrases. While on the surface there is nothing wrong with using these selections for certain ballet exercises, they frequently do little more than offer a beat for the dancers to keep time with.
A ballet teacher should consider finding music that's original, played by the composer, and written especially for each ballet class exercise. If the composer is good at what they do, and is also a great pianist this will give you the some of the best ballet class music you can find.
One factor that is most frequently overlooked by ballet teachers is the recording quality of the music they use. This is extremely 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 highway.
You must be able to play your recordings at a relatively high volume without hearing a hissing sound. Bad quality recordings have been shown in studies to cause fatigue and irritation in the listener over a period of time. The sound quality actually does make a difference, so it is often best to listen to some of the tracks before using them to be sure that you have got something satisfactory 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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