Resources
RESOURCES FOR PIANO ACADEMY STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
Classical Music Directories and Databases
- http://www.classical-composers.org/cgi-bin/ccd.cgi Classical Composers Database: 2284 composers and growing, compiled by Dutch computer engineer and musician Jos Smeets. Lists dates, major works, biography. Also has a birth/death date index: just plug in a date and you can find out what famous musicians were born or died on that date.
- http://www.classical.net/music/ Information on composers, recordings, articles, reviews; large database.
- http://www.classical.net/music/links/musicfest.html Classical Net: festivals, concerts, offerings at specific concert venues. Worldwide listings.
- http://www.classicaldata.org/composers/ Database of classical composers with over 2000 entries
- http://www.clas.ufl.edu/CLAS/american-universities.html List of American universities.
- http://www.practicespot.com/dictionary.phtml Dictionary of musical terms, largest on the web.
- http://datadragon.com/day/ "This Day in Music History" with past events, composers' birthdays, searchable index.
- http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html Online world history charts
- http://www.intcon.net/~songbird/index.html Music Graphics Galore: music clipart, over 300 backgrounds, about 90 piano-related icons.
- http://www.musi-cal.com/ Listings of concerts worldwide
- http://www.pianorepertoire.com/ Performs queries over classical keyboard music works using any combination of the following: composer name, work name, key and mode, length, date composed, 'instrumentation'
- http://pigseye.kennesaw.edu/~dchapman/ Dates list for modern composers
- http://www.sheetmusicarchive.net/ Free public domain editions of thousands of classical scores. Limit of 2 free downloads a day, but you can get CDs of entire collections for $20.
- http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/music/ The Classical Music Nagivator: biographical information on 444 classical composers organized alphabetically and geographically, a basic list of their significant works, and a Glossary of Musical Terms.
Hone Your Skills
- http://www.abrsm.org/ Site of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, the leading music examining board; they test over 600,000 students and teachers each year.
- http://www.good-ear.com/ Exercises for drilling intervals, chords, scales, cadences, jazz chords, note location (movable do)
- http://www.metronimo.com/uk/download.htm Free downloadable music games (demo is free, the more complete software program you must buy.
- http://www.ossmann.com/bigears/ Big Ears, online ear training drills.
- http://www.pedaplus.com/games.html Drills notes and intervals, beginning to advanced
- http://staff.mwsc.edu/~bhugh/piano-practice.html Brent Hugh's piano practice home page; lots of good practice advice here.
- http://www.teoria.com/ On-line theory training, especially interval, chord and cadence construction
- http://www.theconservatory.com/ Offers practice suggestions to students, teaching strategies to instructors
- http://www.wendyspianostudio.com/content/category/8/81/46 Free ear-training, rhythm and theory worksheets, manuscript paper templates you can print out, problem-solving worksheet, practice record, trill study, etc.
- http://staff.mwsc.edu/~bhugh/practice-tips.html Brent Hugh's Piano Practice Home Page, a bi-weekly electronic newsletter with useful practice tips and ideas for making piano practice more enjoyable and efficient.
- http://www.alfred.com/span_fun/funzone.cfm Games to measure musical memory and skills
- http://www.music.indiana.edu/som/courses/t109/theory.htm Helpful information from the T109 Theory course at I.U. Includes syllabus, "Interval Mnemonics" (songs to remember various intervals by), and exams. Links to Teoria shareware (interactive exercises drilling chords, intervals, scales) and free demo of MiBac "Fundamentals" and "Chords and Harmony".
Libraries and Archives
- http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/ You can see images of the great treasures of the British Museum on this site - Classical Composers' Archive
- http://kb.iu.edu/ IU's Knowledge Base, which contains over 9000 answers to questions about information technology
- http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=37 Libraries at I.U. Bloomington
- http://www.loc.gov/ The Library of Congress.
- http://www.louvre.fr/louvrea.htm The famous Musee du Louvre in Paris; history of the museum, virtual tour, close-ups of some of its treasures
- http://www.music.indiana.edu/reference/databases/ I.U.'s online music catalogs
- http://www.nypl.org The famous New York Public Library.
- http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/rha/rhaabout.html, the Rogers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.
- http://www.paris.org/Musees/Orsay/Collections/Paintings/ Photos of many paintings (1848-1914) from the Musee d'Orsay
- http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/ Worldwide Internet Music Resources: huge compilation of music-related links.
- http://www.skdesigns.com/internet/music/orgs.htm Directory of Classical Music Organizations. A part of http://www.skdesigns.com/internet/music/ , an extensive collection of music graphics and annotated links to Music Resources on the Net
- http://voyager.physics.unlv.edu/webpages2/picgalr2.html Classical Composers' Archive: bios and picture for hundreds of composers. Organized alphabetically, by timeline, by birth/death year. Click on "Today's Musical History" to see events occurring down through history on a given date.
Performance History
- The Art of Piano (Ideale Audience, IMG, NVC Arts) - Amazing original film footage of
Paderewski, Cortot, Backhaus, Gilels, Hofmann, Horowitz, Michelangeli, Arrau and other
greats. VHS is apparently better than DVD, which is out of sync. Available at
Amazon.com - http://www.arbiterrecords.com/musicresourcecenter/musicresourcecenter.html Biographies of great pianists past and present by Allan Evans.
- http://www.carnegiehall.org/intro.jsp The official page of Carnegie Hall
- http://www.carolinaclassical.com/pianolinks.html "Classical Piano Links": loads of information on stylistic periods of music history (baroque, classical, romantic, etc.) and links to dozens of websites of currently active concert pianists.
- http://www.geocities.com/greatpianists/links.html Bios of 25 great pianists, many links to artist pages, discographies
- http://w3.gwis.com/~fschoett/index.htm Biographical info. on great pianists past and present
- http://www.pianowomen.com/ Women at the Piano, dedicated to women concert pianists, past and present. Includes dates, bios for many.
Musical Wellness
- http://www.alexandercenter.com/ Insider's guide to Alexander Technique, with links to many related sites, including http://www.alexandercenter.com/pa/musicjonesii.html on Alexander Technique for musicians
- http://www.alexandertechnique.com/ Complete guide to the Alexander Technique, who is helped by it, where to find teachers in your area
- http://eeshop.unl.edu/music.html Extensive information on injuries of musicians (overuse syndrome, repetitive stress, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.) and preventative measures. Compiled by Paul Marxhausen.
- http://www.feldenkrais-resources.com/ Feldenkrais resources: background info., training
programs,.workshops and classes - http://www.freeingthecagedbird.com/ Barbara Lister-Sink: methods, intensive training sessions, how to order the video for pianists
- http://imr.utsa.edu/CAIRSS.html Good search engine from the Institute for Music Research, for music-related injuries and conditions
- http://www.pianomap.com/ Discusses pianists' injuries, movement re-training, injury prevention
- http://www.pilates-studio.com/ The Pilates method: history of the method, locating a certified teacher in your area, teacher certification programs
Music News, Music Journals, and Associations
- http://www.andante.com Andante Newsletter (online): listings for thousands of current musical events, extensive virtual library, hear archival and current concerts from Concertgebouw, La Scala, Vienna, London and Philadelphia. Concise Grove's Dictionary; discographies.. Links to 12,000 classical web sites. Subscription is ca. $10/mo.
- http://www.classicalmusicworld.com/ Site of International Piano, a slick magazine with a European and world focus.
- http://www.gramophone.co.uk/ Site of Gramophone Magazine, one of the best music magazines. Subscribe online.
- http://ejw.i8.com/musice-j.htm Electronic journals for music.
Online Music and Record Stores
- http://www.amazon.com Loads of CDs, DVDs, music books. Be sure to check out "New and used" section (top right corner of pages) for the best prices
- http://www.arioso.fr Arioso (Paris). For hard-to-find French editions, Konemann urtexts, reasonable classical CDs (3-5 Euros)
- http://www.arsantiqua.com/3/index.shtm World's largest online classical vinyl (used) record store
- http://www.burtnco.com Music "for pedagogy and serious performance" only. This store carries Konemann urtext editions-wonderful scores, and much more reasonable than Henle editions
- http://www.classicalenthusiast.com/index.html Out of print and imported classical CDs, list of sites offering free sheet music
- http://www.francepianos.com/livre.htm List of French and English language books on pianos and piano playing available from Amazon.France, check out pianos for sale in France
- http://www.musicmanmurray.com/ Seller of 78 records, LPs, cassettes, all musical styles.
- http://www.pattimusic.com/ Patti Music Co., Madison WI. Discount music house with very large inventory of scores, piano methods, supplementary instructional aids and educational videotapes
- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com 360,000 titles in stock; shipping as low as $2.99
For your Listening Pleasure
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/guide/ BBC Guide to the orchestra. Also listen to the Proms online with BBC Radio 3: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/listen/index.shtml
- http://www.classicalarchives.com/main/ Listen to classical music selections. However for access to the full 23,000 files you must subscribe: $25/year.
- http://classicalwebcast.com/ Lists many live broadcast classical radio stations on the web
- http://www.fromthetop.org Site of the hit radio show devoted to the world of young classical musicians. Information for students, parents, teachers.
- http://www.classical.net/music/links/musradio.html Links to classic radio stations (many of them NPR stations) and classical internet broadcasters
- http://npr.org/programs/pt/ The site of NPR's Performance Today
Music Software
- http://bauer.cwru.edu/technology.html Extensive information on music technology resources
- http://homoecumenicus.com/music_theory_musicology.htm Music theory and musicology resources, including music research databases
- http://www.cdaccess.com/html/quick/gcbeethdj.htm Good prices on PC and Mac music products such as Zane Publishing's "Great Composers" series.
- http://www.mozart.co.uk/ Mozart music notation software. You can download a free evaluation copy that has the basic features
- http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/index.asp Free introductory notation software
- http://home.earthlink.net/~regina-r/pedagogy.htm Articles on technology in the studio lab, using the Roland midi sequencer, etc.
- http://www.kellysmusicandcomputers.com/ Large selection of music software and other music technology items
- http://www.lentines.com/articles/article_front_page.htm Music technology software and articles
- http://lilypond.org/web/switch/advantages.html Lilypond, free music typesetting program that runs on Windows, MacOSx, Linux or FreeBSD among other systems. You can learn to typeset music with the online tutorial; automated formatting, and takes ASCII input.
- http://www.pianoeducation.org/pnosoftr.html Reviews, both brief and in-depth, of piano music and software: shareware, teaching software, theory, music appreciation and composition software and studio management software.
Pianos
- http://www.fazioli-piano.com/homeen.html Interesting info. on the sound features, technology and manufacture of the prestigious hand-made Fazioli pianos
- http://www.frederickcollection.org/recordings.html Frederick Historic Piano Collection - see and hear pianos from Mozart's time to Debussy's. The collection is located at the Historical Piano Study Center, Ashburnham MA. Seventeen period instruments are in playing condition; many more await restoration.
- http://www.oldpianos.com/ pictures of Greg Flannagan's personal collection of historic pianos, many of them lesser-known makes.
- http://pianomuseum.org/pages/frontpage.shtml Site of the new Piano Museum near Boston; site is still under construction but already has photos of a number of their instruments up.
- http://www.ptg.org/ The Piano Page, site of the Canadian Piano Technicians' Guild. Heaps of information about the piano, useful links, photos.
- http://www.rennerusa.com/ For those fascinated by the craft of piano construction; features virtual-action model of working parts.
- http://www.steinway.com/ Learn about instrument care and things to take note of when selecting a piano, take a virtual tour of the factory, check out the newest models, buy Steinway gear.
- http://www.uk-piano.org/history/history.html British site with loads of information on piano history, articles on famous makes like Broadwood, virtual tour of a piano factory, a forum where you can "ask an expert" where to find information on your piano (free)
- http://www.ptg.org/museum/viennese.htm Historical piano, info. and photos
For Piano Teacher-Performers
- http://fairuse.stanford.edu/ Overview of copyright and fair use laws, links to key sites
- http://www.finearts.uvic.ca/sim/help_docs/audio-old/FAQ/piano_memory.html Long article on playing from memory
- http://fdncenter.org A list of foundations supporting the arts.
- http://www.pedaplus.com/index.html Articles, reviews, free sheet music.
- http://www.music.sc.edu/ea/Keyboard/PPF/index.html Scholarly articles on piano teaching, guide to internet resources for the piano teacher
- http://www.pianoeducation.org/ Site of the West Mesa Music Teachers Assn., has over 700 pages of information: audition room, composer list, FAQs, "Just for Kids" page
- http://www.mpa.org/agency/framespub.html MPA directory of music publishers, both domestic and foreign
- http://www.pianoeducation.org/pnotstud.html Articles on many aspects of teaching
- http://www.musicedmarket.com/ Games, books, tapes and many other teaching supplements; also a reference section for help in music theory/history and group piano teaching
- http://www.mtna.org/home.htm Site of the MTNA (Music Teachers' National Assn.)
- http://www.musicedmarket.com/MEMChart/MEMchart.htm Useful chart comparing widely used piano methods
- http://www.pianoteaching.com/cgibin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi The Piano Club, teachers' forum on the Faber and Faber pianoteaching.com site.
- http://music.colstate.edu/resources/pno-ped-l/ The home of the very active Pno-Ped-L teachers' forum, moderated by Steve Clark.
- http://www.menc.org/connect/fromthetop/Fromthetop.html Lesson plans featuring young performers from the well-known radio show.
- http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/index.html A neat jazz improvisation primer by Marc Sabatella.
- http://www.serve.com/marbeth/piano.html Many interesting articles by Martha Beth Lewis on the practical aspects of teaching including copyright, business practices, pedagogy and studio humor.
