How can music evoke emotions? How can music calm and reduce stress? Systematic musicologist Bettina Zeidler introduces us to the world of music psychology.
read moreThe start of a career in music can be particularly challenging for young people. Alongside rehearsal stress and the constant pressure to keep practicing and developing, the fear of auditions and thoughts of all the competition out there can take a hold of everyday musical life. Why do young people take all of this on and how do they deal with it all? A conversation about the pressure to perform with five aspiring professional musicians.
read moreWhat would Christmas and New Year be without concerts and music? Unfortunately, many instruments don't like the winter temperatures at all, and the dry air from our heating can also cause problems. What might happen and how can I protect my instrument from damage?
read moreFor many musicians, it is as much a part of the Advent and Christmas season as the Christmas tree or minced pies... Of course we are talking about the Christmas Oratorio by the Leipzig Thomaskantor Johann Sebastian Bach, which fills almost every church with festive sounds in wintertime. It is well known to us all in its original form with four soloists, mixed choir and orchestra with basso continuo, but the circumstances are not always suitable for such a grand performance. Good thing there's now a new option to perform this masterpiece without orchestra!
read more“I think the bassoon gives the music a nice depth - literally and figuratively. Precisely because the tone is so wonderfully warm and velvety. No matter what formation.“ Bassoon player Anselma Veit anwsers our musical questionnaire in the hopes of making the choice for a new instrument a bit easier.
read more“What fascinates me about the recorder is the warm, soft sound and the natural playing style: the direct contact of the fingers to the wood and the wonderful feeling, similar to singing, of bringing the instrument to life with your own breath.” Recorder player Vera Petry anwsers our musical questionnaire in the hopes of making the choice for a new instrument a bit easier.
read moreThe opinion is growing amongst wind musicians that the scene seems to be in a difficult situation. Which direction should wind music take in order to reach as many people as possible in the future? Perhaps the WMC, World Music Contest, in Kerkrade in the Netherlands, often referred to as a “laboratory for wind music” can give us an insight into the scene…
read moreIn music lessons, rhythm often receives less focus than other aspects of the music. In this article, drummer Manu Holmer shows us the first steps to help us use speech to overcome rhythmic uncertainty.
read moreWhat makes a good encore? We asked eight professional musicians to try and answer this question. Let their answers inspire you for your next concert!
read moreDo your students find repeating scales, exercises, or tricky phrases monotonous? Then why not try a Loop-App! These easy-to-use helpers create fascinating pieces of music from unpopular exercises in no time at all, which will delight beginners and advanced users alike!
read more“The accordion is a very physical instrument, so a good awareness of your body gives you a clear advantage. You have to play with your whole body and "breathe" with the instrument.” Accordion player Nadine Soppa anwsers our musical questionaire in order to make deciding which instrument you would like to play a bit easier.
read moreDo you know that feeling of standing up in front of a group of children, but some of them are fidgety, and the restlessness starts to spread? What do you do when a private student finds it difficult to concentrate and their mind keeps wondering off? Kristin Thieleman collected a large selection of practical and effective tips.
read moreWhile the word 'archive' rarely inspires joy, the opposite can be said of the "Joy of Music" series, which Schott produced for its 250th birthday. There are five volumes containing mostly virtuosic, sometimes meditative, but always entertaining treasures from the publishing house's archive. It’s an exciting insight into the music culture of the 19th century!
read moreHow can large-scale choral masterpieces be performed by smaller choirs? This question has not only arisen from the corona pandemic, there have always been many reasons, including financial, to reduce the forces. Carus-Verlag regularly expands its series of choral works with reduced orchestrations with new, exciting releases. So the Stretta Journal team chose to take a closer look at these editions and present some of them in detail.
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