Learning to play the piano is not just about learning a new musical instrument. Playing keyboard instruments improves personality and makes people healthier and happier. Children taking piano classes benefit more because it gives them an edge at an early age. Playing the piano makes children smarter, improves their learning abilities and makes them better students.
Continue reading “Six Reasons Why Children Taking Piano Classes Do Better at School”
If you yearn for a creative outlet, starting a YouTube channel can be a great idea. The YouTube market is full of talented, personable people creating quality videos, however, so getting noticed on a brand new channel can be tough. If you want to succeed in your niche, here are seven big mistakes to avoid.
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(Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750)
J.S. Bach’s dad was a musician. J.S.’s uncle was a musician. All four of J.S.’s brothers were musicians and composers. In fact, pretty much everybody in the Bach family were musicians and had been since great-great-great grandpa John Hans Bach, originally a baker, had a mid-life crisis and discovered that he was meant to be a piper instead.
By 1685, when Johann Sebastian Bach was born, the Bachs were the German Baroque equivalent of our modern day musical Jackson family. The Bachs were well-known, highly connected, and prosperous. They served as musicians to Dukes, were musical directors at important churches, and were directors of renowned choirs. Even the ladies of the family got in on the act. J.S.’s second wife was a popular singer.
On my tour with the Cirque du Soleil show Varekai, one of our destinations is the Oslo Spektrum arean in Oslo, Norway. The end of August 2017 was able to spend a week with my cousin to trace our ancestry back to my great grandparents on the island of Ona, Norway. It was our “back to our roots” tour.
Here are some of my photos from the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. For my show reviews and thoughts go to:
https://conradaskland.com/blog/edinburgh-fringe-2017-shows-thoughts/
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is an annual theater destination with hundreds of different shows to attend from stand up comics, musical theater to the absurd and serious theater genres. This year was the 70th annual Fringe and it was awesome!
Continue reading “My Photos at 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival”
“Tarragona” is a piano improvisation by Conrad Askland. Recorded July 31, 2017 in Tarragona, Spain.
In this video you can see the far stone wall behind the piano. That stone wall is part of a guard tower that is dated to be at least 800 years old. Used at one point as a guard tower and later as part of a winery.
I thought about the long history of this special place in Spain and let my fingers color the imagination of what I saw in my mind’s eye.
Musicians from the Cirque du Soleil Varekai band taken June 2017 in Vilnius, Lithuania by Gabrielus Jauniskis.
From left to right: David Piché (violin), Conrad Askland (bandleader and keyboards), Mikey Hachey (bass), Isabelle Corradi (singer), Jamieson Lindenberg (singer), Damion Corideo (percussion), Jose Manuel Pizarro Carmona (winds) and Paul James Bannerman (drums).
It is an absolute pleasure to work with this group of musicians!
I attended the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a 70 year old theater festival in Scotland, from August 14-23, 2017 and it was incredible. In all my travels this has got to be one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
In 9 days I attended 30 shows. Many more were booked but it was such an overload that I just had to take some time off here and there. My friends ask “Did you see the castles?” No. “Did you see the Military Tattoo?” No. I was here for shows.
My show thoughts and reviews are below. If interested in photos I took at the 70th annual fringe go here:
Continue reading “My Edinburgh Fringe 2017 – Shows and Thoughts”
“Sunday Morning” from the Tarragona Piano Sessions by Conrad Askland. Session 3-2. Recorded July 31, 2017 at La Casamurada Recording Studio, Tarragona, Spain. Audio engineer: Jesus Rovira.
Live piano improvisations in the heat of summer. Gospel and Southern church piano style.
Solo piano improvisation on “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (public domain). Part of Conrad Askland’s Tarragona Piano Sessions recorded July 31, 2017 in Tarragona, Spain.
La Casamurada recording studio. Audio engineer: Jesus Rovira