New movement in the series, "Passion"

New piano piece! Enjoy :) ~Monica

It happened today; I usually keep a good handle on it, but once in a blue moon it happens. An IMM-Inglorious Motherly Moment. I learned a new word to help relay how I view my IMM- ignominius. It means "marked with or characterized by disgrace or shame : dishonorable;  deserving of shame or infamy ; despicable ;humiliating, degrading...;" you get the picture. Another definition says "making somebody or something appear shamefully weak." That's how I feel about this morning. And here the story goes... "Kristian! Stop pushing your sister down!" Every morning it was the same; Mom was fussing at her 2-year-old to stop terrorizing his 11-month-old baby sister. Then came the repeated threats of spankings and removal of privileges. Most of the time the behavior stopped, but this morning it didn't. Almost as if the son was taunting her by saying, " I heard what you said, Mommy, but I don't really think I care to listen. So save your breath....

My new piano composition! Enjoy!

Greetings to all of my Music World out there! This post is about the preferred etiquette for piano accompanists from soloists who hire them for accompaniment purposes. Of course, this is all from my point of view, but being that I've had over ten years of experience in accompanying at universities, churches, weddings, dinner gigs, etc., and after listening to loads of complaints from both accompanists and solo musicians alike, I thought it would be a good idea to at least get some of these issues aired out. So here goes! First and foremost, it is preferred to contact your accompanist at least TWO WEEKS before your event. It also is very helpful to have the music on hand or nearby so that the accompanist can take a peek at it and decide if they are comfortable with the time allotted to learn it based on the difficulty level of the assignment. If you are contacting the accompanist by email to potentially hire them, be sure to ask for their rates at the beginning. A collegiate acc...

She exhaled a small sigh of sheer ecstasy at the ability to grab her laptop and sprawl out on the loveseat in front of the window to write. These small bits of time were precious to her, the times when her husband was working and the kids were at daycare. The moments of aloneness were welcomed and wished for often during the week, and when they finally came it was like a wish come true, almost too good to believe. She knew at any moment the phone would ring, it would be time to rush off to her evening's work, the oven timer would ring signalling that the food would soon start to burn if she continued to neglect it. Many a dinner had suffered at her hands, which were often busy tickling the keys of her laptop. Ah, moments just to sink into her thoughts and simply let them run wild across the screen. Sheer bliss. She thinks of the times before the kids and the marriage, when she was alone once again, wild, a bit selfish, but free. Able to do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted...