In this piece, you’ll be presented with a bit of information that may help you select the best music for ballet class for your requirements.
First, there are the apparent issues: the 8-bar phrases, appropriate rhythms, correct length of introductions, and a suitable tempo. Then it gets more complicated, when you think about the added requirements of 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 truly make all of the difference in effective ballet class music.
Where ballet is concerned, it’s not uncommon for a pianist to play a collection of mazurkas, polkas, dances, nocturnes and various other light salon selections from the 19th century in 8-bar phrases. While on the surface there’s little wrong with using these selections for certain ballet exercises, they frequently do little more than provide a beat for the dancers to keep time with.
A ballet teacher should think about finding music that’s original, played by the composer, and written for each ballet class exercise. If the composer is good, and is also a great pianist this could give you the some of the best ballet class music available.
One factor that’s most commonly missed by ballet instructors is the recording quality of the music they use. This is 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 speedway.
You ought to be able to play your recordings at high volume without hearing a hissing sound. Poor quality recordings have been shown in studies to cause fatigue and irritation in the listener over time. The sound quality really does make a difference, so it’s best to listen to a part of the tracks ahead of time to be sure that you have got something appropriate for class.
This post is brought to you by Gaylord Pannitron. For more information about the way 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 ballet class music listings.
Tags: ballet class music, ballet music for class, music for ballet class, teaching ballet