Ric Ocasek: Emotion in Motion
Self-tutoring about 80s reminiscences: the tutor recalls a song he heard one night long ago. I moved a few times in the 80s, so often ended up with no friend but the radio. One night in ’86 or ’87, “Emotion …
Category: music
Music: The Stars and Stripes Forever
Self-tutoring about music: the tutor shares a couple of finds about the famous Stars and Stripes Forever. Since I was a kid, I’ve known The Stars and Stripes Fovever to be one of America’s best loved band compositions. Just to …
Music, history: the 85-key piano
Seeing an antique can trigger self-tutoring: the tutor shares a find. A few days back my son, visiting a historic site, was invited to play the piano. After awhile he pointed out that it starts – and ends – with …
Canadian Culture: Peter and Lou
Tutoring social studies, you might wonder how your own experience fits. The tutor contemplates Valdy’s Peter and Lou. I recall hearing Peter and Lou on the radio as a kid. Yesterday I suddenly felt great importance about looking it up, …
Music, Art: piano lessons
Tutoring, you notice different knowledge students bring from their backgrounds. The tutor reflects about piano lessons, including his own exposure to music as a child. By my recollection, my family got a piano when I was about six. At first, …
Music: decrescendo vs diminuendo
The tutor clears up an issue he’s wondered about for years. As a kid I was trained in music. Two of the first terms we learned were crescendo and diminuendo. Crescendo meant getting gradually louder, while diminuendo meant the opposite: …
Plant identification: elder(berry wine)
The tutor shares a backyard find that is somewhat coincidental. For an unknown reason, I decided to listen to Elton John’s song “Elderberry Wine” on YouTube the other day. It’s a great song; I’ve just never felt moved to look …
Physics: the wavelength of “middle” F
Tutoring physics 11, this topic comes up most years. The tutor introduces the formula that relates speed to wavelength and frequency. Most people know that what makes sounds different is that they have different frequencies. Moreover, a high pitched sound …