So if you haven't heard, apparently a large Mozart CD box set outsold Beyonce , Adele, and Drake this  year, and for some reason people think that this is a big deal.  On a recent long, LONG argumentative thread on Facebook , people got outraged, absolutely outraged  that this story hit the news, focusing mostly on the comparisons between Mozart (a dead White European Guy) and Beyonce (a powerful Black Woman ). And most of the folks arguing about how unfair this was were not people of color. So here it goes, I am going to give a probably unpopular but realistic viewpoint from a Latina perspective.  These are my thoughts about these ridiculous discussions, usually academic and uninformed, by people that think for some reason that Latinos , Blacks, and other people of color somehow need someone to defend them when it comes to stupid stories like this one.  PLEASE STOP. I am tired of reading about safety pins and how you love Beyonce. I am tired of readi...

' In this video I'm going through a very simple composition by Mozart to scour for a wealth of ideas and tips for composing compelling music for both performers and listeners. I hope you will enjoy it! Related articles Ennio Morricone: I wrote my music before the film was shot An ancient group of singing youngsters Warri Choral Society storms Lagos for Oyegun After 15 Years, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Stock Is Cool Again Amazon is dropping the price of Prime from $99 to $79, but just on Friday Amazon is dropping the price of Prime from $99 to $79, but only TODAY (AMZN) Combine Leading Lines with a Strong Light Source for More Impactful Photos Amazon video going global in Netflix challenge - report Pro tips for Cat Ownership. {Funny} Halloween Makeup Ideas: AWESOME Comic Book SFX Makeup for Music Youtube Video

Image via Wikipedia (Text in Large Print for Classroom Projection) Joseph Haydn Born in Austria in 1732 (lived till 1809). His father was an amateur musician who encouraged the young Hadyn to cultivate his obvious musical talents. Hadyn sang in the Cathedral of St. Stephen as a young boy until he reached puberty. Once he aged out of the choir, he struggled over the next decade to make ends meet. He taught lessons, performed, and eventually got a great gig with the famous Esterhazy family, a Hungarian family of nobles both powerful and extremely wealthy. Haydn 's position as composer was considered a servant position. He was employed by his patron and had to compose music that his patron wished, as well as manage the usual music director duties of conducting, teaching music, and basic music management . Haydn "Creation" The Heaven's Are Telling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Jkktpp9QI The Esterhazy family lived in a magnificent estate. There many palaces also had...

Cover of Ludwig van Beethoven (text in large print for classroom projection) Born in Bonn, Germany in 1770, lived until 1827. Moved to Vienna as a young adult, originally to study with Joseph Haydn . However, the two clashed, and the relationship fizzled. Unlike Haydn or Mozart , Beethoven refused to be treated as a servant, and remained in Vienna only after several noblemen promised to pay him a regular stipend for composing in Vienna. Everything was looking up until he neared his 30th birthday and found that he was losing his hearing. There are many stories about Beethoven's dedication after losing his hearing. Beethoven lived a hard life. He cared for a nephew who had nervous breakdown and began suffering hearing loss (and eventually vision loss) at an early age. Stories abound about the composer placing his piano directly on the floor (he had the legs taken off) to hear the vibrations of the notes better, supposedly becoming blind after composing the Moonlight Sonata by t...

(text in large print for class projection) Besides training his young children ( Mozart 's sister Maria also composed and was extremely talented), Leopold Mozart definitely used his own influence to present the young musicians before royalty and influential patrons of the time. Mozart gained enormous fame as a child, which helped him throughout the rest of his life. (Maria discontinued studies once she reached marriageable age). Without a doubt, Mozart was absolutely brilliant and there has yet to be a composer who had such an impressive and prolific output at such a young age. Yet, his father's influence helped bring him into the spotlight. Even if Mozart's father had not been a "stage father", Mozart would probably have excelled in music because of natural talent and growing up in a musical family. However, he might not have gained fame so quickly. First, I would like to distinguish between a musical prodigy, a musical savant, and a musical genius: Musical Prod...