Nigella Lawson The Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson The Domestic Goddess Nigella Lawson: A Sensual Cooking Icon ChaptersEducation And Early CareerPersonal LifeLearning How to CookFood Writing SuccessMore About The Domestic Goddess' CharacterHow You Can Be Like NigellaNigella's RecipesMore UK Chefs Worth Reading AboutNigella Lawson is a female chef and author who has earned the reputation of being a sensuous icon in the kitchen, with her hidden innuendos and her very apparent love for ingredients.If you have watched any of Nigella's TV programmes, whereby she seductively makes her way around her home kitchen, then you too will know how she got to be known in this way.This is certainly no bad thing. It is her intensity and passion that has been her recipe for success over the years, and unsurprisingly they keep on asking for more!While a very classy lady, Nigella's cooking is not fine dining cuisine and is uncomplicated. There is something about how she guides you along the way with her soothing voice that makes her incredibly entertaining to watch.Keep reading to find out more information on th is domestic goddess,  her recipes, how she came to make TV appearances and what she does when she's not cooking!Take cooking classes here now.Nigella's most famous book release was How To Be A Domestic Goddess. Photo credit: Disney | ABC Television Group on VisualHunt.com GiovanniCooking Teacher 4.83 (12) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HalimaCooking Teacher £12/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HakimCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors VincenzoCooking Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors GinellaCooking Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ArronCooking Teacher 5.00 (2) £9/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoshuaCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors FlickCooking Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsEducation And Early CareerLawson was born in London, England, in 1960. Her father was a politician in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet whilst her mother was part of the Lyons Coffee House clan. Nigella studied at the prestigious Oxford University, with no intentions at the time to pursue a career in the culinary arts. Instead, she took a degree in medieval and modern languages.Perhaps it is because she looks so glamorous, or because she didn't enter the world of food until an older age, Nigella Lawson manages to still seem like a young chef whilst also managing to have been around on our screens for a fairly long time! Can she really be nearing the big 6-0?Lawson made a career for herself in the publishing industry during the 1980s, thanks to her love for books, and was deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times before turning freelance and taking her hand to writing.It was not until the mid-80s that Nigella developed a passion for cooking (a passion that resulted from working as The Spectator magazine's restaurant critic) and it was only then that she began to write about cuisine, later becoming food editor at Vo gue.Nigella was once the food editor at Vogue magazine. Photo credit: HousingWorksPhotos on Visualhunt.comPersonal LifeLawson met her first husband, journalist John Diamond, whilst working for The Sunday Times, where he too was a member of staff. They married and had had two children, a son and a daughter.Diamond later suffered from throat cancer and died in 2001, leaving behind his family and causing Lawson to plummet into a bout of depression.Nigella later remarried, to art collector Charles Saatchi, in 2003. Whilst they had a famously turbulent relationship, the pair remained a couple for ten years before ending their marriage.Lawson is a supporter of the Lavender Trust, a charity that gives support to young women suffering from breast cancer.Her late husband was not the only loss that Nigella has been subjected to during her life. Nigella's mother and sister both died from cancer as well, which is why she has such strong feelings towards charities helping cancer patients.Learnin g How to CookWhile Lawson doesn't have a collection of Michelin stars to her name like some other chefs in my list of top UK chefs, she did find ways to become the star of her very own shows, notably At My Table.She hosted the shows Nigella Feasts and Nigella Express, among others, in collaboration with the Food Network too and continues to grace our screens to this day, teaching the nation how to bake  in her own unique way. Another show that US audiences will be familiar with is Nigella Bites.You, too, can learn how to cook by looking for cooking courses London. GiovanniCooking Teacher 4.83 (12) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HalimaCooking Teacher £12/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors HakimCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors VincenzoCooking Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors GinellaCooking Teacher £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ArronCooking Teacher 5.00 (2) £9/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoshuaCooking Teacher 5.00 (5) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors FlickCooking Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsFood Writing SuccessNigella published her first cookbook in 1998, titled How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food,  with simple and delicious ingredients and later followed this up with How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking (for which she received an award at the British Book Awards), Feast: Food to Celebrate Life and Nigella Kitchen: Recipes From the Heart of the Home.Lawson hasn't just found literary success in the UK, she's sold millions of copies of her books worldwide.Feast is one of Nigella's cookbooks. Photo credit: chatirygirl on Visualhunt.comMore About The Domestic Goddess' CharacterFor the most part, it is not Nigella Lawson's culinary delights that wow us, it is her approach to cuisine that we can't seem to get enough of. It is refreshing to see someone cook rela tively basic dishes but take such enjoyment in the process of preparing and eating it. Her kitchen is warm and inviting, unlike some of the clinical TV sets that you see on many cookery shows.Moreover, her elegance, beauty and warmth radiate through our screens. If Nigella tells you do something in order to be a domestic goddess, you do it. This is because we bow down to her and continue to be in awe of her hypnotic sensuousness!How You Can Be Like NigellaIf you haven't already, then you must read Lawson's  How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking. Aside from being a great read, it gives you an idea of what Nigella is like, her interests and passions, and plenty of feel good recipes and sweet treats included.As if it isn't bad enough that we want to be like Nigella, we also want everything in her kitchen! Thankfully, we now can buy Nigella's cookware.Good Housekeeping couldn't help but notice that so many viewers were all raving about Nigella's kitchenware and therefore tracked down the stylish items that the chef keeps in her kitchen.But if you don't have the salary to match Nigella's class and expensive taste, then they also offer some alternatives. The list includes Nigella's stripey pasta bowls, rose gold cutlery, Le Creuset casserole dishes, see-through toaster, letter mug and bundt tins.Nigella has brought out her very own lines of products, which are available to purchase on her website www.nigella.com - but they are not what you think they are.Products on the site include stationery (namely notebooks) and gift wrap items (including wrapping paper and gift boxes). The artwork for the two lines has been developed from that used on the cover of the The Domestic Goddess book, to help create a sumptuous package.Cook Like NigellaWhile Nigella isn't involved in any cooking masterclasses for novices, neither has she opened up a culinary school at which intermediate chefs can develop their range of skills, she does have a wonderful we bsite that shares some of her best and favourite recipes for all to see.The list of recipes includes some vegetarian, some vegan and many more traditional dishes incorporating fish, poultry, beef, pork, lamb and game.Furthermore, her baking section lists a range of succulent and mouth-watering puddings for you to try and impress your guests with at home.Nigella is always cooking for her friends, and loves to be sat around the dining table eating delicious food, drinking sumptuous wines and laughing and making memories. With her help, you too can find ways to love life through sharing food.Nigella's RecipesFurthermore, you can learn to cook like Nigella by finding a range of her delicious recipes, including dinner recipes, side dishes, as well as ideas for snacks, lunch, brunch and drinks, online. The BBC Good Food site alone lists the following recipes by Nigella Lawson:Herbed leg of lamb, Golden egg curry, Asian-braised shin of beef with hot and sour shredded salad, Pork loin with Parma ham and oregano, Thai noodles with cinnamon and prawns, Old rag pie, Roast squash and sweet potato soup with buttermilk blue cheese sauce, Beef and aubergine fatteh, Radicchio, chestnut and blue cheese salad with a citrus, mustard and honey dressing, Breakfast bars, Turkish eggs, Parmesan French toast, Waffles, Egg tortilla pie, Parmesan shortbreads, Halloumi with quick sweet chilli sauce, Baby aubergines with oregano and red onions, Squid and prawns with chilli and marjoram, Devilled eggs, Maple-roast parsnips, Sweet and sour slaw, Potato and pepper bake, Tuscan fries, White chocolate cheesecake, Italian Christmas pudding cake, Queen of puddings, Sunken chocolate amaretto cake with crumbled amaretti cream, Sticky toffee pudding, Rocky road crunch bars, Emergency brownies, Ginger and walnut carrot cake, Lemon tendercake with blueberry compôte, Forgotten cookies, Cranberry-studded mincemeat, Bread sauce, Pomegranate Christmas cocktail and Christmas Martini.What a list!More UK Chefs Worth Reading AboutNigella is not the only UK-born and bred chef who has influenced the nation.To find out which other UK cooks have made it into my selection of top British chefs, take a look at the blogs below:  Mary Berry,  Jamie Oliver,  Gordon Ramsay

Do You Make These Simple Mistakes to Increase SAT and ACT Score

Do You Make These Simple Mistakes to Increase SAT and ACT Score 0SHARESShare SAT and ACT test your knowledge and your overall mental makeup. It is not just a test of your aptitude but a challenge for your attitude towards competitive tests. If so, what are the mistakes you commit in doing SAT and ACT? General Simple mistakes: You become tense and anxious to lose concentration on the questions Panic a lot about time to lose time Rubbernecking all the time to watch others not double-checking the answers thinking of previous section answers no proper numbering on the answer grid bubbling up one by one or waiting for the last moment and bubbling all together spending a lot of time on hard problems Prep college  with a good online center helps you avoid these problems. About SAT: Not reading the question completely. Overlooking part of the question. Hence going wrong in fixing the value of questions like 5x in Math questions Attempting hard questions for more than required time. They net you the same points. In SAT, Math, Writing and Sentence Completion are in ascending order of difficulty. Easy and medium ones take less time and offer good score Not writing the work down. Writing down the work matters a lot as more than 4 hours you sit with the paper Ignoring the clues in the answers for the multiple choice questions to choose the right answer Flowery and circumlocutory essays. Readers prefer easy, straight essays with well developed arguments to defend Learn  how to increase sat score  with the guidance of online sat prep About ACT: Get  act help  from a reputed tutoring center and ace the test.Mismanaging the paragraphs in English reading, thereby, missing the questions The same problem of answering the hard questions for a long time Mismanagement of time, unable to spend time equally on all sections-you cannot afford to take more than one minute for a question Wasting a lot of time over a stuck problem Missing the proper guess in multiple choice question and unable to fix the order of priority [starbox id=admin]

Volume of Rectangular Prism Tutors

Volume of Rectangular Prism Tutors A prism is a 3-dimensional closed geometric figure and a rectangular prism is one of the different kinds of prisms. A rectangular prism is a prism consisting of a rectangular base and all the surfaces including the bases are also rectangles. Since it is a 3-dimensional geometric figure, it consists of length, width and the height. Volume of a rectangular prism is the measure of the space contained inside the prism and it is equal to the product of the length, width and the height. Example 1: What is the volume of the rectangular prism whose length is 6.5m, width is 3.2m and height is 5m. Given the length of the rectangular prim, l = 6.5m Width of the rectangular prism, w = 3.2m Height of the rectangular prism, h = 5m Volume of a rectangular prism, V = (length) * (width) * (height) Hence, volume of the rectangular prism, V = 6.5m * 3.2m * 5m = 104m3 Therefore, the volume of the given rectangular prism = 104m3 Example 2: What is the volume of the rectangular prism whose length is 6m, width is 2.5m and height is 8m. Given the length of the rectangular prim, l = 6m Width of the rectangular prism, w = 2.5m Height of the rectangular prism, h = 8m Volume of a rectangular prism, V = (length) * (width) * (height) Hence, volume of the rectangular prism, V = 6m * 2.5m * 8m = 120m3 Therefore, the volume of the given rectangular prism = 120m3

Time Management Tips for Students

Time Management Tips for Students What comes so naturally to some can be very difficult for othersthis is true for many things, but in this case, lets talk about time management for students. Time management tips for students may include finding an organizational system that works best for them or identifying the most effective ways to set deadlines, but there is much more to dive into in order to truly master the skill. The earlier you do this, the better! But if time management doesnt seem to come naturally for you, what can you do to improve? Here are some time management tips for students to explore: Time Management Tip #1: Prioritize tasks As a student, you will have multiple classes, deadlines, and activities competing for your time and attention. To manage your To Do list, you will need to learn how to prioritize. To effectively prioritize, first make a list of everything you need and want to complete. Then, categorize these items as such. For example, maybe you need to submit an essay, but you also have a test to study for. Determine which tasks are more urgent or important, based on the time it takes to prepare, the deadlines, and so on. Studying for a test tomorrow is urgent, whereas starting a rough draft of your final paper due in four weeks can probably wait another day or two(but it is still important!). Time Management Tip #2: Keep a calendar Youve heard this advice before, and thats because it is crucial to time management. When dealing with deadlines, it can be hard to find time to tend to all of them. Keeping a calendar canhelp you remain realistic with your time, be remindedof what needs to be done, and stay focused on your goals. Pick the type of calendar system that works best for you. Some people prefer using the calendar app on their smart phone since its always with them and can be set up with digital reminders, while others enjoy writing down their commitments in a traditional planner. It doesnt matter which you choose, as long as you use it. For the calendar to work effectively, you need to use it on a regular basis. At the start of each semester, add your classes to your calendar. Also, consult your course syllabi and add all important deadlines. In addition, estimate how long each assignment will take to complete. For example, if an essay is due March 15th and you think it will take about a week to complete, put a reminder on your calendar for March 8th to start your essay. You can adjust these deadlines and reminders as needed throughout the semester. [RELATED: How to Make a Smart Study Routine] Next, block out time on your calendar for not just studying, but all your various other activities as well. This will help give you a scope of whats on your plate. You may also want to create time slots for leisure, such as reading for pleasure or hanging out with friendsremember, balance is important in a students life. Consider designating time for the following: Reading textbooks Creating study guides Writing essays Extracurricular activities Social time with friends Reading / exercising / other hobbies By scheduling in personal responsibilities and commitments as well, you can help prevent burnout from only studying. Be flexible and make adjustments as needed, but dont skimp on time for school-related tasks. Time Management Tip #3: Dont overcommit If youve prioritized your upcoming tasks and filled in your calendar, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed. Dont fret! To stay on track during the school year, you will need to avoid overcommitting yourself and your time when possible. If a neighbor asks you to babysit or a friend wants to take a weekend trip, you may need to pass on the opportunity if you cant adjust your schedule to make it work. In some other cases, however, you can use your flexibility to do something new or funbut be realistic with your time. If you have a big test on Monday that you need to study for and a friend wants to spend the weekend camping, consider asking him or her to reschedule the adventure for another weekend, as you have other commitments this weekend. Time Management Tip #4: Stop procrastinating This is a critical component of time management. If you procrastinate, you risk missing important due dates or meeting them with work that is poor quality. Either way, your grades and academic performance will likely suffer under those circumstances. If you are already in the habit of procrastinating, it will take some time and considerable effort to change your ways, but it will be worth it in the end. There are many things you can do to help prevent procrastination. Stick to your schedule and keep the big picture goals in mind. These are just a few ways to start managing your time more effectively to maximize your productivity. If you fall off your time management plan, dont stress. Instead, take a look at your priorities and calendar again and make adjustments as needed. Just remember, you can do this! Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

Should I Go to Sarah Lawrence College

Should I Go to Sarah Lawrence College Shejla holds a bachelors degree in chemistry from Sarah Lawrence College. She helps students through chemistry tutoring, algebra tutoring, and a number of other academic areas. Interested in attending Sarah Lawrence College? Shejla shares her experience as a student there: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Shejla: Sarah Lawrence College is located in Bronxville, New York, one of the most panoramic, quiet and safe villages in Westchester, so you can say the campus is in a rural setting. It was overall a safe area and there were shuttle buses to and from the closest Metro North train station. Most students living on campus would bike around. I commuted throughout my stay at SLC, so the train was my only means of transportation. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Shejla: The professors and academic advisers are always there for you. Sarah Lawrence College runs on a don system, where a faculty member serves as an adviser and helps the student plan the courses of study and have a chance to succeed while at SLC and afterward. Having a don establishes not only a longstanding academic relationship with your adviser, but a personal and career-oriented one. How would you describe the dorm liferooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Shejla: I really didnt experience much of a dorm life, being a commuter, however I really enjoyed sleep overs or all-nighters at my friends space. There were two main food courts, but I wasnt quite a fan of either. Mainly, youd join fellow students at the food courts just to spend time with them, rather than for the food. It also served as a good opportunity to talk to people, both students or faculty. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported? Shejla: The unique thing about SLC is that there are no majors. Everybody graduates with a Bachelors in Liberal Arts, however there are certain concentrations you can follow (not officially) based on the type and amount of certain classes youve taken or the career path you want to follow afterwards. I mostly studied Chemistry, completed a senior thesis in Inorganic Chemistry, took all of the possible advanced classes offered in the area, and it did serve me well. I was a Visiting Student for a year at an Ivy League institution and look forward to enrolling in graduate school next year to pursue a doctorate degree in Chemistry. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Shejla: I transferred at SLC from a community college after studying there for three semesters, and I found it hard to connect with peers, especially since everybody knew everybody from freshman year and commuting made it even harder to make friends. I found myself connecting to others through classes and study sessions. Greek life, on the other hand, is non-existent to my knowledge. How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services? Shejla: The Career Center proved to be very helpful during my senior year when I was sending out applications to graduate school. They helped me build the best resume, and we went back and forth in several editing sessions. Im not sure about other areas and concentrations of study, but in the sciences, the only instances in which chemical and pharma companies held college students recruitments were while my friends and I attended chemistry conferences. How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Shejla: I always studied in the library, since being at home meant too many distractions. What I didnt like about the library was its hours. It would only be available 24 hours during finals, which is when everybody studies at the library. Other times, it closed around 1am, and there were many nights when I needed to be up studying longer than that. Overall, the library is very small and there arent that many quiet study areas. Describe the surrounding town. Shejla: Bronxville is a small village, however there are a few restaurants and coffee shops we would always go to when we needed a break from campus food or when we were too lazy to head for New York City. Sometimes I would meet my friends there during the weekend for brunch, or walk with them from the dorms. It was always a nice walk, about 15 minutes, while we enjoyed the panoramic views of Bronxville houses and parks. How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Shejla: One of the things Sarah Lawrence College is famous for is its class size and one-to-one time students spend with the faculty, which is the main reason why I decided to attend SLC. Seminar classes have no more than 15 students, while lectures, depending on the professors popularity, vary in their size. Ive attended lectures with 30 fellow classmates, and others with 50. The overall undergraduate body comprises around 1400 students. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Shejla: I dont think I regret anything from my time at SLC; not classes taken, projects undertaken, interactions with faculty, etc. All of them were extremely fulfilling and instructional to me. If I could choose between the countless great moments spent there, I would choose one with my professor and don, Dr. Colin Abernethy, who saw my potential in chemistry research. After having successfully completed one of his classes, he asked me if I had ever considered the possibility of conducting a senior thesis with him. I was really touched because it showed that he believed in me, but it also made it possible for the two of us to get to know each other better during that one year of research. The academic and professional bond created is still going strong today. Check out Shejlas tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

GCSE Poem analysis Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney

GCSE Poem analysis Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney What is it about? Seamus Heaney's poem has a helpful title: it is a dramatic monologue from the perspective of an villager on a remote island, probably in the Irish Atlantic, about the storms his community face and their effects. Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney We are prepared: we build our houses squat, Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate. This wizened earth has never troubled us With hay, so, as you see, there are no stacks Or stooks that can be lost. Nor are there trees Which might prove company when it blows full Blast: you know what I mean - leaves and branches Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale So that you listen to the thing you fear Forgetting that it pummels your house too. But there are no trees, no natural shelter. You might think that the sea is company, Exploding comfortably down on the cliffs But no: when it begins, the flung spray hits The very windows, spits like a tame cat Turned savage. We just sit tight while wind dives And strafes invisibly. Space is a salvo, We are bombarded with the empty air. Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear. Title The title is simple, but by having no article (no 'a' or 'the' to begin the title), Heaney makes his description even simpler, even generalising so that Storm on the Island could describe any storm on any island. However, we realise that this is a particularly bleak and isolated place: 'no trees, no natural shelter'. Form The poem is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter - blank verse. The lines are usually enjambed - the sentences do not stop with the lines - but the occasional line contains a full sentence, like the last, which gives a strong indication of reaching the end of the speaker's pondering. Enjambing a single, monosyllabic word like 'full | Blast' makes the most of this overlapping pattern, adding stress onto the words placed first in the line against the generally rising rhythm of the whole piece. Sound Heaney really uses the full range of consonance, assonance, alliteration and other sound patterns in the poem. This helps create a noisy recreation of the wind and rain thrashing the bare island. The 'comfortable' explosions of waves echo on the 'cliffs', with the hard 'c' sound providing the sound of the attacking wave and the final 's' on 'cliffs' echoing the hiss as the wave retreats over the stones. Later when the water is flying, the spray 'hits' the windows and an internal rhyme with 'spits' repeats this harsh contact. The poem ends with open, empty sounds, including a half-rhyme between 'air' and 'fear'. But read the poem in an Irish accent and you might be rewarded with a final full-rhyme to close off the verse. Voice Storm on the Island begins with the resolute determination of someone sure about himself and his people. The very simplicity of the sentence 'We are prepared' speaks of confidence. There is also a self-deprecating humour in the phrase 'This wizened earth has never troubled us | With hay', giving the impression that the speaker is glad not to have the bother of being able to grow anything! In a way, the pride of the speaker for the earth beneath his feet - his island - is the opposite of the 'huge nothing' that he says they fear. The speaker has a friendly tone, reminiscent of Browning's monologue 'Fra Lippo Lippi', particularly in the phrases 'you know what I mean' and 'You might think'. Imagery The speaker compares the sea to a cat (fickle and liable to seem friendly, then scratch!), and the wind to an attacking aircraft ('while the wind dives | And strafes invisibly'). These comparisons have different effects. On the one hand we return to the idea of a community defending itself, as in the first lines, against an invader. On the other hand, there is a familiar, comfortable undercurrent of knowing the sea like a pet - even an unpredictable one. It seems that life on an island produces people who can think of something in two ways at once without worrying about contradictions. Attitude The speaker moves between defiance (at the start of the poem), awe, humour and finally admissions of fear. Yet throughout he maintains a calm tone, sure of the thickness of the stone walls around him. Perhaps that, rather than the storm itself, is what Heaney really wants to feature: the self-confidence of island people when faced with challenges. consonance Repeated consonant sounds within words (stacks and stooks) assonance Repeated vowel sounds within words (mean - leaves) For extra support with poetry analysis, why not book a lesson with one of our experienced  GCSE English tutor?  With Tutorfair you can browse through a selection of great tutors to find the right one for you. For More GCSE poem analyses similar to Love's Philosophy:  The Farmer's Bride, Love's Philosophy,  Neutral Tones,  The Yellow Palm,  Medusa, and Bayonet Charge.

Why I Love Tutoring Piano- Dorians Story

Why I Love Tutoring Piano- Dorian's Story After seeing a rise in students looking for piano and music tuition, we spoke to Dorian, one of our top piano tutors about his experience teaching and why learning an instrument can be an excellent asset! Dorian's Experience In my 15 years of teaching, I have found the sheer essence of witnessing the progress and success of my students to be the most rewarding experience. Music is core to my being and my passion for playing music began early. My mother was a world-class pianist; she was performing recitals whilst pregnant with me and became my first teacher for a number of years subsequent. My pupils have varied from many different backgrounds and ages: some children, some adults, and on a few occasions I tutored both parents and their children.   Repertoire and Exams   I have tutored ABRSM exam preparation for the last 15 years. I often work with students on developing natural, relaxed posture and hand positions. I also strive to motivate and encourage the student to deliver the best to their ability.   For long term results and achievement of the desired outcome, be it an ABRSM exam or just playing for personal pleasure, I think that every student must first and foremost feel a genuine desire and enthusiasm for learning and possess an understanding of the effort required. I often suggest that students should expand their repertoire by simply listening to more classical or contemporary music as well as popular songs if they prefer. I always motivate students to choose whatever they want to learn and play, as the feeling of joy and satisfaction of learning a song you like is essential to overall development. If you'd like Dorian to help you with your piano or performance skills then he'd love to hear from you - click here to send him a message.

Music Changing the Brain and Improving Livelihoods

Music Changing the Brain and Improving Livelihoods Pexels Personally, I am not that much of a rap fan fanatic, from the performer unvarying his or her vocal range to the difficulty in dancing to the song; certainly, there is the classic jumping up and down and mouthing some of the words to make it appear as if we understand what the artist is singing. In retrospect, though, is it easier to memorize a song, say by Chance the Rapper, or one performed by Maroon 5 or Bruno Mars? While it is more common to sing “Sugar” in its entirety, Chance the Rapper’s “No Problem” is also scientifically proven to involve a little more time as the lyrics are spoken quicker, with a lower chance of interpreting his message and storing it as long-term memory. However, despite the extra time in memorizing the work and the genre being lower on the totem pole for me (along with country music), I acknowledge it as an undeniable method to express emotions. Throughout Chance’s songs, he elucidates his battle against drug abuse in an attempt for an upward climb and totality of mental health stability. Thinking back to last semester especially, I can honestly describe music as a mental-health stabilizing agent on a different level, though, from Chance the Rapper. While I am not depressed, anxious, or affected by a drug addiction, it was difficult for me question my major (whether it be that of sticking with engineering or switching in its entirety). Add on the imbalance with coverage of math and science, and little of the fine arts within the curriculum, and I started craving a different media, a different release than that of strictly pen to paper calculations. I started playing piano in first grade through freshman year of high school and revisited it my sophomore year of college when I was substantially stressed. After trying to get back into it, I desired it more and would play for sometimes two to three hours a night in a fine arts hall, while listening to Elton John, Journey, and Goo Goo Dolls on my own time or while studying. Though not often portrayed as the classified term of “neuro-rhythm music therapy,” playing an instrument and listening to music encompasses positive mental health benefits, ranging from it activating the pleasure-reward system of the brain, priming it, and managing effects of post-operative pain. Simply put, music is good for us, but how do we determine what is pleasurable for each of us specifically, whether it encompasses rock, punk, and metal, or rap and country? Per the journal, Science, patterns in brain activity indicate whether we like what we are listening to. A researcher at Rotman Research Institute in Toronto and former Levitin student Valorie Salimpoor conducted a study in which participants “listened to 60 excerpts of music they had never heard before while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine.” After asking the 19 participants how much money they would spend on a given song while listening to the excerpts, researchers analyzed the subjects’ brain patterns, specifically honing in on the nucleus accumbens and superior temporal gyrus. While the latter structure is involved in the experience of music, its connection to the nucleus accumbens is pertinent as genres of music in which a person listens to over a lifetime impact how the superior temporal gyrus is formed. The superior temporal gyrus is not linked with predicting whether a person will enjoy a given piece of music; rather, it involves storing templates from what has been heard before. (A person who has frequently listened to rap will appreciate its genre to an elevated degree than an individual who has less experience listening to the genre.) In the words of Salimpoor, “The brain kind of works like a music recommendation system.” The brain indicates what is considered valuable for one’s survival music is strongly associated with its reward system. While it doesn’t fit the “food, water, sex” existence continuum, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Montreal Neurological Institute Robert Zatorre indicated that the striatum releases the chemical dopamine in response to pleasure-related stimuli. When the music is transmitted to someone’s brain and registers, it triggers the release of dopamine specifically the ventral striatum releases dopamine when a person is experiencing peak pleasure. According to CNN, what is interesting, however, is that dopamine is released from a differing area of the brain, the dorsal striatum, “about 10 to 15 seconds before the moment of peak pleasure.” Zatorre explains that while one is anticipating a moment of pleasure, he or she “is making predictions about what is [being heard] and what [one] is about to hear. Part of the pleasure we derive from it is being able to make predictions.” With this strong dopamine rush from music, it could be comparable to that of methamphetamines. In babies, the “Mozart Effect” has been a booming term among first-time parents as they read Women’s Health, Parenting, or the Working Mother magazine publications, hinting that playing classical music while pregnant can seemingly make the son or daughter “smarter.” However, there are few studies which support this claim; rather, music primes the brain’s various mindsets. According to University of Georgia’s Associate Professor and Extension Human Development Specialist Dr. Diane Bales in her article “The Role of Music,” people who listen to music perform certain special tasks quickly, such as fitting a puzzle together. How does this occur, though? As reported by Bales, “The classical music pathways in our brain are similar to the pathways we use for spatial reasoning.” When we listen to classical music, these spatial pathways are flipped on and ready to be utilized. Our improved spatial skills fade within about an hour after listening to music, but learning to play an instrument has been proven to exhibit longer-lasting effects on dimensional reasoning. The critical period of a baby is pivotal as he or she is developing new connections with other neurons to prepare for solidification of the brain. Playing music, singing to the child, and even starting him or her out in lessons can enhance this creativity and spatial awareness which is more often than not bypassed. Extend the immediate immersion of music in children into long-term ramifications: that of reduced stress and anxiety, decreased pain, and improved immune functioning. As written by Jill Suttie in the Huffington Post’s article “5 Ways Music Improves Our Health,” she brings to light a study in which researchers discovered that patients receiving surgery for hernia repair and who listened to music after surgery “experienced decreased plasma cortisol levels and required significantly less morphine to manage their pain.” A similar surgery expounded upon this stress and pain reduction correlation as stress-reducing effects of music were more powerful than that of orally-administered anxiolytic drugs for surgery patients. Test after test was performed as Suttie clarifies that 60 people diagnosed with anything from fibromyalgia to undergoing spinal surgery experienced significant reductions in their pain and fewer depressive symptoms hardly a placebo effect as a 2014 randomized control trial was conducted which involved healthy subjects exposed to painful stimuli. The result: a failed linkage between expectation and music’s effects on pain. This leads me to my final point: music as preventing disease. You’re probably thinking ‘If I have the flu, listening to music will not magically make me well.’ You are certainly correct regarding this standpoint. However, Wilkes University researchers conducted a study involving the levels of IgA, an important antibody for our immune system’s first line of defense against disease. After undergraduate students had their salivary IgA levels tested preceding and following a half-hour exposure to either a tone click, radio broadcast, tape of soothing music, or silence, those who listened to the music exhibited predominately increased levels of IgA than their counterparts. A similar study from Massachusetts General Hospital found that patients had lower stress hormone levels when listening to Mozart’s piano sonatas as a relaxation mechanism. An instrument of self-expression or rather a release from reality, embracing music in its entirety has salvaged people from silence. I often note that when I am not feeling like myself or had a rough day, listening to my favorite band, or sneaking into the piano room at SLU for hours on end enables me to express what I could not put into words on paper or to another person maybe I could not formulate the verbiage, or maybe there were simply no words to be said, but just emotions building which could not be paired with the correct form of verbal expression. I could care less if you have a different taste in music than me; I previously mentioned I did not enjoy listening to rap, but if you find comfort in its genre, I encourage you to cling to it. No one will ever be able to take your own expression away from you.