Cultivating Listening Skills For
INQUISITIVE MUSIC LOVERS OF ALL LEVELS
MUSIC INSTITUTIONS / PIANO TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS
CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AT UNIVERSITIES
CORPORATE LEADERSHIP LISTENING TRAINING
PIANISTS / PIANO TEACHERS / CHAMBER MUSIC
PERFORMERS / DANCERS / ACTORS
Impact
"Conscious Listening vs. my previous way of listening felt like night and day." - Tobias U.
"Such an amazing time - a wonderful residual effect of listening deeper and seeing more of the colors in the world." - Lisa C.
"Hsing-ay took my appreciation of the classics to another level! Her playing and body of knowledge are unsurpassed!" - Francisco G.
Demos
The 4 Steps
Breathwork
Texture Improv
Expanded Music Appreciation For Inquisitive Listeners
Mindfulness/Breathwork + Musical Complexities + Creative Associations
with a 4-step active listening process,
connecting with the composer's intention,
the performer's interpretation,
and others' listening awareness,
to find your personal meaning in your music, work, and life.
With multiple points of entry,
Steinway Artist and former university faculty Hsing-ay Hsu will lead your listening to
connect deeply with the music,
find new ways to experience emotions,
and amplify your joy by sharing the moment with others.
Pieces range from Baroque to Modern, from solo to orchestral.
You will
Learn How to Listen and Engage Better through prompts, exercises, and discussion,
Practice asking questions,
Create multidimensional mental models,
Savor joy and beauty,
Make personal connections between music, others, and life,
Listen collectively & collaboratively with other Inquisitive listeners, Lifelong learners, Music teachers, Adult musicians....
MIND
Notice and make sense of musical details with a 4-step listening grid, and alternate with emotionally listening.
Connect and integrate what you know with what you hear to find personal meaning.
Liberate yourself from the same listening habits to listen as if for the first time, every time.
BODY
Enhance health/wholeness by integrating emotions and biological response through Musical Breathwork™, Hsing-ay's unique breathing amplification of the musical phrasing.
Improve physical health by improving awareness of emotional health
HEART
Create a collective multidimensional perspective.
Develop the confidence to explore unfamiliar material/ideas.
Explore the beauty and potential of life around us through musical ideas, modalities, and perspectives.
Enhance your health/wellness by recognizing emotions and regulating breathing through music to activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
APPLICATIONS
Conscious listening skills are an essential part of every relationship. Consistent practice will improve your ability to learn faster, connect with others better, and dream bigger.
Performances
Conscious Listening Piano Residency at Klavierhaus NYC. NY Adventure Club partnership.
Events in Colorado.
Sample Programs:
"Musical Runway" pairing music to fashion
"Two by Two" pairing music approaches
"Spirit to Matter" pairing arts to politics
Courses / Workshops
Conscious Listening Piano Residency at Klavierhaus NYC.
Kaufman Center Lucy Moses School (near Lincoln Center), NYC. Register Now. open level
Chautauqua Institute Special Course upstate NY in June. Access to Steinway grands / Option to bring instruments!
Nutmeg Studio Piano Intensives
Conscious listening skills are an essential part of every relationship. Consistent practice will improve your ability to learn faster, connect with others better, and dream bigger through conscious living.
We need to empower each other to listen more effectively and empathically to repair the torn social fabric of our times. To do this, we can transfer our listening sensitivities to interpersonal skills, emotional skills that Prof. Peter Salovey and his student Prof. Marc Brackett promoted at Yale, and a breadth of multiple intelligences.
You can access my ideas by subscribing to my newsletter, reading my pubished articles, subscribing to my YouTube, and taking a class.
Feature in Chinwe Esimai's book Immigrace, with Panel Discussion at National Sawdust
Dean Robert Blocker, Yale School of Music, part of Hsing-ay's Yale-China Institute "Midday Musical Moments" Webinar Series
Klavierhaus NYC
Boulder Chamber Orchestra, CO
All Angels Church, NYC
Longmont Symphony, CO
WHAT is included?
1. Guided discussion using the 4-Step Process, with "after class" social time to digest the material together. Pre-Café email with music link if you like to listen ahead. Annual Holiday Social to share your creative projects.
2. Invitation to occasional Members Events in Denver and New York City at various times.
WHO
Café members are inquisitive and welcoming. They tend to make music, create art, write, teach, or build things in some way. They regularly listen to classical music. Many have studied instruments or sung in a choir. Others are active in other inquisitive and creative mediums. Everyone is expected to engage with other people's perspectives.
WHEN
Online Café is 4th Fridays, JANUARY - OCTOBER. 12NoonET/9amPT/10amMT/11amCT. 50 minute interactive presentation followed by 10 minute peer discussion. Drop in as often as you can. For your first time, please RSVP 24 hours in advance so I can send out a link one day beforehand. During NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, we will have an online Holiday Social to include all disciplines of art that members are creating. Membership is good for 12 months. Confirm your registration and date/time with theNutmegStudio@gmail.com.
*Suggested annual sponsorship is $250. Other options are $50, $100, $150, $1000.
*Your contribution makes possible the ongoing research, content preparation, coordination, and tech costs.
*Advance your creativity, social engagement, and multidimensional training, through my work to build a culture of listening.
*Basic membership is included for current studio clients.
RESERVE NOW:
Please confirm Choose-What-You-Pay amount - minimum $10/day or $50/annual. Suggested amount is $250/annual.
Paypal.me/hsu2507
Venmo @HHpiano
Zelle to "Nutmeg Press" as First Name.
Email is thenutmegstudio@gmail.com.
Partners
Many thanks to Conscious Listening Members for your support!
Steinway Artist Hsing-ay Hsu is focused on the art of "Conscious Listening" in concert music, through mind, breathwork, and emotions. She imagines a world in which we are connected to music, others, and ourselves. Created 15 years ago while she was on faculty at the University of Colorado, Ms. Hsu has given hundreds of workshops in partnership with the Yale China institute, the International Piano Keyboard Odyssiad Festival, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, piano teachers associations, Citi Bank, NY Adventure Club, and has created residencies with organizations including Klavierhaus NYC and Longmont Symphony Orchestra. She runs an online class for her Nutmeg Studio NYC, and in person class at the Kaufman Music Center NYC.
Holding degrees from Juilliard and Yale, she folds in her performance experience as winner of numerous international and national prizes including the William Kappell International Piano Competition, US Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Gilmore Young Artist Award, and Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship. She has solo-ed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and as concerto soloist with dozens of orchestras.
As an immigrant breaking down cultural and social barriers, and a performer who recovered from overuse injury, her unique evolution in building connections internally and externally fuels her passion as an educator and communicator. Her work is also influenced by dance studies with Schiff Dance Collective, Third Law, and Gallim; Thomas Hannah somatic studies; and Marc Brackett and Brené Brown's work on emotions. She is a Public Voices Op-Ed Fellow and Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow, and a regular contributor to Psychology Today.
Engaging with classical music is an ultimate multidimensional workout — when I am most conscious of being fully alive. We can train to improve listening skills and apply it beyond music to conscious living.
"Inserting Conscious Listening into my previous way of listening felt like night and day." - Tobias U.
"I had such an amazing time yesterday and there's been this wonderful residual effect of listening deeper and seeing more of the colors in the world." - Lisa C.
"Hsing-ay took my appreciation of the classics to another level! I learned much. As always, Hsing-ay's playing and her body of knowledge are unsurpassed!" - Francisco G.
" Hsing-ay's Conscious Listening™ class is personal, intimate. It's not academic. Listening to music has become a new adventure! I have learned how to focus on each element, hearing its role in the composer’s creativity, feeling what surprises and fascinates me. Our class has a great vibe. We share and compare experiences." - Dan M.
" I love learning about the music - it makes huge difference to see and hear her play live on the piano, explaining different parts and then putting it all together. I get so much more out of the performance." - Wendy B.
"Conscious Listening™ is about how we relate to music, how it is meaningful and expressive to me. This week I NOTICED music on the street - all the other noise faded into the background." - K. , participant
"I love how you pull in different ideas, memories, stories, impressions, and layers of meaning."
-Loretta, a listener and a visual artist
"These are wonderful tools to offer your listeners, not only to enhance their experience of music but also to help them have an experience of themselves that is more vibrant and whole.
"When you invite people to join you in taking time to breathe with mindfulness, you are helping them get back into their body, which also helps them be more receptive to experiencing music with more curiosity and wonder. And in turn, that helps them remember who they are in this deeper, more “whole” way.
When you invite people to imagine a story line or to get in touch with a feeling that a particular piece of music evokes for them, you are giving them an opportunity to dwell for just a little while in that part of themselves that is deeper than just the pragmatic, “thinking” part. " - Robin, presenter
"Spending time in your [webinars] helps me to be centered, intentional, and elegant." - Lilly, international business woman
"I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed YOU - and your course! How grateful I am that I have participated with you! You really are a delightful, engaging teacher!" - Lynn, counselor
"Fascinating and engaging: creative programming, generous sharing of skills /colors /philosophic communications, all done with your unique & graceful style, always growing from your experiences, visionary performances; wow!!" - Tamara, concert pianist
"Thank you Hsing-ay. It's been marvelous! I feel refreshed after your lessons; I can't believe how much I've learned. I've been applying your teachings to my students and it is fascinating how even the very young are eager to pay attention to detail, and how fast they can learn from the very start to play 'meaningfully', no matter how simple the music is. I feel motivated to practice and work on new pieces. Thanks!" AN
“Thanks for a superb class! You made it very interesting by your upbeat personality and obvious piano excellence… "
"You helped rekindle my passion for teaching - thank you! Your approach is helping me know how to put difficult concepts into words. I also like how you ask questions and let people try to put their thoughts into words- it is one of the most effective ways of teaching."
"You have a very thoughtful approach that has something for all levels of experience."
"I’m sure that lots of teachers will be referring to your handout when they return to their studios after this conference."
Gallery
Online Café, Denver School of the Arts, Colorado Music Festival, International Odyssiad Festival, DAMTA music teachers intensive.
"I'm rusty with musical terms. Will I fit in?"
Every registered participant gets a list of terms, a 4 step worksheet, and a starter mood meter. Study this at your own pace before the Live Webinar.
"Will everyone laugh at me if I don't know my stuff?"
We are life-learners here - people who will applaud you for taking the risk to show up! Success is showing up and participating.
"What if I can't hear all the musical details that everyone else is hearing?"
The expectation is not to hear everything I show you, but to hear just one more detail than you were able to before. Please enjoy the journey and take it easy.
LEVEL: While the quantity of formal experience is of no consequence, regular concert music listening habits are strongly recommended so that you will be comfortable enough in exploring personal connections to the music, recognizing emotions/character, breathing to the music, and trying out new ideas. There will be only 3-4 people in each breakout room so you can get to share with and know your colleagues. If you would like to ease into the breakout room conversation, you are always welcome to say "I'll pass for now" or just wait in the main room.
WHERE: A quiet room, reliable WIFI, and a device with decent speakers/headphones. Please keep your video, as this is a group think.
HOW: Register for your interactive Zoom link by emailing TheNutmegStudio@gmail.com. You can get a membership below right now and choose the amount you can pay. Want to try it first before becoming a member? Please tell me about yourself and I will invite you to your first meetup as my personal guest.
WHY IS THIS BENEFICIAL? Steinway Artist and former University of Colorado faculty member Hsing-ay Hsu developed her Conscious Listening™ method to guide audience listening inside each composer’s unique language across the genres of classical/concert music. We use mostly classical piano excerpts, but you are encouraged to adapt the 4-step process to a broader canon. This approach is the culmination of a lifetime of performing, teaching, and connecting mind, body, and heart. Whether the listening is in a concert hall, in the practice room, or on stage while performing, we can connect our emotions and physicality to our analytical minds to unlock your innate musicality.
Small group cooperative fun in a safe space for slow, integrated listening to live demos.
Embody the music with breath, knowledge, & emotions.
Listen intentionally to the elements of the music, for the purpose of engaging with the composer’s musical language.
Follow a structured 4-step listening method that grows musical intuition.
Practice aural skills with specific targets and discovering the character and emotions inside each moment.
Explore how your breath can interact with musical phrasing and other elements.
Acquire creative skills as you contribute ideas and make connections within the dynamic interplay of musical elements.
Join a community of inquisitive adults, both concert-goers and active performers, for motivated peer group learning.
Discover new pieces and new musicians
