This is one of the really successful music camp activities  we’ve done this summer. During our   Let’s Get Creative Camp, the students all made music creativity journals.  For basic journals,  you can use school composition notebooks found at the local drug store or school/office supplies store. They have a solid cardboard cover that is easy to cover with varied pieces of scrap booking papers and decorations. I chose to use card stock for the covers, with various lined, blank and music manuscript papers for the insides. I have a binding machine, which makes it easy to put together booklets with whatever filler paper you desire. They can also be taken to a copy store and bound for a small fee. After the journals were completed, the students used them to write and illustrate on of each:

• Poem
• Silly Song (lyrics set to melody)
• Simple Instrumental Composition (for piano, drum or other instruments using standard notation)
• Lead Sheet (notated melody with chord symbols, like you find in a “fake” book, for a nursery song   or other simple song)
• Lyric Song Chart (lyrics with chord symbol above to indicate chord changes)
• and…last but not least…

“My Big Event”  Improvisation Game -

(Learning how to organize music while having fun improvising!)

Here’s  how it went:

1 ~ We started out by writing a title at the top of one of the blank unlined pages in their journal. This title was determined by answering this simple  question, “What favorite thing did you do this  summer?”  Some of my students’ titles were: “Sea World”, “At the Fair” and “The Big Swim Meet”.

2 ~ Next, the students were asked to draw three big circles on their page, and illustrate each, depicting three different scenes from their “Big Adventure”.  I will use “Sea World” as an example (with permission from the creator of this adventure, Elizabeth!) Her scenes included  Killer Whale, With My Family and Riding the Tea Cups. (See below)

3 ~ Following the illustrations, the students then put two descriptive words in or around each circle (for Tea Cups: DIZZY, HAPPY; Whale: BIG, SPLASH).  At this point, it is helpful to guide them in finding contrasting elements to describe so that differences, as well as similarities between scenes may be highlighted in the chosen words. Also, action words are very helpful.

4 ~ Next, the students went to work, taking turns on the piano, hand drum or other instrument to improvise background music for each of their scenes, using the pictures and descriptive words to create a mood and musical ideas for each scene (circle) in their adventure. The improvisations were free form, but  each contained one or two elements to give that scene a characteristic identity, and to hold the music together.

5 ~ Next each student was asked to choose her favorite scene. Explain that this will be the one that they will tend to keep coming back to.  Elizabeth’s favorite event was Killer Whale, so I had her start with the music for Killer Whale, move over to With My Family, go back to Killer Whale, and now to Ride the Tea Cups. Now back to the Killer Whale.

6 ~Next each student improvised their Big Event in whatever order they chose, with the rest of the group guessing afterward the order of the scenes.  This encouraged learning by listening, and it was really rewarding for everyone to see how well they had communicated the events in their playing!

WOW! Just like that, these young musicians had a great  grasp on many of the basic elements of good composition: motif, theme, repetition, contrast, texture and tone painting to name a few. They had also mastered the rondo form (A B A C A…and many variations on that pattern!) At the next week’s lessons, when asked to tell me the form of the assigned music in their books, they enthusiastically answered correctly! This exercise is fun and effective with any level of student. This class consisted of students between the ages of 7 and 14, two having had only seven months of piano lessons!

NOTE: I  got my idea for this activity from  The Three Ring Circus activity in Karen Ziegler’s amazing resource Activity Maestro, (Piacere Press). This fun exercise can also be easily taught using Flip for Improvisation (also Piacere Press), a tool I created to make improvisation fun and super simple at any level.

Thanks for reading!

P. S. For those of you who follow my Music Teachers Helper blog, and would like a hands-on copy for your studio, I have published all my former articles relating to composition and improvisation into a 23 page book.  Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation, is now available for $12.95 by contacting me directly at PiacereMusic@comcast.net (includes shipping within the United States).

A couple of my graduating seniors will continue on through the summer months before heading off to college. I am so grateful to put off having to say good bye, but I know my time left with them will go by really fast. The other day, it occurred to me that one last thing I’d like to do for these students is to prepare them for the inevitable…when they will, and the odds are stacked in favor that they will indeed, be asked at some point, to do music for a wedding, reception, or other similar event. If they are prepared, they will stand a greater chance of doing a good job, and could even land other paying opportunities. As we all know from past experience,  weddings can be tricky:  usually little time to prepare, lots to have to keep track of, visually, and with timing issues. Often carefully planned timing and logistics go totally out the window once the ceremony gets underway!

While most of this article applies more to pianists and intrumentalists, singers have a very challenging job when it comes to weddings. Most of the time, the bride and groom have very specific ideas for the special songs that will be a part of the ceremony. For these cases, they’d better hope for adequate prep time, and some solid musicians to back them up. When the latter is not provided, finding a karaoke track of the song from iTunes can be invaluable! If a karaoke track in not available, sometimes the central track (which most often includes the lead vocal) can be removed from the recording, using audio software such as Adobe Audition, or Audacity (which is a free download).  Singers may want to start preparing a repertoire comprised of wedding classics, as well as a variety of current music which could be chosen from in the event that the couple may be open to suggestions.

I was playing around with a simple chord progression, the other day when I noted the resemblance of the progression I was using to that of the famous  Canon in D, and was transported back to a wedding I attended years ago. The pianist improvised the whole ceremony. I was , at the time,  just learning  to improvise myself, and was quite impressed. I thought, “Wow, that’s really the way to go! Freedom from having perfectly timed sections of pieces, which don’t  end up matching the part of the ceremony for which it was planned, because stuff happens…especially when it comes weddings!  Freedom from clumsy  page turns,  dependency on reading notes , and the fear of losing one’s place in the music while trying to watch for cues, or a nod from the officiating minister or wedding planner in back of the church.”

Of course, students can always be preparing in the more traditional method of note reading and/or memorization,  depending on how much time they have before the inevitable happens!  Since I have little time left with these students, and improvisation is one of the focal points in our studio, these seniors will be putting together chord charts to a few basic pieces that could be used in a last minute call to provide music for a wedding. We will probably a start with the  two most  commonly requested musical spots in a wedding service :  a processional piece (Canon in D, Jesu Joy, Air on the G String); and a  bridal march (the ever popular Bridal Chorus, Bridal March or Trumpet Voluntary). From there, repertoire can be added as time allows. These days, brides and grooms often choose special recorded music for other parts of the service, or may have a particular special song they request to be played. These are not as easy to plan ahead for. A big help to me for finding sheet music in a hurry for such instances as these is , www.MusicNotes.com.  Sheet music for piano, piano/guitar/vocal, or chord chart can often be purchased, downloaded and printed off  in a suitable key, in just minutes for a minimal fee.

Here’s one method for learning to improvise the Canon in D (or any piece with a simple, repetitive chord progression),

1 – Write down the chord progression for the student, or have them determine and write down the progression. They can do this by listening to a recording (most easily available on YouTube) and first identifying  the notes in the bass (which are usually the chord roots, and occasionally the 3^rd of the chord) .

Next ask them to figure out the chord qualities.

For Canon in D, the progression is: D-A-Bmin-F#min-G-D- G-A.  Look for patterns to help whenever possible. A simpler way to think about the first six chords of this progression is: Start on D, Down a 4th, Up a 2nd, Down a 4th, Up a 2nd, etc.  (applying the two sharps, f# and c# in the key of D).  An easier option is to start this pattern on C, and use all white keys (of course, now you have to change the title of the piece!)

2- Have the student play the chords,  one at a time, holding each chord for four beats and moving steadily through the progression. Have them  repeat the chord progressions  over, looping it several times until it becomes comfortable.

3 – Now have the student wander freely within each chord using quarter and/or eighth notes, moving through the chords from one to the next. Loop as in the previous step.

4 – Help the student to identify the key melodic phrases from the original composition, and add these freely above or woven throughout the chord structures. For pianists, it is easiest to first play chord members with the right hand, interspersing melodic elements, all over single bass notes played by the left hand.

5 – Have the student practice transitioning from random places in the music to the dominant (V) and tonic (I) chords, preparing them to be able to bring the music to a graceful cadence and halt on command.

Canon in D is one of the easier improvisations to start with, as it has a consistent harmonic rhythm (there is a chord change every 4 beats.)  More complicated progressions will require a little more attention to setting the chords rhythmically to the appropriate harmonic pattern of the given piece.

I ran into a seamstress friend the other day who alters wedding dresses. She had just done dresses for seven weddings that very weekend! Will the music adorn these weddings as beautifully as the bride’s dress does? I hope so!

Thanks for reading! Please share any tricks you’ve come upon doing music for weddings! We’re all ears!

P.S.  In case you’d like my comp/improv blog articles in hard copy…I’ve published them in a 23 page book form: Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation, is now available for $12.95 by contacting me directly at PiacereMusic@comcast.net (includes shipping within the United States).

AN ONGOING CONCERN for many independent music teachers is the change of commitment level of students during the summer months. While some teachers enjoy the usually lightened studio schedule during the summer months, most of us depend on our teaching as our livelihood and have bills that do not go away during this time. I would love to hear your ideas, especially those of you that have been successful at insuring yourselves regular employment year long!

ESTABLISHING A SUMMER REQUIREMENT (a minimum number of lessons, with the option of replacing some private lessons with one of the various summer workshops), has been most helpful for me in keeping things going in my studio.  Though I  cannot really make anyone take classes, the ones that do are assured their slot, or first choice of times in my schedule when the school year comes back around.  My students and parents seem to really enjoy the flexibility with having a couple of options for summer lessons and a variety of supplemental classes.  I can pretty much count on earning at least two out of the three months salary this way, and usually bring on a few new students by offering the workshops to my students as well as students outside my studio. Those who want to do above and beyond the minimum requirement, and anyone who is responsible for an outside registrant receive a 20% discount on a class or monthly tuition charge.  This has been a motivator for some, taking advantage to afford extra music involvement for their child, or additional siblings. New students have also joined the studio through these summer referrals.

AS I PONDER MY CLASS OFFERINGS for this coming summer workshops, I am reflecting back to past years. Which classes were most successful and most popular? Which ones am I feeling enthusiastic about teaching again? Which ones brought in new students? Which ones stretched or broadened my current students the most? All of these things are important considerations.  I have learned from last year’s experience to limit my offerings to a few subjects that will fit the student interests that particular year. Offering too many different classes can end up with you using lots of your time and resources to teach many small classes. I tend to enjoy most having six students in my workshops, give or take (depending on the subject and activities that will be involved.  This allows enough for good interaction, games, and good hourly wage and at the same time is a manageable number (most of the time!)

It has worked well for me to distribute brochures, giving extras to my students to share with friends and school music teachers. I usually post a few on church bulletin boards and local music stores.  Thenthere’s the whole question regarding how to market your summer program, what to call it, if you want a catchy heading for your brochure, etc.  Working on my brochure, I remembered a recent comment,   “Do you think kids are really going to want to sign up for something called a WORKshop in the summer??? You need to call it a CAMP! Camp sounds like more fun!”  I sure don’t like to think that everything has to have “fun” as the prerequisite to be successful with kids. But of course, it sure does help nowadays, doesn’t it? We’re competing with church camp, horse camp, Lego camp, sports camp, and a myriad of others. I know my students think music is fun, but some of the most valuable things in life require WORK too! If the title on the brochure is too fun and childlike, my high school kids won’t find it as appealing, and I find they’re a bit difficult to reel in this time of the year anyway! So, two brochures? Maybe one brochure, half fun/child appealing and half cool and sophisticated for the more mature group? Actually, I haven’t tried the idea of separate brochures or sections to target the different age groups yet…maybe this time I’ll go with that approach.

STUDENTS HAVE ENJOYED and benefited greatly from a change of pace and material over the summer vacation (pianist adding voice or composition lessons, singers learning some basic piano and chords or songwriting to help round them out as musicians. )  Some have even added  additional lessons in a new area of study with me for the following school year because of having been introduced through a summer workshop.

Here are some of the workshops I have offered over the years. The ones with asterisk were most popular and successful in recent years, and will be among the choices for my future summer offerings:

• Musicianship and Techniques for Singers
• Songwriting*
• Theater Prep*
• Keyboards for Worship*
• Classical Composition
• Jazz & Improvisation*
• Piano Chops (technique builders)
• Theory for Singers (adult course)
• Theory Games
• Music History

I’m sure many of you have other great ideas for keeping students motivated and in your studios over the summer months. Please share your ideas by replying with a brief (or not so brief) comment to this blog article! We’d love to hear from you!

As I ponder my blog entry today, I’m in the process of scheduling new monthly jam sessions for my students!

In the past, as a summer workshop, Keyboard Jam proved to be very successful in stretching the students abilities, as well as giving them experience and enthusiasm for playing with other musicians! Have you read Nate Shaw’s two most recent articles on this very blog site? (If not, I hope that you will! I have added the links at the bottom of this article!)  Nate has some great ideas that I am definitely going to implement into my studio jam sessions, private lessons and recitals!

All of my students will be invited (pianists, singer, other instrumentalists). As the jam sessions become a huge hit, I will use them as an incentive, and extend invitation first to top practicers, best scales for the month, etc. All of the students will have fun creating music together, and learning how musicians work and play together. It works best to have separate sessions if you have a  large variance in ages and level of students. We will use the grand piano, a few keyboards, hand drums, shakers, my electric bass, and any other instruments that show up with the students.  There are so many different directions a class like this can take, but here’s a session plan that I have found to work extremely well!  Adapt  this activity to your situation! It may sound advanced, but even beginners can do it with simple songs like Twinkle Little Star!:

• Get all the keyboards and other instruments set up and plugged in (you might ask students with their own gear to arrive early enough to get set up!). Ice breaker game (I like to use the Name/Rhythm Game or Rhythm Telephone. See earlier blog for ideas:   http://www.musicteachershelper.com/blog/rhythm-rings/#more-876)

• Put on a previously chosen musical selection for listening. Pass out a prepared chord chart.  (Make one, or search online…you can find some free, or go to MusicNotes.com and chose chord chart, in the key that matches your recording!) Choose a selection  in a easily accessible key for the group and with limited chord changes. Have the students on keyboards or pitched instruments review playing the chords, or just the roots of the chords.

• Start the recording. As the music begins, have the students close their eyes and tap along quietly to the beat, until they’ve had a chance to get the feel of the music. See Nate’s second article for more specifics on “reverence for the groove”.  Now they may play along quietly,  with blocked chords or just roots.

• Ask the group to identify specific instrumental or vocal parts in the recording.  After assigning each participant a part (i.e. rock organ, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, piano, synthesizer pad, etc.), start the recording again, having everyone listen specifically for their part, and how it functions in the ensemble (rhythm, melody, chords, arpeggios, fills, etc.) This is something that can be discussed with the entire group, as you can later have the students rotate and try all of the different parts!

• Give everyone a few minutes to find appropriate setting on their instruments (we primarily have keyboards, with a couple of rhythm people and maybe a guitar).  Let them experiment with assimilating a similar sound/style to the recorded example. (Head phones are recommended for this step!) At this point, I will go around the studio and help each one with some demonstration. Simplify parts to the level of each individual student.

• When each participant has found their sound and groove , demonstrate a sample of each musical part for the entire group.

• Now it’s time to JAM! Explain that each musician needs to play just loud enough to hear themselves and to be able to hear the whole ensemble! Start the recording, and everybody plays along!  If time allows, or at the next session after all have had a chance to practice their parts, try to put it all together without the recording playing!

Keyboard players make themselves more a valuable asset to a group if they are able to play, or at least understand, all of the parts in the band or ensemble! Singers and other instrumentalists appreciate becoming more well rounded musicians as participants in these jam sessions. Give it a try!

Now, please go and read Nate Shaw’s inspiring articles, which offer excellent ideas for creating some awesome performance opportunities using the “gig” idea: http://www.musicteachershelper.com/blog/a-different-kind-of-recital/#more-1069 and very fun and practical ways to incorporate the ensemble experience into practicing: http://www.musicteachershelper.com/blog/how-to-prepare-a-different-kind-of-recital/#more-1215

Thanks for reading! Please be sure to share your thoughts on this topic!

P.S.  In case you’d like my comp/improv blog articles in hard copy…I’ve published them in a 23 page book form: Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation, is now available for $12.95 by contacting me directly at PiacereMusic@comcast.net (includes shipping within the United States).

• Over the next few months, I’d love your help in compiling a list of  resources for teaching music creativity. My own experience has been that it is difficult to find adequate materials in the areas of  improvisation and composition curricula, and I would love to know about  resources you use to inspire your students in their music creativity!  I will share some of my favorites. As you can see, many of them are my own, developed for use in my own teaching and then published for others. They have been successful!  But, I would really value your suggestions as well! Please add your favorites by comment, and I will amend the list as we go!

Here’s just a start…as I am on vacation as I write this, so I may be able to add more upon returning to my studio after the New Year!

Resources for Music Creativity –

Places to Start, and Were to Find Them

Imagery and Stories

Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (all levels) – Amazon

Crazy Staves by C. Schumann (beg/int) – Piacere Music

Flip for Improvisation “Jr” and “Original” (beg/int) by C. Schumann – Piacere Music

Rhythmic

Clap and Count Cards by J. Calder – Making Music Fun

Flip for Improvisation “Sr” by C. Schumann (int/adv) – Piacere Music

Scales and Modes

Flip for Improvisation “Sr” by C. Schumann  (int/adv) – Piacere Music

Lead Line

Folk Fake Book by  K. Ziegler (easy arrangements and keys) – Piacere Music

Various fake books  from your local music store or  Sheet Music Plus or  Amazon

Style

Pop Piano by Mark Harrison  (late int/adv) – Harrison Music

Jazz

Jazz-Blues Piano  Book and  by Mark Harrison (late int/adv) – Harrison Music

Quick Starts

Jump Starts for Composition by C. Schumann  (int/adv) – Piacere Music

Composition Method Books

Music by Me Series by K. Olson & W. Rossi  (beg) – FJH Music

Composition and Improvisation Projects

Activity Maestro by K. Ziegler (beg/int) - Piacere Music

Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation -  PiacereMusic@comcast.net

Please Comment With Your Favorites and Check Back…hoping for more to come!

P.S.  In case you’d like my comp/improv blog articles in hard copy…I’ve published them in a 23 page book form: Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation, is now available for $12.95 by contacting me directly at PiacereMusic@comcast.net (includes shipping within the United States).

I’d like to share some ideas that work well as ice breakers or to brush up on rhythm skills in group lessons and workshops. I’ve even used them to kick off my teacher workshops, and they inspired very enthusiastic participation from all!

The Rhythm Ring

1)  Prior to class, set out a group of rhythm instruments in the middle of a circle of chairs or rug area where the students will be sitting. As they enter, explain that you will be passing the instruments out to those who are waiting patiently when class begins. (This will help with chaos control!)

2)  Ask the students to think of a rhythmic pattern in 4/4 time, and to be prepared to play it repeatedly, once they have been asked to join in the rhythm ring. For those not ready to create their own rhythm, you may want to make a set of rhythm cards. You can find a great set of colorful, laminated rhythmic patterns, Clap and Count at: Making Music Fun by Jane Calder: http://www.makingmusicfun.com/index.html)

Also, interesting rhythmic patterns with varied meters are offered in Flip for Improvisation Senior: Scales, Modes & Rhythm, available at: www.PiacerePress.com

Another fun and easy variation on this idea is to have the students create a rhythm using the syllables in their name (first, middle, last or complete). Example: An-na-belle-Stra-vin-sky could be all eighth notes, or four eighths followed by two quarter notes, or any of an endless list of rhythmic variations!

3)  Designate a “starter” and determine which way around the circle (or down the row) you will proceed.

4)  Count off, or use a metronome, in 4/4 time. Everyone must join in the counting!

5)  Point to each student as it is his turn to enter in with his unique rhythm, two or three measures after the previous student has joined in, each entering in on “beat one”

6)  Each player continues playing his own rhythm repeatedly until all have entered in and the full ensemble has played together for several measures.

BONUS: You may also use this exercise for

• Teaching Conducting Patterns ~ Have students take turns conducting the group.

• Dynamics ~ Once all students have entered in the ensemble, suggest, or conduct dynamic changes.

• Notation ~ Ask students to write down the various rhythms after the game.

• Improvisation ~ Invite one student to the piano to improvise along with the rhythm ring.

• Composition Starter ~ ask each student to create a melody for his new rhythm, and see where it may lead?

Rhythm Telephone

1)  Prepare as for the previous game, steps 1 and 2.

2)  Choose one person to be the leader. He will play his rhythm two times when asked to begin.

3)  Get the whole group clapping with one hand on their thigh and counting aloud together in the meter of the leader’s rhythm.

4)  When the group has gotten their counting and clapping going strong, the leader then plays his rhythm against the quarter note rhythm being clapped by the group.

5)  Everyone continues to clap and count, and the person to the left of the leader plays the leader’s rhythm on beat one of the next measure, as he heard it played before him.

6)  Now each person around the circle  plays  the rhythm, as they last heard it played by the person next to them, until the rhythm it is finally played by the person to the right of the leader.

7)  The leader now plays his rhythm in its original form, and the group determines if they succeeded in playing the rhythm correctly around the circle, or not!

I hope you and your students will enjoy some rhythmic inspiration! Please offer your comments, and share a favorite rhythm activity from your studio!

P.S.  In case you’d like my comp/improv blog articles in hard copy…I’ve published them in a 23 page book form: Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation, is now available for $12.95 by contacting me directly at PiacereMusic@comcast.net (includes shipping within the United States).

(Improvisation Journals, Budding Ideas, Blossoms and Bouquets)

Last month I talked about students making improvisation journals to jot down their musical ideas. Paralleling the creative process to stages in development of flowers and bouquets, ideas were offered in these areas (see Blossoming Improvisation – Part One dated 9/25/09) :

• Preparing the Soil for Creativity
• Planting Seeds (motifs).

Today I want to talk about the remaining three stages in my flowery discussion of creativity:

• Budding Ideas (phrases)
  
• Blossoms (sections)
  
• The Bouquet (the composition)

Budding Ideas (Phrases)

In this section, short motifs from the “Planting Seeds” section (see Part One of this series) will be expanded in to phrases. The motifs may be used as “take-off” points, or combined to create an interesting theme.

Since a phrase is a musical sentence, it needs to have a beginning, and build through the middle to a period or question mark at the end. The picture of a rainbow shape is a helpful analogy of a phrase shape. Though all phrases do not follow the same melodic and dynamic shape, the rainbow shape will ensure nicely rounded, successful phrases for introductory purposes. Once this is achieved, turn up at the ends of the phrases to create question phrases.

Improvising phrases back and forth between teacher and student works well for practice (you may use a call and response format). I usually start beginners by actually speaking, or singing a question to them, and asking them to speak or sing the answer back to me. Then we put the question and answer into notes on the instrument. We are all accustomed, from a young age, to building phrases with our voices, so that is a very good place to start.

Another idea for practice, is to use a current song line or phrase from a folk or nursery rhyme as an example, having the student create his own original second phrase.

Now, lets go back to our journals (see last month’s article!) I know, I’m talking about improvisation journals, but writing some things down is good practice, and improvisation often becomes composition. Remember, you can incorporate some manuscript pages, or if using store bought journals, a page of manuscript paper can be attached to a journal page with staples, glue or tape. Hopefully, by having the students start out by notating their motifs (also from last month), putting notes down on the paper for their phrase won’t be a big deal.  I like to do one example myself, explaining all the details of how I’m doing my notes, while they watch. Now it’s their turn. Make sure to be encouraging, and not overly picky on details. These can be fine tuned as they develop some confidence.

Blossoms (Sections)

A blossom is made of many petals, all having a similar appearance because they belong to the same blossom.  But they also have some variation if you look closely. To parallel again with our creative process, we will use phrases in combination to build our first section of music. In music, a period usually consists of four phrases. This can be easily done as: question phrase, answer phrase, same question phrase, different answer phrase (you end up with A-B1-A-B2, or A-B-A-C).  I will sometimes use note cards, marked with letters, as follows:  2 with “A”, 2 with “B”, and 1 with “C”.  I will then set the cards up on the music rack or stand to create section structure variations. Examples: A-B-A ,  A-A-B-A,  A-B-A-C. This teaches students how to create good musical form, balancing the use of repetition and variation. Periods usually go in pairs, being repeated or answered by another period. Think of each period as half of the flower!

The journalling process may change here, depending on the preferred manner of notation and performance. If the music is in an improvisatory state, a chord chart or lead line format might be used. If the music is to be written out in full notation, these periods may be more notation than practical for the journal. At this point, the particular composition might go to a regular manuscript notebook, or computer notation program. Still, the journal may be used for sections of lyrics, artwork to accompany the creative process, possible phrase combinations (using the letters from the cards above) for improvising periods, etc.

The Bouquet (The Composition)

As a bouquet is an arrangement of several unique blossoms, our finished piece of music will be a grouping of two or more sections.  A skilled flower arranger knows how to put flowers together in an artistically appealing display, balancing blossoms of similar shape and colors with those of contrasting characteristics. A composer needs to do the same thing to create a successful piece. Repetition holds the composition together, while variation and contrast add interest. Often, compositions that result from the lack of a structural plan at the onset, tend to ramble, lacking in organization. Therefore, as soon a new idea is started, help the student chose a plan for a structure.

If we have flowers represent the different sections in our music, we might have two roses, an iris, and a daisy. Since the “A” section usually is stronger if repeated at some point in the piece, we’ll have the roses represent “A”. The iris will be “B”, and the daisy “C”. Then “arrange” away! Another idea for achieving a structure is to draw a rough sketch of cars of a train (engine, coal car, caboose, etc.), with each car representing a section of the piece. Or you might use the lettered cards again from phrase grouping exercise discussed earlier, this time having them represent the bigger sections of the composition or improvisation. A student may also use the form from an existing study piece (Bach minuet) as a template for structure.

My experience with my student improvisers and composers has taught me this: keeping things more toward the simple side and taking one step at a time is critical for success. Otherwise, the student will most often try too much too soon and become frustrated or overwhelmed with the whole idea of creativity. By offering some structure to work within, and encouraging him to resist getting too complex out of the gate, you will help him on his way to success! One more thing…be flexible! The point of the organization here is to help to direct the creative process. Once going, if the piece really wants to take another shape, don’t box it in…allow the student to go back and revise the plan.

Well, as usual, I once again got carried away! Take whatever you can use, adapt it to your studio, and most of all, HAVE FUN!!! It would be so awesome to see pictures of some of your students’ journals (or your own!) Send them to me at JoyfulNoise52@gmail.com and I’ll see about putting them up on the blog as a follow up to this article after the spring semester. Also, we’d all love to hear about any other ideas you have for journaling with music creativity! I don’t know about you, but I think a big, colorful bouquet of flowers for the studio will be a perfect adornment, as we get going with our “Blossoming Improvisation”  journals this spring!

Thank you for reading!

P.S.  In case you’d like my comp/improv blog articles in hard copy…I’ve published them in a 23 page book form: Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation, is now available for $12.95 by contacting me directly at PiacereMusic@comcast.net (includes shipping within the United States).

(Improvisation Journals, Preparing the Soil & Planting Seeds)

“How do I get really good at improvisation?” a student will ask me from time to time.

Most successful artists practice their craft daily. Think about any artist you may know. If you go into their studios, you will likely find evidence of the artistic process in many different stages of  creativity. With a creator of fine paintings, you might find a pile of rough sketches, pencil drawings and canvases with texture and shading patches; four or five versions of a still life of flowers and fruit, varying in color value, styles and techniques; and a landscape in water color sitting on an easel ready for finishing touches. The studio walls are decorated with finished works done by the artist, as well as pieces created by his contemporaries and influences which provide an inspiring work setting.

Journals are used by writers to keep the creative juices flowing, and to record their ideas.

Next spring, my students will be encouraged in their daily musical creativity with new improvisation journals! These journals will be specially created by the students themselves. There will be lots of space for jotting down melodic ideas, lyrics, doodles and drawings. Every other page will be manuscript paper, my intentions being that a great deal of the journaling will be done in a musical language (i.e. traditional notation, chord progressions, lead line, short hand notation, etc.).

We will have a journal making day in early spring when the students will put their books together and personalize their covers with pictures, pretty scrap booking paper, and collage. Manuscript paper can be downloaded from the internet and printed out from your computer. You might have access to a binding machine, or take the journals to an office supply store and have them spiral bound. You may also choose to use a simple audio software program (here is a free one you can download: audacity.sourceforge.net/) to do regular recordings of the students’ ideas. CD pouches are available also at an office supply store, and can be adhered to the inside covers of the journals.

Our journals will be divided into four sections, labeled “Planting Seeds“, “Budding Ideas“, ” Blossoms“,  and “Bouquets” to set apart the various stages of the creative process involved in improvisation and composition.  It is beneficial to teach and reinforce these four processes of creativity at lessons. It is my experience that students respond best to hands-on activities in the lessons, to inspire further exploration outside the lesson. In our studio, the students will be setting individual, realistic goals for their improvisation journaling.  This could look something like:

• Plant a “Seed” per day (create a motif)
• Complete one  “Budding Idea” per week (full phrase)
• Create one  “Blossom ” each month (section, period)
• Present a full “Bouquet” by the end of the Semester (or whatever realistic time frame applies).

It sounds like we’re going to be doing lots with rakes and trowels! Actually, as you can see, by the descriptions in parenthases, I have some other tools in mind! Keep reading!…

Preparing the Soil  for Creativity

A few minutes of improvisation is a great way to start off the lesson. So, we will start off each lesson spending a few minutes in our new journal. Teachers can prepare their students for improvisation and composition, and even to be more well rounded musicians, by spending a couple of minutes each lesson doing some simple improvisation games, or a quick rhythmic or melodic dictation exercise. Refer back to my earlier blogs for specific activities that can be used here, especially my May 24^th article, #1 of the Get It Going Series – The Creativity Tool Box, and January 22, Improvising on a Snowflake.

Planting the Seeds (Motifs)

This  section  is a great place to get started, since it will provide building materials which can be used in the other sections of the journal.  A “seed” is another name for a rhythmic, melodic or harmonic motif, in other words a baby building block for our piece. We might start in the area of the student’s strength. If I have a tactile orientated student (the one who has to be always noodling with his fingers on the keyboard, or fidgeting!) I might start by handing him a drum and asking for a short rhythm. From there, he will be asked to notate the rhythm to the best of his ability. A more visually orientated student will be asked to look at a picture in  a magazine, or imagine or quickly draw a scene or character, and to play a three to five note musical description. Most people are strong in either or both of these orientations, and some may be more aural. As the improvisation takes shape, the aural aspect will definitely come into play. Once there are several “seedlings” recorded in this section of the journal, the student may use one or more combined to move on to the next step: creating a phrase.

Check back next month for “Buds”, “Blossoms” and “Bouquets” which will continue on with our Blossoming Improvisors Journaling ideas. In the meantime, you can get your ideas and materials together for making the journals, and start playing with the ideas I’ve shared with you for “preparing the soil” and “planting the seeds”.

Until then, have fun creating! And please share any ideas you have on this topic!

P.S.  In case you’d like my comp/improv blog articles in hard copy…I’ve published them in a 23 page book form: Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation, is now available for $12.95 by contacting me directly at PiacereMusic@comcast.net (includes shipping within the United States).

Jump Start Your Creativity!

…with Mozart or Beethoven! At one time, using another artists idea to build a masterpiece was considered an homage, a great honor! (These days it’s called plagiarism!) So, we won’t need to take it straight off the page, but gleaning another artist’s great idea and using it as a springboard into improvisation or original composition, is something quite worthwhile.

I would like to share just a few improv/composition exercises that use previously written music as a starting place. Since I have discussed in my earlier articles more specifics on motifs, development and form, please refer back to Parts 1 and 2 of “Get It Going” if you haven’t previously had a chance to read them!

Theme & Variations

This is probably the most obvious place to start. I’d suggest to start by listening to some examples. Here are a few suggestions:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman” (K. 265 / K. 300e)

Ludwig van Beethoven, 33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120

Max Reger, Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Mozart, Op.132

Make a simple lead line chart of a familiar tune (I like to use Twinkle, Jingle Bells and Jesus Loves Me, to name a few).

• Write (or have the student) write out the melody line. You may choose to use just the starting note for the melody, and then only the lyrics.

• Using the most basic chord choices (I, IV and V in the given key), play the melody, and let the student figure out which chord sounds best on each downbeat. It generally works well to start out with a chord on beat one of each measure, then fill in any extras that are needed. Write the chord names or symbols above the words with which each is played. (Folk Songs Fake Book by Karen Ziegler, Piacere Press, has many wonderful lead line arrangements in easy-to-play keys.)

• Play the melody while the student explores different accompaniment patterns (left and right hand possibilities!) Next, have him play the melody and vary the rhythm, key, articulations, etc. Now send him home to come up with one, two, maybe even three different variations!

Fill-in-the-Blanks

• Choose an existing composition (pick something easier than the students’ current playing level).
• Using self adhesive strips, like Post Its, cover up random sections of the music. It might be every other measure that is hidden, every other line, or just the right or left hand notes indescriminately.
• The performer starts by playing the music, as written, and fills the blank measures or sections in with improvised notes.

“Jump Start” Compositions

One of the first creativity tools I developed came from the idea of a jump start from a preexisting piece of music. The idea evolved from a music teachers group in Colorado for whom I presented on the topic of Teaching Composition. Prior to the meeting, each member received a copy of an existing composition (don’t worry…it was one of my own! I take the copyright law very seriously). The catch was, they got only the first eight measures of music. The rest of the page was blank staves, with a challenge for them to finish it!

The day of the meeting arrived. To their own surprise, half a dozen of those teachers, most of whom claimed not to have composed at all prior to that, had completed or nearly completed compositions! They attributed their success to having something to start with.  What fun it was to hear that eight measure theme take off in such different directions! How uniquely wonderful each was.

Try it!

• Choose a four to eight measure exerpt from an existing composition .
• Have the performer choose one or two musical elements from the exerpt to use as building blocks for the improv or composition (i.e. motif, altered motif, rhythm, accompaniment pattern or bass line).
• Extend and develop the elements from the previous step as the improv unwinds to add interest and direction. (see “Walk the Dog” in last month’s article for more help with this!)
• As the performer becomes more at ease with his improvising, have him strive for balanced amounts of repetition and variation, and musical form.
• To avoid plagiarism in case the composition is later performed or published, simply alter the “starter” segment to make it the performers own.

My book, Jump Starts for Composition, Piacere Press includes 16 composition “starters” for this very use.

Tips for Successful Improvising

• Always start small and build s-l-o-w-l-y to keep the process of creativity rewarding! Frustration often comes from starting too big, too soon. Some of the most beautiful moments in music are profoundly simple.

• Take a minute before starting to close the eyes and imagine the mood, shape, character, etc. of the impending improvisation.

• Pick a SLOW tempo-or one that can be maintained, keeping the flow of the music steady throughout.

• Always keep the music going! New improvisers will often stop playing when they’re not sure they like the sounds that are being created. Remember, there are no wrong notes here…use the questionable tones as stepping stones on the way to some better ones!

Thanks for Reading!

P.S.  In case you’d like my comp/improv blog articles in hard copy…I’ve published them in a 23 page book form: Music Creativity in Bloom ~ Dozens of Inspiring Ideas to help you teach Composition and Improvisation, is now available for $12.95 by contacting me directly at PiacereMusic@comcast.net (includes shipping within the United States).

After last month’s article, are you still looking for:

• A few ideas for a fresh new way to start off a lesson?
• A few quick improv games to use in a group setting?
• A reward activity for a student’s hard work on an assignment?
• Starter ideas for the next composition:

In each part of this series, we are exploring a different angle in the music creativity process. So, today we are going to explore improvisation with an activity I call…

“Walking the Dog!”

Excuse Me? You may be wondering what exercising your pet has to do with improvisation techniques? I have found this to be one of the best and ways to help my students to understand and practice development of motifs and phrases. Most people can relate to having a new pet with fond recollection, and so you’ll immediately have their eager attention to try this exercise when you greet them with “Today we’re walking the dog!”

The Motif: A Mini Melody

I first ask the student to play a mini, or baby melody, 3 or 4 notes (recommend mostly steps and maybe one larger interval). They can be played in any order and rhythm. Once he has done this, I ask him to repeat it a few times (so that it works its way into the memory). You may have them name their motif, preferable a dog’s name! (I know this sounds like I’m talking to a little kid, but older students…even adults, seem to relate fine!)

Learn Some New Tricks!

Next, we will explore different ways to manipulate the motif (turn it upside-down, play it backwards, repeat on different registers of the instrument, try it in different keys for more advanced players, now try to sequence several motifs together, moving up or down on the scale.) Here the younger students (and many of the older ones) will enjoy thinking of this process as teaching your puppy some new tricks. This may be a good place to stop, sending them home to “practice with the new puppy”.

Ready to Explore?

By now, hopefully, manipulating the motif has become fun and more easily done. It’s time to take the puppy out and introduce him to the outdoors. Use the motif as a starting point, taking off from there into a longer musical expression. I have the student imagine taking the new puppy for short walk around your yard. You may choose to give them an example, playing a musical idea roughly 4 measures in length. Once the student has accomplished the “walk around the yard” ask him to play the phrase again, matching it as closely as possible to the first time. Explain that the puppy needs to get familiar with his own yard, so we’ll do a couple of walks around the yard.

Now let’s take the puppy exploring to the neighbors! Here I find it’s important to not strictly time the phrase, as this time you will encourage the student to start on a musical journey that will take off from the original phrase, and go someplace further away…someplace new, exciting and different! (The phrase will probably get longer and that’s OK!) For building a nice first section to a piece, we would now go back again and do a trip around the puppy’s yard, to give a nicely rounded A B A form.

Now Keep it Going!

For the sake of learning to further develop an idea, and extending or “spinning out” a melody, instead of going back again to the original phrase, now ask the student to take the puppy down the block, and then around the block, and now to the next neighborhood over, around town, etc.

Go give it a try! Always offer positive comments when teaching improvisation! Encourage the student to play through and not stop to fix things, as there are no wrong answers possible! Build on the things that are done well, and encourage growth where it is most needed!

PLEASE RESPOND with your results and ideas, so that in the next few months we will have a nice collection to draw from and get some creativity going in our music studios. I can’t wait to hear your ideas!! Check in again soon for my next one!

Thanks for checking in, and have a GREAT day!

For more ideas and tools for teaching music creativity, check out my teaching materials at www.PiacerePress.com!