When first starting to improvise or compose, the silence surrounding the instrument or the piece blank manuscript paper in front of students can be rather daunting. Therefore I always begin creative activities within a genre that is familiar to students.
Outside of your studio, what engagement do your students have with music? This is a question that I am always keen to ask new students. The majority of my students hear pop music on the radio, ‘muzak’ in shopping centres, soundtracks in movies, ring tones and advertising jingles. Only a small minority of my students hear live music regularly and an even smaller minority are exposed to new classical repertoire outside of their lessons.
With this in mind, the first improvisational or compositional activities in my studio usually stem from a response to a visual stimulus and more often that not they are a response to a short film. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Music & Technology, Music Theory, Teaching Tips
Ugh. It seems like the fighting will never end. With constant news streaming both online and on TV, it can feel impossible to separate yourself from it. Personally, I try to avoid the news at all costs. There is no chance of me missing anything anyway, because people are talking about it constantly. War, Human Rights, Political Fighting. It’s all too much!
We can create our own peaceful reality when we step into the music lesson. By consciously choosing songs that reflect peace and good feelings, we are teaching students the power of music. Music can change the environment in the room in an instant, so here is a list of peace songs to teach your students:
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Performing, Teaching Tips
Last weekend I took a 6-hour flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, and that was plenty of time to read the entire book “Sounding the Inner Landscape: Music as Medicine” by Kay Gardner. I have been interested for a very long time in the healing power of music. Ever since I was a little girl, I just intuitively knew there was something healing about music. Now that I have finally overcome my science learning block, I can begin the adventure of understanding why music heals.
This book is a fantastic starting point for any musician who wants to understand what makes music healing, and how to create music specifically for healing purposes. The author began performing in the 70′s in women’s music circles, and from what my 30 year old mind remembers, those were the days when healing music was dominated by “women’s music circles.” When I read Kay Gardner’s bio and saw that she is well known in the “New Age” healing music world, I will admit I rolled my eyes a little. I’m sorry, you guys. But anyone my age is most likely going to have that reaction to what I consider to be a somewhat dorky and unfortunate category of music. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Music News, Music Theory, Product Reviews, Professional Development
Copyright. Why should we bother?? As a private teacher, I have often said to myself, “It’s such a pain to have students purchase music, when I could just copy one piece out of this book.” Another excuse that I have used is, “Well, this student will only be singing one song out of this book. Why should I have them go to the expense of purchasing the entire collection?”
This past summer, I was the recipient of the NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Independent Teacher Fellowship. This gave me the opportunity to attend the National Conference this past July in Salt Lake City. One of the things that really struck me was that original music was used by all of the pianists during the conference. I also had the joy of attending a “Publisher Showcase” during every lunch period.
These Publisher Showcases were opportunities for me to really appreciate all the work that publishers put into preparing new editions of music for those of us who teach. Hal Leonard has some amazing new editions of Leonard Bernstein songs (Bernstein Theatre Songs in High, Low & Duets/Ensembles books and Bernstein Art Songs and Arias in High & Medium/Low keys) as well as a new complete edition of 65 Songs of Samuel Barber (in High and Medium/Low keys). The work and attention to detail evident in these new editions of composers we know and love was evident. Previously unpublished songs are included in each of these new editions. I was also introduced to the new Schirmer editions of the standard Italian Art Songs and Arias. The 28 Italian Songs and Arias now includes (in 5 keys, and for only $10/book without the recording) IPA & historical background of each song, in addition to a few songs that are unfamiliar from the traditional “yellow book” Schirmer edition. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Studio Management, Teaching Tips
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”. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Performing, Teaching Tips
Have you ever wanted to record a student’s performance prior to a recital, or a difficult passage that the student needs to work on, but lacked the equipment or knowledge to do so? I would like to share the ways in which I use recordings in my studio, and the very accessible and simple equipment that I use to produce recordings. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Music & Technology, Performing, Teaching Tips, Using Music Teacher's Helper
To start this off, I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed being an author on this blog for the past year and a half and the wonderful people I have met, as well as the beneficial information I have learned as well. This will be my last article on Music Teacher’s Helper, as I’m getting ready to have my 2nd baby here quite soon, and am starting my hiatus.
As I’ve been contemplating what topic to cover for this last article, it occurred to me while teaching, that it might be beneficial to talk about how I’ve integrated my home studio into my music lessons, and how it has affected my students for the better.
As well as being a music teacher, I’m also a composer/recording artist and so I have a studio in my home. Many parents and students have asked me “Why do you need two keyboards?” or “How do you record all of that right here?”, as well as many other curious questions pertaining to what goes into recording music from a home studio. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Music & Technology, Teaching Tips
Just what are the chances that your students may someday be asked to play or sing for a wedding? Probably pretty good! A couple of years ago one of my 11 year-old boys was asked to play for his cousins’ wedding. I couldn’t imagine how that was going to happen, but it did!!
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… Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Performing, Teaching Tips
When did you last sit down at your instrument and improvise a piece of music? I find it a great way to boost my creative energy. Were you even encouraged to do that as a student? I know I wasn’t. My job, growing up, was to play my scales, pieces, studies, and sight-reading with impeccable fidelity to the required text and technique, and then to close the piano lid when it was time for dinner. Anything else was considered ‘playing around’, and was strongly discouraged.
These days, fortunately, children who learn instruments generally feel a lot freer to play and to improvise at their instrument, and we can learn a lot from them. What do they do when they sit at the piano? Experiment with sounds and colors? Enjoy the feeling of flapping their hands up and down on the notes? Stick to the extreme ends of the keyboard?
As a piano teacher, I often begin by improvising around a simple chord sequence, and inviting the student to create a melody. If they’re shy, I set a tempo and suggest they play only whole notes to start with. When they begin to become more confident, I move to half notes and then quarter notes, before encouraging them to start to create a more inventive rhythm. What works particularly well is to play in F sharp major and let the student know that playing just on the black notes will work fine. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Performing, Practicing, Teaching Tips
Evidence that great minds DO think alike: after spending time drafting my next blog about summer camps, I logged in to my MTH account and wouldn’t you know–the very creative Christine Schumann had already posted a blog about summer options! I contemplated scrapping my draft and finding a new topic. However, I decided this could be my “response” to Christine’s timely topic. So…
By mid May, I, along with my students, suffer from spring fever with symptoms including motivation deprivation, practice burnout, lesson absentia, routine-o-phobia.
Nothing has remedied this spring fever more successfully in my studio than offering summer camps. Every student is required to attend a camp or take at least 5 private lessons during June-July or they may register for both.
Following the suggestions of experienced teachers regarding materials, fees, format, etc, I began offering summer camps as an option for my students two years ago. The first year I offered Creation Camp and last year I offered Creation Camp along with Discovery Camp, Invention Camp and Theory Boot Camp. Below are brief descriptions of each camp including materials used. Read more…
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Posted in Composing & Arranging, Music Theory, Promoting Your Studio, Teaching Tips
When first starting to improvise or compose, the silence surrounding the instrument or the piece blank manuscript paper in front of students can be rather daunting. Therefore I always begin creative activities within a genre that is familiar to students.
