More…

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!  More…

Prepare Your Students For A Different Kind Of Recital

Working on 'groove' with my students

Last month I discussed a different kind of recital (I call it a gig) I have implemented for my students. It takes place at a jazz club. Uses professional musicians to back the students, young and old. And is very casual for both family and students. See the previous entry for more info on that. This month I wanted to discuss how I prepare my students for this type of show.

I teach from the very beginning a reverence for the groove. Whether it’s a classical piece or a blues or even just the simplest beginning 4 measure ‘song.,’ I approach all music with the idea that rhythm and pulse…ie. Groove..is essential. Way before I discuss any musical terms, note names, technique, etc. my students are playing rhythm games. My belief is that all music flows at its base level from a pulse and students need to be aware of this from the beginning. So, the gig creates a real opportunity for them to share that groove with other musicians. But in order for them to feel ready to play with other live musicians, I need to simulate the experience in the studio.

More…

I really enjoy having the option to send out lesson notes after a lesson through the Music Teacher’s Helper website. I find this is a great way to recap a lesson, reiterate the main theme of that lesson, and to remind me of what occurred in the student’s previous lesson, as the notes appear on my daily summary. As I teach solidly with very few breaks in between lessons, I keep a notebook on my piano that I jot notes into for lesson notes. When I sit down at my computer (sometimes that evening, and often times the next morning) I have a reference to go to on what happened at a student’s lesson and what comments I would like them to take away from that lesson.

When creating lesson notes each week, I always try to touch on something positive that happened in the lesson. Sometimes that may be as small as “Nice job being on time three weeks in a row!” or as large as “Great improvement! You are on to a new level!” I also have my students keep a “Voice Notebook” that I write in, as well as they write in. More…

The holidays are almost over, you’ve finished debating the merits of “twenty-ten” vs. “two thousand and ten”, and you’re nearly ready to start your early January crash diet. But one thing seems to have slipped your mind completely over the holidays – your practicing. Yes, the spring semester is almost upon us, along with its juries, recitals, RCM exams, master classes, and festivals. And while you’re about to restart your daily practice sessions with a vengeance, here are ten things to keep in mind this year as your improve your musical skills in the coming year:

More…

Need curriculum for teaching the creative stuff?       Have favorite resources to share?

• 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
More…

daily observations “classical music insights” Charles Noble is the Assistant principal violist of the Oregon Symphony.  He blogs about his experiences with the orchestra, as well as his deep love of good coffee.  Follow Charles on Twitter.

Dial “M” for Musicology “Music, Musicology, and Related Matters.”   “This is a musicology group blog that features the prose stylings of Jonathan Bellman (University of Northern Colorado) and Phil Ford (Indiana University Jacobs School of Music). It is a place for us to work ideas out publicly in what is still, for our field, a somewhat new medium. We are members of the American Musicological Society, but our views are entirely our own and should not be taken as representative of the AMS or any other academic organization. “Dial ‘M’ for Musicology” is an academic blog, but it wants to be friends with everyone. Welcome to all critics, musicians, bedroom air-guitarists, louche aesthetes, prickly autodidacts, and random passers-by!”  There are also several new contributors who have joined the fold.  Often thought-provoking and always interesting, this is a great place to find things to think about.  4-8 posts monthly.

dramma per musica “My name is Bob Kingston. I’m a librarian, free-lance musicologist, lapsed bass-baritone, and self-professed opera fanatic living in Portland, Oregon.  I give all of the pre-performance talks for the Portland Opera, and I also lead music history classes for the company’s Studio Artists. I love collecting historic vocal recordings, and I often use examples of these in my classes and presentations. So, don’t be surprised if I post a clip of some obscure Russian tenor or Italian baritone from time to time.”  4-12 posts monthly.  I enjoy Bob’s tweets immensely.  Follow Bob on Twitter. More…

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. More…

Singing is unlike any musical instrument in the world.  Not only is our instrument a part of our body, but we are able to synthesize music and text in one.  For centuries, composers and librettists have collaborated to create opera, zarzuela, operetta and musical theater, heightening the text and music into drama.

Many of my high school students are interested in musical theater and beg to sing excerpts from the latest hit on Broadway; some of my other students have a favorite opera or operetta aria that they have longed to learn. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the semantics and technique of the music while learning a piece, and sometimes the final performance of that piece lacks the drama needed to truly liberate the performer and communicate with the audience.  I have found that infusing my teaching with drama games and exercises gives my students, both young and old, tools to find freedom in the communication with the audience and connection with the character they are playing. More…

I read recently where it takes some 10,000 hours to become the master of a skill. Of course it’s a given we’re not talking about bussing tables here; and I ought to know. You see back when Nixon was yet a president in good standing I learned and practiced that little ’skill’ on a very high level.

No, we’re talking about such exceptionally rich and complex skills as playing the violin, performing brain surgery, and, say composing symphonies.

So let’s see now. If you practiced 5 hours a day, six days a week, 50 weeks a year, then we’re talking somewhere in the neighborhood of seven years to become Maxim Vengerov.

Sounds like a bargain to me.

What about you, is the violin worth that to you? More…