Music Teacher's Helper Blog

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.

Creation Camp (Four days, 75 mins, 2-4 students)

The intention of this camp was to offer an opportunity for anyone–current student or not–to create within the realm of music. Using unique non-staff to limited staff notation, and instruments ranging from triangles to kazoos (and the piano too), novice music students experimented with pitch and rhythm patterns with a twist. Most students were hoping for another week after completing the 4-day camp.

Materials Used or Referenced:

Beethoven’ s Wig CDs 1-3 www.kidstoimagination.com

Body Beat Cards by Christine Stevens and Sammy K www.ubdrumcicles.com

Hal Leonard’s All-Purpose Music Flashcards

Flip for Improvisation, Junior by Christine J. Schumann www.picarepress.com

Outside the Lines by Mark Burrows, Heritage Music Press www.lorenz.com

Young Composer’s Notebook 1-3, by Frederic Harris Music Co, Limited www.frederickharrismusic.com

Young Musician’s Guide to Composing, Heritage Music Press www.lorenz.com

HINT: no one left the camp without knowing the Heart and Soul Pattern–always a winner!

Discovery  Camp (Four days, 60 mins, 2-4 students)

In hopes of securing Pre-K students as daytime piano students in the fall, I offered this camp to provide a chance for potential students to learn some essentials. Campers learned about high, low, the musical alphabet, tempo, 2 and 3 black keys, finger numbers, etc, using hands-on activities, games and OF COURSE movement! As expected, what was planned each day tended to morph into the demands of the kiddos attention span. The percussion instruments were always a favorite.

Materials Used or Referenced:

Hal Leonard’s All-Purpose Music Flashcards

The Remarkable Farkle McBride by John Lithgow, Simon and Schuster

Various early Method Books

Patience!

Invention Camp (Four days, 75 mins, 2-4 students)

This camp was created to encourage late elementary and intermediate piano students to discover creativity at the piano and how to notate creations. The creative experiences for inspiration were coupled with more structured activities from  the book listed below.

Materials Used or Referenced:

Music by Me by Kevin Olson and Wynn-Anne Rossi, The FJH Music Company Inc. www.fjhmusic.com

Flip for Improvisation, by Christine J. Schumann www.picarepress.com

Theory Bootcamp (One day, 2 hours, at least 4 students)

I have never been particularly pleased with my high school students’ retention of theory as we tend to focus on literature far more than the nuts and bolts. So all my high school students were required to attend a 2-hour theory boot camp to provide a kick in the pants with scale spelling, chord qualities and functions…

Materials Used or Referenced:

With various stations–dry erase staff cards, alphabet cards, alphabet lids, Bag o Blocks www.wolfpiano.com and a couple of pianos, students were offered multiple experiences to master the basics in a casual, non-threatening setting. Prizes included grenade-style water balloons and army-men trophies.

Fundamentals of Piano Theory by Keith Snell and Martha Ashleigh, Kjos Music Company http://www.kjos.com

ONE IMPORTANT event each day was a break for FOOD! Since my studio is next to the garage, I set up a table with drinks and mostly healthy snacks. Students were always eager to see what the new snack would be.

This summer? Ideas are still brewing but one camp I will be featuring for certain:

A Composition and Music History Mission Camp based on the board game Maestro!. This can be found at www.HBIGames.com. It is a well-structured program with opportunities for students to learn more about the master composers, analyze their compositions, create original compositions within a specific framework, all while playing a board game.

As Christine suggested–would love to hear about more remedies to prevent the onset of the summer blues!