Leap

It’s the last day of my spring semester classes and I could not be more grateful!  This semester has stretched me farther than I thought possible and molded me into a different teacher than I was when I started.  Here’s my semester, at a glance: 45 students 330 PowerPoint Slides 89 pages of notes (single-spaced) 28 lesson plans 15 Quizzes 7 Group Project Assignments 2 Paper Assignments (5-page, 10-page) 4 Playing Quizzes (4 tracks each) 12 Piano Juries

Can you believe it’s been two years since I started as an adjunct?  There have been moments where I felt I was in over my head, teaching classes I didn’t feel qualified to teach, and drawing connections between content I had only learned myself through my lesson planning.  But, I knew the challenges would be worth it.  I knew overcoming those fears was necessary and important to my future success.  I knew I had to say “yes” to these new opportunities even though my head (and all sensibility) said “no.”  I knew I had to leap – and trust that I could build my wings on the way down.

What have I learned through the process?  I’ve learned that some students really love learning and soak up everything you say like a sponge.  I’ve also learned that some students struggle with the demands and responsibilities of college – enough to lie multiple times about a missing assignment.  I’ve learned that some students have never been asked to write a research paper before and don’t know where the line of plagiarism falls.  And I’ve learned that some students care enough about their final papers that they look up the archives of a Russian newspaper to find a review of a musical premiere – even though they don’t read Russian.  I’ve learned that accessible teaching means connecting to things they know – like showing the Family Guy Remix of Steve Reich’s tape phasing experiment, “It’s Gonna Rain.”

What’s holding you back?  Is it fear that keeps you from doing and being your best?  Define it, acknowledge it, and then set it aside.  Who’s stopping you?  Are you stopping yourself?  Is your head telling you you can’t, you’re not good enough, you’ll fail?  Identify whatever it is that disables you and move on.  Take that leap and learn how to fly.

Making Music Together

Meet one of my ideal clients: An active career woman in her late 40s, she works as an assistant in the dean’s office at a small, liberal arts college during the week and sometimes on the weekends. She is a definite people person but she enjoys escaping from it all when at home. Her husband travels frequently, leaving her several free evenings a week to read, teach herself to cook, and rearrange the living room. She considers interior design a part-time hobby and brings the several most recent issues of Elle Décor to read on her annual Hilton Head vacation. Her home is decorated with a mix of old and new items – mostly neutrals. She enjoys adding color by the season. She listens to music in the car, during dinner, and on lazy Sunday afternoons. She sings along when she thinks no one’s watching and has always wanted to learn to play the piano. She shops at Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and J. Crew (especially when they have a good sale) and values classic pieces that she can wear from season to season. She enjoys traveling with her husband when work permits it, trying new things, and spending time with friends.

Fortunately enough for me, I have a new student this semester who is very similar to the woman in this description. She is a career woman – committed to lessons, always sharply dressed and very prompt, a great desire to learn, and so very funny! I have such a great time in her lessons each week.

Since she came to me as a beginner, we’ve been working through the first few unites of Keyboard Musician for the Adult Beginner by Frances Clark. We’ve learned about the three primary landmark notes: Middle C, Treble G, and Bass F; we’ve studied intervals up to a fifth; we’ve learned rhythms with quarter notes, half notes, dotted half notes, and whole notes; we’ve learned to identify tonal and rhythm patterns; and we’ve been working on beginning technic such as tucking the thumbs under, playing with curved fingers, keeping the wrist and arm relaxed, and transferring weight from the outside of the hand to the inside.

This week, we put the book aside.

You see, this student shared with me a few weeks ago that she loves to sing with her 5-year-old granddaughter (especially when they’re in the car). At the end of last week’s lesson, she asked if we could learn a few familiar (simple) songs that she could play and sing with her granddaughter. So sweet! I couldn’t wait for our lesson this week.

We started out with “Old McDonald” and “Farmer in the Dell” – two children’s songs that can be played solely on the black keys (great for beginning pianists). Soon, we were playing “The Itsy, Bitsy Spider,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” (also “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and the “ABC Song”) as well. She couldn’t believe that all three of these familiar songs share the same melody! I came up with a quick shorthand method of “notating” these songs without notation so that she could reference them later. She also hopes to teach a few of these songs to her granddaughter. That just blesses my heart!

We had the best time singing, playing, and laughing through this lesson and again I was reminded – this is why I do what I do. The more I teach, the more I realize the importance of connecting with each student, communicating with them, and responding to their individual needs and goals. It’s not about moving at a certain pace. It’s not about getting through a certain unit. It’s not about playing particular repertoire. It is about making music (music was meant to be shared). It is about inspiring creativity (so that this student and her granddaughter can continue learning to play and sing new songs together). It is about instilling a love for music (because that will last a lifetime).

Teaching Inspiration: Marvin Blickenstaff

Two years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Marvin Blickenstaff at the New School for Music Study in Kingston, NJ.  I was in the second year of my masters at Eastman and was researching piano pedagogue and innovator, Frances Clark (Co-Founder of the New School) for a final project.  As part of my research, I visited the New School for several days, met with the faculty, observed lessons and classes, and experienced truly excellent teaching.  At the end of my first day, after observing a lesson with Marvin, I wrote this reflection:

Marvin Blickenstaff, and high school PEPS [Program for Excellence in Piano Study] student, Grace, were already in the midst of Chopin’s Etude in C Minor when I snuck in to observe.  Together, they identified the salient motives, determined the differences between the lines of each hand, rehearsed the rhythmic structure, and discussed Chopin’s individualistic thoughts on trills.  Similar to the other faculty members, Marvin sought answers from Grace by asking questions and engaging her in conversation about the music.  Comments such as, “Talk to me about the fingering in this scale” when working on the first page of the Pathetique Sonata and, “What are four ways you are going to practice this?” assessed Grace’s understanding and encouraged dialogue.

At the end of the second day, I observed one of PEPS group class with Marvin:

PEPS students meet in small rotation groups every few weeks and in a larger group class of eight students once per month, each an hour in length.  Currently, there are 24 students in the program.  Marvin began each class with scales, often asking two students to play in ensemble: one ascending and the other descending.  The students had end-of-the-year fluency goals posted in the room: 100-160, depending on age and ability.  Repertoire included Debussy, Clementi, a Mozart minuet (where Marvin led the students in an impromptu minuet around the room while singing words that fit the melody), a Bach invention, a concerto by Vandall, and lastly, Sibelius’ Romance, to which Marvin stated, “Begin warm, soft, calm, and with a feeling of moonlight. . . Music that is calm is even.”  Musical discussions included historical influences, theoretical considerations such as the importance of the cadential 6/4 progression, and phrasing decisions supported by careful pedaling.  Students were challenged in thought, touch, and sound.

These few days had a profound impact on my teaching.  I love reliving the experience through my notes and recollections of those lessons and classes.  I was thrilled to discover www.pianopedagogy.org last week – the NSMS’s newest venture!  Complete with teaching videos, tutorials, and a blog written by New School faculty, this website is a great source of knowledge and teaching inspiration.  Enjoy this glimpse of a lesson with Marvin as he coaches an early advanced student on Edvard Grieg’s “Notturno” at the New School:

Previously: Notes from the New School – Day 1 Notes from the New School – Day 2 Notes from the New School – Day 3

Making Concerts Happen

We had a great experience with our webinar, “Presenting Concerts in Your Local Community: Creative Ideas for Making Concerts Happen Anywhere” on Monday night!  Hosted by Polyphonic On-Campus, Steve and I used the WCMW as a case study to explore strategies and ideas for creating community-centered events.  We shared our personal insight in getting to know your community, evaluating your assets, getting funded, and creating opportunities.  Ready to make concerts happen in your local community?  Get started by watching our webinar presentation!

Shooting Stars

Earlier this week, I had an eight-year-old student bring this into her lesson – her first composition.  At our last lesson, I asked her to try making up a few of her own songs that used some of the same musical elements she had recently learned (quarter notes, half notes, legato playing, and changing registers).

“Shooting Stars” is a piece for right and left hand in 5/4 time (how cool is that?!), spanning four octaves.  There are repeated rhythm patterns as well as tonal patterns and the ascending tetrachord in each pattern combined with the shifts in register really exemplifies the title.  Notice the “key” in the top left hand corner that indicates hand position (modeled from our lesson book, The Music Tree).  Up to this point, the songs in the book have only included black keys; I love the initiative it took to create a new piece on the white keys!

I’m so proud!

This Week

This week:

• We enjoyed several sunny, warm days and afternoons with the windows open.

• I made banana pudding for the first time.

• We got a little carried away and tried to grill out one night. (We gave up and cooked inside once it got cold enough to see our breath.)

• I attended an awesome branding webinar that got me all kinds of fired up for the months to come.

• We gave an informal lecture recital to an audience of almost thirty enthusiastic listeners (recap coming soon!).

• I encountered a few instances of plagiarism in my students’ papers.  Though struggling with how to deal with it, I am determined to turn this into a teaching opportunity.

• We finished our federal tax return.

• I introduced SD to the (southern?) expression, “Land sakes alive.”

• We haven’t driven the car since Saturday!  It is so nice to work from home.

• I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with my children’s choir by teaching them Irish hymns and two Irish group dances!

• I got the latest Elle Decor in the mail and I plan on carving out some time this weekend to skim through it.

• We had some awesome teaching moments.

• We spent some time preparing for our WCMW webinar next Monday, March 19!  Sign up here – it’s free!

Happy weekend, friends!

Dinner Conversations

I love dinner conversations with SD. 

Though our meals might range from gourmet (think étoufée-style shrimp and grits) to KFC (think fried chicken and macaroni and cheese) and more often than not, we eat at the breakfast nook rather than at the dining room table, I love this time of the day we get to share together. 

Sometimes, we talk about the things that happened during the day; other times, we listen to our favorite radio show online (since it’s not syndicated on our NPR station) and play the “name that tune/composer/style period/nationality” game. 

And some nights we get caught up in nerdy intellectual conversations about music teaching and learning.

And I love every minute of it.

Tonight, over plates of apple pancakes, raisin bread toast, and cheese grits, we started talking about our students and the progress they made in their lessons this afternoon. 

“My student is solid.  She can play in E Major now – four sharps!” Steve said. 

“My student said tonight that she sometimes finds it easier to sight-sing her music before sight-playing it – yes!” I said, excitedly. 

We talked about our own experiences with learning to sightread and the effects of singing on the audiation skills (the ability to hear and comprehend music silently) and musical development of instrumentalists.

Our conversation lasted through dinner and our dish-washing/drying time. 

It’s just so interesting to me to reflect on our musical pasts: comparing the ways we were taught, sharing experiences we’ve had, and exploring the ways we’ve developed into the musicians we are today.  It’s amazing to watch part of this process unfold with the students I see each week – to watch them make connections, to let them figure out a new rhythm pattern on their own, to see them light up when they realize the freedom they have in learning to transpose.

This is my everyday. 

Every class, every lesson, every rehearsal is an opportunity for me to be a better teacher and present new information in the clearest way I can. 

I want to inspire, encourage, and challenge my students to work hard, practice hard, set goals for themselves, be curious, try new things, and never stop learning.

Image Credit: Last year’s WCMW.  Find out all that’s in store for this year right here.

The Art of the Spiritual

Some of you may remember my posts on our lecture recital last spring: The Art of Song.

Steve and I were asked to put together a program for the Women’s Fellowship at church last April so we chose three art songs from three different periods, talked about the genre (music for voice and piano), the composers who wrote this kind of music, the texts they chose to set, and our process of preparing this music for performance on the saxophone and piano.  We had a wonderful audience!

In just a few (short!) weeks, we’ll be giving another lecture recital of sorts, this time on the history of the spiritual.  We thought it might be fun to choose a few of our favorite Gospel tunes and explore a little bit of the history behind this well-loved genre.  With musical classics such as “Wade in the Water” and “Just a Closer Walk With Thee,” if you’re in the area, we’d love to have you join us for a fun, engaging program of performance and conversation!  The event, free and open to the public will be held on Monday, March 12, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Westminster.

Hope to see you there!

The Children's Concert - Recap

Last week, I wrote this post about a children’s concert Steve and I were presenting for a group of preschoolers.

Originally, we were told to expect 8-10 children and a few adults.  With one week still to go, 35 children were registered (i.e. they called to say they were coming.  The concert was free.) including two preschools!  We were very excited at the prospect of having such a big crowd and knew we wanted them to have some space to get up and move around a little bit.  We decided to rearrange the front of the Sanctuary to give us as much floor space as possible.  And it’s a good thing we did.  Imagine our surprise when 56 children (ages 2-5) and their grown-ups (including three preschools!) crowded into the church at 10 a.m. Thursday morning.  We were overwhelmed but of course, thrilled!

We sang.  We danced.  We moved. We learned about the saxophone. We made funny sounds and learned the difference between high and low. We listened to several short pieces, waved our arms, and patted our legs.

It was a great musical experience!

The Children's Concert

I love working with young children, particularly when we have the opportunity to sing!  In my experience, most 4-year-olds are confident, adventurous, effervescent music-makers and they learn new things so quickly!  When the opportunity arose to share a free program of music with a group of children from the community (ages 3-5), I was eager to take part.  Together, Steve (known today as “Saxophone Steve”) and I planned a dynamic and interactive program featuring a series of familiar songs as well as a few new things.

1. Hello there.  We’ll begin with a simple call and response song to get everyone singing and moving.

2. Instrument Demo.  With a surprise entrance, we’ll segue smoothly into a demonstration of the saxophone.  Steve will talk about the high and low sounds a saxophone can make and ask the children to echo him.  We’ll talk about funny sounds and pretty sounds and use a few short, prepared pieces to demonstrate a variety of musical styles.  We’ll have the children participate by moving while we play.  When we talk about animal sounds, we’ll lead right into a crowd favorite, “Old McDonald.”

3. Sing-a-long.  We’ll lead a brief sing-a-long of songs we think they might know: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star;” “The Itsy, Bitsy Spider;” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”  We’ll talk about our different voices (whisper voice, speaking voice, and singing voice) and move along with the music as we sing.  Simple visuals will help us explore form and repeated material.  Sandwiched in between the songs they know, we’ll incorporate a song I think will be less familiar: “Oats, Peas, Beans” (with a simple movement activity).

4. Short Performance.  To conclude the program, we’ll end with a short, prepared piece in ABA form (“Old Joe Clark”) and ask our little listeners to listen for the change in sections and respond with a given motion.  Hopefully, this will keep them engaged in their listening.

Think of us at 10 a.m. as we gather in a room with 35+ preschoolers and their grown-ups for a time of music-making, teaching, and learning!

Image Credit: Nicholas Garofalo