Monthly Archives: October 2011

Monday Mailbag – Free Scale and Chord Progress Chart

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I’m a bit confused on the metronome settings on your free scale and chord chart – a quarter and an eighth note side by side, same tempo? What’s the difference between (two) eighths at MM-60 and a quarter at MM-120? Also, regarding chords, do you mean each chord and its respective inversions within each key?

You’re right that the amount of notes played at these two tempi would be exactly the same. The distinction is in the rhythmic feel. When playing eighth notes at MM-60, the student would feel two notes per pulse; whereas when playing quarter notes at MM-120, they would feel only one note per pulse. Then the eighth notes at MM-120 would be played two per pulse. Part of the purpose in playing scales this way is that the student gain a better internal sense of pulse that they can apply to their playing.

As far as the chords, yes, eventually the student will be playing inversions of each primary triad and seventh chord within the key. We have a wonderful systematic state curriculum, though, that I use as a guide for when students should be learning and playing various scales and chords, so I adapt according to the student’s level and individual progress. Older students also play scales and arpeggios in triplets and sixteenth notes, so the columns have to be adjusted for this purpose, too!

Also, if you like the general idea of using a scale and chord progress chart, but want to develop your own custom version, be sure to check out this post: Free Scale Chart and Tips for Making Your Own Progress Charts!

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

And the Winners Are…

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#30 – Leanne

#42 – Nancy Potoczky

These two will receive one of the historically rich Titanic: A Voyage in Piano Music books by Rebekah Maxner. Congrats! However, thanks to Rebekah’s generosity, everyone can get in on the win. :-) She is offering a special deal: Buy 2 and get 1 for free! Here’s what she says:

Buy two books for your students and get your own book free!
Plus FREE shipping on orders $29 and up.
Thanks to all who participated. Stay tuned for another great giveaway next Tuesday!

Studio Website Advice Worth Hundreds of Dollars!

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I don’t know how I missed this Powerhouse Website Suggestions post by David Cutler (author of The Savvy Musician) back in May because I love keeping up with everything he writes, but I’m glad to have recently come across it (via his latest newsletter – you can sign up for it on The Savvy Musician home page).

Anyway, if you are thinking about designing and launching a studio website, already have one and want to improve it, or are considering a complete revamp of your studio website, you can get hundreds of dollars worth of fabulous advice just by reading his post with links to existing websites and his critique of each one. My studio website is badly in need of a revamp, and I know I’ll be studying this collection of websites and suggestions as I develop my new site. In fact, just reading the post inspires me to get a move on with several redesign projects! Hopefully the Music Matters Blog revamp (that has taken forever!) will be done soon and I’ll be able to spend some time working on a new studio website.

Also, if you have a studio website and want to include it on the Studio Website Listing, just send me an e-mail with your studio location and website address and I’ll add it to the listing. This page of websites will be much more prominent in the new blog design!

Piano Keyboard Labels – a Must-Have Resource!

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It’s been a while since I first discovered these piano keyboard labels on Susan Paradis’ fabulous website, but they are a must-have resource in my studio!

I especially love using them with beginning students. They are such a simple, handy tool to have on hand. Just stick them on the student’s assignment sheet or a blank piece of paper and use them for all sorts of assignments! For starters, I just draw a little “x” on select keys and the student has to write the name of the key under each “x” on the keyboard. I’ve also used them for scales, chords, fingering patterns, etc. No doubt, there are plenty of other creative uses for these ingenious little labels, too!

Commitment to Innovation

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In the latest issue of the American Music Teacher magazine, a publication of the Music Teachers National Association for its members, I found a couple statements by Executive Director Gary Ingle to be quite thought-provoking:

“I believe the next 15 years will be the most challenging in our history and will require more commitment to innovation. Over the past 135 years in general and the last 15 in particular, we have done a great job with the second part of our mission statement: to support the professionalism of music teachers. However, we haven’t done as good a job on the first part of our mission: to advance the value of music study and music making to society…

if we don’t aggressively and innovatively pursue the first part of our mission, there will certainly be no need for the second.”

More commitment to innovation. I love the prospect of innovation in the world of music study. The word innovation means, “the act of introducing new things or methods.” Just like every other business and organized activity, we are competing for the time and attention of the market. And just like anyone in the business world will tell you, in order to remain viable in the marketplace, you have to be innovative. The one who stubbornly refuses to understand the changing times and resorts to whining about declining interest in his field might as well close up shop and apply for a job somewhere else. But the one who sees, embraces, and learns to utilize the changes for greater effectiveness has unlimited opportunity for creative development and growth!

I know this is all more philosophical than practical, but (to borrow a quote from author Voddie Baucham in an entirely different context) “it is much easier to go from good theory to good practice than it is to go from no theory to good practice.”

And so I find myself thinking about this whole concept of commitment to innovation and wondering how I can apply this to promote music study and achieve greater effectiveness as a music teacher in the coming years. Any thoughts?

My Favorite New Technological Device

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My idea of a shopping excursion is spending several hours surfing Amazon looking for cool technological gadgets. And even more exciting is the arrival of the anticipated package after an order has been placed. I know, that probably makes me a geek. Oh well! :-)

A while back I embarked on just such an excursion and ordered a collection of accessories and related gadgetry for my recently acquired iPod Touch. I was thrilled when my extensive searching turned up this Sony Clock Radio/CD player with an iPod dock!

Since my CD player bit the dust about a year ago I was waiting to replace it until I found something I really liked. This is an awesome little device! The footprint is unbelievably compact, especially since the iPod dock slides into the base when its not in use. It also comes with a handy little remote that works great for navigating to different tracks and adjusting the volume. Even though I use YouTube all the time to search for performances and recordings, there are still numerous selections in my personal collection that I want to be able to play for my students. Nothing beats having a quick little device like this where I can stick in a CD or pop on my iPod Touch to provide a few minutes of quality music listening during a lesson!

 

Monday Mailbag – How to Cover the Cost of Studio Incentives

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For the Traveling to Triumph auction, did you collect the souvenirs yourself, enlist parents, or what?

When I first started developing yearly practice incentive themes (visit this post for a list of some of the earlier themes that aren’t available in the resource store), I just charged families $10 for the student assignment book and then covered all the other costs from the amount I charged for lessons. This was not a good plan for my financial situation. :-)

Several years ago I started charging a yearly registration fee of $50 (due by August 1) that helps offset the cost of running practice incentive themes, printing materials, purchasing awards, renting facilities, etc. This has been SO helpful! Since I develop our theme for the year in the late summer/early fall, this usually gives me plenty of time to keep my eyes open for good deals throughout the year. Sometimes I know exactly what I want and do tons of research to find good deals; other times (like with the Traveling to Triumph auction) I had a general idea that I wanted items from each of the countries to which we traveled. I found the desired items throughout the year, either on-line, at stores around town, or occasionally when a friend or parent suggested something. (The only exception was the chocolate kinder eggs from Germany that I had my heart set on, so my neighbor had her Germany-dwelling son send her a box of them for me!)

Most of the time, I try to avoid trinkets and instead develop the theme in a way so that the end goal is more about personal achievement. When I use tangible awards, I like it to be something meaningful, lasting, and related to the students’ musical growth (e.g. a trip to a symphony rehearsal or a recording studio, the opportunity to produce and sell music-related projects, a custom-designed and printed name plaque, etc.). I usually allocate $200-$300 to the year-end trip/award/project, etc. – whatever it may be.

For others who use incentive themes and plan special awards/events for your students, do you collect a registration fee? Or do you cover these expenses out of the regular lesson fee? Or do you have parents contribute separately for these things? Or something else?

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

Noteflight Notation Program

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It’s been just about a year now since I first came across the internet-based Noteflight notation program.

I haven’t used the program much in the past year, but several weeks ago it came to mind and has been the perfect solution for a recent situation! You may remember that I’ve begun teaching via Skype, and one of my long-distance students has been working on a composition. It’s been really fun to work on it together over the internet, but I was thinking it would be really cool to get it notated so she has a printed copy to keep.

I could have just done it all in my Finale notation program and then converted it to a pdf and e-mailed it to her, but that seemed pretty cumbersome. Enter: Noteflight. The interface is sleek and intuitive, and I can input notes as we work on it during the lesson. My student has the link to the notated composition and can check it out at any time, listen to it playback, and print it out on her computer. Needless to say, she is thrilled to see her work on the screen and on paper! I think we’re going to be using this a lot more in the days ahead!

8 Tips for Music Recording

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Gerald Klickstein, author of The Musician’s Way, never ceases to come up with inspirational and practical ideas for musicians. In his post, Practicing for Recording Sessions, he gives 8 concise, practical tips for a successful recording studio experience. Even though most of our students won’t be involved in such a formal recording experience, his points are easily adaptable for use in the teaching studio as we audio and/or video record students performing their musical selections. I especially love this one:

3. Manage your beginnings and endings
Use longer silent counts to launch each piece and then extend your closing silences, framing every selection in stillness.

Check out the whole post for more great ideas!

Are You On Pinterest?

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Pinterest is an intriguing concept. Here’s their official description, “Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.”

In addition to other ideas, I thought it sounded like a neat way to collect and share teaching and studio-related inspirations. I’ve just barely started using my pinboard, but I’m excited to [hopefully!] put it to more use in the future. If you’re on Pinterest, let me know!