I’m planning to include quick links to resources, special deals and promotions on various materials, plus lots of other exciting tidbits!  Just sign up using the form at the top of the right side bar to get in on the inaugural issue.

Quick Note: If you’ve ordered materials from me or corresponded with me before, there is a possibility that your e-mail address was already imported into the mailing program. If you enter it in the sign-up form, you’ll be given the option to update your profile.

The project deadline is tomorrow, so that’s not a lot of time, but I thought I would post it here in case some of you would like to participate in the project. And of course, I’d love to hear what you think!

If you have a question or topic you’d like me to post for one of the week’s discussions, just send me an e-mail with Monday Mailbag in the subject line. I think this will be a lot of fun…and slightly more relaxed than the usual every day posting!

Chris Foley, of The Collaborative Piano Blog, has put together a wonderful compilation of 20 Collaborative Piano Videos that I’m loving! I’m hoping our local associations will be able to get on board with this initiative and plan a festival in conjunction with it. Are any of you doing any special projects or festivals in conjunction with the Year of Collaborative Music?

I received the above question from a reader and said that I would post it here to see if anyone else could help. I’m not very familiar with summer camps around the country, but figured that some of you might be involved in various camps and/or workshops and would want to let others know about them on here.

In fact, I just received some information about a Summer Piano Pedagogy Workshop at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota that features Gerald Klickstein, author of The Musician’s Way, among others. It looks fabulous, and I wish that I could attend!

If you are aware of either a summer music camp for students and/or a workshop for music teachers, please feel free to leave the info in the comments below!

Well, that’s probably the longest post title I’ve ever written! But I thought some of you in the region might be interested in knowing about this great conference coming up. The Kansas Music Teachers Association and Missouri Music Teachers Association are joining forces to put together a fabulous conference this year!

Our guest artists are Nancy and Randall Faber, and we have a slew of additional workshops lined up as well. In fact, I’ve been asked to present a workshop titled, How to Design a Practice Incentive that Will Motivate Your Students All Year Long! I’ll be discussing the four components of a good practice incentive, sharing the secret to making lesson plans that last all year long, give tips for turning any concept or assignment into an exciting game, and share lots of real-life, practical examples. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun for all of us!

If you are interested in attending the conference, but aren’t a member of KMTA or MMTA, just send me an e-mail and I’ll let you know how you can register and still receive the member price.

Also, there will be two great performances during the weekend – a solo piano recital by Randall Faber on Friday evening including the following works:

• Mozart : Sonata in B-flat Major
• Debussy : Pour le Piano
• Gershwin : Three Preludes
• Chopin : Etude in C Minor and Etude in F Minor
• Chopin : Berceuse
• Liszt : Mephisto Waltz

and a special Community Children’s Concert on Saturday late afternoon, called, The Snow Queen, by Nancy Faber.  Click here to download a copy of the flyer with additional information.

What factors do you believe motivate your students to be engaged in music? Please think of your students between ages 5 and 18. (Please select all that apply)

* Playing music naturally excites them
* They enjoy gaining recognition for their skills
* They hope to use music to help them get into college
* Their parents urge them to continue playing music
* None, my students are not really motivated to study music
* Other (please specify)

I’d be curious to know how other teachers would answer a question like this. What do you find are the motivating factors for your students? I’m actually going to ask my students this question, too, to get their first-hand answer on what motivates them. That will be quite interesting, I think!

Take a trip down Route 66 as MTNA heads to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for this year’s National Conference, March 20–24, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency and Albuquerque Convention Center! This year’s conference highlights include:

• Evening concerts by pianist Kevin Kenner and cellist William De Rosa, the American Pianist Association Fellows and the winners of the Canadian and United States Chopin Piano Competitions
• MTNA Student Competitions
• Pedagogy Saturday
• Educational sessions
• Teaching demonstrations and master classes
• Industry showcases and Exhibit Hall demonstrations
• Nearly 100 exhibitors

Since I didn’t get to attend the Atlanta conference this year, I’m thinking about trying to make it to Albuquerque in 2010. Anyone else making plans to attend?

The conference began with Brenda Dillon sharing about the Recreational Music Making program that has been developed in the last several years.

Dr. Robert Weirich gave a masterclass yesterday. My student, Luke, was one of four that played for Dr. Weirich. It was a wonderful experience! I always love attending masterclasses and learning from other teachers – watching their interaction with the students, and their approach for dealing with the problems that they observe.

In the evening, Dr. Weirich gave a lecture recital called “Aaron Copland’s America: Cultural Identity Explored through his Piano Music.”

I’m more familiar with Copland’s orchestral music than his piano music. And for the most part, I prefer his orchestral music, although Dr. Weirich introduced me to some nice piano selections as well.

This morning, Wendy Stevens gave a session on teaching composition to our students. You can find a lot of great material and tips on her new website.

Tony Caramia spent the day with us yesterday and then presented two workshops today. It was fun to meet him in person and find out that he is a Music Matters Blog fan! He’s got a great sense of humor, and of course is a wonderful Jazz musician.

There were numerous other aspects of the weekend, but these are some of the highlights. I love attending our state conference each year! It’s been a great way to connect with teachers from across the state, meet and learn from wonderful presenters, and pick up lots of great teaching ideas! Do any of you attend your state conference? Have you been to any particularly interesting sessions? Or heard any particularly great presenters?