Guest post by Jennifer Foxx

This was the last class of the conference I was able to attend and it ended with a bang.

Kristin began with asking what is more important: Craft vs. art? She concluded that both are needed to be successful.

First, we should gather information about the piece our student is playing. Ask them questions.

What do you know about the composer? What do you know about this song? For what purpose was it conceived (was it meant to be….?) What do you know about other performers of this song? What do you know about when it was written? Don’t be afraid to cross disciplines.

She then shared a few picture slides with us. The first one was two chairs. She told us to imagine you are studying a piece by Mozart. What is the difference between these two chairs? Which one is Mozart’s chair? The audience responded in kind to which one they thought was Mozart’s chair and why. Asking questions inspire creativity.

What can you find within the music? How does this inform your performance?

Dynamic markings, Key Signature, Articulation, Tempo, Rhythm, etc. What is implied by the music itself? How does this inform performance?

*Ascending or descending patterns

*Shifts of texture

*Increased number of accidentals

*Tessitura changes

*Where is it different/same?

*Look at your part and parts of any other performers

Make it interactive!

*Make a treasure hunt for interesting musical moments. Now, can you perform it and bring these things out?

*Create a chart for the music

*Write a short story about the piece

*Make an interactive “idea copy” (draw pictures, color sections in music, etc.)

*Paint your music (creating what’s in your minds ear)

*Make collage

Play with emotion cards. Emotion cards are simply cards that have emotion words on them. ie: excited, sad, elated, scared, etc. The students then take a card, or two, and apply these emotions. Don’t be afraid to add artistry into the warm-up patterns or technical work. In fact, start using these emotion cards in your warm-ups before going to the pieces.

Ex. Play scale 4 times with different emotions (jauntily, mysteriously, lustily, angrily)

(tenderly, mischievously, morbidly, arrogantly).

Side note: You can make a game out of these emotions by creating an emotion chart. Students can simply toss a coin onto the chart landing on one of the emotions for them to play.

Artistry is music’s reason for being; it is what fuels excitement and continued interest. Artistry must be cultivated and practiced. Be a part of the lineage. As a performer we are next in line for that lineage.

Thank you, Natalie, for giving me the opportunity to be a guest blogger on your Music Matters Blog. I enjoyed sharing a little bit of what I learned at the Arizona State Music Teachers Conference.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my blog where I share what I do with my students throughout the year.

Natalie’s Note: A huge thanks to Jennifer for sharing all these wonderful notes from the conference with us! Laura Lowe has already offered to take notes at their Georgia Music Teachers Association conference in November, so I’m really looking forward to that. If you are attending (or already have attended!) your state music teachers conference and want to share your notes here on Music Matters Blog, just send me an e-mail and let me know!

Guest post by Jennifer Foxx

I had the opportunity to do an encore presentation this year at the state conference on a topic that I enjoy. I think for some teachers, when they hear the word technology they panic, thinking it’s way too complicated or they just have no desire to be a part of it. My goal with this presentation was to show that technology does not have to be complicated. I first shared some of the simple technology tools that teachers can use in the studio and probably already use, whether in the studio or just at home.

Some basic technology tools would be: Computer (doesn’t matter if it’s a desktop or laptop), Audio tool (CD Player, iPod, MP3, etc.), Digital Recorder (this can also be your smartphone), Video Camera (I love my FLIP!), DVD Player/DVD’s (this can also just be the DVD drive from your computer), Midi Keyboards (at least 61 keys), and Printer (I recommend an all-in-one model).

Then I went into creating a music lab, but for those teachers that didn’t have a lab they could still apply some of these ideas in their studio.

Benefits of a Music Lab-

• Allows students to drill and follow up with what they are learning in the lesson. Such basics as note names, intervals, chords, terms, symbols, key signatures, ear training, and much more.
• A music lab is a good selling point to parents looking to give their children as well-rounded a musical education as possible.
• Having a music lab can serve as additional income, if a lab fee is charged. I would recommend including your lab fee with your lesson tuition and not making it optional. Another idea is to have a yearly lab fee when students register.

Setting-Up (You do not need a separate lab room in order to set up a music lab.)

• Possible setup – one computer, specific assignments, MIDI keyboard, network for Internet and simple technology tools listed previously.
• Make sure the student at the piano can’t see the computer monitor, or they will be distracted.
• Having a separate computer for the studio is ideal. However, you can set up a user just for your studio.
• A good set of headphones is absolutely essential. I like the big headphones that cup over the students ears.
• Remember, you do not need to go out and buy everything at once. Start small and build. Don’t have a computer you can use for your music lab and/or can’t afford to buy one yet? Start with the other simple technology tools.

Scheduling Options

• Students come 15-30 min. before their lesson or stay 15-30 after their lesson. While you are teaching one student, another student is working in the lab.
• Rotating – Students rotate every 20-30 min. within an hour/hour and a half. (ie: Student 1 works on computer, Student 2 works on keyboard or writing station, Student 3 works with Teacher, then rotate).

Music Lab Subject Ideas

• Composer/Music History
• Composition/Improvisation
• Ear Training
• Note Reading
• Rhythm
• Sight-Reading
• Theory
• Creativity and More!

Suggested Resource Materials

• Studio Makeover Technology Addition (Michelle Gordon/Michelle Sisler- www.ImaginationisKey.com)
• Electrify Your Studio (Sandra Bowen/FJH Music)
• The Well-Tempered Lesson Plan (Renee Lacey/Trail Creek Systems- TrailCreekSystems.com- see other products)

In addition to tons and tons of internet resources that are out there you can use with your students, here are some sample ideas of books/workbooks to use during lab time:

Lab Log

Double Click Curriculum (see www.KeystoImagination.com – these are great student log books that have most of the prep work done for you for your computer lab!)

Theory Fun

TCW Theory books

Dot to Dot Note Speller (Bastien)

Color by…Interval, Note Monsters, etc. (Alfred)

Technique

Finger Builders (Pace)

Keys to Success (FJH)

Nate’s Piano Plates (Major, Minor, and Harmonic scales)

Improvisation

Discover Blues Improvisation (FJH)

Discover Beginning Improvisation (FJH)

Pattern Play (Frederick Harris Music)

Chords

Folk Songs and Fun Songs – Fake Book for the beginning student (Jane H. Calder)

Composition

Music by Me (FJH)

Young Composers Notebook (Frederick Harris Music)

Ear Training-

Ear Training Books with CD (Alfred)

*This is just a sample of books out there; there is soooo much out there that you can use during lab time!

Guest post by Jennifer Foxx

Professor Jay Rees who teaches at the U of A brought his son, Evan with him to help with this presentation, having Evan be the “student” in his examples. Evan is a professional jazz pianist at the age of 16.

Professor Rees starts off by explaining that we must play WITH music. It is not scary to use ear and imagination to make up things and we should encourage it in our lessons.

The best and easiest way to open the door to creativity is to start with the Blues. For example: Start with major scale (ex. Eb). From the pentascale-play around with these 5 notes. Now start on C and these are your 5 notes (C minor) (Relative minor=Blues you are in). There are certain notes to play and certain notes to avoid and students can usually figure out just with their ear what they are. Now do whatever you want!

You can have student mimic – watching your hands. Then have student mimic with eyes closed using those licks that you just did.

Some things to try:

• Question and Answer format
• Idea, Idea, and Answer. Later you can change a note or two
• LH would play chord and then do RH scale

Listening is EVERYTHING!

“There’s only 12 notes, it’s gotta be 1 of them.”

On a personal note: There was a time where improvisation was a scary thing to me. It wasn’t until I started attending workshops and classes on improvisation that encouraged me to apply these principles in my own studio. So I would start off and do a summer workshop on the blues, improvisation, music and the imagination, etc. Over the years, because I have done this with my students, I myself as a teacher have enjoyed the ride along with my students and feel more confident in creating. One of my favorite showcases at the MTNA conference was the Pattern Play showcase (Frederick Harris Music is the publisher). I have used some of the pieces in these books with my students and plan to continue next year to use them more and more. They are a great resource for students to get started in this fun process of improvisation!

Guest post by Jennifer Foxx

Lori Frazer talked about the teaching opportunities teachers have with technology and enabling those technologies in our lessons. I’ll just share my notes from her presentation.

Teaching opportunities with technology:

• Enhancement in the private studio (software, team lessons, motivation, etc…)
• Expansion to offer small group lessons and ensembles
• Teaching RMM classes in medical centers, corporations, schools, retirement centers, community centers, etc.
• Expanding your studio to teach RMM
• Working with special need students
• Teaching remote lessons over the internet

Enabling Technologies:

• Keyboard styles for creating improvisation activities
• Clavinova Follow lights or Starlights
• Standard midi files
• Keyboard percussion drum kits for rhythmic activities
• Clavinova guide lamp feature which will wait for the student
• Clavinova any key feature
• High quality instruments for maximum musical enjoyment
• Music finder and IDS features for ease of use

Guest post by Jennifer Foxx

I enjoyed the Walton’s presentation. Their main objective was learning how to create a sense of ‘flow’ in music, developing a sense of musical time and pulse, and the differences between phrasing rhythm and metronome rhythm.

Teaching Musical Time

• Listening to pulse with eyes open and closed
• Tapping on the person (with caution-either on hand or shoulder)
• Moving feet in time, use as pulse
• Visually seeing pulse from conductor

The ways you express to students create clarity or confusion. Be careful how you word things.

Have students tap (after setting pulse) the number of evenly spaced notes per beats (half note, quarter note, triplet, sixteenth, etc…)

Phrasing with melody leads to:

• Rubato – placement of pulse
• Accelerando – collapsing the pulse
• Ritardando – expanding the pulse

With metronome only have metronome play the first beat and have student subdivide. This can be tricky.

On a personal note: This summer, one of my workshops I held was a rhythm class basing a big portion of the class from Kalani’s, ‘Together in Rhythm’ book. If you are not familiar with Kalani and his drum circles, you have got to check it out! You can see some of the activities on YouTube. Drum circles are a great way for students to really feel the rhythm. And not necessarily worry about what is correct or not, but to feel their inner rhythm and just go for it. For some it was easier than others. I found that in one of my classes, several of the students had a hard time even getting started; they were worried about doing it “wrong.” This is even after I explained that they couldn’t do it wrong. With encouragement, they were able to get past those fears and really enjoy the rhythm drum circle activities. You will find with these drum circles that you do not need any past musical experience, when the group works together the natural pulse just happens. It is quite the experience. I asked my students if they had ever heard of drum circles before and one of them said yes, it’s what hippies did. It’s no longer for hippies! Everyone should give it a try, it is so much fun!

Guest post by Jennifer Foxx

Chase started out by asking the following questions:

• Who are your students?
• Where do they come from?
• What are their parent’s expectations?
• What are their expectations?
• What are your expectations?

Chase had a few teachers, including me, answer some of these questions. For myself, my students are quite the mix. I have students as young as 4 years old up to several adult students. Typically my students are in the early elementary level to intermediate level. Some of my students have special needs; some are in accelerated programs at school; most are average and lead very busy lives. Their parents are doctors, lawyers, teachers, psychologists, chiropractors, surgeons, computer programmers, engineers – all sorts of career backgrounds.

Where do they come from? My students come from all over the valley where I live, from at least 6-7 different cities.

I would say the overall expectations from my parents and students are typically that they want to learn how to play the piano and to enjoy it, not necessarily to become a concert pianist. My expectations are the same, but further I expect that we apply the learning triangle where the teacher, student, and parent are all part of the piano lesson experience. Those who do apply this in their lessons are the most successful in their progression.

Chase then shared that the teacher who knows their students and can meet all these expectations most of the time should consider themselves successful indeed.

He went on to share some piano statistics. Piano Sales in 1997 were 94,709. In 2007 it was 62,536.

The statistics are not encouraging but…

The Negative Side

• People are less interested in the piano.
• The industry may be at peril in the USA.

The Positive Side

• Sales of grand pianos are not down as sharply (he shared more statistics with the type of pianos that were sold).
• Sales of electronic pianos are rising.
• Perhaps all those older pianos are being resold, or passed on to family members.

Chase ran out of time in his presentation, but the topic is one that teachers should think about, especially if their studio is struggling. Ask yourself the questions above and see if the answers might be the problem.

Some of my personal thoughts on this subject…

I moved back to Arizona 4 years ago this month. (We were away for 9 years but wanted to come back home. All our family is in AZ.) When we moved back we were worried that it would take me a while to build my studio and that was a little scary because in order to afford to move back to Arizona we needed my income. Within a month I had a full roster, which was a huge blessing. I didn’t do anything extraordinary in my advertising. I advertised in the local paper which got me a couple students. I advertised in one of the community newsletters near me which got me quite a bit of students that first month. And then I had my website which got me quite a bit of students and continues to do so. I haven’t paid for printed advertising since that first year I moved here. All my students now come from two sources: referrals and my website (or online sources). If I could give one tip for teachers it is make sure you are on the web! We live in a time where people no longer use the yellow pages. If I need to find something, the first thing I do is get online. If you want people to find you, you must be online. I have been full since the first month I moved here and most of the time I have a waiting list. Many teachers around me have struggled with filling their roster especially during the hard hits these last couple years with the economy. Most of them are not online.

The other thing that I feel that has helped me keep a full roster is to know who you want to cater to and then set yourself apart and really cater to who you want to teach. I typically cater to average students who simply want to learn to play the piano and have fun doing it. I have a piano lab, quarterly group lessons, Christmas camp in December, camp workshops in the summer, and yearly incentive programs. I change things up each year and try to keep things active and fun throughout the year. (This is really important for boys especially – half my studio is boys!) I hold many piano events that students can play in during the year and I really think that is a key to motivation. When students are actively participating in events and they are fun events to participate in, they don’t want to miss out. Events such as: Halloween Festival, Music at the Mall (this one is through our MTA chapter), and Keyboard Festival are just some of the favorites I offer to students.

Lastly, make sure you know what your expectations are. Be sure to share those expectations with both parents and students at the interview and in your policy and other printed material you give them. This will make for not only a successful studio, but a happy one.

Guest post by Jennifer Foxx

I was really excited for this class and its topic because I enjoy learning about new things that I’m not totally familiar with. I’m sure many of you have heard about the Alexander Technique but like me aren’t totally sure what it is. So hopefully my notes from the conference will enlighten you a little, but I have to say that to see it in action is a whole other thing. If you ever have a chance to go to an Alexander Technique presentation, and especially some master classes, don’t pass it up.

Pamela Blanc was our Alexander Technique presenter. Pamela is not a musician but works with many musicians in her California studio.

When we are in a seated position and we go to stand up, notice where you naturally tense up. Our neck has a tendency to tense in the process of standing and in the process of sitting and it doesn’t need to. How we use our spine influences how we use our limbs.

If we sit with a spine that is available for lengthening (keyword) while playing the piano we have a lot more longevity and ease of movement while playing.

It’s important to start with self-observation. We can’t change what we do not know.

Allow the right thing to do itself (instead of start doing what you don’t want). Yes, we want to discover what it is we are doing to interfere with our ease and coordination and we want to stop this interference so the right thing can do itself …balance can happen.

Try this: Make a fist, make a karate chop, make a fist, stop making a fist. This is a simple example of your brain sending messages to stop excitation. In neuroscience and in the Alexander Technique it is referred to as sending messages of inhibition (different than Freud’s definition of inhibition). How you use yourself affects how you function.

Some questions to ask yourself…is there something in my manner of use that affects my malfunction? This is a basic sequence of changing a habit. What am I aware of? What is interfering with what I want to have/be? What do I need to stop? How do I redirect my thinking/actions?

ALLOW the spine to release into length. This will happen if we stop the unnecessary contraction of the muscles of the torso which, when over contracted, can bring about a shortening of the torso & spine. It is Constructive Conscience Control of the individual. (This is Mr. Alexander’s language and the title of one of his four books.)

Tell your body not to stand up and stand up (this is allowing your body not to do extra work where it’s not needed). This is the process of giving yourself a stimulus i.e. “stand up” that you have a habitual response to i.e. “tightening your lower back” and telling yourself you are not going to stand up habitually, you are not going to tighten your lower back; you tell yourself you are going to prevent a shortening in your back and you are going to project/think of lengthening your back; Then you take it into the actual action of standing without the tightening and thus you are re-training/re-educating your habitual pattern of standing. When your brain learns that it can inhibit “physical” habits, it then begins to realize that it can inhibit “mental” habits and “emotional” habits. The act of inhibition is a brain activity and can be applied in all situations thus we have chosen in our response.

Allow your neck to be free of unnecessary tension so your spine releases into length.

“Tell lower back not to make a fist” (this is simply an analogy, see paragraph 5).

What are you doing in your daily life that you are responding with tension in your shoulder, neck, etc? (You are sending messages to your body.) This is part of the concept in the Alexander Technique that suggests IF we are “malfunctioning” there must be something in our manner of use to cause that malfunction.

Life is a process of responding to stimuli. What is dominating your thinking that is interfering with your best use? What we are thinking affects how we are using our bodies.

Now that you have a better understanding of what the Alexander Technique is, we were able to experience it in action in the Master classes. And I have to say, it was amazing!

The first student that Pamela worked with was a vocal student. First thing she looked for was tension, freedom at the top of the spine. Spine come up to nose level, throat is behind nose – top of breathing container. Pelvic floor is responding to the whole breathing container. Torso – cylinder to support breath.

After Pamela holds up (or lengthens) her spine, so to speak, the voice student felt she wasn’t working as hard because she had something other than her voice to concentrate on.

Pamela was helping her so her head wouldn’t get scrunched down, where she typically holds all that pressure from hitting the higher notes. The student said it helped her voice project higher/easier. The audience could hear a better tone quality.

The next student was a piano student. This student shared that she had tension in the shoulders typically when practicing. Pamela shares, when holding up spine, this is not about “holding up spine,” it is about allowing the spine to be at it’s easy extension which is something those smaller muscles we spoke of earlier take care of. Tone came out much better. Move from hip joints when he wants to as part of expression at the piano. Sit right on sitting bones.

If students tend to hold their breath when playing, it diminishes the oxygen that goes to their hands, fingers, etc.

A suggestion Pamela gave to the student to keep her connected with her whole body was to Exhale, Inhale, as blow out air, think of feet. Be sure to adjust bench and sit correctly (see above). It was amazing the difference the audience could hear in the quality of her performance after Pamela worked with her for just a short period of time.

This time an adult piano student performed a piece for us. She shared that she had tension in her upper arms. A couple things Pamela shared with her that would help release the tension was to inhibit going down, direct yourself up (do opposite of what your habit is), use the energy within our body to keep ourselves long and open. Energy is equal.

Watching the Alexander Technique in action was fascinating. I have found myself becoming more aware of the unnecessary tension I am carrying and to allow my spine to do what it was meant to do.

Recommended books: Indirect Procedures by Pedro De Alcantara (directed to musicians) and Body Learning by Michael Gelb (primer to Alexander Technique; not directed towards musicians).

Guest post by Jennifer Foxx

I’m excited to be guest blogging on the Music Matters Blog about the Arizona Music Teachers State Conference that was held the first weekend of June.

Our morning started out with a presentation that I knew would be a good one, because Dr. Kiriluk presented at our chapter on the same subject earlier this year. Even though I had heard her presentation before, I enjoyed it just as much the second time as I did the first.

She starts off with the definition of Phrasing. And then explained that we don’t talk like a robot and tells us to have our students talk like a robot so they can hear what that sounds like.

When we introduce Phrasing we should compare it to speech. The inflection and breathing appear in both our speech and music. The flow of the phrase is very important. One important thing to keep in mind with phrasing is that there are MANY good ways of phrasing the music; don’t be afraid to change it up. Use your knowledge, experience, instinct, and personal taste in choosing how to phrase.

It is important to shape the phrase from the very beginning. Consider the character and style of the piece. Be sure to look at the big picture. A great analogy she uses is to put on our 3D glasses – notice which melodies pop out. Do an experiment and try bringing out the treble, then the middle, then the bass creating variety. What did you like best? Don’t get stuck in a rut, make room for variety.

In her handout she includes some basic principles to keep in mind with phrasing…but still using your own judgment:

• Follow the composer’s marking
• Emphasize longer notes
• Go to the 3rd measure out of 4 in a phrase
• Emphasize higher notes
• Emphasize downbeat
• Major vs. Minor
• Follow harmonic progression and implications in phrasing
• Emphasize rhythmic peculiarities (syncopation, irregular rhythms, etc…)
• Breathe in and out
• Group the notes in a variety of ways
• Find the main point of each phrase, each section and at the end of the piece

She concludes with how teachers can help students with phrasing. We should discuss and analyze the phrasing with the student. Sing! Dance! Let the student conduct the piece. Play improvised accompaniment or simply play along. Listen to good recordings and do whatever it takes for students to understand the phrasing.

As I mentioned last week, Jennifer Foxx e-mailed me with the fabulous idea of having other teachers contribute guest posts with notes from their state conferences. I’ve already greatly benefited by reading Jennifer’s wonderful notes, and I think you all will likewise enjoy catching a glimpse into the goings on at the Arizona State Music Teachers Association conference! Stay tuned for lots of great posts from Jennifer this week!

Jennifer Foxx, a music teacher from Arizona, sent me a suggestion that over the summer I post guest blogs from those who attend their state conventions. I think this is a fabulous idea! It would also be great to include posts from those who attend summer music workshops and would like to contribute some notes and/or pictures. I always learn so much by attending conferences and workshops, and reading the notes of others who attend is the next best thing to being there myself!

So…if you have attended or are attending a state conference and/or other music workshops this summer and would like to contribute some guest posts for Music Matters Blog, just send me an e-mail and I’d love to include them, along with your name and a link to your blog/website. Jennifer’s notes from the Arizona State Music Teachers Conference will be coming next week!