Category Archives: Inspirational

Watch the Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

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One of my early music inspirations was the CD “World’s Favorite Piano Music” by Van Cliburn. I think because of that and because of the opportunity I had to hear him in person at the 2006 MTNA Conference, he will always have a special place in my heart. The piano competition he began in 1962 is getting ready to hold its fourteenth event.

30 of the finest pianists from around the world will be converging on Fort Worth, Texas, May 24-June 9 to participate in the competition. And the rest of us around the world are privileged to be able to tune in to watch the live webcast on the Cliburn website.

And for those who are in Fort Worth or close enough to make the drive, you should check out the wonderful free events open to the public that are being held in conjunction with the competition. If I was closer, I would sure love to get in on some of these!

Friday Film Find – Triumphant

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Jerald Simon, of Music Motivation, has put together an inspiration video dedicated to athletes everywhere. I assume this also includes musicians, who have been dubbed “elite athletes of the small muscles.” :-) This would be a great film to show students to give them an idea of one of the many ways that music can be used to impact and add value to our culture.

Also, be sure to check out Jerald’s collection of free piano resources for teachers and students.

When Teaching Beats Doing Laundry

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I really appreciate this quote that I came across this morning by Carol Barnier, one of the featured speakers at our local homeschool convention:

“It’s always been important to me to give people something they can take home and use right away. Whether it’s teaching fractions to a distractible student or reconnecting with the heart of a prodigal who is walking away. . .if you don’t take away something that makes a difference in your life, you may as well have stayed at home and gotten the laundry done.”

~Carol Barnier

The more I teach, the more I realize that it’s impossible for me to give every student everything they need musically. If that is my goal, I will fail every time. But if our aim as teachers at every lesson is to give the student something they can take away that makes a difference in their lives – musical or otherwise – we can truly make a lasting impact.

Friday Film Find

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With Easter this past Sunday, the song “The Holy City” came to mind so I looked it up on YouTube and found this gem:

What an impressive example of embracing any environment or equipment to present a beautiful musical experience! (I probably would have complained to no end about having to play such a piece on an electronic keyboard with no music rack…) This should be an inspiration to every music student to work toward musical artistry and excellence!

Are You a Diametrically Opposed Teacher?

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A couple nights ago I presented my workshop, Creativity on the Cutting Edge, to a music teachers association. In so doing, I was reminded of this wonderful statement about the teaching method of Theodor Leschetizky in an article about him in the September/October 2012 issue of American Music Teacher:

“The great quality of Leschetizky was his vitality…there is no Leschetizky method. It is a mere legend – an absolute fallacy. He never spoke, at least I never heard him to speak, of technique. Several of his assistants and some of his pupils have published books on his method which are all diametrically opposed. Don’t be misled by them. There was no method. His teaching was much more than a method. It was a current which sought to release all latent vitality in the student. It was addressed to imagination, taste, and personal responsibility.”

~Artur Schnabel, as cited in Defining the Undefinable: The Leschetizky Method In Vienna and Chicago by Christina L. Reitz

It’s so easy to feel pressure to adopt a system or a method that can be used with every student, but the reality is that every student is different, has different interests, different aptitudes, different ways of learning. What a tremendous privilege we have as independent music teachers to customize our approach to help each student realize their potential and achieve success. As overwhelming as it can seem, it’s also exciting to consider each student as an individual and tailor our teaching approach to their needs – identifying and working through their struggles, and capitalizing on their strengths!

Learning from Great Teachers of the Past

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Reading about the great pedagogues of years gone by is one of my favorite aspects of the music education magazines I receive. In the February/March 2013 issue of the American Music Teacher magazine, there is an interesting article by Arjola Miruku about Tobias Matthay. Here are just a few of the insights that inspired me about his teaching:

“His teaching approach can be described as one of analysis with the idea that playing the piano does not have to be a struggle.”

“According to Matthay, good teaching makes students think, not just imitate the musical interpretation of the instructor.”

“Many accounts by his students have agreed to state that he never let the student work it out on his own in practice. He was an immediate problem solver, and with endless patience, made sure the student could demonstrate a passage the correct way in the lesson and show an understanding of the problem, so that he could then correctly practice.”

“Good teaching will help all students attain musical goals that they thought they never could reach.”

A Treasure Trove of Tabs OR Random Links Galore

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I am notorious for accumulating a bazillion open tabs in my browser of interesting articles, products I want to check out, things I’m researching, or ideas I want to revisit. Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but as of this moment I have 72 active tabs. So I decided it’s time to clean house and share some of these treasures – even if it is in an eclectic haphazard sort of way. :-)

Reaching the Preparation Threshold by Chad Twedt – a very interesting article on getting pieces to a high level of readiness to reduce performance anxiety. I am trying to do a better job of applying these ideas to both my own playing and to my students’ preparation for recitals. My natural tendency is to move as quickly as possible to new pieces – I think I have a very short attention span, and I tend to project that on my students as well. Instead, I need to work on perseverance and endurance – sticking with pieces for much longer to make sure that they can be played and performed at a high level.

What Makes a Musician? by John Sloboda – A look at why so few music students ever reach a high level of musical performance, and what contributes to those who do.

Music Flash Class – a customizable music flashcard app that looks like a great resource for music teachers and students!

Rhythm Sight Reading Trainer – a fascinating-looking app that allows the user to tap rhythms and then evaluates their accuracy.

Piano Teaching Tips from Tom Gerou – a free download of the piece, “Willows” by Tom Gerou, along with a point-by-point list of teaching tips from him that should be applied to this piece.

The 4 Deadliest Practice Mistakes Ever – I’ve never before thought a practice mistake could kill me, but these great practice insights from Grace certainly reveal how such mistakes can kill a pianist’s musical aspirations.

Play Piano by Chords (improvising) – a video tutorial of using a single rhythm pattern to create continuity in a piano improvisation.

Chord Progression Generator – a fun site where you can enter a mood and key, and a chord progression is generator that can be used to improvise accordingly.

Children’s Character Posters – a fun collection of colorful character-building posters that would be a great addition to a lively studio environment!

America’s Dream Chamber Artists – a site worth visiting just to see the cool group photo on the home page!

Portland Cello Project – the name of this group intrigued me because my brother is a cellist and I love listening to cello music. The most amazing thing to me about this group? They have a repertoire of over 800 pieces!

SoundCloud – one of my newer resources, SoundCloud has a great free app that you can use to record music, make comments, and share through a variety of options.

How the Brain Responds to Music by Emily Singer – for starters, there’s a colorful graphic illustrating the different areas of the brain, then the article briefly explores some of the research related to the use of music in helping patients overcome illnesses and diseases.

New Hymns for Worship – a collection of musical scores and recordings of hymns written or rewritten mostly by Davide Marney within the last 10 years.

Classical Music and the Loss of Meaningfulness in the Post-Christian West by Francis Schaeffer – a free audio download that I am very curious to listen to since Dr. Schaeffer and his wife Edith are some of my all-time favorite authors.

30 Mobile Apps Reinventing Music Education – more possibilities to add to the ever-growing list of mobile apps that you can use in your studio.

Brain ‘Closes Eyes’ to Hear Music – another interesting article related to research involving the brain and music, this one exploring the relationship of the eyes and ears to each other and their subsequent ability to focus or not based on the activity of the other sense.

A Note of Hope – a film project by City Gate Films that I came across recently that explores the intersection of music and social justice in Africa.

Piano Safari – I almost hate to give this one away in just a brief little link, but if you’ve gotten this far in the list I think you deserve to know about this amazing new piano method that is hot off the press. I’m using it with a student right now and will be writing a review soon – can hardly wait to share this gem with everyone!

The 7 Laws of the Teacher – a video by Howard Hendricks, a highly inspirational and practical educator and author (I recently read and loved his book, Color Outside the Lines). Obviously dated, but entertaining nonetheless!

Well, do you think that will keep you busy for a while? :-)