This March, our local music teachers association is organizing a World Music Festival. In preparation for it, I decided to find repertoire for each of my students that represents a different country. It’s quite a big task to find engaging ethnic pieces for a bunch of students all at once, so I thought I would document the steps I go through to make this a more efficient operation. (This is how I select repertoire at the beginning of the school year and for other festivals throughout the year, too. Even when I go to the music store to scour the books, I take my supplies and go through the same steps!)

STEP ONE: Gather the necessary supplies – note pad, pencil, and sticky flags.
STEP TWO: Go through file cabinets and pull out every book or sheet music that has the name of another country or something representative of another country in the title.

STEP THREE: Write out each student’s name on the note pad.

STEP FOUR: Play through each piece and determine if a particular student would like the piece. If so, write the student’s name on one of the sticky flags and affix it to the sheet music or book. Then, write the title of the piece next to their name on the note pad.

STEP FIVE: Repeat step four until every student has been assigned a fun piece!

STEP SIX: Excitedly anticipate each student’s lesson when I can introduce them to their new repertoire and watch their eyes light up. I think I love having them start new music as much as they do!

I’m sure there is some more technologically advanced method for doing this, but for some things I’m still a paper and pencil person. By the way, this World Music theme has turned out to be a great way to try out new repertoire that I might otherwise overlook. I think I should try focusing on a specific theme like this every year. Does anyone have suggestions for successful themes they’ve used in their studios/recitals?

Since I didn’t get my official This Week in Photos post up last week, I thought I would at least share some of the pictures from my Christmas Recital last Thursday evening. Our title was Christmas: God’s Mystery Revealed. In between the piano pieces, I read little bits of narration while the students took turns holding various objects to represent the historic events about which I narrated. The objective was to give the audience members snippets of history that served as clues ultimately leading to the revelation of God’s “Mystery.” It worked out really well, and the students did a marvelous job performing their pieces and participating in the mystery! I had a friend film the whole recital, so I’m hoping to post videos of some of the performances later this week. But for now, hope you enjoy these pictures!

Pre-Recital:

Recital:

Do you recognize Emily?

Post-Recital:

A group shot of all of us. I love my students!

We gathered afterward for a reception of scrumptious goodies provided by all the families.

With three of my most-loved students (a.k.a my three youngest siblings!) after we were all done cleaning up, and ready to go home and crash!

In honor of our Christmas Recital tonight, I thought I would post a video of one of the selections that will be on the program. Brittany did a “practice performance” of What Child is This? last week at her lesson. A “practice performance” means that we turn off all the lights except for the one on the piano (which simulates a spotlight!), and do the whole approach to the piano, bow at the end, etc. The goal, of course, is to try to make the student feel at least slightly nervous so that we can identify weak spots, and learn to work through the nerves.

Years ago I made up this set of Performance Signs that I frequently use during group classes with my students. (I’m a little embarrassed about the quality of the design now, but I’ve been using them for years and my students are very attached to them!)

There are six signs, with the following titles: Approach to Piano, Arrival at the Piano, Performance, Completion, Bow, and Return to Seat. On the back of each card is a list of things to remember in conjunction with that portion of the performance. I printed each of these signs on a sheet of colored paper and laminated it. Once I introduce the performance principles to students (or review them prior to a performance), I distribute the cards randomly. Each student takes a turn performing, and once they are back at their seat, the students with the cards hold them up if they followed the steps listed on that particular card. If the performer doesn’t get a raised card in a particular area, the “judge” of that area explains what they should have done differently to get that card raised.

You can download your own set of these Performance Signs for free and print them out for use in your studio. The combination of the visual representation and the constant use these get in my studio has entrenched these performance principles on my students’ minds. That’s not to say that they always remember them in the “heat of the moment,” but we’re getting there!

Click here to download a free template that you can use when designing your own recital program. This template was created using tables in Microsoft Word. I made everything generic for this template, but usually use two contrasting fonts for the title of the pieces and the students’ names. You can adjust the spacing allowed for each line by hovering your mouse over the vertical line until you see the double arrows and then dragging the table border to one side or the other. You can also add or delete rows by highlighting the row and then right clicking on the mouse and selecting the appropriate menu option.

This design is for a sheet of 8.5×11″ paper, folded lengthwise. If you are interested in purchasing a complete package with a beautifully designed cover, customized message, and editable files, please check out this previous post.

Feel free to ask if you have any other questions about how to edit or adapt this file to suit your needs!

No doubt many of you also have student recitals approaching. Here’s a helpful article by Joshua Nemith on preparing students for a good performance. In a nutshell, “Have it Mastered, Memorized, and Moving!” Sounds good to me!

HT: The Collaborative Piano Blog

As I’ve given workshops for our local associations on how to use the computer to develop customized materials for the studio, one common desire many teachers have is to be able to make their own well-designed recital programs. In light of this, I am making available the following cover design, and corresponding files, for purchase and use in your studio:

If you have the Print Shop software (either the Deluxe or the Pro Publisher Version), you will be able to open and edit the cover file yourself. I highly recommend this software! It is user-friendly and can be used for designing any kind of material you can imagine! However, for those who do not have the Print Shop software, I am offering the option for you to purchase the same files, but I will customize the cover file with information specific to your studio: your name, recital date and a personal note on the back.

The download includes the following files (and includes the right to print, or have printed by a commercial printer, as many copies of the program as you need at no additional cost):

1. Recital Program Sample (pdf) – the inside of the program so that you can see how the layout is designed
2. Recital Program Cover 1 (pdf) – the full cover (front and back)
3. Recital Program Sample (doc) – the inside of the program in Microsoft Word format so that you can edit it and add all your own program information
4-6. Fonts (in case you don’t have them on your computer and want to use the same ones I used for the cover design. For instructions on how to install new fonts on your computer, read this post.)
7. Cover (Print Shop file) – for those who have the Print Shop software and can open and edit the cover design themselves.
Please note: the files come in a zip format. If you don’t have an unzip program, download a free trial version of WinZip here.

Christmas Recital Program Files | $10

Custom Design for Recital Program Cover and Back | $10

Once you complete your order, if you are ordering custom design services, please click here to send me an e-mail with the following information:

1. Your full name (to be listed as “students of…” on the cover)
2. Your recital date
3. A personal note for the back (100-150 words is best)
4. Verse or quote for the bottom of the back cover (optional)

Once I receive the above information, I will e-mail you a customized PDF file and you will be able to print, or have printed by a commercial printer, as many copies as you need at no additional charge. Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions!

Here’s another excerpt from the notes of Janna’s excellent overview of teaching for new teachers. This one seemed especially fitting since I just returned from a Clavinova Festival where 13 of my students are performing this weekend.

I confess…though I love to play, I do not enjoy performing and I’m not good at it. I’ve had plenty more bad experiences performing than good ones and I’m often at a loss as to how to help my students become good performers. I appreciate Janna’s advice below and would love to know what some of you other teachers do to help your students become good performers, or even any ways you have found to improve your own performing skills (feel free to leave a comment below!). And another question…how do you help a student pick up the pieces, so to speak, from a bad performance and convince them that they should still keep working on developing this skill? (I think I may have to do some of that with a student next week…) Any advice would be most appreciated!
~Natalie

PERFORMANCE FOR STUDENTS
By Janna Williamson, NCTM
Wheaton Yamaha Music School

Annual or Biannual Formal Studio Recital
Reasons you should do this:
-parents, grandparents, friends get to come for the big event to hear their star perform
-one big pinnacle of the year that can be very exciting
Difficulties to overcome:
-scheduling is a nightmare, especially if you want to do it in December or June (prime times)
-it takes a lot of work on the teacher’s part with organizing, planning repertoire, providing a
punch and cookie reception, making sure all students are adequately prepared
-some students deal with performance anxiety at this level of performance

Formal Examinations through Teacher Organizations
Reasons you should do this:
-different groups have different syllabi which are very useful to inexperienced teachers
-having your students evaluated by an unbiased judge is invaluable to you and them
-good organizations include: state MTA’s [Natalie's note: see right sidebar for links to each state] (MTNA), National Federation of Music Clubs , National Guild of Piano Teachers, other local organizations
Difficulties to overcome:
-following the various syllabi can often be confusing and take a lot of work, especially during
the first years that you enter students in each event
-the quality of judging can vary based on type of event and location
-students should only be entered in these events at an appropriate level and when they are
well-prepared by the teacher

Studio Performance Classes or Group Classes
Reasons you should do this:
-it’s a lot of fun! Students love getting to know one another and connect with peers
-kids learn a lot from each other and can teach each other things they might not learn from a teacher figure
-these informal (no parents allowed) times are great for preparing for bigger performances
-if you decide to include non-performance things such as theory or music history, you make more use of your time by teaching the same material to many at one time
Difficulties to overcome:
-scheduling is difficult, especially if you decide to organize several groups according to level

Thoughts on Preparing Students for Performance
-It takes a long time to be prepared, and the bigger or more important the event, the more time.
-Students must have regular performance to feel comfortable with it. Once or twice per year is not enough. Requiring students to perform a lot is really in their best interest.
-Learn strategies for dealing with performance anxiety in students. These must be different for students of different ages. Keep in mind that the best strategy for avoiding anxiety is simply to be extremely well-prepared!
-Piano students must learn to deal with strange pianos.
-It will always sound better at home. I’ve heard that line so many times, I’m making T-shirts!
-Encourage regular “home” performance for your students. Parents, grandparents, people at family holiday get-togethers, and friends from school all make great impromptu audiences.

You know you’re a piano teacher when you’re playing Christmas music in October! (And I even feel like I’m behind in getting ready for the recital this year!)

Our annual studio Christmas recital is a favorite for students, parents, family, friends and myself! Each year I try to do something a little different. This year I’m encouraging families to work together to come up with some sort of ensemble. My students should plan to play the piano, but other than that they can be as creative as they want!

I’m going to be digging through my files of Christmas music this week to help come up with music for the students and families. I spent part of this afternoon arranging a simple piano duet for a girl and her brother. The brother just started lessons this fall and wants to play a duet of The First Noel. I plan to teach him his part (the melody) mostly by rote and by ear, so I put it in the position one would use if they were playing a D scale with the tetrachords split between the hands. His sister has been taking lessons for about a year now and has played through all the Major pentascales and chords, so I wrote her part using mostly chord patterns that she can learn fairly easily.

Here’s a recording of The First Noel duet that I made using the Audacity recording software I posted about in this previous post. (It was kind of tricky because I recorded each part separately and then had to align them just right so that they played in sinc with each other!)

Here is a downloadable file of The First Noel primo part.
Here is a downloadable file of The First Noel secondo part.

Because of the nature of what I’m asking families to do this year, I think I may end up doing more arranging than I usually do. I love little projects like that and just wish I was more skilled in this area so I could arrange more advanced duets and solos as well. Anyone know of good resources for learning arranging skills?