I’d love to be able to use notation software in my studio. I have some budding composers, and I also would love to do my own “edits” of songs for some students that is more readable than me just printing it out. However, there are several products out there, and they all claim to be the best! Wondering if you use any, and also thought this might be an area that folks could share their expertise!

My first steps into the world of notation software came when a friend gave me her used copy of Print Music. I used that for several years until I came to the point where I needed capabilities that it didn’t offer. After doing some research, I eventually settled on Finale. There is considerable debate between Finale and Sibelius users and I won’t pretend to know enough to make a case for either. My only experience has been with Finale, but so far it does everything I need it to. They also have a NotePad version that is great for students as a starter-level software. It used to be free, but now costs $9.95. Still well worth it in my opinion!

There are a couple of free programs available: MuseScore is one that I heard about not to long ago. I’ve been wanting to take a look at it, but haven’t done so yet. LilyPond is an automated engraving system that looks really cool! I investigated it in depth several years ago, and if I had the time to devote to learning it, I would love to give it a try. (Definitely just for the more geeky among us, though. )

If you do decide to purchase a software program, I found this website called AABACA Music Barn that had by far the best prices I could find. It’s been quite a few years since I did my research, but I suspect they are still one of the best deals out there for music educators.

Obviously, my expertise in this field is rather limited, so if anyone else has thoughts or recommendations on notation software, please share!

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!

Did you take any online or correspondence courses to help prepare for your MTNA certification? I have been teaching piano for the past 2 years, and am interested in getting certified. I have a degree in sacred music, but know I need to brush up on some of my music history and pedagogy courses. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

I took one theory course by correspondence, but the academy I took it from has since closed. There are a number of other universities now that offer on-line classes, though, so I think you could probably track down some in each of these areas. For pedagogy, I took one semester at our local university and then did a one-week intensive course through the afore-mentioned academy.

MTNA has recently revamped their whole certification program, streamlining the process and making it more systematic. I’m not as familiar with this process, but the PowerPoint presentation they have on their site is an informative way to get started. When I took the tests to demonstrate proficiency in pedagogy, theory, and history, they had sample test questions available that proved very helpful! Reading through several pedagogy texts and utilizing music history resources in your teaching are two excellent ways to prepare for the requirements of certification. Here are a few I would recommend:

Thinking As You Play by Dr. Sylvia Coats

The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher by Marienne Uszler, Stewart Gordon, and Scott McBride Smith

Exploring Piano Classics Series by Nancy Bachus

The Baroque, Classical, and Romantic Spirit Series by Nancy Bachus

Succeeding with the Masters Series by Helen Marlais

I know there are numerous other resources out there that would be especially helpful for a study in music pedagogy and history; please feel free to share any that you’ve used and found beneficial!

I’m wondering if you can recommend good books/resources on running a business?

There is a backlog of questions in my Monday Mailbag folder, so I’m going to incorporate some of them into posts throughout the week. I love learning and studying about business issues, so here are a few suggestions:

One of my all-time favorite books is Proverbs in the Bible. It is full of practical advice that is very relevant to business and life in general.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t by Jim Collins – read a full review on my post 2009 Year of Reading in Review.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath – this one is also included in my 2009 Year of Reading in Review. I loved this book! It is applicable to so many areas of life and is an incredible resource for anyone who wants to improve their ability to plan and implement creative ideas. I just discovered that the Heath brothers also have a blog! It’s been duly added to my feed reader, and I look forward to keeping up with it.

Business Opportunities Blog by Dane Carlson – This contains a wide variety of ideas, links, bits of information, and more. I subscribe to the feed for it and enjoy skimming each of the posts and exploring the ones that grab my attention.

The New Venture Lab website, blog, and newsletter is a great resource for those with an entrepreneurial bent. They have tons of great resources, case studies, inspirational stories, tips, and links to encourage and equip you in your business endeavors.

Another thing that has been very helpful to me over the years is to meet with others who have common interests in business, finances, and leadership development. For several years, I met weekly with a business study group, and we researched a wide variety of topics. This multiplies your learning because you have the benefit of learning from the research and experiences of others. I highly recommend this approach!

Does anyone have any other recommended books/resources on business that they’d like to share?

You would think that a book subtitled, “A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness” would tend toward dry, colorless explanations reserved for only the most devoted musicians. I can’t say that I was overly excited when Mr. Klickstein asked if I would be willing to review a copy of his book, but within the first chapter my perspective completely changed! In addition to being an excellent writer and communicator, Mr. Klickstein presents so much helpful information that you will be itching to sit at the piano with his book beside you while you practice. At least I was!

The book is divided into three parts:

1. Artful Practice, which includes chapters on: Getting Organized, Practicing Deeply, and Musical Collaboration.

2. Fearless Performance, which includes chapters on: Unmasking Performance Anxiety, Becoming a Performing Artist, and Performing like a Pro.

3. Lifelong Creativity, which includes chapters on: Injury Prevention and Succeeding as a Student.

Each chapter is further separated into sections with descriptive sub-headings, making it incredibly easy to locate information relevant to a particular need. The extensive Notes, Bibliography, and Index at the back of the further contribute to the value of The Musician’s Way as a tremendous resource that would benefit any music teacher.

The Musician’s Way exposed how much my own practice habits are in need of reformation and how critical it is for me to learn these principles of effective practice, performance, and wellness so that I can pass them on to my students. I am not quite done with the latter half of the book yet, but I know that this is one of those rare books that I’ll be reading and referencing again and again as I attempt to achieve higher levels of mastery in my practicing, performing, and teaching.

Mr. Klickstein is obviously passionate about his message, and has set up a companion website with a wealth of additional materials. And…most exciting of all, he has offered to give away one copy of his book here on Music Matters Blog! Just leave a comment below if you’d like to be entered in the drawing to win. You can earn a double entry by posting about the giveaway on your blog and linking back to this post. I’ll select a winner next Friday, May 7, at noon CST. This will be a wonderful read for any musician or music teacher!

Even though I didn’t really feel like I knew what I was doing yet, I decided to launch into something new as soon as I returned from the MTNA conference. We’ve been doing it for several weeks now and it has been close to revolutionary in my studio! I’ve picked up a variety of improvising how-tos over the years because it’s something I’ve always wanted to learn, but none of them have been as helpful as I hoped they would be. In contrast, the Pattern Play series by Akiko and Forrest Kinney that I was introduced to at the MTNA conference has been everything I hoped it would be and more!

The very first week I was back, I decided to incorporate improvising into every lesson. I started with a brief discussion of what it means to improvise – comparing it to improv in the drama world. In essence, I wanted students to know that when you improvise, you are drawing from a repertoire of things that you have already learned and arranging it in a new and spontaneous way. Similarly, in dramatic improv, you are using words and phrases and even scenarios that you already have experience with; you’re just arranging them in a fresh way on-the-spot to achieve the desired end.

We started with the first improvisation in the book – World Piece – and just started right into playing, the student in the treble and me in the bass. I told them that we would try to listen to each other and match our sound and style so that it would be as musical as possible. Then, we would try to anticipate the approach to the end and finish together. You should have seen the looks on so many of their faces as we created beautiful sounds spontaneously. They LOVED it! I love it! We’ve continued this improvisation activity at each lesson since, and I echo the description of this series that states, “students will not only learn to play, they’ll play to learn.” This is a great way to introduce and reinforce various musical concepts. Plus, regardless of age, musical ability, or level of playing, every student can be successful at improvising and creating beautiful music if they are given the right tools.

You may remember that I was so enthralled with the Maestro! game at the MTNA Conference that I purchased it to use with my students. Well, the opportune time came last Thursday when we had our fifth Briefing Session (a.k.a. group class) of the year. We had some extra time at the end of all the performances and theory presentations, so I unwrapped the packaging and my students and I figured out how to play it.

There were 16 of us present (slightly more than the 2-4 players the game is designed for!), so I had them organize into 4 teams of 4. We were a bit squished, but still had plenty of fun!

One of the things that I love about the Maestro! game is the integration of a variety of different learning areas – history, geography, composer biographies, and strategy. Another thing I like is that the play is simple enough for any student to understand, but leaves lots of room for creative alterations. I also got to scan through all the pages that are included on the companion CD that I’m even contemplating the possibility of using this as my piano camp theme this year instead of writing my own! I’ve never done this before, so it will take some serious consideration before I make a final decision. But that’s how much I love this material that Suzanne has developed!

Several weeks ago, I received a nice fat stack of books in the mail, compliments of Jerald Simon, President of Music Motivation. Before I even had a chance to play through them, several students eyed the cover of Sea Fever and picked it up to find out what was hidden beneath the cool-looking design. The music inside is the same kind of attention-getting music with lots of repetitive figures and big, flashy sounds. Each piece is preceded by a brief lesson that introduces key theory concepts and technical skills contained in the piece. The selections are full of 4-note chords, sixteenth note passages, and lots of moving around on the keyboard, so I would classify the arrangements as late-intermediate to advanced.

Each of these other books contain a similar layout and style, and you can hear recordings and view samples of many of the selections on the Music Motivation Blog.

Triumphant – “10 original piano solos”
Hymns of Exaltation
Jazzed About Christmas – “For beginning and early intermediate students”
Playin’ Around and The Jazz Song – “Two Jazz Piano Solos”
Jazzed about Jazz – “For the Intermediate Piano Student”

An Introduction to Scales and Modes, part of the Theory Therapy series, contains scale and chord letterings and fingerings for all the Major and minor scales and each of the modes. A handy reference guide!

Variations on Mary Had a Little Lamb, part of the Innovative Improvisation series, is designed to introduce students to various improvisation techniques using a familiar folk tune. The Teacher’s Tips scattered throughout the lessons help even the most improvisationally-challenged teachers feel like they can help a student grow in this area.

Now, for the great news…Mr. Simon has graciously offered to give away a copy of a book of your choice to three Music Matters Blog readers! So, take a look at the links above, pick out your favorite, and leave a comment below in order to be entered in the drawing to win your chosen book. The drawing will be held on Wednesday, March 17 at noon, CST, so be sure to leave your comment before then! I’ll notify the three winners as soon as I hold the drawing, and will announce them here on Thursday.

Well, it’s about time for my annual Music Teacher’s Helper sales spiel. But instead of writing another review, I’ll let you watch the video that I produced for their recent testimonial contest. Plus, I’m super excited that they are getting ready to launch a completely revamped website! I love new things like this!

Read Review One | Read Review Two

Last weekend I received the e-newsletter from the fabulous Music Educator’s Marketplace and saw this brilliant new product: Nate’s Scale Plates. They were developed by a 9-year old piano student, and they are exactly what several of my students need! It baffles me that scale fingerings are as difficult as they are for some students, but even some of my most diligent students struggle to master them. These scale plates seem like the perfect solution. According to the newsletter, Music Educator’s Marketplace will be at the MTNA Conference next month, so I’m putting this at the top of my list of things to buy. I can hardly wait to give it a try!

If you don’t already receive the free e-newsletter from Music Educator’s Marketplace, you can sign up for it at the bottom of their home page. I highly recommend it! In addition to product information it also contains some great teaching tips and other helpful links.

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, and if you enjoy hearing holiday-themed music in your studio you’ll want to grab a copy of Wendy Stevens’ latest sheet music: Irish Celebration. The melody is fun and catchy – one that any early elementary student will love learning and playing over and over…and over and over.

Set in a simple 5-finger position, Irish Celebration is very accessible while still managing to sound great sans duet. The accompanying duet, however, would be perfect for an older sibling or other early intermediate student. It adds a great sense of energy and excitement without detracting from the melody. Lots of fun!

Other favorite Irish Music selections in my studio include:

From the Emerald Isle by Melody Bober
Highland Jig by Mary Leaf (one of the selections in this In Recital book)

I’d love to have some other suggestions of favorite Irish repertoire. What pieces do your students really like playing?