Music Matters Blog » Videos http://musicmattersblog.com inspiring creativity in music education Mon, 21 May 2012 12:00:17 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Inspiration and Practical Tips for Parents and Teachers Working with Young Children at the Piano http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/05/18/inspiration-and-practical-tips-for-parents-and-teachers-working-with-young-children-at-the-piano/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/05/18/inspiration-and-practical-tips-for-parents-and-teachers-working-with-young-children-at-the-piano/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:26 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3726 I “saved” this post on my browser as soon as I saw the title, but just finally got around to watching Mario Ajero’s video clip on How to Start Piano Lessons for Pre-School Aged Children. If you are a parent or teacher of young children and need a little inspiration and practical advice, you have to check this out! It’s so neat to watch Mario work with his daughter and see the excitement in her face as she learns to play simple songs on the piano. I really love his suggestion of making time at the piano a part of your daily routine so that it becomes a normal and expected part of life.

These are great ideas that could also easily be incorporated into a Pre-Piano Camp for young students who are considering starting formal piano lessons.

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/05/18/inspiration-and-practical-tips-for-parents-and-teachers-working-with-young-children-at-the-piano/feed/ 2 Two Years of Masterclasses at Your Fingertips! http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/05/16/two-years-of-masterclasses-at-your-fingertips/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/05/16/two-years-of-masterclasses-at-your-fingertips/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 12:00:55 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3719 Thanks to Music Matters Blog reader Brooke for alerting me to a fabulous resource! Visit the Sonatina Enterprises website for archives of two years’ worth of masterclass videos taken at their summer music programs. Just click on the 2011 Masterclass Archives or 2012 Masterclass Archives buttons on the home page to view a list of repertoire and select videos to watch. I’m already enjoying watching these great video recordings and picking up helpful teaching tips!

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/05/16/two-years-of-masterclasses-at-your-fingertips/feed/ 3 Join the Connecticut State Music Teachers Association Live This Morning! http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/26/join-the-connecticut-state-music-teachers-association-live-this-morning/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/26/join-the-connecticut-state-music-teachers-association-live-this-morning/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:00:53 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3683 The Connecticut State Music Teachers Association has just launched a USTREAM channel and is hosting a piano ensemble music session live this morning from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET. What fun! I’m loving watching the archived video from their live session on Tuesday morning:

Video streaming by UstreamIf you’re looking for some wonderful piano ensemble repertoire, don’t miss watching these presentations!

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/26/join-the-connecticut-state-music-teachers-association-live-this-morning/feed/ 1 More Music Theory Teaching Videos http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/25/more-music-theory-teaching-videos/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/25/more-music-theory-teaching-videos/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:00:20 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3680 I just discovered that Yellow Cat Publishing has a YouTube channel with a variety of music theory teaching videos. While you’re checking this out, you might want to download and print one of their free Circle of 5ths diagrams!

Here’s a video clip on using the Circle of 5ths chart to learn the order of sharps and flats:

It’s great to have all these wonderful music theory teaching videos coming out! Anyone know of other great ones that can be used by teachers and/or students?

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/25/more-music-theory-teaching-videos/feed/ 0 The 1-Minute Documentary Project http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/20/the-1-minute-documentary-project/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/20/the-1-minute-documentary-project/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:00:43 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3664 For Travel Tour (a.k.a. Group Class) #5 last night, one of our activities was what I dubbed, “The 1-Minute Documentary Project.” The idea was inspired by the fabulous Videolicious App, and it turned out to be a lot of fun!

I started by coming up with a handful of music-related topics, like a composer or a musical element. The students were grouped in pairs and each pair drew one of the topics. Here’s a rundown of the step-by-step process from that point on:

1. Read/study material about the topic (students were permitted to use any resource in the studio).
2. Select key information to include.
3. Write a 50 second narration.
4. Select and take 4-8 pictures to correlate with the narration.
5. Open Videolicious App.
6. Select General Video.
7. Select previously taken pictures in the order you want them to appear in the video.
8. Film one student saying the narration.
9. Select an excerpt from your music library to play in the background (if the students have time during their research they can find and download a piece of music for this purpose).
10. Preview and publish the video.

In addition to being a lot of fun, the process was educational and provided a great opportunity for the students to work together. There is still plenty of room for improvement in a variety of aspects (especially the direction of some of the pictures!), but I thought they did a good job in a limited time. And we all enjoyed watching the finished documentaries at the end of the class:


Levi and Andrew on Dynamics


Desiree and Hayley on Bartolomeo Cristofori


Amanda and Mercy on Tempo


Lucas and Landon on Key Signatures


Olive and Noelle on Articulation


Tommy on Domenico Scarlatti

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/20/the-1-minute-documentary-project/feed/ 0 Get Classroom Maestro 3.0 for Free (a $69 value!) http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/11/get-classroom-maestro-3-0-for-free-a-69-value/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/11/get-classroom-maestro-3-0-for-free-a-69-value/#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:00:44 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3643 Zenph is one of the leading music technology organizations. I’ve been fascinated by them ever since reading an article last year about some of their projects. Their Classroom Maestro software sounds very interesting – and you can download it for free (a $69 value!) if you complete a brief survey. Classroom Maestro is described as being “musically intelligent” with a multitude of capabilities that enable you to demonstrate and capture notes, intervals, scales, and chords on your computer screen. Here’s a short video clip that will give you a better idea of what this great software enables you to do:

HT: Jennifer Foxx

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/11/get-classroom-maestro-3-0-for-free-a-69-value/feed/ 2 The Kinshasa Symphony http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/10/the-kinshasa-symphony/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/10/the-kinshasa-symphony/#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:00:10 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3640 In the war-torn, poverty-stricken country of Congo, Africa, music breaks forth gloriously! You can’t help but be inspired by this amazing story:

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/04/10/the-kinshasa-symphony/feed/ 3 Check Out the New Music Theory Teaching Tips Videos from Ultimate Music Theory http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/03/13/check-out-the-new-music-theory-teaching-tips-videos-from-ultimate-music-theory/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/03/13/check-out-the-new-music-theory-teaching-tips-videos-from-ultimate-music-theory/#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:00:56 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3429 The ever-energetic Glory St. Germain, of Ultimate Music Theory, has just started posting a series of Music Theory Teaching Tips videos. Check out this first one on how to teach landmark notes on the staff to your students:

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never thought to approach note identification like this. I think as part of my cracking the whip to get my students to master their notes I’m going to require every one of them to watch this insightful presentation. :-) I’m excited to see what other great things I can learn from this series of music theory teaching tips!

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/03/13/check-out-the-new-music-theory-teaching-tips-videos-from-ultimate-music-theory/feed/ 2 When the Lights Go Out… http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/02/02/when-the-lights-go-out/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/02/02/when-the-lights-go-out/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:53 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3327 …It’s Time for Three!

Have you heard of these guys? They are an incredibly talented threesome who got their big debut in the midst of a lightning storm. You’ll have to read about it on the Time for Three website for the full story! The spring Young People’s Concerts were bumped up a little earlier in the year just so the 10,000 attending students would have the privilege of watching and listening to this trio. They are quite innovative in their music-making, and have a great stage presence – the kids loved them!

It’s always fun to be introduced to new music groups and musicians, and I’m so grateful for a vibrant music community that does a great job of bringing such excellent performances to our area!

]]> http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/02/02/when-the-lights-go-out/feed/ 0 Review and Giveaway of Compositions by Lisa Donovan Lukas http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/01/31/review-and-giveaway-of-compositions-by-lisa-donovan-lukas/ http://musicmattersblog.com/2012/01/31/review-and-giveaway-of-compositions-by-lisa-donovan-lukas/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:07 +0000 natalie http://musicmattersblog.com/?p=3312 Close your eyes, sit back in a comfy chair, and imagine a beautiful interlacing of impressionistic and contemporary harmonies drifting from piano music that might provide the soundtrack for your favorite tear-inducing drama. Now you can skip the imagination part and let this video fill in the music for you:

Goodnight, Sweet Dreams is one of six compositions by Lisa Donovan Lukas.

To Raise The Wind Horse is an imaginative duet that was premiered at the Daniel Pearl World Music Days concert in California. You can read a little about the inspiration and history of the composition on the Daniel Pearl Music Days website. I can think of several horse-loving students that would love to learn this duet!

Each piece presents fairly advanced rhythmic challenges, but the end results are well worth it! The most accessible of Lisa’s six works is A Song From the Garden. It has a lovely singing melody, and could be handled by a motivated intermediate student.

I think Summer Dance would be an engaging selection for a student looking for a fresh contemporary piece to use for a festival or contest. Waiting is a rich, gorgeous piece that I’m adding to my collection of wedding and prelude music. And A Passing Cloud is a great mood piece if you or a student are looking for something to sink your hands into and let your expressiveness take you away. :-)

I love that you can download samples and listen to full recordings of each piece on the Alberti Publishing website! But I love even more that Lisa has offered to giveaway a copy of each of her compositions to Music Matters Blog readers! Six winners will be given one of her pieces and you can enjoy it yourself and/or use it with a student in your studio. Just leave a comment below and six winners will be chosen using a random number generator at noon (CST) on Thursday, February 9, 2012.

 

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