For any flute players out there, you may want to check out this great resource provided by David Summer. You can listen to and download recordings of the pieces from the book, Selected Duets for Flute, Volume 1 Edited by H.Voxman. You can also subscribe to his podcast via a feedreader or iTunes. What a great idea! I wish there were more piano podcasts like this that provided duet accompaniments for popular piano duet books…

This is the first game I ever made for my studio and it is still one of the favorites.

I just cut a treble clef shape out of white posterboard and then cut orange and blue circles and placed them on the treble clef to create a path. Then I laminated it to preserve it (and it’s held up quite well! I “store” it by hanging it from a clip magnet on the side of one of my file cabinets). To play, each student places their game token on the start and draws a card from the draw pile.

(As you can see, I just handwrote the questions on little squares of yellow construction paper and then laminated them.)

If the student correctly answers the question, they get to roll either the orange or blue interval die to determine how many spaces to move (for the first roll, when they are on the start space, they can choose either die, but after that, they have to roll the die that corresponds to the color circle their game token is on). The dice are made from foam cubes and then I used a black ink pen to draw the keyboard or staff with a different interval on each side.

The students don’t even realize this is my clever ploy to drill them on interval recognition, because they’re too busy trying to figure out how many spaces they get to move!

Obviously, it’s a very simple game, but it’s fully adaptable to any age or level student and it works great for any number of students. I’ve even had students ask to play it on their own or with a sibling while they’re waiting for their lesson.

First off, I must say that the general outline for the camp was put together by another teacher in our local association who is chairing the committee for our Music Olympics next week. This made my planning a piece of cake, since I really just had to fill in the specifics. Thanks, Sally! Now, on to the questions…

What was the treble clef game? This is the first music game I made years ago and it’s still one of the favorites in my studio. (I think I’ll just do a separate post with the specifics of how it’s designed and played.)

How did you use the rhythm cards? I lined four at a time across the music rack on the piano and then had the students clap and count or conduct and vocalise the rhythms. They actually really loved doing this and I love the rhythm cards!

Was that the Balloon Pop Polka? Yes. It’s a great ensemble piece!

What was the relay thing at the keyboard? One of the events for our Music Olympics is scale relays. A team of 4 students (if there are fewer than 4, they must still complete the requirements of a 4-person team) prepares 2 scales each according to the requirements of the level they are entering. The first student plays the first scale and then the next student immediately begins the following scale without missing a beat. The scales must be played in ascending order. The rotation of students continues until all 8 scales have been played. The teams are judged on correct fingering, accurate notes, steady beat and continuity between each student. This is sure a great way to help students polish their scales! I made them keep training over and over, even if they got it right. I think some of them probably played their scales more in those 4 days than they did the whole previous year!

Was there supposed to be sound? Yes, and I’m glad you figured out how to get the sound to work on your computer - it is amazing the difference music makes! The music I used is The Olympic Spirit by John Williams.

On videoing while teaching…this was a bit tricky! There are a number of activities I completely forgot to record at all. When I was highly involved in the particular activity, it slipped my mind, but anytime the students were working more independently on an activity or assignment I gave them, I usually remembered to pull out my camera and shoot for a few minutes.

What was the snapping fingers at the beginning of the video? That was 2 sisters trying to help their younger brothers learn the right timing for popping their balloons in the Balloon Pop Polka!

What were some kids writing on the clipboards while others did the relay? Since a couple of the students at the camp either weren’t going to be at the Music Olympics festival or weren’t entered in the scale relay competitions I employed them as “judges” to give them something constructive to do on the last day while the other two trained by themselves. I gave each one of the “judges” something specific to watch for - either accurate notes, correct fingering or steady beat. For each scale that was played, if the area they were watching for was performed successfully, they were to make one tally mark on their sheet of paper.

Did they prepare music ahead of time? A few of the students got music the week before at their lesson, but most of them sight-read it the first day of piano camp and had to learn it that week.

What were they painting? Flags! Each studio participating in the Music Olympics next weekend got to design their own flag which we will all carry in during the Opening Ceremonies. Since I had 2 groups for piano camp, I let them each design one side of a flag and then I sewed them together.

On age integration…almost all of my group events involve a wide range of ages (from 5 year-olds to post-graduates) and I have found this to be very beneficial. I often pair older students with younger ones and have them work together on specific assignments or games. This gives the older ones a chance to be leaders and it inspires the younger ones because they really look up to the older ones.

Would you ever do a video just showing your studio? Yes! That’s actually something on my to-post list, since I’ve had other readers send me a request to do that as well. As soon as I get around to taking the video, I’ll get it posted and give you all a virtual tour of my studio!

When did you do it? June 30-July 3; 2 1/2 hours each day for each group - I had one group from 10:00-12:30 and the other group from 1:00-3:30 each day with an open lunch time in between so that anyone could bring a sack lunch and hang out here with the others.

How did you put the video together with a title page and rolling credits? Last year, for one of my piano camps I wanted my students to make a documentary, so I purchased the Adobe Premiere Elements software. It is pretty intuitive and has a lot of basic capabilities, including adding rolling credits. There are some features I would really like that it doesn’t have, so eventually I may upgrade to the full version of Adobe Premiere, but for now it is serving its purpose.

Piano Camps are such a fun part of summer lessons in my studio. If you haven’t already given it a try, I highly recommend it!

I promise I’m still going to answer all the specific questions relating to my piano camp, but in the meantime, you have to check out these awesome rhythm blocks that D’Net made! They are so colorful and such a wonderful teaching tool. Looks like I have something else to add to my summer to-do list!

Since many of you were interested in more specifics from my piano camp, I’ve copied my daily schedule below to give you a better idea of how I structured each day. I had 2 1/2 hours with each group (usually I do 2 hours a day and meet Monday through Friday, but since Friday was the 4th, I just increased the time for each of the other four days) and the students were grouped primarily by families. Since I have several sets of 3-sibling groups I knew it would make it easier on their parents to only have to schedule in one chunk of time for all of them. I’ll answer all the other specific questions in my next post.

MONDAY
Inspirational Reading and Discussion – Small Things Done Well
Warm-Ups – neck rolls, shoulder rolls, torso twists, arm stretches, finger O’s
Ensemble Practice – have all students sit in circle and count out loud while clapping the rhythm for their parts
Flag-Making – have all students draw design concepts
Team Competition Practice – Assign teams, explain rules, train for scale relays
Game Time! – Music Forte
Game Booth Design – Discuss and write down ideas
Rhythm Skills Development – Introduce conducting patterns, place 4 rhythm cards across the piano music rack, have all students clap and count out loud together
Wrap-Up

TUESDAY
Inspirational Reading and Discussion – Spiritual Muscles
Warm-Ups – neck rolls, shoulder rolls, torso twists, arm stretches, finger O’s
Ensemble Practice – split the groups between the piano and Clavinova and begin playing parts together
Flag-Making – discuss favorite ideas and combine into one flag design
Team Competition Practice – train for scale relays
Game Time! – Tic-Tac-Toe (group one); Key Signature Dominoes (group two)
Game Booth Design – Finalize ideas, assign responsibilities
Rhythm Skills Development – Review conducting patterns, place 4 rhythm cards across the piano music rack, have all students conduct together while using designated vocal sounds for the rhythm
Wrap-Up

WEDNESDAY
Inspirational Reading and Discussion – Perseverance
Warm-Ups – neck rolls, shoulder rolls, torso twists, arm stretches, finger O’s
Ensemble Practice – work separately on parts, then move pianos together and run-through with balloons
Flag-Making – start drawing design on canvas
Team Competition Practice – train for scale relays, work to improve speeds; train for arpeggio laps
Game Time! – Affirm-a-Term
Game Booth Design – Start making pieces
Rhythm Skills Development – Review conducting patterns, place 4 rhythm cards across the piano music rack, have all students clap and count together; let students take turns conducting
Wrap-Up

THURSDAY
Inspirational Reading and Discussion – Here Today
Warm-Ups – neck rolls, shoulder rolls, torso twists, arm stretches, finger O’s
Ensemble Practice – work separately on parts, then move pianos together and run-through with balloons
Flag-Making – finish drawing and coloring design on canvas
Team Competition Practice – train for scale relays, work to improve speeds; train for arpeggio laps; have observing students be judges
Game Time! – Treble Clef Game (group one); Stinky Sox (group two)
Game Booth Design – Finish making pieces
Rhythm Skills Development – Use rhythm sheets; go through all applicable levels; have students clap and count out loud together
Wrap-Up

REFERENCE NOTES
Inspirational Readings taken from The Courage to Run by Jim Ryun

Balloon Pop Polka By Ruth Ellinger. For Piano. This edition: 2 copies included. Piano Quartet (2 Pianos, 8 Hands). Keyboard Ensemble Series. Late Elementary level piece for the Piano Quartet event with the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) Festivals Bulletin 2008-2009-2010. Level: Late Elementary (grade 2). 12 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. (PA02202) See more info…

Ensemble Piece – Balloon Pop Polka by Ruth Ellinger

Supplies
* Dowel rod
* Canvas
* Fabric markers/paint
* Rhythm cards
* Paper and pencils
* Clipboards
* Games

You can watch this video I put together last night to catch a glimpse of how our Olympic-themed Piano Camp turned out this week. It’s impossible to capture everything, but suffice it to say that we had a wonderful time!

Michael Griffin, developer of the Music Education World website and author of the Music and Keyboard in the Classroom curriculum, has just posted eight episodes of a new Great Pianists on Piano Playing Podcast (scroll to the bottom of the page for the links).

The eight episodes range from 5 to 18 minutes in length and are from a book on conversations with Great Pianists. The book was published in 1917 and is now in the public domain. The episodes include:

Episode 1: Pepito Arriola
Episode 2: Wilhem Bachaus
Episode 3: Harold Bauer
Episode 4: Fanny Bloomfield-Zeisler
Episode 5: Ferrucio Busoni
Episode 6: Leopold Godowsky
Episode 7: Teresa Carreno
Episode 8: Ossip Gabrilowitsch

Thanks to Mr. Griffin for sharing these gems with the rest of us!

I just gave a workshop last weekend to our local music teachers association on setting up your own website. Regardless of whether you are designing your own site from scratch or are using a pre-designed website from another provider (like Music Teacher’s Helper), you will definitely want to set up your own domain name so that people can easily access your studio website. Here are some step-by-step instructions on how to register your own domain name and then redirect it to any other website:

1. Go to 1and1.com (I selected 1and1.com because a friend of mine has used them with good success for domain registrations and their price is only $6.99/yr.)
2. Click on the Domains menu option.
3. Type in your domain name of choice.
4. Follow the on-line instructions to complete the registration process. Be sure to write down your password so that you can use it later!
5. Wait for approximately 24 hours to let the registration process take effect.
6. Go to 1and1.com
7. Click the Customer Login link at top of page and enter your domain name and password.
8. Click on the Manage Domains link.
9. Check the box beside your domain name and then click on Destination.
10. Select Forward Your Domain from the drop down menu.
11. Enter the URL for your studio website (i.e.teacherspianostudio.musicteachershelper.com)
12. Select the HTTP Redirect option.

After that you should be good to go! Try typing in your studio name to make sure that it redirects you to the appropriate website.

I first read about this new musical, Amazing Grace: The True Story, in a news magazine and was thrilled! The story of how it came to be (nine years in the making!) is fascinating. I’ve been following their website and subscribed to their newsletter so that I could stay up-to-date with the progress. From everything I’ve heard and read, the script and music are Broadway-quality and the cast includes famous Broadway performers from such shows as Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. The story is “The Epic Saga of Storms, Slavery, Romance & Redemption Based on The Life of John Newton.” A CD recording is due to come out sometime next spring I believe, but for now you can listen to the concept recordings.

The World Premiere of the show is scheduled for May 2 - September 29, 2009 at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I just received a limited-time discount code to allow $50 tickets to be purchased for $35! Just mention this discount code when you call the box office to order tickets: AGDIS35

I would sure love to go, but Pennsylvania is a bit of a trip for me, so we’ll have to see if it works out. If you go, you have to promise to tell me all about it!

Next week will be my week of piano camps and I’m sitting here at my dining room table with papers scattered around, jotting down ideas and finalizing the daily outline while the strains of Vivaldi’s Oboe Concertos quietly escape the speakers of my CD player in the background. There are always so many ideas and possibilities to consider, it’s hard to narrow everything down into a concise lesson plan!

Our local music teachers association is organizing a Music Olympics festival next month and my week of piano camps will be spent, in large part, preparing for the event. We’ll be meeting for two-and-a-half hours each day Monday through Thursday. And since I’ve got one group from 10:00-12:30 and another group from 1:00-3:30, I’m having an open lunch time where everyone can bring a sack lunch and hang out together and visit while we eat. Should be fun!

In preparation for the Rhythm Marathon event at the Music Olympics, I’ve been working on specific ideas to help my students develop rhythm skills. I downloaded these wonderful rhythm flashcards from D’Net’s music blog and now I’m devising a variety of ways to use them. I also found this idea for a rhythm game using body percussion that looks pretty fun. (There is a whole page of music lesson plans on this site, contributed by different music teachers. I’ve only looked through a handful, but some of them have some really good ideas!)

I’ll be sure to take pictures during the piano camps and post them here so you can join in on the fun [at least in a virtual-sort-of-way!]!