PREPARING TO PERFORM

With Performance Evaluations right around the corner, here are some helpful reminders:

PARENTS
1. Have your child play their performance piece ONE TIME, then go take out the trash (or some other short diversion.) Then have them play it again, once. Have them do something else for a few minutes, then play it a third time. Students need to learn to play their piece well THE FIRST TIME they play it...not after 4 or 5 attempts. They get ONE TIME to play at the evaluations, and ONE TIME to play at a recital. Give them lots of practice playing ONE TIME.

2. Provide an audience! Let a sibling sit on the couch and listen to the "performance." Change the audience, too. Pull a "walking by" neighbor in to hear the piece ONE TIME. It's really important to get used to playing in front of other people. If your child is able to perform the piece at school, that is GREAT preparation! Or have one (or some) of their friends come over. Give them a cookie and let the "one-time performance" begin!

3. When your child is playing their piece ONE TIME, make lots of noise and distractions around them, even tickling their neck or standing by the piano (this should be a FUN, and FUNNY, time), which will help them learn to stay focused on what they are playing no matter WHAT is going on around them.

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TEACHER TIPS FOR STUDENTS - Practice at lessons AND at home:

1. Check your body position. Are you too close to the keyboard? Too far? Adjust the piano bench as needed.

2. Have good posture! Without playing a note, you LOOK like a better performer if you have good posture.

3. Keep your hands in your lap while you look at the keyboard and think of where your hands go. (Know exactly what notes your hands start on. Is it E3, or C5, etc.)

4. RELAX! SMILE!! This is NOT a funeral. (If your parents are smart they'll buy ice cream afterwards!! YUM!!)

5. Take a deep breath, put your hands on the keyboard, release your breath, and begin to play.

6. DON'T STOP! It is MUCH better to play a wrong note and keep going, keeping a steady rhythm, than it is to stop, fix the mistake and go on. DON'T STOP!!

7. SMILE AT THE JUDGE/AUDIENCE WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR BOW! It is your job, as a performer, to say "thank-you" to the audience for listening to you. Be gracious, and SMILE!!

Hope this helps!!

SEPTEMBER 2010 MINUTES

St George Chapter UMTA/MTNA
September 9, 2010
Minutes

Attendees: Members: Cynthia Coombs, Randalin Hilton, Patrice Hunt, Caroline Jennings, Julia Monson, Carole Terry, Rhanda Todd; Visitors: Laura Leavitt, Jamie Stucki, Sidney Leake.

Chapter President Caroline Jennings welcomed all to the meeting. She stressed the need for a secretary and asked for a volunteer. A brief discussion of the State UMTA website revealed that under ‘find a teacher’ non UMTA members can locate teachers’ names. More details are available to members only. The State UMTA Conference will be held November 5 and 6. Details are on the UtahMTA.org website. All former members are encouraged to pay their national/state/local dues as soon as possible.

PROGRAM: Jamie Stucki presented a structural approach to teaching technique and theory to students. She introduced the state sponsored Achievement in Music syllabus and suggested order of presentation. She covered Technic, Theory, Music History, Sight Reading, Ear Training, Creative Musicianship and Performance preparation. She invited all members to enter students in the AIM evaluations which will probably be held the first Saturday in May this year.

Caroline said that the new syllabus for AIM will be available at the State Conference. It will be in CD form and study guides will be available for each level. Heather Smith is in charge, on the state level, of AIM materials. They may be purchased by contacting her.

For the State Convention, only students who are members of FAIM will play in the master classes. William Westney, author of The Perfect Wrong Note, and Robert Vandall are guest presenters at the convention this year.   Both will also conduct master classes.

Ear Training Ideas

Having trouble fitting in a little ear training? Here are some suggestions from Dr. Martha Lewis, in order of presentation.

* Is the second note above or below the first one? (Use large distances such as 2 octaves at first; then narrow it down--this will take several weeks or even months to get to a second. Don't sweat it if it takes a long time. You're not under any deadline, are you?)
* Is the second note far away or close to the first one? (This is sort of corollary to the previous item and one you should teach concurrently as a way to discover the answer to #1.)
* Is this an octave or not an octave? (Start with melodic octaves; then go to harmonic.)
* Is this a dissonance or not? (Knowing this helps them decide whether they've played a wrong note or not.) Which hand has the dissonance? (This helps them pinpoint which hand might be wrong.) Where is the resolution? (Is it the very next note or later? Several dissonances in a row? This also gives you the opportunity to do a little analysis: why would the composer do this?)
* Is this a major or minor triad? (Start with harmonic, then arpeggiated.)
* Is this an empty triad (open fifth) or not?
* Is this pattern a I-V-I? (By this, I mean a melodic pattern. Start with the descending I-V-I pattern because it's heard more often even though ascending makes better immediate sense as to why it's named one-five-one. I often tell the student's that the I-V-I pattern sings "it's the end!")
* Is this pattern a V-I cadence? (Similarly, this pattern sings, "the end!").
* Do other cadences as you see fit. (Most kids get a honk out of V-vi cadence: "the...woops!")

Dr. Nancy Allred - Intermediate Level Technique & Literature

Utah Music Teachers Association
St. George Chapter

Presentation:
Randalin Hilton introduced our presenter, Dr. Nancy Allred, who in addition to being a long-time member of our chapter, is the head of the Piano Pedagogy Department at DSC, and is the accompanist and assistant director of the Heritage Choir.

Nancy talked to us about “discovering intermediate piano levels”, with a “focus on technique and literature”. She gave out several handouts. One of them was her Piano Technique steps that she uses with her students. She said that she does not move students on to the next level until they can play the step they are on easily at the metronome level listed. She stressed the importance of teaching scales and having them practice them regularly so that “with each level, they have the goods to play” the literature. She gives her students four scales each week. She asked teachers at what level of their method books do they branch out into intermediate material.

Nancy feels that AIM and other adjudication are helpful guides as long as the teacher doesn't narrowly teach to the test. She talked about her other handouts. One was the “Licentiate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Piano Performance Syllabus”, which contained the repertoire list that they use for their LRCM examination. She said about it that it is the “Magnum opi of what you would want your students to know. She had made copies of the first few pages of each level of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers and gave us the website for it.
Nancy showed us two books that are very useful in determining levels: Standard Piano Teaching Literature by Jane McGrath, and Guide to the Piansist's Repertoire by Maurice Hinson. She also discussed leveled literature series such as those put out by Bastien and Snell. Her favorite of those is Bastien Piano Literature, Book 3.
Nancy shared other helpful insights that made for a very practical, informative meeting.

Reading Keyboard Music

Merrilee Webb presented a fascinating workshop on this new method of teaching piano.  It was extremely interesting and does work as easily as she showed.  Check out the link below for more information.

Easy Piano Lessons, Music Instruction Videos, Piano Lesson Books, DVD