What is YOUR Intention??

 Nancy Guymon gave a great presentation on "Sharpening Your Tools..." and there were some great takeaways!

• Isador Philip - contrary motion, isolated finger movement practice.  Nancy had once of her students (Dena Young) at our meeting to demonstrate this technique.  We (some of us) learned what a whole note and a line on either side of it equals:   It's a note that is held for 8 counts.  The benefits of this contrary motion exercise were discussed and we were encouraged to try it out!

  For the full version of this exercise, click HERE.

  

• INTENTION:  Nancy explained that it's important to help our students identify what their intentions are...maybe they've been called goals before, but using different terminology may help our studentts.  "What is your intention?"  Ask your student to be specific in pinpointing what it is THEY plan to do during the coming week to improve their piano skills.  It takes a bit of effort to help them be specific in identifying what they want to do, and what they are willing to do to improve.

Nancy gave each teacher present a white board to use in their studio to help facilitate this discussion.  

I tried it out on a few of my students on Wednesday and Thursday.  It opened up some good dialog and self-assessment!  We'll see how their "intentions" play out this coming week!!

 

(I wish I had thought to take a picture with each student holding their "Intention" board.

Our next chapter meeting will be held November 11th.  

Dr. Carmen Hall, UMTA President, will present:

 "Motivation, Without Saying a Word"

Noon, 155 Eccles Bldg, Utah Tech Campus

Let The School Year Begin!!

 Although summer is a nice break from routine, school starting up and getting back into our routines is also nice!

Our first Chapter meeting was held September 9 and was enjoyable getting back together with music colleagues.  We shared some thoughts, games, and other ideas that we have enjoyed implementing with our students.  

One game/activity was building scales and chords with blocks.  (See the black and white blocks in the photo)  This can be geared to student level whether it be five finger scales, or full scales with lots of sharps or flats.  Very tactile and fun!

There was a composer look-alikes packet that was shared.  It is out of print and not accessible anywhere, so the pictures were scanned and can be found HERE!.  There are some really great ideas.

We hope to see you at our next Chapter meeting, October 14, 2025, held at Utah Tech, 115 Eccles Bldg.

QUESTIONS:  Call or text 435.632.6733

            

Ready, Set, AIM!!!

 We had a great presentation today by Caroline Jennings!

She shared a great deal about adjudication especially for when we have the responsibility to judge piano students for AIM or other events.  There was an excellent handout of ways to say "Good Job!"

Caroline covered SOME of the upcoming AIM information.  But there is more to come!  Here are some of the details we need to know!

Registration Due

Tuesday February 11, 2025

Please fill out this online form and share it with Caroline when filled out. (Use the share button in the upper right hand corner to jenningsstudio@gmail.com)

Registration fees Due

Tuesday February 11, 2025

make a check out to “St. George UMTA” $35 per student

Test Distribution

A few weeks after February 11

Caroline will order all testing materials and ID sheets for everyone.

Theory and Ear Training Tests Due

Saturday April 26, 2025

Once these tests are distributed, teachers will proctor these tests for their own students. DO NOT GRADE your own students' tests.

Technique and Keyboard Skills

Friday April 25, 2025

Teachers adjudicate assigned students in their own studios. (home or commercial space)

Performance

Saturday April 26, 2025

These will be held at the Jennings’ Home 851 East Lizzie Lane, St. George. There will be a visiting adjudicator.

FAVORITES You May Not Know About...

Our October 8th Chapter meeting had Patrice Hunt sharing some of her "favorite" tips, tricks, and more.

She started out by sharing something she learned 5 years ago at a St. George Chapter meeting entitled, "Breaking the Curse of the Poor Sightreader."  (You can search for the write-up by plugging in the first three words in the search bar on this blog.)

Starting with one of the strategies shared at that meeting, even though she initially thought it wasn't very useful information, she showed us a great way to teach note recognition. using just 30 notes of a deck of flashcards (C2 - C6).  Her preferred flashcards are the double clef flashcards (white) by Jane Smisor Bastien sold at Daynes Music, Amazon (usually backordered!) or your favorite music store.  Watch the chapter Zoom recording to see how this works, using three different ways for students to know and say all 30 cards in under 1 minute.  It has made a big difference in Patrice's studio.

October Chapter Mtg Zoom Recording  Passcode is:  %nzE6&cj

Next she shared an easy way she teaches her students to learn to play two octave scales with hands together.  

C-G-D-A-E all use the same strategy.  "Start - doors - 3's- 1/2, 2-1 / 3's - doors - Thumbs - doors - 3's - 1/2 2/1  - 3's - doors- ends."  Again, watch the video if you need more details.  She also included "Scale hints" for all 12 major scales.

Patrice shared her "Practice chart" printed on mailing labels that she uses on her student's assignment book.  They write in the minutes practiced each day of the week.  This is good for their accountability and takes about 5 seconds to place on their assignment page for the week.

 

We also discussed "The Royal Household" and how it helps students prepare for recitals/evaluations.

King=Rhythm   Queen = Dynamics   Prince= A GREAT Ending

Along with this, Patrice shared Dr. Lynn Dean's "Maintenace Mode" of practicing a recital piece 4 times daily at Slow, Medium, Fast and Slow speeds. 

Lastly we discussed some great pieces students love that are easily taught by rote initially:  Nimble Fingers by Vandall; The Great Smokey Mountains by Glover; and Buzzing Bee by Nevin.

If you missed this, we hope you'll join us in November for another great chapter meeting!

September 2024 - UMTA Chapter Meeting

 September 10, 2024

What a great way to start off the new school year!!  Meeting new music friends and sharing some great music ideas via games!!

Debbie Clementson started things off with a music game she created after a favorite of her grandmothers.  She had cards with prompts, such as:  What symbols tells you to hold a note longer than it's value?  (Hopefully they come up with "fermata" then they start grabbing letters from the large pile of letters in the middle of the table until they've spelled that word.  Another card might ask:  How many beats does a whole note get in 4/4 time?  They quickly spell out "FOUR!"  And so on.  A fun way to review some music ideas that may need polishing.

Patrice Hunt had everyone grab a pair of drumsticks and divided the group into four sets.  Each group was given a separate rhythm sheet entitled "I Love Eating Hot Dogs."  They had to pay attention to their group's rhythm sheet as all the groups played together.  It's a great way to involve a lot of students while practicing counting aloud and doing something different from other groups.  She also shared the Rhythm Cups game, seen in the video at the top.  Very fun for students!!

We then divided into three groups where each group was taught, and played, a different game.  Then we rotated a couple of times so we all got to learn/experience different games.

Amanda Horrocks shared a game of Tic Tac Toe using dice with different note values on them.  Each person took a turn rolling and if you had that on your card, you got to put a gem on it.  This game and many others can be found on The Practice Shoppe

Danielle Smith brought a game, along with Mel Burke, and Caroline Jennings all brought games that I didn't get to play!!  Hopefully, they'll send information on what their game was called and how to play it!!

Everyone brought treats to share and it was a wonderful 50 minutes together.

Next month's meeting will be Tuesday, October 8th at noon.  Patrice Hunt will be sharing several ideas you may never have heard of:  

• The Royal Household
• Two handed scales - two octaves...made easy!!
• Ideas for mailing labels for your piano studio
• Favorite pieces that can be initally taught by rote

It's going to be fast and furious...you will not be bored!!

FIrst Chapter Meeting ... NEXT WEEK!!

 

Good Luck, Awestruck, Potluck! (Game Day and Meet-and-Greet)

• Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at 12:00 PM
• Location: Utah Tech Campus (ECCLES 155)
• Zoom Link: https://teacherscollege.zoom.us/j/8522636179?omn=93040080525
• Description:
  Bring your favorite music game and/or treat to share with everyone. This will be a great opportunity to network, share teaching ideas, and have some fun! We look forward to seeing you there.

What to bring: Bringing a snack and/or a music game you enjoy playing with your students is optional but encouraged. Be prepared to teach us how to play!

Upcoming Announcements and Deadlines:

·       UMTA Performance Evaluations Deadlines
UMTA Performance Evaluations Website (Guidelines)
Registration Form
If you haven't received instructions from Rachel France, please let me know ASAP, and I’ll forward them to you.

·       UMTA State Conference:
Date: November 1-2, 2024
Location: Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, UT
Conference Information

2024 Performance Evaluations

 The 2024 Performance Evaluations are right around the corner!!  Student registrations and payment need to be submitted by our UMTA Chapter meeting on Tuesday, September 10th at noon.  The evaluations will be held on Friday, October 4th in the afternoon and evening.  The Honors Recital(s) will be held Saturday between 12 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.  All events will be held at Utah Tech Eccles Building.

More details will be coming soon.  Or reach out to Rachel France or Patrice Hunt if you have questions.

St. George Chapter Leadership

President:  
Tiffany Barnes Watts

Vice President: 

TBD (I'm open to suggestions whenever.)

Treasurer:  

Carole Terry

Performance Evaluations Committee Head:  

Rachel France

AIM Chair:  

Caroline Jennings

Website/Historian:  

Patrice Hunt*

Cedar City Liaison: 

(Hopeful to have Christian Bohnenstengel) 

President Emeritus:  

Mark Gubler

Local Collegiate Chapters:

SUU Collegiate Chapter President:  TBD

Utah Tech Collegiate Chapter President:  TBD