JAZZ UP YOUR TEACHING!!

Jerald Simon presented a great workshop on incorporating Jazz and improvising into our teaching curriculum.

His website has a wealth of information and several free downloads.  You might want to visit his website at Music Motivation






We learned how easy it is to teach a student a basic left-hand, three-note pattern, then to add right-hand 6th interval chords in any sequence, and the student gets an instant "new age" experience with music they "composed."

Jerald has a great talent and ability to improvise and change music into different styles that are engaging and inspiring to all ages, but which are especially attractive to youth.  His demonstrations and suggestions helped us see some new potential in our own studios.

All in attendance were given a CD and a jazz book to help us in our teaching.

It was a great 60 minutes!!  Thanks, Jerald!

(If you want some great resources, be sure to visit his website.  There's a wealth of information!!  MUSIC MOTIVATION)

Happy New Year!!

We have some great presentations to look forward to in the next few months.  Be sure to join us at the Piano Gallery at noon:

January 10 - Business Practices to Help Your Piano Studio presented by Coila Robinson, UMTA President

February 21 - Music Motivation 

presented by Jerald Simon

March 13 - Sight Reading 

presented by Nancy Jensen, NCTM

March 24-28 MTNA National Conference 

New York City

April 10 - Stephanie Talbot Stuart presentation

May 8 - Closing Social - Electing New Board Members

We'll see you there!!

NEW SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS. . .

We're back for another exciting year of workshops and motivating meetings with our St. George Chapter of Utah Music Teachers Association!  We're looking forward to the presentations that have been lined up for this year and hope to see many piano teachers take advantage of membership in the Music Teachers Association.


ALL MEETINGS WILL BE HELD THE 2nd TUESDAY EACH MONTH AT THE PIANO GALLERY at NOON. (unless otherwise noted...)


(If you're not sure how to join, simply visit JOIN UMTA and you will be directed.)

Here's a brief overview of what will be presented this year:

September 13 - Tips on Teaching Memorization

presented by Dr. Nancy Allred

October 11 - Giving Your Students More Bang for Their Buck!" presented by Bonnie Slaughter

October 14-15 UMTA State Conference - 

Salt Lake Community College, Sandy, Utah

November 1 - Liszt Performance and Poetry 

presented by Dr. Mykola Suk, UNLV

December 13 - Christmas Party / Performance Fun

January 10 - Business Practices to Help Your Piano Studio presented by Coila Robinson, UMTA President

February 21 - Music Motivation 

presented by Jerald Simon

March 13 - Sight Reading 

presented by Nancy Jensen, NCTM

March 24-28 MTNA National Conference 

New York City

April 10 - Stephanie Talbot Stuart presentation

May 8 - Closing Social - Electing New Board Members

We'll see you there!!

KEVIN OLSON IS COMING!!!

Our final association meeting for the 2010-2011 year is sure to be a HUGE success and one you won't want to miss!

KEVIN OLSON, pianist, composer, and educator will be presenting our workshop for May at The Piano Gallery, Thursday, May 12th at Noon. Come early as we are expecting a good crowd to join us.

Call Caroline Jennings at 801-631-8697 for further details.

SEE YOU THERE!!

I PLAYED IT BETTER AT HOME. . .by Rosemary Olson

Here's a brief synopsis:

I thought we were going to learn about "excuses" used by students who came to lessons unprepared.  I was delightedly WRONG!!

Rosemary shared some of the complex reasons we all "play it better at home" and what we can do to overcome so many "little" things that can become BIG stumbling blocks!  What a great workshop! 

(Hopefully we'll have a few more details to add from our Secretary...)

If you missed this really good workshop, be sure to set aside time to attend in April.  We'll have another great workshop then!!  (April 14th, Noon, at the Piano Gallery Recital Hall.)

Rosemary Olson Workshop Synopsis

St George Chapter – UMTA/MTNA

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Rosemary Olsen, NCTM, www.olsenpiano.com  “I Played It Better At Home”

Rosemary Olsen came down from Salt Lake City to present “Performing strategies that address Performance Anxiety”. 

She listed the physical awareness that must be accounted for when performing:  Sense of key weight and depth (the problem of playing on an ‘unfamiliar’ piano); Bench height; responsiveness of the key action; Awareness of Physical Surroundings; Lighting and sound; Aliveness of the room; and Wardrobe malfunctions.

The Five Pillars of Learning:

            Visual – written, keyboard, hands

            Aural – sound of music, sound of internal voice

            Kinesthetic – muscle memory, movement of arms and hands

            Theoretical – understanding the form and harmony of the piece

            Emotional – response to difficulties

“Don’t practice in the Panic; it will come on its own.”

Benjamin Zander in The Art of Possibility said to exclaim whenever a student makes a mistake “How Fascinating!”  Do not develop negative emotions.  By depriving your internal thoughts of their emotional intensity you detoxify their effect on you.

Various relaxation techniques and tools were described.  The Alexander Technique was one such process.

Books suggested:  “With Your Own Two Hands” – Seymour Bernstein

“The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart” – Madeline Bruser

“Passionate Practice: The Musician’s Guide to Learning, Memorizing and Performing” – Margret Elson

“Performing in the Zone: Unleash Your True Performing Potential” – Jon Gorrie

“The Art of Piano Playing: A Scientific Approach” – George Kochevitsky

“The Art of Possibility” – Benjamin Zander

Conclusion: “Our need to give is as strong as our need to receive. We are given life and music, and the richer we feel with these gifts, the more we want to share them with others.  Performing, a form of sharing, multiplies our gifts by transforming us and enriching our audience at the same time.  This is our work and our celebration.”    Madeline Bruser

ASSOCIATION MEETING

The Wonders of Ensemble Work

presented by Coila Robinson, UMTA President12:00 noonThursday, February 10thCall 632-6733 for info.

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!!