Back to school later in life: is it for you?
May 2013; Vol. 5, No. 3
Why would you want to go back to school at your age and put that kind of pressure on yourself?” That was the kind of response I knew was possible when I made the decision to pursue a higher degree after decades away from academia....
Time-Saving Tips for Teachers
May 2013; Vol. 5, No. 3
Music teachers have always been busy people. Many of us juggle more than one job—teaching, performing, church work—in addition to the personal aspects of our lives. How do we maintain control of our schedules, environments, and commitments as we help bring the joy of learning...
Richard Wagner at the Piano
May 2013; Vol. 5, No. 3
Richard Wagner, c. 1861 Wagner was the ultimate drama king and a lightning rod for controversy, yet he remains one of the most fascinating and uncompromising figures in the arts. Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday is being celebrated this year at major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Wagner was the ultimate drama king and...
Yes, Technology Can Simplify Your Hectic Teaching Life!
May 2013; Vol. 5, No. 3
It’s true! Check out the solutions from your colleagues that follow. There is no one approach that is the best one for all teachers. If you read on, I know you’ll be impressed with how creative good teachers can be with the business side of...
Teaching Music in a Virtual World
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
On this overly-warm Autumn afternoon, I am attempting to teach a Net-Gener1 how to play Bill Boyd’s “Swing-a-Ling.” How do I know eight-year-old Panagiotis is a Net-Gener? Because he stuffs his iPod and earbuds into his pocket, carefully places his iPhone on the music rack, and begins...
Extraordinary Teaching Spaces
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
The cedar exterior of the Epperson Studio in Anchorage, Alaska. In my travels around the country as a clinician over the past decades, I have enjoyed meeting many new people—students of various ages, independent and community music school teachers, university professors, and music store owners....
Small (But Efficient) Teaching Spaces
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
While the studios in Bruce Berr’s article are inspiring and impressive, they also required substantial financial resources. We asked our readers to submit photos of small teaching spaces—we think you’ll find these spaces efficient, creative, and inspiring as well! A combination of grand and digital pianos provides versatility, while the...
Wires, Cables, and Devices – Oh, My!
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
When it comes time to remake your studio, it is a good idea to plan for your current and future technology gear, which may include any of the following: hi-fi system, recording paraphernalia, computer(s) and peripherals, pianos or keyboards with MIDI features, printer and scanner, networking devices, and maybe even a...
An Interview With Paul Sheftel
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
Paul Sheftel with the Steuermanns on his Juilliard graduation day. I first met Paul Sheftel when he worked with the educational wing of the Baldwin Piano Company, back in the early 1970s. Through the ensuing years I attended many of his instructive (and always humorous) sessions at MTNA....
Playing Contemporary Pop
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
A piece of music can be centered around a key note, but have less of a feeling of a “western” chord progression. Contemporary pop pieces often use ambiguous chords and their harmonic structures can be based on modes rather than scales. If you start with a scale of...
How Do You Teach Students to Read Patterns Rather Than Note-By-Note?
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
The idea of reading patterns in music first became important to me when I began teaching young students how to read music. In my formative years I was raised on a note-by-note approach that began at Middle C. It worked for me… at least I thought it did. Today, even...
Children Get Hurt, Too!
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
In the last twenty-five years a great deal of much needed attention has been given to musicians’ injuries. It seems, however, that an overwhelming majority of the conference sessions and articles on this topic only address the potential injuries of advanced pianists—either at the collegiate or artist levels. In the June/July 2011...
Is Teaching Really That Different in Asia?
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
“East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet” may have held some truth in 1889, when Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem The Ballad of East and West, but the phrase has little relevance in 2012. World-wide communication, increased travel, and global industry have made our planet...
A Show-Stopper from Norman Dello Joio
January 2013; Vol. 5, No. 1
Norman Dello Joio’s Simple Sketches (Edward B.Marks/Hal Leonard) provides a rewarding musical and technical challenge for the late-intermediate student. The collection contains three fairly short pieces, the first of which, Allegretto, is my favorite to teach. For some students, the quirky tonality—a trademark of Dello Joio’s pieces—might be a bit challenging to...
A Choice to be Made
July 2013; Vol. 5, No. 4
The tradition of memorizing music has been traced to the mid-nineteenth century, a time in history when the concept of the performer as a virtuoso was paramount. At that time, suspicion emerged that memorization was undertaken as a means to impress audiences, rather than to...