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The Body and the Beat: Developing Rhythm through Mindful Movement

Written By Lesley McAllister

We would like to thank Lesley McAllister for this insightful article on rhythm and movement. To read the full article, click here.

Movement, for children, is necessary for learning. Young bodies are fine-tuned sensory receptors collecting information, curious and eager to explore the world around them.1 The young child is in a period of sensitivity for gaining kinesthetic and sensory awareness, along with awareness of their own thoughts and emotions—which sometimes seem overwhelming. Learning through movement allows children to engage in joyful, intuitive experiences that lead to productive listening habits. This playful engagement keeps students attentive to their bodies while allowing abstract concepts like rhythmic notation to grow from natural experiences.

The joy of moving and responding to music is inborn, as seen in babies who dance by moving their bodies to music even before they can walk. There are strong two-way connections in the human brain between our auditory cortex and motor-control center.2 The rhythmic impulse is the driving force behind all music, and students who do not develop a strong sense of pulse early on in their musical studies may later lack melodic shaping, fluency, and momentum; in short, they will not sound musical.

Yet, for many teachers, the ways in which we work with rhythm are more mathematical than musical; students may learn to “count,” but not to truly feel the rhythmic drive in their bodies. The emphasis should not be just on rhythmic reading, but also on listening and responding to rhythmic patterns. While any musical concept can be experienced as whole-body movement, it is ideally suited for the internalization of pulse and the experience of contrasting tempi, meters, and rhythmic patterns.

The Benefits of Mindful Movement

When rhythmic practice is combined with slow, integrated movement, and particularly when used in correlation with the breath, the benefits are magnified. The positive impact of mindful movement on cognitive, physical, and emotional skills has been well-documented in research, with physical benefits including improved coordination, body awareness, and postural stability.

Mindful movement also boosts concentration and attention, increases memory, and improves the set of mental skills called “executive function skills,” which include the ability to plan, organize, and stay focused on tasks while resisting distractions. It enhances myelination between the two brain hemispheres, allowing for integrative processing across the whole brain, and relieves stress, resulting in better listening, comprehension, and retention of concepts.3

There are even musical benefits, too. Mindful movement increases auditory processing and responsiveness and assists with the development of the vestibular system or the inner ear, which is involved not just in balance and spatial orientation, but also in language processing and sound discrimination. With these benefits, mindful movement is particularly beneficial for children with special needs including those with ADHD, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, and autism.4

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Lesley McAllister’s article “The Body and the Beat: Developing Rhythm through Mindful Movement.” You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Notes

1 Carla Hannaford, Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All in Your Head, 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City, UT: Great River Books, 2005), 92.

2 Adriana Barton, Wired for Music: A Search for Health and Joy through the Science of Sound (Berkeley, CA: Greystone Books, 2022), 36.

3 Lesley McAllister, Yoga in the Music Studio (New York: Oxford, 2020).

4 Lisa Flynn, Yoga for Children: 200+ Yoga Poses, Breathing Exercises, and Meditations for Healthier, Happier, More Resilient Children (Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2013), 56.

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Written By The Piano Conference: NCKP
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  • Piano Inspires Kids is a quarterly print magazine from the Frances Clark Center. Join us as we explore the world through the music, cultures, and people that connect us together.
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Do You Use Summer Lessons for Special Reading Activities?

Written By Richard Chronister, Mary Ann Lenti, Berdine Ehrman

We would like to thank Richard Chronister, Mary Ann Letti, and Berdine Ehrman for this insightful article on summer reading activities. To read the full article, click here.

Both writers for this issue’s Music Reading Department take the view that summer is special for piano students. A good case can be made for discontinuing the regular curriculum and making sure that summer study is something that makes the coming autumn a thing to look forward to rather than a thing to dread. 

I think that one of the most important aspects of this summer-difference is that the activities mentioned below are inherently reader builders. There is a vast difference between knowing how to read and being able to read fluently. Reading drills which ask students to name notes (saying or writing), to draw intervals, to spell chords, are drills on how to read; they are not drills in actual reading. The only thing that can truly be called a reading drill is reading a piece of music (notes, rhythm, dynamics) and even then, it is reading only if the piece is played in what could realistically be considered a tempo. Reading and playing slowly and carefully is for working out new repertoire; it contributes little to learning to be a fluent reader—unless the slow playing of a passage or piece is instantly followed by faster, in tempo, playing. 

Students must read some new music in tempo every week, every day of every week, if they are to become the fluent readers everyone of them is able to become. This, I think, is the most important aspect of the summer programs you will read about here. May I urge you to also include some of these ideas in your year through curriculum. Producing fluent readers remains our second priority, close behind our most important goal—fostering the joy of making music at the piano.

“Gimme a break”

By Mary Ann Lenti

Ah, summer vacation – the very sound of it conjures up images of hammocks, fishing poles, a sandy beach. It means, for teacher and student alike, a welcome change from the activities of our work-a-day year. 

“Gimme a break” is the order of the day for using the summer for special reading activities. There are no recitals coming up, no homework for Freddy to rush home to, and no need for a meat and potatoes meal. Here’s a light summer menu of reading activities from which to choose.

​POPULAR MUSIC

​It is very exciting for children to create, with their own hands, the same soaring melody that lifted E. T. across a moonlit sky. And with the ascent of some fine composers into Hollywood’s elite, there is much music of quality from which to choose. 

The editor’s work is crucial here. Some companies throw together the latest hits in what they call “easy piano” format—more often than not, these are plagued by total lack of fingering, narrow margins, minimal space between staves, chords requiring a hand like Rubinstein’s, rhythms requiring a knowledge of calculus, and a texture consisting of unison playing on page one followed by chromatic double thirds and octaves on page three. 

To insure success, begin by examining pop collections by your favorite pedagogues. For example, Alfred’s Basic Adult Pop (or Jazz, or Western) Song Piano Book series comes in several levels, and contains clearly printed, logical, and well-fingered arrangements suitable for your 2nd- and 3rd- year younger students as well as your adults. 

The Music Pathways series (Carl Fischer) also has a Something Light collection which covers blues, boogie, western, rock, and pop. Again, this is intelligently arranged and edited, and will insure a successful reading experience. There are many other pedagogic collections from which to choose. 

If you prefer sheet music of specific student favorites, Bill Boyd’s arrangement for MCA of Somewhere Out There is a good example—clearly printed and fingered, creating a big effect with simple means. There are no big stretches, and no chordal endings to rival The Great Gates of Kiev. Ditto for Felfar Music’s Linus and Lucy.

Piano Duets

As one half of a piano duet team, I have championed the use of duets for reading motivation from coast to coast. Not only does the student have to keep going (since neither wind, nor rain, nor “mess-ups” will stay the teacher from the final cadence), but the student also learns valuable lessons in balance, rhythm, and ensemble. 

There are countless volumes of wonderful duets for reading, but my personal favorites are by Diabelli, in which the primo part stays in a five-finger position. Both the Melodious Pieces, Op. 149, and the Pleasures of Youth, Op. 163 yield more dynamism from a stationary position than seems possible. For student motivation, there’s nothing like sounding like a hundred bucks on twenty bucks worth of effort.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Richard Chronister, Mary Ann Letti, and Berdine Ehrman‘s article about reading activities during summer piano lessons. You can read the entire article by clicking here.

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Piano Inspires Kids: Musicians and Athletes: What Can They Learn from One Another?

Written By Stephen Pierce

The Summer 2024 Issue of Piano Inspires Kids is coming soon! Subscribers will be receiving the print issue in their mailboxes in the coming weeks. Not yet a subscriber? Click here to receive the issue and give the gift of music to the musicians in your life! Keep reading for a sneak peek into the Summer Issue.

Want to learn more about Piano Inspires Kids? Watch our webinar, “Inside Piano Inspires Kids: A New Publication of the Frances Clark Center” with Co-Editors-in-Chief Sara Ernst and Andrea McAlister: click here.

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This Month in Piano History: July 2024

Written By Curtis Pavey

July 1, 1950

Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, whose work in music education made a lasting impression on the field, died in Geneva, Switzerland on this day. He completed studies in Geneva, Paris, and Vienna, working with the likes of Fauré, Delibes, and Bruckner among others. Early on, he became fascinated with rhythm, and while working at the Geneva Conservatoire, he began developing his influential method known as eurhythmics.1 His ideas were presented in 1905 at a conference in Switzerland, and from there, his work rapidly spread throughout the world.2 In addition to his work in music education, he composed a number of works for chamber and orchestral ensembles.

July 13, 1955

In Lenox, Massachusetts, the Beaux Arts Trio made their performance debut, beginning an international performance career lasting fifty-three years. The trio was originally formed with pianist Menahem Pressler, violinist Daniel Guilet, and cellist Bernard Greenhouse. Pressler remained the pianist throughout the group’s existence, however the string members included violinists Isidore Cohen, Ida Kavafian, Yung Uck Kim, and Daniel Hope as well as cellists Peter Wiley and Antonio Meneses. The Grammy-nominated trio recorded nearly the entire piano trio repertoire within the Western canon before dissolving in 2008.3 Enjoy this recording of the ensemble performing Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio.

The Beaux Arts Trio performs Ravel’s Piano Trio.

July 19, 1759

Pianist Olga Kleiankina performs the first movement of Marianna Auenbrugger’s Sonata in E-flat Major.

Viennese composer Marianna Auenbrugger was born in Vienna, Austria. Marianna and her sister Katharina Auenbrugger were accomplished keyboardists of the time; both studied under Antonio Salieri and were well known to Mozart and Haydn.4 Haydn, who dedicated multiple pieces to the sisters, once wrote about them stating, “the approval of the Demoiselles von Auenbrugger … is most important to me, for their way of playing and genuine insight into music equal those of the greatest masters. Both deserve to be known throughout Europe through the public newspapers.”5 Although Auenbrugger’s compositional output was exceptionally limited due to her short lifespan (1759-1782), her Sonata in E-flat Major is frequently performed. Enjoy this recording by pianist Olga Kleiankina.

July 22, 1987:

Natalie Hinderas, one of the first major Black classical concert pianists, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on this day.6 Hinderas, originally from Oberlin, Ohio, was born into a family of musicians. Her father was a professional jazz musician and her mother was a classical pianist who taught at Fisk University.7 Hinderas studied at the Oberlin Conservatory before pursuing further studies with Olga Samaroff at Juilliard and Edward Steuermann at the Philadelphia Conservatory. She toured worldwide, performing throughout North America, Europe, and Africa. Among her significant accomplishments is a recording of works by African American composers such as R. Nathaniel Dett, George Walker, and William Grant Still.8 In addition to her remarkable performance career, Hinderas served as a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia from 1966-1987. Below is an excerpt from her celebrated recording which features George Walker’s Piano Sonata No. 1.

Pianist Natalie Hinderas performs the first movement of George Walker’s Piano Sonata No. 1.
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Sources
  1. Lawrence W. Haward and Reinhard Ring, “Jaques-Dalcroze, Emile,” Grove Music Online, 2001; Accessed 11 July 2024, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000014181.
  2. Haward and Ring, “Jaques-Dalcroze, Emile” Grove Music Online.
  3. Menahem Pressler, “Beaux Arts Trio,” Menahem Pressler’s Official Site, Accessed on July 11, 2024, https://menahempressler.org/beaux-arts-trio.html.
  4. Sylvia Glickman, “Auenbrugger [D’Auenbrugg], Marianna von,” Grove Music Online, 2001; Accessed 11 July 2024, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000047884.
  5. Glickman, “Auenbrugger,” Grove Music Online.
  6. “Natalie Hinderas, 60; Played Classical Piano,” New York Times (New York City, NY), July 23, 1987. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/23/obituaries/natalie-hinderas-60-played-classical-piano.html.
  7. “Natalie Hinderas Collection,” Temple University Libraries, Temple University, Accessed July 10, 2024, https://library.temple.edu/finding-aids/natalie-hinderas-collection
  8. “Natalie Hinderas,” New York Times.

Glickman, Sylvia. “Auenbrugger [D’Auenbrugg], Marianna von.” Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 11 July 2024. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000047884.

Haward, Lawrence W. and Reinhard Ring. “Jaques-Dalcroze, Emile.” Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 11 July 2024. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000014181.

“Natalie Hinderas, 60; Played Classical Piano.” New York Times (New York City, NY), July 23, 1987. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/23/obituaries/natalie-hinderas-60-played-classical-piano.html.

“Natalie Hinderas Collection.” Temple University Libraries. Temple University. Accessed July 10, 2024. https://library.temple.edu/finding-aids/natalie-hinderas-collection.

Pressler, Menahem. “Beaux Arts Trio.” Menahem Pressler’s Official Site. Accessed on July 11, 2024. https://menahempressler.org/beaux-arts-trio.html.

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Q&A with Marvin Blickenstaff: Part One

Written By Marvin Blickenstaff

We would like to thank Marvin Blickenstaff for answering these questions regarding his approach to piano pedagogy. Want to learn more about Marvin’s teaching? The Frances Clark Center recently published his book Inspired Piano Teaching. This fall 2024, we are excited to announce that Marvin and The Frances Clark Center will host a virtual book club using Marvin’s book, allowing participants to discover and reflect on their pedagogical practices in transformative ways. Register for the book club and other events here.

I love your technique videos on PianoInspires.com! I use your exercises with all of my students. My question is: how do you encourage students to spend so much of their practice time on technical skills? How do you teach them to stay focused and to enjoy the process?

I try to point out to my students that one of the issues that we face when we’re studying piano is developing the technique that is necessary to play the repertoire at hand. And with that, I place a great deal of emphasis in my lessons on warmups. Athletes warm up, dancers warm up, and piano students warm up. The bottom line of warming up is to stimulate blood circulation in the playing mechanism—the hands and the arms. Along with that, I have two important things that I try to stress with all my students and illustrate in their warm ups: stretching and rotations. They are such an emphasis in my work with my students that I joke with them that I’m sure that when I die, they will have inscribed on my gravestone, “Here lies piano teacher Marvin Blickenstaff. May he stretch and rotate in peace.” 

So I think warm ups are very important. It might be possible to over-emphasize technique and the warm up in lessons, but what we’re doing is preparing the student for the rest of their piano life. So I don’t apologize very much for having six or seven different technical exercises that they are to practice as part of their work every day. 

In order to get students invested in their work on technique I try to be very, very aware of pointing out how much their hand is improving, how much the sound is improving, and how much their coordination skills are improving so that they can see that the technique work is paying off. 

In summary, every minute that we spend in the lesson on technical exercises, and every minute that the students spend at home on technical exercises, ultimately pays off. Now, that’s not as much fun as learning a new piece or playing a recital piece, but you can’t play your pieces effectively if you don’t have enough technique. And I try to emphasize to my students that growth in piano playing is directly related to how you start to practice every afternoon.

Marvin celebrating his student

What is the first thing you say to a new student?

I think it’s important for piano students to hear from a piano teacher that they feel privileged to have this relationship and this experience of learning about music together. You’ll have your own words to communicate that. But, it’s not that I’m the big authority, you’re the little student, and you have to do exactly what I tell you to. Rather, it’s very important for piano teachers to cultivate the attitude that this is a partnership and we’re working together to make beautiful music. 

Additionally, we have to hook our students into the excitement of playing the piano. How? Through sound. That’s why when students come for their first lesson, I try to play a few bars of different kinds of pieces, because it’s so interesting for a student to hear such contrasting sounds. And I say, “I am so glad that we have this opportunity to learn how to play the piano together. We’ll learn quiet pieces, we’ll learn fast pieces. We’ll learn hopping and jumping pieces, and we’ll learn dancing pieces.” Hook the student on sound and they will be excited to learn.

Have you ever struggled with students who weren’t interested in taking piano lessons but had parents who signed them up anyway? How do you get that student excited about music learning?

Once again, I would say you hook the student on sound. And you pull out all of your pupil saver pieces—the pieces that are kind of easy to learn, but have a great sound to them. Richard Chronister was a colleague of Frances Clark and Louise Goss, founder of Keyboard Companion and the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy (now NCKP: The Piano Conference), and a major force of 20th-century piano pedagogy. He always used to say that piano students come to us for one reason only: to play exciting sounds at the keyboard. I try to really ingest that into my pedagogical being. Why are students here? They want to play exciting sound, whether it’s quiet, loud, fast, or slow. 

“I think it’s important for piano students to hear from a piano teacher that they feel privileged to have this relationship and this experience of learning about music together.”

There are two files of pieces that I would urge you to start in your studio. One is “beautiful pieces,” and the other is “pupil savers” (a term from Louise Bianchi in Texas). Pupil savers are pieces that are easy to learn, but have great sound. 

So, what do you do with a disinterested student? You hook them with the repertoire. And you don’t work so much on technical exercises. Instead, you work on beautiful pieces (pupil savers, perhaps) that they will really enjoy. 

What is a favorite performance memory?

Last summer I played a recital at Goshen College where I taught for 20 years in Indiana. That was really well-tested repertoire and I had a wonderful piano to play on. I thought all during that recital, “What a privilege to play this music on this piano for old friends.” Years ago, I was invited to play a concerto with the North Carolina symphony. It was not a very good choice, but I decided that I would learn the Samuel Barber Concerto for Piano. That’s a tough tune. That performance is one of my least favorite memories of a performance, because it was really a rough performance and the orchestra and I kind of fought our way to the end. But actually, four nights later, I played the same concerto, same orchestra, in my hometown in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it went really well. And it was almost like I had to go through the fires of hell in order to reach Nirvana. And it was just such fun to play the Barber concerto with an orchestra. So we have different experiences with performances, but we go on.

I have a student who really struggles with memorizing music. We have tried all kinds of exercises, tips, and tricks, but they are quite discouraged despite my encouragement. What advice would you give them… and me?

The issue boils down to the fact that students think that memory is just to train the fingers in muscle memory, and there’s a big missing link there. The students who rely solely on muscle memory do not have a mental concept of how the piece is constructed. So one of my goals for my students is to do more labeling and analysis. We piano teachers must do a much better and more thorough job of helping our students name what they play. If you can name what you play, you probably have it memorized. So for most students, if there’s a memory issue, I think it’s because they don’t know what they’re playing. 

When my students are memorizing pieces, we establish three memory checkpoints on each page. The goal is that they can start cold at any number. Go back to number two, jump ahead to number five. And boy, if you can start your piece at all those memory checkpoints, you have your piece very well memorized. 

I would also say that along with the memory checkpoints, you should be able to articulate the reason that a spot is a memory checkpoint (such as, that’s where you play the D major chord in your left hand).

Marvin with Dr. Sara Ernst at NCKP 2019

So I think that labels and memory checkpoints are really the answer for memory problems. The great American pianist Josef Hoffman said that there are actually four ways to practice a piece. One way is that you play the piece at the piano looking carefully at the score. Then, you play your piece at the piano without the score (from memory). The third way to practice a piece is to sit away from the piano with the music in your hand, looking at the score and hearing the music. And the fourth way– which I think is just an incredible memory check– is to sit away from the piano, close your eyes, and see your hands playing the piece on the keyboard. It’s so helpful. Actually, it’s my favorite way of checking memory when I’m getting ready for a performance. And when I’m falling asleep at night!

Coming soon: Q&A with Marvin Blickenstaff: Part 2 where Marvin answers more of your questions!

The Marvin Blickenstaff Institute for Teaching Excellence

In 2023, the Frances Clark Center established the Marvin Blickenstaff Institute for Teaching Excellence in honor of his legacy as a pedagogue. This division of The Frances Clark Center encompasses inclusive teaching programs, teacher education, courses, performance, advocacy, publications, research, and resources that support excellence in piano teaching and learning. To learn more about the Institute, please visit this page.

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What is a Good Piano Sound and How Do You Get it?

Written By William Fried

We would like to thank William Fried for this insightful article on making a beautiful sound at the piano. Want to learn more about tone production? Check out the latest issue of Piano Magazine. Our new summer issue can be found by clicking here.

“You get a terrible sound at the piano, William. Just terrible.” So spoke my teacher in college, in an admonition I would hear many times over four years. A wonderful person and infinitely generous, but she did not mince words.

“Thanks a lot, Arlene,” I muttered under my breath, before trying the passage again.

She was right, of course. I did get a terrible sound at the piano. I could hear it. Or rather, I could hear the difference when compared with the polished sound in recordings. Why didn’t my Mozart sparkle like that? My playing sounded dull and heavy and forced.

There were reasons, no doubt. Bad technique, certainly. Rapid teenage growth spurts that led to Glenn Gould-esque hunching over the keyboard didn’t help. Nor did the shallow-actioned and unresponsive Kimball baby grand that had been my instrument since childhood. But accurate accounting of blame wasn’t going to solve my problem, and there I was: a college freshman hacking and slashing my way through Chopin and Liszt. And as I progressed, I began to suspect that this was the ceiling holding me back, the main cause of disappointments in competitions and auditions.

And in this, my teacher may have been out of her element. A former child prodigy herself, everything came easy to her. It’s simple: you just listen and hear it and fix it. What’s this kid’s problem? Or maybe she did have the solution and I wasn’t ready to hear it. It’s hard to know with these things.

When I did finally begin to address this problem, help came in the form of a relatively late learner—my teacher in graduate school had initially been a composer before switching to playing the piano full time. Maybe there is something to this. I remember Irish pianist and pedagogue John O’Conor once saying in a masterclass that he attributed his success as a teacher to his figuring things out so late in life. He could still recall the process of learning; it hadn’t happened when he was too young to remember.

Whatever the reason, upon hearing my playing, this new teacher knew exactly what I needed. He prescribed a regimen he credited to his own teacher, the Brazilian pedagogue William Daghlian: Tausig exercises to be practiced slowly, attentive to physical gesture and the conditioning of good habits, with an ear always to the resulting sound. I became aware of things, trivially simple things, that I had previously never noticed. Like the importance of letting go of a note (he called these “releases”) at the very moment of the next so that there’s no gap or overlap between them. Easy to do if you know to do it. And the very process—hearing and correcting little things—became empowering in itself. The more I heard, the more I demanded from my fingers, which found a way to deliver and allow me to hear more and insist on more—a virtuous cycle. And my sound, once this intractable bugbear, began to improve, gradually but noticeably, and it was narcotic—like getting the keys to the kingdom. Like the character in Forrest Gump who, once he sheds his crutches, determines to run everywhere, I was resolved to play with sound. Debussy and others like him became my exclusive focus for quite a while. In retrospect, I might have benefitted from hearing, like Horatio, that there were more things in heaven and earth than dreamt of in my new philosophy, but honestly, I’m not sure I would have listened. That which has eluded us the longest, once we finally attain it, we value above all other things.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from William Fried’s article “What is a Good Piano Sound and How Do You Get it?” To read the full article, please click here.

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NOTES
  1. Harvard Medical School. “A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence.” Harvard University. Last modified September 28, 2017. sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/history-artificial-intelligence/.
  2. Microsoft. “Workshop: Interact with OpenAI Models.” Microsoft. microsoft.github.io/Workshop-Interact-with-OpenAI-models/llms/.
  3. OpenAI. “ChatGPT: Conversational AI developed by OpenAI.” OpenAI. openai.com/chatgpt.
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A Tribute to Gary Ingle

Written By Jennifer Snow
by Jennifer Snow

Published in Piano Magazine, Summer 2024 Issue

Leadership is a term that is frequently used. A quick google search reveals a range of characteristics, terminology, and definitions of success. The truth of effective leadership lies in the person—an individual who impacts a profession, motivates and inspires, builds community, navigates change, directs through crisis, builds connections, and creates new paths and resources for the future. In our field, Dr. Gary Ingle has exemplified inspired leadership for over twenty-eight years at the helm of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). This summer, Dr. Ingle will complete his tenure as CEO and Executive Director of MTNA. Gary, as he is known to most of us, has been a long standing friend and partner with the Center. Because of his expert leadership, we have benefited for decades from our rewarding collaboration with MTNA. Our founders, Frances Clark and Louise Goss, were passionate members of MTNA and worked with Gary to support piano teachers across the country. Our continued close relationship with Gary and MTNA has been one of the most important relationships for the Center and our shared, purposeful work.

As a leader in the profession, Dr. Gary Ingle has dedicated himself to advancing music education globally. The list of boards and associations he has served is broadly international and extensive. In his MTNA role, he worked tirelessly to advocate for the profession and actively built new networks. His vision propelled MTNA and the profession at large to be more broadly engaged. The long list of MTNA initiatives and programs developed under Gary’s leadership speaks to his creativity, collaborative approach, and service to all. As the largest and most influential organization in our field, MTNA leads and supports teachers across the country, as well as non-profit organizations like the Frances Clark Center and the larger music education industry.

We are all very grateful to Gary for his stewardship in recent years through the pandemic. Through his tenacious leadership, the profession remained resilient and relevant. We weathered the difficult times together as a community because MTNA continued to lead and inspire.

In addition to MTNA program advancement, Gary also led new opportunities through the creation of grants, scholarships, partnerships, and awards. Through tireless advocacy, Gary raised awareness and funds to support the future of the profession and elevate the contributions of many. For us at the Frances Clark Center, The MTNA Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award was established through a bequest to MTNA from Frances Clark. Throughout Gary’s leadership, the Center has worked closely with MTNA to recognize innovative new contributions to the field of piano education.

The steadfast vision for MTNA, passionate advocacy for music educators, tireless dedication, service to the community, and genuine care for all of us, make Dr. Gary Ingle one of the most transformative leaders in our history. His commitment to emerging professionals is unparalleled. Many of us built, and continue to build, our careers with opportunities provided through MTNA. Throughout my own career development, I have always upheld Gary as a kind and effective leader that one aspires to emulate. Gary’s expert leadership fervently supported the membership and the board, allowing new ideas to advance and flourish.

On behalf of the Frances Clark Center Board of Trustees, Staff, and Center community, present and past, we congratulate our friend and colleague Dr. Gary Ingle on his outstanding and impactful leadership. We look forward to his next stages and know that he will continue to contribute to the field in transformative ways that benefit music educators and amplify the power of music. We also congratulate the new MTNA CEO, Brian Shepard, as we look forward to our future collaborations.

The Frances Clark Center to Receive $30,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

Written By Piano Inspires

PRESS RELEASE: 21 MAY 2024

The Frances Clark Center is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $30,000 to support its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts in music education publications. The NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants. 

“Projects to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in music education exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”

“We are extremely grateful to the NEA for supporting these meaningful, creative projects in diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Jennifer Snow, CEO and Executive Director of The Frances Clark Center. “We appreciate the work involved in the rigorous NEA review and adjudication process, and we are honored to be included with this year’s outstanding recipients. Piano education opens opportunities for broader cultural understanding, building stronger and more connected communities through music learning. Receiving the NEA grant makes it possible for us to advance these powerful initiatives this year.” 

The NEA Grants for Arts Project award will support The Frances Clark Center’s DEI efforts in three publication projects: the Indigenous Composer Project, Piano Magazine, and Piano Inspires Kids. The Indigenous Composer Project aims to create an inclusive collection of commissioned pedagogical piano music by Indigenous composers representing various Tribal Nations, celebrating Native American culture and fostering respect and appreciation in music education. The project will distribute up to 1,000 copies of the books at no cost to teachers, students, and schools in the Tribal Nations. 

Piano Inspires Kids centers on diverse and underrepresented musicians, offering inclusive and interactive content to educate students on musical cultures, composers, and styles. Piano Magazine emphasizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, translating content into multiple languages to reflect and celebrate diverse communities and cultures.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

For more information on each of The Frances Clark Center initiatives, visit:

A Tribute to Gary Ingle

Written By Jennifer Snow
by Jennifer Snow

Published in Piano Magazine, Summer 2024 Issue

Leadership is a term that is frequently used. A quick google search reveals a range of characteristics, terminology, and definitions of success. The truth of effective leadership lies in the person—an individual who impacts a profession, motivates and inspires, builds community, navigates change, directs through crisis, builds connections, and creates new paths and resources for the future. In our field, Dr. Gary Ingle has exemplified inspired leadership for over twenty-eight years at the helm of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). This summer, Dr. Ingle will complete his tenure as CEO and Executive Director of MTNA. Gary, as he is known to most of us, has been a long standing friend and partner with the Center. Because of his expert leadership, we have benefited for decades from our rewarding collaboration with MTNA. Our founders, Frances Clark and Louise Goss, were passionate members of MTNA and worked with Gary to support piano teachers across the country. Our continued close relationship with Gary and MTNA has been one of the most important relationships for the Center and our shared, purposeful work.

As a leader in the profession, Dr. Gary Ingle has dedicated himself to advancing music education globally. The list of boards and associations he has served is broadly international and extensive. In his MTNA role, he worked tirelessly to advocate for the profession and actively built new networks. His vision propelled MTNA and the profession at large to be more broadly engaged. The long list of MTNA initiatives and programs developed under Gary’s leadership speaks to his creativity, collaborative approach, and service to all. As the largest and most influential organization in our field, MTNA leads and supports teachers across the country, as well as non-profit organizations like the Frances Clark Center and the larger music education industry.

We are all very grateful to Gary for his stewardship in recent years through the pandemic. Through his tenacious leadership, the profession remained resilient and relevant. We weathered the difficult times together as a community because MTNA continued to lead and inspire.

In addition to MTNA program advancement, Gary also led new opportunities through the creation of grants, scholarships, partnerships, and awards. Through tireless advocacy, Gary raised awareness and funds to support the future of the profession and elevate the contributions of many. For us at the Frances Clark Center, The MTNA Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award was established through a bequest to MTNA from Frances Clark. Throughout Gary’s leadership, the Center has worked closely with MTNA to recognize innovative new contributions to the field of piano education.

The steadfast vision for MTNA, passionate advocacy for music educators, tireless dedication, service to the community, and genuine care for all of us, make Dr. Gary Ingle one of the most transformative leaders in our history. His commitment to emerging professionals is unparalleled. Many of us built, and continue to build, our careers with opportunities provided through MTNA. Throughout my own career development, I have always upheld Gary as a kind and effective leader that one aspires to emulate. Gary’s expert leadership fervently supported the membership and the board, allowing new ideas to advance and flourish.

On behalf of the Frances Clark Center Board of Trustees, Staff, and Center community, present and past, we congratulate our friend and colleague Dr. Gary Ingle on his outstanding and impactful leadership. We look forward to his next stages and know that he will continue to contribute to the field in transformative ways that benefit music educators and amplify the power of music.

Piano Inspires Podcast: Ann DuHamel

Written By Ann DuHamel, Pamela Pike

To celebrate the latest episode of the Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Ann DuHamel, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of her conversation with Pamela Pike. Want to learn more about DuHamel? Check out the latest installment of the Piano Inspires Podcast. To learn more, visit pianoinspires.com. Listen to our latest episode with DuHamel on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

Connor Chee, Ann DuHamel, Leah Claiborne, and Sara Davis Buechner after their NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference PEDx presentations.

Ann DuHamel: Right around the time I was about to record that [Brahms and Transformation Project], there’s this explosion—what I perceive as an explosion—of news about climate change. Of course, I try to pay attention to the news and my husband is sort of a NPR junkie, so there’s news going on all the time in our house. But I just felt like what used to be an occasional news item, like once a month, twice a month, suddenly became like every week, every day, every hour, several times an hour. It just hit me! First, what I wanted to do was crawl under the covers and read Harry Potter. You know it’s like—you want to escape, because it is overwhelming, totally overwhelming.

Pamela Pike: But you didn’t. You used your music.

AD: I did. I mean, I was thinking, “What can I do?” Because I try to do things that are thoughtful about the environment. I live in a small town so I can walk to work. It takes me twenty-two minutes to walk to my office. I don’t walk when it’s -40 [degrees Fahrenheit] or when it’s icy, but I can walk to school. I walk to the grocery store; I walk to the gym; I walk to the movie theater. When I moved into my house, it was like all lawn, and every year I take out more lawn and put in more native plants. So, you know, trying to do things like that. I planted trees last year. We recycle; we compost. We do these things, but it didn’t feel like it was enough. I was thinking, “Well maybe I can do a musical program that’s music about climate change.” And this idea, like, actually, that idea gave me some hope. It gave me some courage. So this project evolved out of a feeling of despair and has become something—it actually feels, very significant to my life’s work.

PP: Oh it is! I mean, it is. It has to be. I’m glad it feels that way, because as an outsider, it certainly looks that way. And I think it speaks to the power of music. It shows how you can take something that doesn’t seem like it’s related to your professional life, but actually you can use it to change people’s minds and hearts and, hopefully, actions.

AD: That is my hope!

PP: Talk about programming a little bit. I think you’re masterful at your programming. I think too many people think, “I’m just going to program and not worry about my audience.” I don’t think you believe that.

AD: I don’t believe that. It’s really important to have works that your audience can engage with, and even if sometimes they challenge your audience, I think you want to have a balance. So, yes. When I’m programming—I mean I have many pieces in this project. Sixty—it’s going to be more than sixty because I’ve also started to commission some underrepresented composers. But thinking about, like, “How can I have a theme?” I have a program that I could do that’s all pieces related to water. I think about what narrative is happening when I do the program. “Where does it start? Where does it take people? Where does it end?” This year, I’ve been on sabbatical, and I haven’t been playing all sixty pieces when I’ve been playing because it’s like more than eight-and-a-half hours of music. I say it’s more than eight and a half. I haven’t actually counted; it’s probably like twelve. I don’t know! It’s a lot of music. So I play a recital that’s around seventy minutes of music. But some places want less, so I can—it’s very flexible. Some places, they’re like, “We can do up to two hours.” So then I do a little more. But I think about, you know, “Where does it start? How does it go? Where does it end? What’s powerful?” And I think about, like, “Where do I put the pieces that are really dissonant and challenging, and crunchy, and demanding? Then, how can I have something that follows it that is more consonant? How can I have a piece that’s beautiful, and where do I put that, and how does it have a big impact?” So, yeah, it’s—yes, I do think about that.

PP: I mean it’s critical. It’s critical for your audience’s participation—

AD: Yes, and their engagement.

PP: Exactly.

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Piano Inspires Podcast’s latest episode, listen to the entire episode with Ann DuHamel on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

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Book Review: Weight in the Fingertips: A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage by Inna Faliks
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Episode 17: Ann DuHamel, Pianist, Teaching Artist, and 2023-24 McKnight Artist Fellow

Written By Piano Inspires

Join Ann DuHamel as she discusses the importance of music as an agent of change in the world with Pamela Pike.

Ann DuHamel, McKnight Artist Fellow and Past President of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association, currently serves as Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota Morris. She is a bibliophile, chocoholic, eccentric gardener, Futurama fan, piano nerd, tea drinker, walking enthusiast, and yoga devotee.

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Collegiate Resources

Written By Piano Inspires

Calling all collegiate students! Looking for more information about how The Frances Clark Center can help you as you navigate the early stages of your career? Look no further. In this article, we will share information and resources including employment and postgraduate opportunities, opportunities for students, discounts on purchases, and other ways to get involved. To learn more, click here.

Employment and Postgraduate Opportunities

Continuing Education at The New School for Music Study

The Frances Clark Center offers a range of teacher education initiatives at The New School for Music Study in Princeton, NJ. These programs build on the educational philosophy and legacy of renowned founders Frances Clark and Louise Goss, and have produced internationally recognized teachers and performers.

Opportunities for Students

Journal of Piano Research

The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy is pleased to launch the Journal of Piano Research, a new peer-reviewed research journal and high-quality source of research articles dedicated to piano teaching, learning, and performance. The journal is an international, peer-reviewed publication promoting the exploration, discussion, and dissemination of high-level research that will advance professional practice and scholarship.

The Journal of Piano Research invites submissions of scholarly manuscripts based upon completed empirical research conducted through a variety of scientific methodologies, including quantitative, qualitative, ethnographic, historical, and philosophical methods.

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Discounts on Purchases

Collegiate Group Subscriptions

Discounted Piano Magazine Group Subscriptions

Group subscriptions to PianoInspires.com are perfect for piano pedagogy classes, university membership chapters, or applied piano studios. Subscriptions include Piano Magazine quarterly issues and all digital resources on PianoInspires.com, including our comprehensive search feature. Subscriptions also include discounts on individual online courses and Jane Magrath’s Piano Literature for Teaching and Performance.

Collegiate Group TypeRegular PriceCollegiate Group Price
Digital Only$36/person$29.45/person
Print + Digital
(US and Canadian Shipping Only)		US: $48/person
CAN: $54/person		US: $38.95/person
CAN: $44.65/person
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Other Ways to Get Involved

We invite students to interact with our engaging, educational content on social media. Our socials are a place for discussing relevant topics in pedagogy, engaging with teaching video content, diving deeper on composers and pieces, connecting with other curious pianists, and enjoying freebies and discounts throughout the year. Our socials are a great way to encourage students to interact with their craft on a daily basis through channels they are adept at navigating.

Questions on our collegiate resources? Email support@pianoinspires.com.

Looking for more resources for collegiate students? Learn more by clicking here.

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