Wow, what an incredibly beautiful late 19th-century pianoforte | A Piano that Survived the Wrecking Ball Now a Time Machine to NY’s Gilded Age.
After 5 years of not using a mousepad with my studio desktop, and wearing off the top of my (luckily cheap) desk, I realized I should probably get a mouse pad. Isn’t it cute? I’m a sucker for teal. Continue reading
Piano Pantry’s guest post series, The Varsity Musician’s Playbook, by my friend Christina Archer Whitlock, was recently highlighted on The Unfinished Lesson blog’s Top 8 Music Education Resources list.
If you’ve not had a chance to read this series, now is the time, with the start of the new year around the corner. It was the one conference session that made the biggest impact on my studio in the 2015-2016 school year.
The Varsity Musician’s Playbook, Part 1 – Studio Interdependence
The Varsity Musician’s Playbook, Part 2 – Studio “Locker Room”
The Varsity Musician’s Playbook, Part 3 – Community Presence
Are your students feeling the summer practice blues? I just wrote an article for the Alfred Music Blog on motivating students to practice – check it out!
4 Ways to Motivate Students: Banishing the Summer Practice Blues
The National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy is just around the corner. This biennial conference, which was put on by The Francis Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, is always held in Lombard, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
The 2015 event was my first NCKP experience, and I was hooked. Since I’m only a 3-4 hour drive away, I plan on attending every one from now on!
After my first Piano Pantry reader’s dinner at MTNA in Baltimore, I was excited to get the chance to offer something again at NCKP. This time, I’m honored to team up with Tim Topham, who’s making the trek all the way from Australia for this great conference.
Let me share how I first came to meet Tim.
Continue readingThis is a guest post by Dr. Andrea McAlister. After attending the 2017 MTNA Conference in Baltimore, I wanted to bring you the session that impacted me most. Leading up to the conference, I had been noticing myself using the word “good” a lot and without thought (even though I knew better) so this was exactly what I needed. Andrea was a fantastic presenter. Despite being a 20-minute accelerated track session, she epitomized the saying that “less is more.” She got to the point, was clear, and very engaging. I hope you glean as much as I did from her regarding our use of language and words.
I recently had the opportunity to present Better Than “Good” at the 2017 MTNA National Conference and, while I’ve given numerous presentations throughout the years, I found this one to be strangely difficult to assemble. According to my abstract, I was to talk about praise, feedback, and the different ways in which we can effectively communicate with our students. It’s what I do every year in my pedagogy classes with the next generation of teachers. We discuss a variety of ways to put gestures, musical concepts, and technical skills into verbal cues for a variety of ages and levels. While it’s difficult enough for new teachers to put ideas into words, many of my students speak English as a second language, making the process that much more difficult and important. As they grow in education and experience, these new teachers fill their toolboxes with expressions they know will work with their students and pick up a new tip or two along the way.
I do this year after year with a new crew of pedagogy students, so why did it seem so difficult to prepare the same material for the conference? Why not take the same tried-and-true class activities, slap them on a power point slide, and be done with it? “Teaching is not telling,” says Frances Clark and yet here I was, telling teachers how to use words. Something didn’t feel right. Continue reading
In college, I recall one of my Bible class professors encouraging us to always read the foreward and other introductory segments of books before diving in.
There may be three different segments: the “foreward”—written by someone other than the author—explaining why readers should read the book; the “preface”—written by the author—explaining how and why the book came into being; and an “introduction”—introducing the main topics and what to expect.
Up until that point, I always skimmed over those parts.
Since then, I have tried to be intentional about taking a moment to read these opening words. Not surprisingly, I’ve found that – as is its intention – the words have not only prepared me for the book to come but have also, at times, brought more awareness of and gratitude toward the person whose “art” I am about to absorb.
When I recently purchased new sheet music, I was caught off guard by the usefulness of this practice, not just with books but with music! Taking the time to read the introductory segments of books (and music!) is a practice
My new purchase, Phillip Keveren’s 2015 Weekly Worship: 52 Hymns for a Year of Praise, had a preface written by Keveren that was touching and really resonated with me.
All it took was one moment – one moment to stop and read the heart and intentions of another.
Don’t skip the foreward!
(I would have called this post “Don’t Skip the Introductory Segments” but it didn’t sound as catchy! LOL).
After months of anticipation, four days of our lives have come and gone quickly. Another conference is in the books, and as always, we have a renewed spark for our profession, anticipation for trying something new, excitement for new friendships and connections, and joy in our own learning.
Held at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, we had access to a beautiful view of the harbor and quick and easy access to amazing restaurants.
Making the 12-hour drive (with stops) with my travel buddy, Joy Morin, of Color In My Piano blog added to the adventure.
In this photo, we are joined by our friends Daniel Patterson (blogger at GrowYourMusicStudio.com) and Christina Whitlock (who authored the 3-part series here on Piano Pantry The Varsity Musician’s Playbook).
I couldn’t have picked a better “kick-off” encounter than meeting and chatting with Wendy Stevens over lunch on my first day.
I am SOOOOOO excited to announce that I will host my first Piano Pantry reader’s dinner meet-up at the upcoming MTNA Conference in Baltimore!
The first readers’ dinner I attended was with Natalie Weber (then Whickham) of Music Matters Blog (or maybe it was Wendy Steven’s Compose Create??). I think it was in Albuquerque because I remember being in grad school then.
It’s the perfect chance to put faces with names and get to know you a little. To ensure I have a chance to actually get to know you and chat with all who attend, I have set my own personal maximum limit.
So…if you are interested in reserving your spot and attending the dinner, please email me ASAP.
The dinner will be held on Monday night, March 20. Details will be sent to all attendees via email.
Are you a current member of MTNA (Music Teachers National Association)? If so, this month, we have the privilege of voting in the National Elections for the Board of Directors.
When I first joined MTNA, like many, I was guilty of not voting due to the feeling of not knowing any of the candidates. Making a decision based on a short printed bio is hard. Each one has solid credentials, and is a highly qualified and capable candidate, or else they wouldn’t be on the ballot of a national organization. It’s true.
My non-voting didn’t last for long though because I consider the ability to vote for anything a privilege and duty.
On this year’s ballot, Indiana is proud to have one of our own – someone I literally sat next to at our last state board meeting, and I hope I can give you a bit more personal insight into one of the candidates for President-Elect, Karen Thickstun.
In the photo below, Karen is second from the left, and I’m third from the left. On a side note, can I just say I serve on the best state board ever?! I just love these people…
Where to begin…
It all started with a foggy early morning departure from my home in Indiana. I gently woke my husband to say our goodbyes, anticipating the two weeks we were about to be away from each other – the longest time ever.
John Denver’s words seem to fit the scene,
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go, I’m standing here outside your door, I hate to wake you up to say good-bye.
But the dawn is breaking, it’s early morn, the taxi’s waiting he’s blowing his horn. Already, I’m so lonesome, I could die.
So kiss me and smile for me. Tell me that you’ll wait for me. Hold me like you’ll never let me go.
Of course, I didn’t leave on a jet plane, just my trusty 2007 Ford Focus. Off I went to pick up my partner in crime.
Joy Morin of ColorInMyPiano.com
After a long 16-hour day on the road full of traffic jams and several hours of intense downpouring rain, we made it to our Air BnB.
Bright and early the next morning, we weaved our way through traffic and Boston’s bumpy, crooked streets to find our home for the next ten days.
Brookline Music School, our awesome host.
We were both lucky to receive Teacher Enrichment Grants through Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) to attend a piano certification course/professional development workshop put on by the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML).
Dr. Gordon’s work was not about the best ways to teach music, but how we learn, thus impacting the way we teach.
