Descriptive and Imaginative: A review of music by Lynette Sawatsky

September 5, 2017
by Amy
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Today, I want to share with you a review of the music of Canadian teacher, composer, and adjudicator Lynette Sawatsky. She has quite a few collections available, but I’ll focus on Seasons Change and Once Upon a Time.

Once Upon a Time

One of the things I like most about the Once Upon a Time collection is Lynette’s attention to connecting the music to the imagination. She encourages the student to paint a picture in their mind of the piece and the story it is conveying.

For example, in the piece “Spicy Burrito,” she makes the connection between spicing up our snacks or mealtime with different flavors and textures and encouraging the student to customize the piece on the repeat by changing one or more RH quarter notes into double eighth notes in specific measures to “spice it up.”

The book includes 11 pieces that are perfect for captivating and encouraging students’ imaginations. I mean, how often do you see a piece with the title “Discombobulated Pigeon”? I would love to hear all the conversations regarding the story that piece is telling!

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Three-in-One: A Review of Little Gems for Piano (and an MLT-based Application)

June 13, 2017
by Amy
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As I was driving to my studio this morning I was thinking about the early years of piano instruction. While they’re often the hardest for parents and children to get through, the first few months and years are the most important for several reasons.

First, we must engage our music students in a way that fosters a love of and a successful experience at making music. Second, we must develop a healthy technique so they have freedom at the piano from the start. Third, we need to introduce students to a variety of sounds, tonalities, and meters so they can hear, think, and engage in music with understanding. 

That’s a whole lot of goodness wrapped up into a student’s first experience at the piano!

Today I’m to going to share my thoughts on a book called Little Gems for Piano and how rote pieces like these can cover all three of these critical areas in one. We will focus especially on the last one as it is part of the philosophy I am slowing working to incorporate in my teaching called Music Learning Theory (MLT) by the late Dr. Edwin Gordon.

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2017 Spring Recital: The Magical Forest, A Narrative Suite

May 29, 2017
by Amy
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This year was my studio’s 6th Spring Recital. For the last several years, I’ve been trying to mix things up a bit to keep the end-of-year recital fresh and exciting. Everyone plays a solo in the recital’s first half, followed by a 10-minute intermission.

The second half of the recital changes from year to year. Two years ago, everyone played a jazzy style, and I explained to the audience what they should expect to hear before each style set. Last year we did collaborative pieces, including duets, trios, and two pianos with four hands (some pieces with a live drummer).

This year, we did a studio-wide collaborative project. I pulled out a book I’d been itching to use for several years but didn’t have enough students at the level to perform the pieces until now.

In this post, I’ll share the book we used and the process I went through in pulling this special recital together. I’ll share lots of photos from the recital and also have a free download to help you plan your own production of this narrative suite.

 

The Magical Forest Narrative Suite

The book I chose was The Magical Forest- A Narrative Suite for Piano by Nancy Lau, which combines short narration with pieces. Each piece also has a representative drawing.

Pieces include:

  1. Entering the Magical Forest
  2. Forest Fanfare
  3. March of the Critters
  4. Bear Dance
  5. Waltz of the Deer
  6. The Fairies Delight
  7. Backwoods Bop
  8. Woodland Farewell
  9. Leaving the Magical Forest.

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Spring Recital 2016: A Collaborative Recital

May 26, 2016
by Amy

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This past weekend I held my fifth spring recital. Each year I try to do something a little different. This year the first half featured student solos, and the second half was collaborative pieces.

In this post, I’ll share a few video clips of student performances and a list of some of the resources I used for collaborative music.

There were several duets, one-piano six-hands, and two-piano eight-hand pieces. Besides a couple of duets here and there, this is the first time I’ve had all my students collaborate.

Learning to play with someone is a skill in itself, and I can say that, without a doubt, all my students felt challenged and yet completely rewarded in the end. Parents and students alike can’t stop saying how much they enjoyed the collaborations. I can already tell my studio families will be expecting a lot more of this from now on, and I’m excited as well!

 

 

Books I PULLED FROM

My favorites!

Bravo Brasilia by Glenda Austin
Current Hits for Two by Dan Coates
Music for Sharing by Margaret Goldston
Grand Trios for Piano by Melody Bober
Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey arr. for 2 Pianos / 8 Hands by Melody Bober
Pattern Play by Akiko and Forrest Kinney

Others

First Favorite Duets by Lynn Freeman Olson
Duet Favorites by Jane Bastien
Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Ensemble Book Complete

 

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If you’re interested in the studio awards I hand out after the recital, check out the Studio Awards Policies and Procedures post.

I hope your recital(s) went off without a hitch!