Are you planning to attend NCKP this summer?
(Read why I love about attending conferences such as the NCKP here.)
Don’t forget that the deadline for early bird registration is Monday! You’ll save at least $50 by registering early.
I’m all registered and am super excited about attending. I’d love to meet up with any of you who are planning to attend NCKP this summer — let me know! 🙂
I just wanted to wish safe travels to those who are heading to the 2013 MTNA conference in Anaheim, CA! I wish I were going this year — but I’ll definitely be going next year when it is in Chicago! 🙂
There are a few bloggers who are planning to live-blog or later share their notes from the conference sessions. Keep on eye on these blogs:
(Remember, this summer there is another great conference coming up: the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy [NCKP]. Take a moment to check it out and consider attending — it’s a wonderful conference!)
If you have been a follower of Color In My Piano for a while now, you probably know that I absolutely love attending conferences. 🙂 Conferences held me feel connected with other teachers, prevent burnout, and continue professional development so I can become a better teacher for my students. I always leave conferences equipped with new teaching ideas and feeling inspired about piano teaching all over again.
In 2013, there are two great opportunities to attend national conferences in the U.S. The first is the 2013 MTNA conference. MTNA conferences are held in the Spring in a different location each year. In 2013, it will be held March 9-13 in Anaheim, California. Even if you are not a member of MTNA, you can still attend this conference. I have attended the MTNA conferences for the past two years, and loved them both.
Continue reading “2013 Conferences in the U.S. (MTNA and NCKP)”
The next session I attended was Dr. Pete Jutras’ presentation, “The Future of Pedagogy.” I heard him give this presentation about a year ago at the NCKP – click here to read my notes.
After that, Dr. Carol Leone talked about “A Strong and Versatile Technique Within Your Student’s Grasp.” I loved the way she broke down different aspects of technique into such simple, understandable terms!
She began her presentation by reminding us that technique should always be approached in the context of discussing sound and expression. Rather than asking, “Given the movements I make, which sounds would result?” instead we should ask, “Given a desired sound concept, how should I move?” The sound is our goal, and the ear is our guide. The opposite (over-analyzation of our movements) often results in discomfort and non-musical playing.
Next, Dr. Leone discussed the various movements made by each part of the body, and in some cases gave us some simple exercises we could use with our students. Here are just a few of the things she talked about:
Fingers
The next session of the OhioMTA conference that I attended was an absolutely fascinating session given by Dr. Carol Leone and David Steinbuhler, entitled: “Increasing Performance Potential: The Reduced Sized Piano Keyboard.” I had heard of reduced sized keyboards before, but never really understood the reasoning behind it or the advantages. I was so intrigued by what I learned! Read on.
Dr. Leone began by discussed hand sizes. When you think about it, the piano is an instrument designed for those with large hands. 100% of children across the globe are playing pianos that don’t fit their hands. (For violin, there are 1/2 and 3/4-sized instruments for children. For piano, we are one-size-fits-all.)
The piano did not always have the same key size that is standard today. The harpsichord has much smaller keys, as do many fortepianos. They also had a much lighter action.
Injuries at the piano are at an all-time high, largely because of the demands of Romantic/Modern/Contemporary repertoire (large chords, octaves, etc.). Pianists with small hands are limited in the repertoire they can play, and are injured much more frequently than those with medium or large hands. Most of the pianists with small hands are probably women — their hand size is on average 15% smaller then male hands. It is not an exaggeration to say that only about 10% of hands actually fit to the conventional keyboard. Continue reading “OhioMTA 2012 Conference (4): Reduced Sized Keyboards, by Carol Leone & David Steinbuhler”
The next session was a Round Table Discussion by a panel of four individuals: Pete Jutras, Tianshu Wang, Mary Craig Powell, and Nina Polonsky. The topic was to discuss Amy Chua’s book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” and discuss a healthy and effective approach to leading students to achieve their maximum potential.
Here are a few of the comments that struck me the most:
Pete Jutras discussed some of his positive reactions to the book as well as some negative ones.
Dr. Jutras observed that in Chua’s book, everything is about winning. He posed the question: What is “winning” in music? For the author, it is being #1 in a competition. For Dr. Jutras, he feels it is students who will play their instrument long after they stop taking lessons.
The next session was called: Understanding the Physiology of Music Performance Through Biofeedback, by Kathleen Riley.
Kathleen Riley is a pioneer in using technology she refers to as “biofeedback” to monitor movement and muscles in order to help musicians eliminate pain, tension, or discomfort in their shoulders, arms, backs, etc. She began her session with a quote:
“Technique is the knowledge o the most economical way to produce adequately what the mind conceives artistically.” – E. Robert Schmitz, from the 1935 book The Capture of Inspiration.
Dr. Riley discussed relaxation and the music — and the fact that although no muscle is ever completely relaxed, there is a resting point. She discussed that we need to examine how much tension we really need when we play. How can we release unneeded tension and follow-through on our movements? Continue reading “OhioMTA 2012 Conference (2): Music Performance and Biofeedback, by Kathleen Riley”
Over the weekend, I attended the 2012 OhioMTA Conference in Columbus, Ohio. It was a great conference, far exceeding my (already high) expectations! We heard some top-notch presenters and performers and I learned so much. I plan to briefly summarize some of the sessions for you over the next few days!
The theme of the conference was “The Healthy Musician: Teaching, Performing, Living.” Here is some info about the first session I attended.
Experiential Anatomy: Using Mind-Body Methods To Increase Awareness for Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Overall Wellness in Musicians, by Lynn Singleton, NCTM.
Lynn began by sharing her own experience with feeling discomfort at the piano, and how she was able to solve her problems away from the piano. Injury prevention and overall wellness requires a willingness to take self-responsibility. Our body at the instrument can only be as good as our body away from our instrument!
Lynn discussed the advantages of “experiential anatomy,” which is basically about increasing body awareness so that we can more correctly use our bodies. Tension arises from many sources: emotional/mental (like stress, fear, lack of self-esteem), physical (habitual movements, injury, compensation for pain), and social/environmental sources (posture in the work environment while using things like computers, cell phones, etc.). Mind-Body Methods can help us get past obstacles and improve kinesthetic sense. Continue reading “OhioMTA 2012 Conference (1): Experiential Anatomy by Lynn Singleton”
Today, I’m heading to the OhioMTA Conference (affiliated with MTNA), which will be occurring over the next few days! The topic this year is Health and Wellness, with speakers Kathleen Riley, Lynn Singleton, Peter Jutras and Carole Leone. The conference artist is Adam Golka. I am looking forward to this!
I’ll be back to blogging next week. See you then!
Last October, well-loved pedagogue Marvin Blickenstaff appeared at the Ohio Music Teachers Conference I attended. I blogged a summary of my notes from a great session he gave called “Performance Practice Made Easy”, which was all about “Rules of Thumb” to give for students during group classes about playing musically. If you would like more details about Marvin’s wonderful “Rules of Thumb,” check out the recent July/August issue of Clavier Companion magazine! There’s an article on page 34 by Marvin with plenty of examples. Be sure to check it out!
P.S.: If you are not already subscribed to Clavier Companion, I HIGHLY recommend it! It’s my favorite magazine — I love getting inspired by all their great articles. It’s very affordable, too — especially their new digital-only subscription option!
The last Forum Q&A post was about assignment notebooks/pages for students. It was wonderful to read all the great responses! Click here to read the comments, and click here to read my follow-up where I share my method of tracking assignments.
Being able to attend state and national-level conferences is one of the many benefits of being a member of MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) and other professional music organizations. I am a firm believer in the importance of ongoing professional development for piano teachers (and any teachers, for that matter). So, today’s Forum Q&A is all about conferences!
To you, what is the most valuable part of attending conferences? What tips do you have for making conference attendance more affordable and feasible? If you haven’t attended conferences regularly/before, what’s holding you back?
Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!
Whew! After that blast of posts today, I am finished posting my conference notes from the recent MTNA National Conference in NYC!
During the conference, I ate lunch a few times with Natalie Wickham and her friends, as well as with Sheryl Welles and her friend Becky, and Jennifer Fink too! I also had the pleasure of meeting Jennifer Foxx, Chad Twedt, and Shauna Leavitt (who I interviewed for a Teacher Feature in this post!). I saw some other friends too, who aren’t bloggers. 🙂 (You know who you are!) It was so wonderful to re-connect with all these wonderful folks, and to meet new people too.
Here’s a picture of my roommate Hazel, composer Carolyn Setliff, and I, after a fun evening at Carnegie Hall for the live radio broadcast of “From The Top!”
I came home with a heavy bag filled with free music worth about $175! Here’s a picture of the loot:
It was a wonderful conference. I’m already looking forward to the next one!
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