Category: Technology

Conferences, Technology

Harnessing the Power of the Internet: PDF and Podcast Appearance at TimTopham.com

Joy Morin

I was honored to recently make a guest appearance on Tim Topham‘s podcast for piano teachers, to speak on the topic of Harnessing The Power of the Internet. You can take a listen here or watch the YouTube video version below.

Tim asked me to talk about a topic I had presented earlier this year at the 2015 MTNA conference in Las Vegas during the Young Professionals Track, called: Harnessing the Power of the Internet. We discussed ideas and strategies for using the internet well, forming an online presence, and using social media.

Screenshot Harnessing the Power of the Internet joy morinBy the way, I also decided to share a readable version of my MTNA presentation. If you would like to take a look, you can download the PDF below or on the Printables > Other Resources page.

  PDF Presentation: Harnessing the Power of the Internet (2.2 MiB, 3,190 hits)

Be sure to check out the rest of Tim’s blog here. There are many great resources to be found there!

Music History, Printables, Technology

Lesson Plan: The History of Audio Formats

Joy Morin

As blogged yesterday, my husband and I recently acquired a 1929 Victor Victrola gramophone. Researching our new “toy” inspired me to create a lesson plan about the history of audio formats for this month’s group class “Piano Party” for my piano students. The lesson plan, craft activity, and slides are available as a single PDF freebie…so continue reading!

20150413_113402 NIKON wm Continue reading “Lesson Plan: The History of Audio Formats” →

Announcements, Music History, Technology

My New Victor Victrola Gramophone

Joy Morin

Last week, one of my adult students gave my husband and I an old Victor Victrola gramophone. Isn’t it lovely?!

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I knew very little about gramophones prior to this. Internet research revealed that our Victrola was manufactured in 1929. It isn’t a particularly valuable one, but it is a great historical piece and it has a great sound!

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I was able to find a scan of the manual for a similar model so that I could learn about how to properly operate our Victrola and maintain it. Learning about the history of the gramophone was fun, too!

Here is a video I made demonstrating my Victrola:

All of this research inspired me to create a lesson plan to teach my students about the history of audio formats. Stay tuned to hear more about it!

Announcements, Technology

Presentation on iPad Apps for ToledoPTA

Joy Morin

This morning, I gave a presentation for our Toledo Piano Teachers Association meeting.  TPTA is a small, very friendly group of teachers who are interested in learning new things.  We meet once a month and generally we take turns giving the programs — although occasionally we bring in outside guest speakers.

My topic was “iPad Apps for Piano Teachers.”  I began with some important introductory comments about responsible incorporation of technology into education, and then I launched into some of my favorite apps and what roles they play in the education process.  Most of the apps I talked about are ones that I have reviewed before here on my blog.

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It was a fun morning!  I always look forward to our monthly TPTA meetings.

Tech specs, for those interested: I used a $13 piece of software called Reflector to turn my MacBook into an AirPlay receiver.  My MacBook was connected to my projector using HDMI. (There are simpler ways to connect an iPad to a projector, but this was the cheapest/easiest way for me at the moment.)  Using AirPlay from my iPad means that I could walk around wirelessly with my iPad, which was nice.  AirPlay/Reflector requires that both the Macbook and the iPad be connected to the same network and I didn’t have internet access at the church, so I brought along my AirPort Express to create a non-Wifi network.  This kind of network is actually much more reliable than a Wifi network is, so that was a bonus.  I had to haul along a lot of stuff with me to make this all happen, but fortunately it worked pretty smoothly!

I’ve added this iPad presentation to my list of workshops on my personal website.  My next scheduled presentation will be during the Young Professionals Track on Pedagogy Saturday of the 2015 MTNA National Conference in Las Vegas next month.  My topic: “Harnessing the Power of the Internet: Blogging and Social Media for the Musician.” Maybe I’ll see some of you there!

Reviews, Technology

Recommendation: Canva.com for Basic Graphic Work

Joy Morin

Just a quick recommendation today:

For basic graphic design work, I highly recommend on website Canva.com.  Using a free account and the huge variety of templates available, you can create graphics for just about anything.  I’ve been using Canva as an inspirational starting point for many of my projects recently (Wednesday Words of Wisdom quotes, blog graphics, recital programs, etc) and I can’t say enough good about it!

Here is a screenshot:

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Within the site, you can use a large selection of graphics at no cost.  If you decide to use a piece of stock photograph/art within Canva, they each cost $1.  Very affordable, and the output looks great.

Happy creating!

Reviews, Technology

iPad App Review: Piano Maestro

Joy Morin

App Review: piano_maestro_iconPiano Maestro for *iPad only.*  FREE and paid accounts available for teachers. Students who are connected to a teacher account have available to content for free.

I’ve been meaning to write this review for a long time.  I wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve already heard all about the Piano Maestro app for iPad!

If you are not already familiar with Piano Maestro, here’s how I would sum it up: Piano Maestro is an app for iPad that provides music for the student to play, listens to the student’s acoustic piano using the iPad’s microphone (no wires required, although if you prefer to hook it up to a keyboard with headphones, you can), and evaluates the student’s playing based on note accuracy and rhythm accuracy.  The student’s progress is saved over time and points are awarded, essentially “gamifying” the experience.  The developer, JoyTunes, is a team dedicated to piano education and listening to feedback from teachers.

Watch this 30-second video to see Piano Maestro in action:

When student accounts are connected to the teacher’s account, students have the flexibility of using their account via the teacher’s iPad during their weekly lessons or they can use their own iPad at home.

Piano Maestro has the potential to be a game-changer in your studio, depending on how you decide to incorporate it into your teaching.  Let’s first talk about the kinds of pieces available for students to learn in Piano Maestro.  Continue reading “iPad App Review: Piano Maestro” →

Technology, Worksheets

Digital Worksheet: Matching Staff to Keyboard

Joy Morin

Remember this set of worksheets (Matching Staff to Keyboard worksheets) I posted a couple of weeks ago?

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At the suggestion of a reader (thanks, Elaine!), I have created a new digital version.

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Using an annotating app such as GoodNotes (my review here), you can upload the PDF to your iPad and have students complete the worksheets digitally.  It’s a great way to coach students through a concept while saving paper.

Goodnotes digital worksheets

The PDF contains 20 pages, each with 3 notes that must be matched to the keyboard.

Download link here: 

  Matching Staff to Keyboard -- Digital Worksheets (307.2 KiB, 9,609 hits)

You can find the other digital worksheets I have created for tablet here.

Reviews, Studio Business, Technology

App Review & Giveaway: Bobclass for Studio Management

Joy Morin

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Note: As you can tell, this week I’ve been playing catch-up with a few apps I’ve been wanting to share!  Hope you don’t mind all of the reviews/giveaways this week.  🙂

Bobclass ($19.99) — iPad only.

I’m so excited to share my review of this studio management app with you today!  Let me begin by sharing Bobclass’ description:

“Bobclass is an all-in-one productivity app for instructors, tutors, trainers, coaches and other independent professionals. It offers appointment scheduling, client tracking, progress monitoring and payment tracking from your iPad so you can get rid of separate agendas, clipboards and spreadsheets. With a fast & friendly user interface and a fully functional offline database you can do your client administration in the gym, class room, studio or park.”

I think Bobclass it is an outstanding studio management option for independent music teachers.  Here’s how it works:

First, visit the settings to set-up your basic information for you and your teaching.

2014-11-19 15.30.57 (1) Continue reading “App Review & Giveaway: Bobclass for Studio Management” →

Reviews, Technology

App Review & Giveaway: Music Flash Class

Joy Morin

Screen Shot 2014-12-16 at 12.44.33 PMMusic Flash Class ($3.99) — for iPhone/iPad.

Music Flash Class is an app developed by a piano teacher Henry Flurry.  It has been around for a couple of years now, but an update for iOS 8 was recently released.  The new layout looks good!

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Music Flash Class is an interactive note identification app.  The settings offer a myriad of options to customize the experience.  I love that you can chose to show or hide the timer.  And that you to choose a particular range of notes to practice.  Teachers can even customize and save their own “decks” of notes. Continue reading “App Review & Giveaway: Music Flash Class” →

improving as a teacher, Professional Development, Technology

Clavier Companion Nov/Dec issue: The Future of Piano Teaching

Joy Morin

1622601_818136588208658_571019086351640113_nHave you seen the latest issue of Clavier Companion magazine?

The Nov/Dec 2014 issue marks the beginning of a series called “The Future of Piano Teaching.”  In this issue, you’ll find twelve short musings written by various pedagogues about their thoughts on the future of piano teaching.  These short musings will be followed by a series of longer, more in-depth articles in future issues.

I was proud to submit one of those short musings (you’ll find it on page 29) alongside my colleagues, including fellow bloggers Leila Viss, Mario Ajero, Jennifer Foxx, and Wendy Stevens.  My longer, follow-up article will be published in a future issue.

Not subscribed to Clavier Companion?  It is an outstanding, forward-thinking magazine for piano teachers.  Tell your family you would like to receive a subscription as a Christmas gift.  Request access to an issue free here.

Conferences, Technology

OhioMTA 2014 State Conference

Joy Morin

Last weekend, I attended the state conference of Ohio Music Teachers Association (affiliated with MTNA).  Since moving to Ohio three years ago, I’ve attended the OhioMTA conference every year — and I have to say that this one was the most sensational!

The setting this year was Wilmington College, which has a small and beautiful campus with facilities that were perfect for our conference.  It was wonderful to be able to walk in the cool, Fall weather between sessions.  Around 120 teachers attended the conference this year.

Our conference schedule was chock full of great sessions!  Some highlights: “Music Alive! Sounds that Move, Pictures that Sing” by Clinton Pratt, “Creative Sightreading” by Dr. Cole Burger, “Developing Sound Expectations: Does the Sound Match the Picture” by Scott Donald, “Piano Music for Left Hand Alone” by Jerry Wong, and many others.

I was also extremely honored to have the opportunity to present a session: “Albums for the Young: A History & Overview of the Genre.”  I can’t tell you what it meant to me to be able to share my research for this distinguished organization. My topic explored the influence of Robert Schumann’s Album for the Young, Op. 68 and the wealth of children’s music that followed by other composers.

IMG_1914 Continue reading “OhioMTA 2014 State Conference” →