repertoire / methods, Reviews

Review: Daniel McFarlane’s Repertoire for Students

Joy Morin

Australian composer Daniel McFarlane has composed a number of student-level repertoire books which are available on his website.  Daniel was kind enough to send me digital copies of his books so I could review them here.

In appearance, all of Daniel’s books have easy-to-read scores with no illustrations.  The titles of each piece are in fun fonts depending on the subject of each piece.

All of Daniel’s books can be purchased in hard copies or as digital copies (be careful that you’ve selected the right one when you check-out! The digital ones clearly say “Digital Edition” in the title, and allow for one print-out of the book).  The prices for the music of Daniel’s website are in Australian dollars.  Daniel assured me that when you check-out, the conversion to your currency would be made properly.  The current rate of AUD compared to USD is about 1:1.

Soundscapes Book 1

The pieces in Sounscapes Book 1 have a pop-ish and almost rock music sound to them, while retaining elements of classical music and good educational writing for students.  The pieces feature repetitive patterns and chord progressions, catchy tunes, lyrical RH melodies, syncopated rhythms, and repeated LH notes.

I would use this book with an early intermediate student (probably no younger than age 9) who has good technique and an excellent sense of rhythm.  It could also be a great option for teenagers or adult students at that level of playing.  The pieces are very appealing in sound and would be a great option for boy students.

As you read this review, open another window and listen to the pieces here.  Continue reading “Review: Daniel McFarlane’s Repertoire for Students” →

Words of Wisdom

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

Joy Morin

“I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality.”

— H.A. Overstreet

Every Wednesday brings Words of Wisdom here at the Color in my Piano blog in the form of a musical quote or joke, intended to bring inspiration or humor to the middle of your week. Have suggestions? Send me a message here.

Games, Group Classes

Piano Party Success!

Joy Morin

On Saturday, I held a Piano Party for my students.  It was basically a group lesson and rehearsal for our Spring Recital which is coming up in a few weeks.  Most of my students have never met each other, so this was a good opportunity for them to learn a little about each other and to share their pieces.  I’d like to hold group lessons more regularly now that I have enough students to do so…..so this was a good start!

Here’s what we did:

  • We started by introducing ourselves to each other.  Then I expressed how excited I was for them all to be here.  (My philosophy is that if you want your students to be excited about being there, than you’d better show some enthusiasm yourself too!)  🙂
  • Together, we completed the Performing at the Piano worksheet which discusses performance etiquette and more.  Continue reading “Piano Party Success!” →
Group Classes, Music Theory, Teaching Piano, Worksheets

Music Worksheet: Identifying Space & Line Notes on the Staff

Joy Morin

Here’s a new free music worksheet that I just added to the Printables page:

This worksheet introduces the idea of identifying the space notes on the staff using the mnemonics FACE and All Cows Eat Grass.  These are the only two mnemonics I use.  I don’t teach separate mnemonics for the line notes anymore (like Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge or Great Big Dogs Fight Animals) because it’s simply too much to try to keep 4 different mnemonics straight!  I have found that it’s easier for students to remember just two mnemonics and then learn to jump up a step from the nearest space note to identify a line note.

To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the I’s for “Identifying Space & Line Notes on the Staff.”  Enjoy!

  Identifying Space & Line Notes on the Staff worksheets (170.6 KiB, 58,218 hits)

Conferences, improving as a teacher, Professional Development

Forum Q&A | Attending Conferences

Joy Morin

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!

Conferences

MTNA 2012 Conference | Wrap-Up Post

Joy Morin

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!

 

Composition, Conferences, Music Camps

MTNA 2012 Conference | Session on Composition Camps

Joy Morin

The last session of the conference I attended was a wonderful one!  It was called:

Get Out of That Musical Box: Teach Students How To Compose!

Dianne Higgins gave a delightful presentation about the summer composition camps she holds each year.  It has been a great success even since the first year she tried it!

The first year, Dianne emailed her students and friends to ask for donations of keyboards, headphones, computers, and other equipment she would need.  She was surprised with the response she received, and only had a few things left to purchase.  Over the years, she has upgraded her equipment and now has 5 computer stations with small MIDI keyboards, and some keyboard/headphone stations too.  She has a separate room in her house for these stations.   Continue reading “MTNA 2012 Conference | Session on Composition Camps” →

Conferences

MTNA 2012 Conference | Session on Ethics for Music Teachers

Joy Morin

Wednesday morning of the conference, I attended a session called “it’s More Than Just Being Nice” by Kathy Strickland, the Washington State Ethics Chair with help from Amy Grinsteiner.

Kathy covered a variety of topics about our responsibility as teachers.  Here’s some of her points:

  • Treat students with respect.  Don’t accept just the talented students.
  • Teach concert etiquette to parents and students.
  • Do not copy music!  It’s legal in the case of a one-time educational session (after which the copies should be destroyed).  But in most other cases, it is illegal.  And when teachers pass on illegal copies to students, we make them complacent in the crime.  Continue reading “MTNA 2012 Conference | Session on Ethics for Music Teachers” →
Conferences

MTNA 2012 Conference | Local Associations Forum Meeting

Joy Morin

Monday afternoon at the conference, I attended a wonderful session on teaching students with disabilities.  Click here to view Natalie’s thorough notes!

After that, I attended an open forum for discussing ideas and solutions for local associations.  To start, a representative from the Fox Valley Association of Wisconsin told us the story of how they applied — and won! — to become the MTNA Local Association of the Year.

There are three criteria for being MTNA Local Association of the Year:

  1. Active in community.
  2. Professional growth for teachers.
  3. Big projects/goals.

Click here to view the application form for the MTNA Local Association of the Year award.

After the Fox Valley Association told us about their success, a discussion was begun among the attendees about the sharing of ideas and problems of various local associations.  Here’s a few comments that people made that I jotted down:  Continue reading “MTNA 2012 Conference | Local Associations Forum Meeting” →