Tag: conferences

Conferences, Professional Development

NCKP 2011 | (2) Developing from Student to Professional (Panel Discussion)

Joy Morin

After attending the mass Keynote Address, I headed to the sessions for the pre-conference track called, “Students and Young Professionals.”  It began with a panel discussion moderated by Martha Hilley.

Developing from Student to Professional: A Practical Overview, moderated by Martha Hilley.

The were 4 contributors, who each spoke on a topic.

1. Practical Networking: I know why, when, and where — now tell me how, by Courtney Crappell.

Dr. Crappell discussed practical networking.  The key to successful networking is to be genuinely interested in other people!  We sometimes tend to be self-centered, especially in places with new people like conferences.

Another key to successful networking is in the preparation.  This requires some thought in advance: how do you want to market yourself?  Create an elevator pitch that talkes about your goal as a piano teacher.  It should be something short but intriguing that could start a conversation.  An elevator speech contains a problem, solution, and a personal role.

Presentation is also important, but perhaps even more so is the follow-through.  Make sure you have business cards with you at all times so you can easily exchange information with others.  As you meet new people, you can even write things on their business cards afterwards to help you remember who’s who.  And send people an email after you meet them.  You never know what kind of opportunities may arise in the future just from having some connections with other people.  Networking is important!  Continue reading “NCKP 2011 | (2) Developing from Student to Professional (Panel Discussion)” →

Conferences, Professional Development

NCKP 2011 | (1) Keynote: The Future of Pedagogy, by Pete Jutras

Joy Morin

The 2011 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy opened with a keynote speech during the Pre-Conference Seminar.  It was such an inspiring speech!

The Future of Pedagogy: Training the Teachers of Tomorrow, by Pete Jutras (W @ 2:30pm)

Pete Jutras began his speech with an diagram showing a pyramid that represented music makers.  The most educated and successful teachers/musicians are those at the top of the pyramid.  The amateur music makings are all those that create the wide base of the pyramid.

Problems:

  • Concert attendance is down.
  • Recording sales are down.
  • Acoustic piano sales are down.

We need to worry about these issues, because even those of us at the top of the pyramid will be affected.  The very value of music is at stake here.  And so, Dr. Jutras gave us a call to action: we need to think about how we can increase the value of music!  Continue reading “NCKP 2011 | (1) Keynote: The Future of Pedagogy, by Pete Jutras” →

Conferences

NCKP 2011 Loot!

Joy Morin

Well, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) was amazing as expected!  I had a wonderful time with my friend and my cousin with whom I shared a hotel room.  And I met some new teachers, including a couple of people I knew only from online (such as Wendy Stevens).  It was such an inspiring place to go and get new ideas for piano teaching.  I’ll be blogging about the sessions I attending all week long, so stay tuned!

I know many of you have attended conferences such as this before, but if any of you haven’t, I strongly encourage you to try one!  It’s definitely worth the expense.  Next March, the 2012 National Conference held by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) in going to take place in New York City!  Just think, if you set aside about $75 or $100 each month from now until then, you’d have enough to attend!  And if you happen to have friends or family in NYC, you wouldn’t even have any hotel expenses.  If anyone wants to know more about attending a conference, please send me an email and I’d be happy to chat.  🙂

Anyway, I wanted to share with you a photo of all the FREE loot I took home from the NCKP:

When I added up the value of these books, it totaled to over $200!  That certainly covers the expense of my shared hotel room and gas money, which pleases me very much!  Plus, I get some great new resources to try in my studio!

Conferences

NCKP 2011 Coming Up!

Joy Morin

In just a week and a half, I’ll be heading to Chicago for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy!  After attending to the MTNA National Conference for the first time in March, I am SO looking forward to heading to another conference.  Last time, I went solo — which wasn’t as bad as it sounds, because hey, when you’re at a conference full of people who love doing the same thing you do, you’re never alone!  Besides, I ran into Natalie Wickham and other teachers I know from online.  And I met many more teachers.  It was such a neat experience and I learned so much.  This time, however, I will be attending with my cousin and a good friend of mine.  I’m very excited!

Is anyone else going?  If so, please let me know!  And consider meeting up  — Wendy Stevens from the ComposeCreate blog is planning a meet-up at the Piano Teacher School booth on Thursday of the conference.  Read more here.

Rest assured that I’ll be posting plenty about the conference once I get back!  🙂

Conferences

2011 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy

Joy Morin

This summer, I plan to attend another conference: the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy!  It’s being held July 27-30.

Some fast facts:

  • NCKP is held every other year.
  • NCKP is sponsored by the Francis Clark Center and held in Chicago.
  • Speakers this year include Dennis Alexander, Randall Faber, Forrest and Akiko Kinney, George Litterst, Mario Ajero, and many more.
  • Recital performers include pianist Ann Schein.

For full-time college students, there are tuition scholarships available to cover conference tuition.  Since I am eligible for them (crossing my fingers that I’ll get one) and since Chicago is not far from me, it was pretty much a no-brainer to decide to attend!  This will be the last time I am eligible for student rates for conference tuition, so I am totally going to take advantage of this!  =)

Click here and browse the menu on the left to read more about the NCKP.  No membership to an association is required to attend this conference.  Be sure to register before this tomorrow (Friday), April 15 to receive the early bird rates!

Conferences, Technology

2011 MTNA Conference | iPods, Guitar Hero, And YouTube. Oh, My!

Joy Morin

I just love the title for this session!

TUESDAY @ 2:15pm: iPods, Guitar Hero, And YouTube. Oh, My!

This session was given by Samuel Holland and Kristin Yost.

Sam Holland began by talking about the world of the student and the world of the teacher (represented by two big circles on the powerpoint slide).  Our responsibility as teachers is to move our world towards theirs until they intersect, so learning can take place.

One important method of intersecting the student’s world is through technology.  The average teenager spends about 36 hours a week using technology.  Students are now beginning to spend more time online than they do watching TV.  The top activity they spend time doing is messaging – and second is downloading music (this is where we come in!).

Reasons teachers give for not utilizing technology with their students:

Conferences

2011 MTNA Conference | The Royal Conservatory/Achievement Program

Joy Morin

TUESDAY at 1pm: The Royal Conservatory: Celebrate Student Success: Recognizing Student Achievement Through Meaningful Assessment

This session celebrated the recent collaboration between Carnegie Hall and the Royal Conservatory to promote The Achievement Program (previously the National Music Certificate Program) as a national standard in the U.S.  A number of individuals who are actively involved with this program spoke about the features and advantages of this program.

Marvin Blickenstaff commented on the purpose of a national standard to establish a clear, consistent meaningful structure to piano education.  He also mentioned about the wonderful repertoire and supplemental materials available.  The Celebration Series, in fact, won the Francis Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award in 2007 for its comprehensive scope, quality, handbook for teachers, and supplemental books (read more here).

Nest, Andrew Hisey talked about the technical/essential skills that The Achievement Program helps to develop in the student.  The Achivement Program tests ear and sight skills, rudiments (scales, arpeggios, chords, etc), sightreading, rhythms, and technique.  There are many excellent supplemental materials for teachers to use with their students to prepare for these areas of testing.

Janet Lopinski indentified The Achivement Program as a tangible tool box for the teacher because it supports and reinforces musicianship skills.  Having a third party assesment is also valuable for the teacher to assess his/her own effectiveness.  Janet also talked about the written theory tests that are part of The Achievement Program which are intended to ensure music literacy and understanding of how music is constructed.

Sheila Vail is a Cincinatti teacher who has had great success with the NMCP/Achievement Program in her studio.  She says to look at the results:  She enjoys having a more structured and leveled way to teach sightreading and ear training.  She loves the clear leveling, various styles of music, and comprehensiveness in general.  She found that parents loved it, especially the quality of the assessment and the beautiful language of the adjudicators’ comments.  She found that students in her studio seemed more likely to take lessons longer and strive to higher levels.  She also feels that she has become a better teacher as a result of using this program.

From the comments of these various individuals, there seem to be many benefits to using an assessment program such as The Achievement Program!  What are your thoughts?

Conferences

2011 MTNA Conference | Connecting With Your Piano Technician

Joy Morin

TUESDAY @ 11am: Connecting With Your Piano Technician

This session was given by Clarence Zeches, a RPT (Registered Piano Technician) from Kansas City.

Piano technicians must undergo rigorous testing before they can become RPTs.  Zeches discussed some advantages of connecting with a RPT in your area.  Here are a few:

  • Getting your piano tuned the recommended two times a year.  The more regularly you have your instrument tuned, the longer it is likely it stay in tune between tunings.
  • Recommend your trusted RPT to your students to have their pianos tuned and to ensure they have quality instruments.
  • When looking to upgrade your piano, you can pay to have a RPT look at a piano for you (if you are shopping on Craigslist, by newspaper ads, etc.). It generally costs $25-100 for this service, depending on the technician and the number of miles to travel.

Visit ptg.org to find a RPT near you and to download a flyer about caring for your piano.

Conferences

2011 MTNA Conference Session Notes Index

Joy Morin

Today and tomorrow, my notes from the MTNA Conference a few weeks ago will be posted here for you to enjoy!  Here are the sessions I attended during my short 24 hours at the conference:

If you’d like to read about what some of the other sessions were about, visit Natalie’s Music Matters blog to see her session notes!  I see that Marcia Vahl also has blogged about the sessions she attended.  If you have a link to share too, please leave a comment below!

I can’t forget to mention that the highlight of the whole conference for me was meeting some of my virtual friends for the first time ever!  It was wonderful to meet some of my readers too — you know who you are!  Natalie blogged and took a few pictures of our get-together which you can view here.

To those of you who also attended the conference — what was your favorite session?

Conferences, Studio Business

2011 MTNA Conference | Business Strategies for Young Professionals

Joy Morin

MONDAY @ 2:15pm: Smart, Single, Successful! Effective Business Strategies For Young Professionals

This session featured a panel of three young professionals moderated by Karen Thickstun.  Each panelist shared their story to begin:

  1. Rebecca V. Baker – After graduating with her DMA in Piano Pedagogy, Becky taught at the college level for a few years before moving to the midwest to teach private lessons and group classes at Meridian Music, a Steinway distributer in Indiana.  She believes in creative business management, which she explained as having a beneficial alliance and strong administration.  She advises having a clear vision and taking advantage of (and not underestimating the power of) free marketing.
  2. David Husser – After graduating with his MM in Music Education with a Piano Pedagogy focus, David moved to Traverse City, Michigan to fill in teaching another teacher’s studio for a year.  He eventually took over the studio completely and now does a variety of things including teaching adjuct at a community college, accompanying a high school choir, and working a church job.  He enjoys the variety.  David advises utilizing a mentor to learn the ropes and find guidance for the future. Continue reading “2011 MTNA Conference | Business Strategies for Young Professionals” →
Conferences

2011 MTNA Conference | Henle Urtext Edition Session

Joy Morin

Well, I’m FINALLY getting around to posting my notes from the 2011 MTNA National Conference!  Here’s my notes from Monday, March 28:

MONDAY @ 1pm: G Hele Verlag: Henle Urtext Editions–Music Is Our Passion

Many people are familiar with the famous blue covers of Henle editions!  This session was given by Henle editor Norbert Gertsch.  Gertsch gave us a look into the history of the Henle publishing company and a peek into what the urtext editing process is like.

Henle strives to create editions that are both urtext and practical.

What is URTEXT and why is it important?  Urtext editions consult a number of sources to try to create the most accurate edition according to the composer’s wishes.  Urtext solves the problem of wanting to know what the Beethoven wrote, versus how Artur Schnabel says Beethoven’s sonatas should be played (for example).

Some ask, why can’t you just copy the composer’s original manuscript?  Answer: It’s simply not that simple.  Continue reading “2011 MTNA Conference | Henle Urtext Edition Session” →