Tag: conferences

Conferences

Giveaway Reminder and More

Joy Morin

Hello all,

I am currently in Milwaukee at the MTNA National Conference and I have to say I am THRILLED to be here! I am learning so much, meeting new people, and getting so tons of free teaching materials (which is already adding up to almost entirely cover my expenses of attending the conference)!

I am so excited to share more about the conference soon – but for now, I just wanted to send a reminder to enter the giveaway for Keri & Carolyn’s Blank Board Game before time runs out! Don’t forget to leave your comment(s) before midnight of March 31!

More later!

Joy

Conferences, Resources

2011 MTNA Conference, Here I Come!

Joy Morin

I am so excited to be attending the MTNA National Conference for the first time ever!  Because I have to accompany for a recital this weekend, I will only be there for about 24 hours but I am just thrilled to be able to go at all.

In preparation, I’ve been reading up on what other more experienced conference-goers advise to bring along.  Check it out!

What tips can you offer a first-time national conference goer?  =D

Conferences, improving as a teacher

2011 MTNA Nat’l Conference: March 26-30

Joy Morin

Fellow U.S. piano teachers – in case you haven’t seen it yet, registration is now open for the 2011 Music Teachers National Association’s National Conference which is taking place March 26-30 in Milwaukee!  Sign up before February 16 to receive the early bird rates.  Check out the conference website to view the schedule of sessions and to get more information.

If you aren’t already an MTNA member, you will need to become a member before registering for the conference.  There are many benefits to becoming an MTNA member — click here to learn more about MTNA on their website, and check out the video below.  This video was made by Robyn Pfeifer of the musicteachingsuccess.com blog.  It is an interview with the current president of MTNA, Gary Ingle, discussing the benefits of being a member of MTNA.  Check it out!

Here’s another interview, again by Robyn, talking to a couple presenters from last year’s national conference.  If you want an idea about what the sessions at the conference are like, take a look!

I’ve never had the opportunity to attend a national conference before – only state ones, so I am really looking forward to this! I hope some of you can make it too!

Conferences, Group Classes, Music Camps, Reading Notation, Rhythm, Teaching Piano

2010 MMTA Conference (4): Functional Skills are Important by Martha Hilley

Joy Morin

What follows are the notes I took from a session with Martha Hilley at the 2010 Michigan Music Teachers Association conference.

FUNCTIONAL SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE ~ by Martha Hilley

“Functional skills” include skills such as harmonization, improvisation, transposition, rhythm, and theory.  There are many fun ways to incorporate functional skills into group/private settings.  Today we are going to try out some examples:

Rhythm Activities

Activity #1. Make up a series of patterns such as:

Tap   Clap    Tap    Clap
Tap   Clap  |___|  Clap
Tap  |___|   Tap   Clap
Tap  |___| |___| Clap

Put them on a transparency or write them on a whiteboard.  (The box is the quarter rest.)  Most students don’t have time for rests!  They want to keep going.  So give them something to do during the rests (e.g., saying “rest” aloud; or making some kind of movement during the rest).  This is a great activity for class piano or monthly group lessons. Continue reading “2010 MMTA Conference (4): Functional Skills are Important by Martha Hilley” →

Conferences

2010 MMTA Conference (3): Classical Improvisation by Brian Chung

Joy Morin

What follows are the notes I took from a session with Brian Chung at the 2010 Michigan Music Teachers Association conference.

CLASSICAL IMPROVISATION ~ by Brian Chung

Introduction

Is improvisation really for jazz only?  Why can’t we classical pianists learn improvisation from our own tradition (as did Liszt, Clara Schumann, and others)?

Two goals for today: (1) You can be a capable improviser; (2) You can pass it on to your students. Continue reading “2010 MMTA Conference (3): Classical Improvisation by Brian Chung” →

Conferences, Group Classes, Music Camps, Teaching Piano

2010 MMTA Conference (2): Theory & Improv as the PB&J of Music, Part 2

Joy Morin

A continuation of the previous post……see Part 1 here.

THEORY & IMPROVISATION: THE PB&J OF MUSIC ~ by Martha Hilley

Activities Continued…..

5. Progression Based Improvisation

1) Show the student a progression such as:

A  |  D  |  A  | Bmin |  E  |  A  |  E  |  A  ||

2) Be sure the students thinks about the relationship between the chords.  Spell each chord together before playing.  Check how many chord tones are in common between each chord, and play the best inversion of the triads accordingly for good voice leading.

Side note: this activity is great to do with groups of students, away from the piano.  Try “playing” this progression moving to the closet inversions on your invisible lap piano.  =) Continue reading “2010 MMTA Conference (2): Theory & Improv as the PB&J of Music, Part 2” →

Conferences, Games, Group Classes, Music Camps, Rhythm, Teaching Piano

2010 MMTA Conference (1): Theory & Improv as the PB&J of Music, Part 1

Joy Morin

What follows are the notes I took from a session with Martha Hilley at the 2010 Michigan Music Teachers Association conference.  She shared with us a number of activities that can be incorporated in a variety of settings, whether it be the private lesson, class piano, or monthly group lessons (my summary is posted here with permission).

THEORY & IMPROVISATION: THE PB&J OF MUSIC ~ by Martha Hilley

Introduction

Do you have your students improvise?  Do you improvise?  The biggest reason teachers don’t improvise during the lesson with their students is the giant time factor: we often don’t want to take the time out of the lesson.  However, improvisation can be very effective even with beginners.

Activities:

1. Black Key Improvisation

Use improvisation even with young beginner students.  They often can play rhythms that they can’t yet read, so use improvisation as a way to teach rhythm and technique.  It frees them from the score.  Black key improvisation is especially great because there are no wrong notes!

1) Ask student to put 5 fingers on 5 black keys (any 5).

2) Teacher sets up an ostinato.  Student is instructed first to listen to the ostinato, and then play (immediately after, joining the teacher). Continue reading “2010 MMTA Conference (1): Theory & Improv as the PB&J of Music, Part 1” →

Announcements, improving as a teacher, Resources

Michigan Teachers: 2010 State Conference October 17-19

Joy Morin

For any fellow teachers in Michigan:

The Michigan Music Teachers Association (MMTA) State Conference is to take place Sunday, October 17 – Tuesday, October 19 at the Detroit Novi Sheraton (21111 Haggerty Rd., Novi).  Click here to for more information (including a link to the conference schedule), and click here to register.

Martha Hilley is this year’s Conference Clinician and Leon Bates is the Conference Artist.  There are many other sessions that look like very promising as well!  I am so excited for the conference to get here!

Not a member of MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) or your state association?

Just a few quick reasons to consider joining a professional organization such as MTNA:

  • Continue your professional development as a teacher by attending national and/or state conferences and local chapter meetings.
  • Network and share ideas with other teachers at conferences and local chapter meetings.
  • Become a certified music teacher (read more here).
  • Enter your students in competitions, SAT testing, and other events.
  • and more!  (Share your reasons in the comments!)

Read more about joining MTNA and your state association here.