Tag: conferences

Conferences

MTNA 2015 in Las Vegas

Joy Morin

The 2015 MTNA national conference begins tomorrow! I’m so excited to have the opportunity to attend. My flight leaves later today and I’ll be staying with a piano teacher friend in Las Vegas.

mtna 2015 conference logo

Thanks to the Corporate Training program my boss recommended to me, I feel more confident in my abilities as a presenter and public speaker, I will be giving a presentation tomorrow during the Young Professionals track of Pedagogy Saturday, at 2:15pm. My presentation is called: Harnessing The Power Of The Internet: Blogging And Social Media For The Musician.

If you have registered for Pedagogy Saturday, you should know that you are allowed to jump between the various tracks and attend whichever sessions you wish. There are many different sessions occurring at the same time, so I know it is challenging to decide what to attend!

If you are attending MTNA this year, I’d love to connect with you! Please feel free to send me an email via the contact form on my blog. Or please feel free to introduce yourself if you happen to bump into me. 🙂

Announcements

Visit to the Cleveland Piano Teachers Organization

Joy Morin

On Friday, I drove to the Cleveland area to speak for a meeting of the Cleveland Piano Teachers Organization.  It was just an hour-and-a-half drive and the roads were clear of any snow until I neared Cleveland.  I presented my “Albums for the Young: A History and Overview of the Genre” program, sharing the history of children’s music and some well-known and lesser-known teaching gems.

IMG_2016 Continue reading “Visit to the Cleveland Piano Teachers Organization” →

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” →

Announcements, Conferences

Upcoming Programs in Ohio and Beyond

Joy Morin

ohio mta logoSome months back, I submitted a proposal to speak at the Ohio Music Teachers Association (affiliated with MTNA) 2014 state conference.  I was thrill to learn it was accepted!  

If you live in Ohio, you may want to consider attending this conference even if you are not a member of OhioMTA / MTNA.  This year, it is being held in Wilmington College on October 16-18, 2014.  The main speakers will be Louis Nagel and Julie Jaffee Nagel.  It’s going to be a great conference!  Learn more here. 

Here is the info about my session:

Albums for the Young: A History & Overview of the Genre

Influenced by the emergence of children’s literature in the 18th century, Robert Schumann composed the groundbreaking Album for the Young Op. 68, a set of piano pieces intended for children to play. This presentation will discuss the circumstances that influenced Schumann to publish his Album for the Young and the extent of his influence on later composers who composed in this new genre. Attendees will hear samples from well-known and little-known collections of music for children and will receive a handout with a list of Albums for the Young by various composers.

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On November 14, I will be giving the same session for the Cleveland Piano Teachers’ Organization.  CPTO is an independent association that sponsors monthly meetings and other events for the benefit of the member teachers and their students.

CPTO has let me know that they welcome non-member teachers to attend their meetings as guests if desired — they only ask for a $10 donation to help defray the cost of sponsoring the meetings.  If you want to learn more about attending as a guest, please contact me and I will connect you with the folks behind CPTO.  I would be thrilled to see you there!

mtna 2015 conference logo

One more piece of news: I was recently asked to give a presentation during the the 2015 MTNA National Conference in Las Vegas!   The conference runs March 21-25.  My session is part of the “Young Professionals Track” on Pedagogy Saturday (which is the best day of the conference, IMO, albeit optional).  Here is the title and 35-word description of my session:

Harnessing the Power of the Internet: Blogging and Social Media for the Musician

Joy Morin shares her story about starting a blog at ColorInMyPiano.com. Learn how you can harness the power of the internet to promote connection, interaction, and engagement for your cause.

I would be thrilled to see you at any of these events!  Please let me know if you will be there because I would love to meet you afterwards.

Looking for programs for your local association?  Learn more about my workshops on my personal website here.

Giveaways

Giveaway Results: MusicEdConnect.com Registration Winner

Joy Morin

Make Your Students ShineJust a quick post to announce the randomly selected winner of the giveaway for FREE registration for the 2014 MusicEdConnect.com conference!

The winner is comment #29: Vaida!  Please watch your email inbox for an email from Michelle from Keys To Imagination.

The rest of you — please remember that you can still register for the conference. 🙂  In fact, you may want to take advantage of the early registration discount. The online conference is taking place February 5-8, 2014.   Register now through October 31, 2013 for just $79.  It will be $99 after October 31, 2013.

Check out all the details at  MusicEdConnect.com! 

General, Giveaways

Don’t Miss the 2014 MusicEdConnect.com Online Conference

Joy Morin

Make Your Students Shine

Hello, readers!

I just wanted to help spread the word about a new online conference for music educators scheduled for February 5-8, 2014. MusicEdConnect.com has recently announced the lineup of speakers for the sessions and it looks great! Conference registrants can watch the sessions live online or they can check out the videos later, on-demand.

You can check out the full list of sessions here.  I excited to announce that I will be giving a session on February 6 called “Building Musicianship Through Games & Activities.”  During this session, I will talk about the value of teaching through games and how teachers can go about choosing or creating games that will teach the concepts they wish to reinforce in their students.  I will also be demonstrating some of the games that are available here on my blog.I just wanted to help spread the word about a new online conference for music educators scheduled for February 5-8, 2014.  MusicEdConnect.com has recently announced the lineup of speakers for the sessions and it looks great!  Conference registrants can watch the sessions live online or they can check out the videos later, on-demand.

Below is the official press release from the folks at MusicEdConnect.com.  Read it over and then check out their website and facebook page for more info.

Good news: MusicEdConnect.com is giving away one free conference registration to one lucky blog reader from Color In My Piano!  To enter, please leave a comment below this post describing one of your students’ favorite games (it can be a group game or an individual game).  The deadline to enter is Midnight EST on October 16, 2013.  The winner will be randomly selected the next day.  I can’t wait to read your comments!   Continue reading “Don’t Miss the 2014 MusicEdConnect.com Online Conference” →

Conferences

2013 OhioMTA Conference (4) — Summary

Joy Morin

As you know, this week I have been blogging some of my notes highlighting a few sessions from the 2013 OhioMTA Conference.  In addition to lectures, there were also some fantastic masterclasses and recitals.  For example:

  • A masterclass featuring elementary to intermediate level students, given by Dr. Michelle Conda.  This was fantastic!  It is not very often that we get to see how a master teacher would work with non-advanced students.
  • An fun, interactive session about Dalcroze Eurhythmics — a topic near and dear to my heart because of my experience taking two semesters of Eurhythmics during undergrad.  I was so impressed and inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of the presenter, Kristen Regester.
  • A session about promoting collaborative music for students let by our OhioMTA president, Dr. Richard Van Dyke.  At the beginning, the challenges and benefits of teaching collaborative music were discussed.  Then, we had the opportunity to hear performances by a few student chamber groups.  Among the performances, we heard “Serendipity” by Jennifer Linn (debuted at the 2013 MTNA conference), a Beethoven trio played by three woodwinds, and a piano trio (a movement from Beethoven’s Op. 11).
  • A masterclass featuring not just piano — but also voice and violin students.  It was so neat to hear how each master teacher worked with the student on his/her particular instrument to achieve the goal all musicians share: giving a musical performance.
  • An impressive solo piano recital given by Dr. Stephen Beus.
  • A chamber music recital by the James Tocco trio.  This concert was absolutely phenomenal.

It was great to get re-fueled and bring back some fresh ideas for my teaching!

The next conference I hope to attend will be the 2014 MTNA recital taking place in Chicago.  Start saving now!  🙂

Conferences

2013 OhioMTA Conference (3) — Technology on a Budget, by Andy Villemez

Joy Morin

281857_31f839ec763f8d27163830deb17bbcd9.jpg_512Technology on a Budget, by Andy Villemez and Dr. Michelle Conda

Andy Villemez gave a great session about some of the best free (or near-free) resources available on the internet.

1. Office Suites

Alternatives to the expensive Microsoft Office Suite:

  • LibreOffice 4.1 (top pick) – very similar to Microsoft Word
  • Apache OpenOffice (similar to LibreOffice)
  • Google Drive – only basic functionality, but is cloud-based. There are Google apps you can apply to Google Drive, too (Simplebooklet looks cool. Also, Concept Board — which lets you collaborate visually in the cloud.)

2. Music Notation Software

Alternatives to Finale or Sibelius:

3. Library Cataloguing Software

Caveat: these services are free only to a limit.

  • LibraryThing – online-based catalogue, free up to 200 books.  Designed to allow you to keep track of the books in your library.  You can even “check out” books when you want to loan them to students.
  • Delicious Library 3 – companion app can act as scanner.

4. Sheet music

5. Online Pedagogical Resources

  • Pianotools.com – keyboard visualizer and more.
  • Musictheory.net – great theory lessons and tools.  Here is even a customizable exercise maker.  App available.
Conferences

2013 OhioMTA Conference (2) — Solving Common Issues in Advanced Transfer Students, by Siok Lian Tan

Joy Morin

e_imagePractical Tips to Solve Common Issues in Teaching Advanced Transfer Students, by Siok Lian Tan

Dr. Siok Lian Tan serves as a professor of piano at Miami University in Oxford, OH.  During this session, Dr. Tan discussed how to help solve common issues in advanced transfer students.  The areas she discussed were reading, efficient practice, critical listening, memorization, and playing posture.  Below are some highlights from her session.

I. Reading Skills

Sometimes, we get students we could call “seasonal readers.”  They can play advanced music but cannot sight read simple pieces.

Strategies for sightreading: Just do it, and regularly.  Do it at home and at the beginning of the lesson.

Guide the student as they scan it over.  Give them reading steps they can do at home (e.g.: Set a pulse, count off, finger the piece silently, etc.).  Ask them for the meter and key signature. Look for patterns and sections, modulations, etc.  Make a game out of it: What can they notice about the piece in 10 seconds time?

Another strategy: Create situations where students must read a lot and learn quickly. Continue reading “2013 OhioMTA Conference (2) — Solving Common Issues in Advanced Transfer Students, by Siok Lian Tan” →

Conferences

2013 OhioMTA Conference (1) – Improvising Is For Everyone, by Bradley Sowash

Joy Morin

Sowash21Improvising Is For Everyone, by Bradley Sowash

Last weekend, I attended the 2013 conference of the Ohio Music Teachers Association.  This year, it was held in Cincinnati at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.  I carpooled with three other teachers from my area.  We had a lot of fun!

The first session was held by Bradley Sowash, a jazz musician and piano teacher located in Columbus, OH.

For a number of years now, Mr. Sowash has been encouraging teachers to include creative skills (improvisation and composition) in their lessons.  For many years, teachers would respond to Mr. Sowash’s message saying they were certainly not interested in doing so.  However, things are changing: in recent years, teachers have begun agreeing with the premise that teaching off the page is just as important as teaching on the page.  Now, teachers are asking for information about HOW to do so.  Today’s presentation addresses this question about HOW to teach the skills for improvisation.

To begin, Mr. Sowash discussed 5 myths about improvising/playing by ear.  Many people believe that you must be born with a good ear in order to improvise or play by ear, but it simply isn’t true: it comes through practice and study just like traditional musical skills.

Next, Mr. Sowash described the process of teaching scales and chords to students in preparation for being able to improvise using them.  He called this section, “Scaling the Chords.”  The goal here is to teach scales more creatively, teach chord fluency, and understand pop/jazz chord symbols properly.  Continue reading “2013 OhioMTA Conference (1) – Improvising Is For Everyone, by Bradley Sowash” →

Conferences

OhioMTA Conference 2013 – This Weekend

Joy Morin

Hello readers,

This weekend is the OhioMTA (affiliated with MTNA) State Conference, taking place in Cincinnati this year.  I am looking forward to connecting and re-connecting with other piano teachers in Ohio and, of course, learning a lot from the sessions on the schedule.  If you will be at the conference and I haven’t met you before, I hope we will have the chance to meet in person!

I am bringing my iPad Mini along and plan to take and blog conference notes.  🙂  Stay tuned!