Using the Camera During Music Lessons

As some of my readers know, I have been doing audio and visual recordings when I am teaching. At the end of the night, I upload the files to their special recordings page and fire off an email (Thank God for email templates), saying "Your Lesson Audio/Video Clip is up!"It's been working very well since moving to this format. All they have to do is click on the link and they can get a refresher anytime they want. They can even show off to family and friends, near and far.

This week, my students and I discovered something truly amazing. I was trying to figure out a better position for the tripod. Previously, it sat beside my desk with the camera catching a profile shot. That works well - most of the time.

However, this week, I wanted to capture a better view for my students struggling with hand position and keyboard topography.The amazing discovery? Turn the student into a roving camera person when I'm demonstrating (or I'm the roving camera person/interviewer as I get them to piece together a practice plan for the week). Then they can go all around me and zoom in on whatever they feel they need to capture as I explain and demonstrate a practice strategy to them.Now I admit, some videos don't offer the best view. There's a few moments, when the lens is panning the floor or the window but the twinkle in their eye just from being in charge of the camera is something to behold.They have also started to even take photos during the video to capture a hand position.

Some advice: make your students use the neck strap, use a camera that they can handle (and that you're comfortable using for recording lessons) and finally, for really young beginners, pass the camera to the child's parent. After all, it's for their benefit that you're doing the video.

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Musical Breakthroughs with Read/Write Learners

As I mentioned in my Teaching Music Using VARK Learning Preferences (new link to comes soon) entry, I had all my students ages nine and up complete the VARK Learning Preferences questionnaire. One interesting finding was that five of my students are "pure" Read/Write learners. In many of the VARK articles on the web, Read/Write Learners are not addressed. Trying to teach this group how to work through musical trouble spots poses a challenge when there is nothing to glean pearls of wisdom from. Basically, a person needs to visit the VARK website, read the Read/Write study tips there and extrapolate on how the tips can be applied to music. At the suggestion of my brother (and colleague), I instructed one student who has been struggling with two-note slurs to transcribe her music. After months of struggles, I was running out of ideas. Transcription was my last hope for this piece.

In one week, the piece was transformed - ALL articulation and dynamics were observed when my student played her Scarlatti piece for me this week. As an aside, I found this exercise also worked for my sole VAK learner.

I also found that rhythmic dictation is working well for this group. Another Read/Write student and I were jumping for joy when the ta-ti-ti-ta rhythm she had been struggling with disappeared after doing some rhythmic dictation using rhythms from the piece in question.

I think it also helps that I'm making all my Read/Write students write out their homework in their own words.

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Music Students With Blogs - Speedlinking

Another short entry. Yes, it is indeed "crazy" season, when students and teachers find it hard to keep up with the pace, which only seems to push forward with an unceasing accelerando. Here are a few blogs I've found written by music students. They provide an interesting view of the trials and tribulations of studying music:

Harvard College Student Blog

UMS Student Blog Vocal Chords

California College of Music

Royal Music Association Student Blogs

Enjoy!

September 3, 2020: Added some new blogs.

Piano Exam Tips - Speedlinking

Yes, it's that time again: time for teachers and students to really buckle down and refine all the required elements on their upcoming exam. Here are some websites with tips for preparing for your piano examination:

http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Well-on-a-Piano-Exam http://www.ukpianos.co.uk/piano-exams-a-guide-to-preparation.html http://www.ehow.com/how_2239058_ace-piano-exam.html http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-For-Preparing-For-Your-Piano-Exam&id=505598

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada.

Patrick Henry Hughes - Transforming "Disabilty" into Endless Possibilities

Thanks to my hair stylist for this inspiring clip about Patrick Henry Hughes. This phenomenal young man is blind and has some condition that severely limits his movement. He travels in a wheel chair and is unable to stretch out his arms.He plays a wonderful version of Debussy's Clair de Lune and plays trumpet in a university marching band. Yes - a marching band!

Here's the clip:

As the newscaster says, "Patrick Hughes plays so that we might hear the music of opportunity and the sound of potential."

What an inspiration to us all.

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.