What's a lesson like?

I had one teacher in Grad school who would sit back and just listen to my playing. He'd sip on his coffee, make few comments, and then I'd play the next piece. This went on for 2 semesters, which is why I switched teachers in mid-degree. it caused quite a stir.

I switched because his teaching style did NOT mesh with my learning style - I MUCH prefer a conversational hands-on approach- and that is exactly how I teach.

For me a piano lesson is more of a "rehearsal" - the student and I will work through the issues with the piece they are trying to learn. During that conversation we'll discuss the music theory aspects of the piece - form, chords, melodic phrase construction, for example - as well as technical issues (fingering...) and musicical aspects (articulations, phrase shaping).

I ask a lot of questions - intending for the student to discover the answer (I really like those "Oh, Yeah" moments when the light bulb goes off). It could be something as significant as noticing that the composer re-used melodic material later in the piece to as simple as starting on the correct note.

That's what I think a lesson should be like. Your opinion?

Piano vs. Keyboards - what's the difference?

What's the Difference - from teaching, learning, and Musician's perspective? Some semi-random thoughts.

1. There's nothing like playing a well-maintained concert grand. NOTHING.
2. But few people have access to a concert grand, much less a well-maintained one.
3. The new Roland V-Piano is supposed to come close, though. At roughly $6,000 it's a lot cheaper than a quality grand, but you're going to have to invest in some amps and speakers.
4. Keyboards/Synths give me capabilities that a piano doesn't - different sounds, etc.
5. I play a Piano and a Keyboard differently - even when the keyboard has a great action (like my Roland RD-700 sx).
6. I'd suggest learning the Piano, and integrating the "keyboard" part of it as a part of the process. To play keys you need to learn how to work your buttons, how to change what you play depending on the sound you're using, and how to improvise a part while looking at a chord chart.
7. Best way to learn how to change your touch? CLASSICAL PIANO music! (especially Classical, Baroque, and Romantic eras).
8. To Comp (i.e. accompany) you need to know your chords and scales. Those are the tools that let you combine bits and pieces into something interesting that fits the song.
9. This is true regardless of the style - rock, jazz, pop, urban, country, world.......
10. You still have to practice - every day is best.

The MacMusicGuy

A Music Career? This is a career?

Thoughts on the morning before heading down to Georgia Southwestern to perform a recital with Rebecca Lanning: I've been playing piano for 40 years - professionally for over half that (Nope, I ain't as old as that makes me sound). I find it interesting that even though I have a Masters Degree in Piano Performance, I've been paid to play "Classical" less than a dozen times over that period. Rock-n-roll, jazz, country, wedding..... tons of times. Classical, not so much. This may indeed be a comment on my skillset or level of playing - I decided early on that I didn't want Classical to be my entire lifr, and that is required if you are going to make a living at it (I didn't want to live in NY or Chicago either). It also may be a comment on what I'm good at - being a musical chameleon. I've done Classical, yes - but also jazz, rock, country, misc. wedding stuff, pop - and performed on piano and multi-keyboards of various ilks - and been on about a dozen recordings (including one that was nominated for a Grammy). I've even produced two albums with my band at church (tom&co). And I teach - both privately and in a college. So I guess it is a career - at times seriously aggravating, at times seriously wonderful. Two weeks ago I was playing in Storm Lake, Iowa with the Joey Stuckey band playing pop/rock originals - tonight in Americus, Georgia accompanying a phenomenal Mezzo-Soprano in every style from Lieder to 20th C. to TinPanAlley. It ain't boring!

New video performance

This is a performance of "I Surrender All" that I did at Vineville North in July, 2007. This was a jazz improv version - inspired by the thought that this traditional church tune sounds kinda mournful - but the idea of surrendering to Someone who is perfect is pretty cool, and should be cause for celebration!

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Making a CD: Send it to the studio

Almost done with this series of entries on creating Christmas CDs for my piano students.

To this point I've detailed the equipment, recording process, editing, and graphics creation. The next step: transferring the data to a studio for actual creation of the physical cds.

At this point in the process, I had graphics files for each student's CDs, plus the assoaciated audio files. What I don't have is a way to print on CDs - it isn't something I need to do very often, so the best route for me was to outsource this part of the project. in other words, I hired a friend who has a recording studio - Joey Stuckey, of Shadowsound music in Macon.

Joey offers CD duplication and on-CD printing as a part of his studio services. After a couple of conversations, we figured the best way was for me to email the graphics files to the studio - they also use Microsoft Publisher, so all I had to do was send the original publisher file. I then used sendthisfile.com to transfer the audio files to them. They were MUCH too big to email them, and I've found sendthisfile.com to be reliable, even when using the free account.

Joey and the staff then took the audio and the Publisher files, ran them through their system, and produced the CDs for me. I brought down some pre-addressed CD mailers, assembled the packages (along with a little note from me regarding what this CD was - a low budget Chrismtas card, if you will), and mailed them out.

Next entry: Reactions and benefits

Improvisation on the Piano

I have been working - in my mind, at least - on an outline re: teaching improvisation. Usually my starting point is either a book of some sort, from which I pick up a pedagogical outline, or my own experience. In terms of improv, though, the books I've found seem insufficient. They are either way too theoretical, or way too tune-based. By the latter I am referring to the design where a book throws several tunes and basically says, "Here, play this".

There deosn't seem to be material which walks a student through the process of working on an improvisation, which has started me thinking about the process you go through when improvising. What musical skills and knowledge do you have to have in order to imrpvo successfully? What ear capabilities?

In this, also, my own experience is proving deficient. I don't remember how I started improvising - other than I began by adding in parts to the boring piano accompaniments I was playing for my high school choir.

So, my initial thoughts:

1. Scales and keys play a part. You need to know instinctively what notes fit a particular key.
2. Knowing chords is also a part. You could work off the notes in a particular chord.
3. Some Rhythmic capabilities is necessary - being able to play rhythmic patterns for comping work, for example.
4. A sense of form - you'd want to play differently between the verse and chorus.
5. There's also the non-note-based but oh-so-important performance aspects such as tempo, dynamics, expressions, and articulations. Intonation, too!

So in what order would you teach these concepts? Using what material? At this point I am certain you can't segment the areas listed, but how to mix them together into a cohesive whole is a fairly knotty problem - not to mention the problem of keeping things interesting!

More entries as the thinking warrants.

What I tell Parents about Digital Pianos

I teach piano in a music store (one of my many "jobs"), and often have parents ask me about their kids taking piano, but all they have is a digital keyboard.

I tell them several things:

1. An excellent quality acoustic (i.e. grand or upright, not a spinet or console) is the best choice - BUT they have price and maintenance issues that many people don't want to deal with.
2. Second choice would be an excellent quality digital - with 88 weighted keys, excellent quality speakers. They will need to add a piano-style sustain pedal and a keyboard stand (if the keyboard doesn't already have one). The downside is that it will last around a decade, whereas an acoustic will last the rest of their lives. (For some, this last statement is a disadvantage of acoustic pianos!)
3. Third choice, and definitely last, is the el-cheapo keyboard that is so common. For some parents, though, all they want to spend - indeed, all they may be ABLE to spend, is $150 on a little dinky one. I explain the limits they are putting on the child - and I require that the keys be full-size. I also explain that the child will outgrow it in less than a year, but $150 is all some parents can spend on the keyboard.

I am also trying to get parents to hook their keyboards up to the computer, explaining the capabilities that gives the child. I have had limited success, because most of my parents have Windows machine, which are difficult to setup for MIDI operation. The Mac side is so much easier, so my Mac-using parents are more likely to take advantage of it.

Acoustic versus Digital pianos

Heard mention the other day that a local piano tuner was recommending to some of his clients to switch to digital. He said he was tired of keeping all those acoustics in tune.

Sounds to me like he's ready to retire!

My views have changed on this subject over the years as technology has evolved on both the acoustic and digital fronts. While I do believe there is NOTHING like playing a quality grand (the expressiveness and sound is unbelievable), the digitals come out ahead when comparing a quality digital piano and the cheaper spinets and consoles.

The acoustics have the advantage of longevity - even a cheaper spinet will last for decades (IF taken care of). I don't believe the digital keyboards will last much longer than a decade, of that long (Depends on how much they are played, of course). The acoustics in general allow a bit more touch control, and especially pedalling nuance (things like half-pedalling, etc are just not possible with most of the digitals.)

On the other hand, digitals never go out of tune. You can use headphones. They generally have additional sounds, useful for keeping practice interesting (ever heard Bach played with a harpsichord sound? A vibe?). The MIDI capabilities, when used with a computer, open up a world of possibilities. Some are portable.

So what do I recommend when buying a digital? I look at three primary things: Key size, Keyboard feel, and Sound. The keys have to be full sized, and the feel needs to be as close to a grand as possible. (I currently really like the feel of the Casio Privia series, for example - especially in it's price range.) I tell my parents to sit down and really listen to a piano's sound for an extended period of time - if their ears aren't tired of hearing the sound, then it will probably work.

I wish all my students could use a quality grand piano in their practicing - but that's not going to happen in this lifetime. The digitals are a great alternative.

That;s my opinion. What do YOU think?

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http://www.tomrule.info/music
http://www.tom-and-co.com

Teaching Youngsters and Herding Cats

Some of the kids I teach are fascinating. Some days, they are all focused on playing the piano. Others, you might as well be at the zoo.

Now, some of my teachers growing up were, compared to the way I teach, very standoffish. I would play, they would make a comment or two, and we would move on. I remember having more conversations as I got into High School, and it became apparent I was going to major in music.

I would say I am an active teacher. I treat a lesson more like a rehearsal - the student and I are working together to improve their skill. I guess the best sports analogy is that I'm the coach (but a coach that can STILL play the sport!).

But some days - and with a couple of my students, it's every day - you have to go with the flow. I want them to remain excited about piano, but also to get something done (hey, that's what their parents are PAYING me for!). So I listen to the stories about their day at school - and indeed, ask them how things are...and we play.

Some days it's more playing. Some days it's more talking.

Some days I'm teaching piano. Some days I'm herding cats.

It is never boring, though.

--------------------------------------------------- The MacMusic Guy

Basic Info | www.tomrule.info/music The MacMusic Blog | macmusicguy.blogspot.com The Band | www.tom-and-co.com ---------------------------------------------------

Performing and Equipment: Some questions

I am beginning to think about replacing my keyboard, and that brings up some thoughts about the place equipment has in a musician's life.

I currently use a Kurzweil K1200 - yes, old and outdated compared to current keyboards, but still definitely functional for my purposes. Plus you CANNOT beat the Electric Piano sounds in that thing!

It strikes me that the equipment you have can serve as either a limitation or an inspiration, depending on the circumstances and your attitude. Bad, limited equipment can indeed keep you from making music - but older equipment that is still functional can still be usable. The catch is that it often takes longer, or mroe effort - which may in turn produce better music.

Musicians have long struggled with their equipment. How many pianos did Mozart have custom ordered? Beethoven had a special piano created with heavier strings that sounded louder, to compensate for his slowly growing deafness.

Good equipment is necessary for a performing musician to work. Good equipment alos costs $ - it's the old "you get what you pay for". I paid more for my Kurzweil than some other competing keyboards, but the thing has lasted well over a decade. It's amazing what having a metal body will do for longevity! (plus I take real good care of it).

Studio Setup: the next chapter

I am a firm believer in using things - especially technology - as long as it is practical. That's why I have been using a powerMac 8500 for my writing and transcription work for a good long while.

I bought it off of eBay for $150 to replace a Mac clone that got fried by lightning. I use it for digital audio work, sequencing, and Finale stuff.

I purchased my first ever new Mac in February - a Mini. For a long while it has stayed in the living room, perched on top of a 10 year old IBM 17 inch monitor that was absolutely huge - it was quite funny looking, but very functional.

I don¹t' want to lose what I have with the 8500, so today I moved the mini down to the "outhouse" (it's a 12x16 ft little house out back with my studio and workshop). I'm using a KVM switch (the 8500 has a usb/firewire card installed), and the 2 machines are networked together (with a crossover cable, of course. Why spend $ on a switch when I already have the cable?)

So I'm working with one machine running MacOs 8.6 - running Finale, EZ Vision, and assorted audio utilities (like Soundmaker from Micromat) - and the other running MacOs 10.3.

Gotta love it! A Very functional studio using a blend of the old and new.

Is this a good place to mention the Mac Classic running MacOs 7.1 that I use in the piano studio at the store? (I use it for basic sequencing in my piano lessons). It brings new depths of meaning to the word "slow"!

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The MaconMacMusicGuy

http://www.tomrule.info/

http://www.tom-and-co.com

http://www.youngamericamusic.com --------------------------------------

Piano: Thoughts on Teaching

I've had my own piano/keyboard teaching studio for almost 2 years now. I've also taught piano at the college level for a total of 12 years (some of those years I was full-time faculty, others an adjunct). Today, I was thinking about some of the differences between teaching privately and on the college campus - it is interesting, to those of us who teach, anyway!

You have a certain stick hanging over a college student's head - the grade, but this may or may not be a motivator! I've had many college students start taking piano, and then never really practice. Many are actually surprised that I expect them to practice between lessons. My approach to this problem has mellowed out a bit over the years. I used to fret a bit over not being able to motivate the student. Now - and perhaps this is because my own two boys are in their teens or rapidly approaching - I realize that at some point I am not responsible for the choices the student makes. Nowadays, I lay it out flatly that it will require practice if they really want to get better - and that piano lessons are a lot more fun when they practice (because we can get beyond the notes and other basics).

For some, this is enough. Others, it doesn't seem to really matter - which is a shame, since they are paying extra to take private piano! For me, I will push the students who seem to want to make music. The others, I try to keep it interesting by throwing in stuff from outside the book, but i'm not going to worry about it. That is, unless they are music majors.

Music majors are in a whole 'nother ballgame. If a student truly wants to major in music - that is, have a prayer of a chance at making a living at this field, then they'd better be able to play or sing real well - and that takes extraordinary amounts of intelligent practice - 4 hours a day.

Yes, I push the music majors.......but my regular private students I have to treat differently. More on that next time. Leave some Comments!