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Newsletter of the Rockland County Music Teachers Guild
SEPTEMBER 2003, Op. 42 No. 2
NOW is the time...
to sign up for another delightful Field Trip!
Call our Administrative Assistant George Bryant NOW
at 358-5871 if you're interested in
HEARING... PLAYING... and LEARNING ABOUT
the SEILER Piano
Wednesday September 24th at 10:30 a.m.
Because of the great success of our field trip to the Steinway factory in April, we are happy to accept the invitation of John Federico of
Frank and Camille's Paramus NJ Keyboard Center. Begin with an
elegant Continental Breakfast. Hear staff member Dave Demotta
perform the Seiler Piano. Then hear a presentation by Frau Seiler,
who assumed the position as head of the Seiler Company when her
husband died, and who will be flying in from Germany just to
speak to our guild members.
Finally, and most important, try the piano yourself... either a few chords... or a prepared short selection.
See what so many people mean when they describe the "transparent sound".
Many artists say it's the best piano they've ever played, speaking of the Seiler in the same breath as the Hamburg Steinway.
Since food preparation is involved, you must register in
advance for this program... like NOW! Although you are free to
travel on your own (directions below), if you let us know you're
interested in car pooling, we'll put you in touch with others who
might have a similar interest.
HOW TO GET THERE: Garden State Parkway to exit 163 to
Route 17 South, then Route 4 East. Or, just take Route 17 all
the way to Route 4 East. Frank and Camille's is #144 Route 4 East,
about half mile from the Route 17 intersection.
As you may
recall, Frank and Camille 's is the dealership which has kindly
provided pianos for our Guild's Auditions and Music Marathon.
Note Special Date for our OPENING MEETING
Wednesday October 15th, 10:00 a.m. at the Pearl
River Library
BEYOND MUSICALITY - A Workshop in Artistry
presented by BARRY WEINBERG,
founding member of our guild, past president and good friend!
Can talent be taught? Of course not! Can a natural talent be nurtured and developed? Of course it can! So then, what are the tools and techniques we teach our students to help them bridge the gap from performing musically to performing artistically? This workshop will hope to shed some light on both the depth of the question and the path to the answer. It's a "preview" of a presentation Barry is doing for the Florida State 2003 Conference in November.
We've almost reached our quota of participating piano
students, but if any voice students (over 16 years of age,
either Classical or Broadway) are interested in participating,
RSVP to our Administrative Assistant, George Bryant, at
358-5871, for further requirements.
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Our 2003-2004 Directory had a few errors!
The phone number for LORENA MANN (Piermont) should be
398-0006.
Info for FREDRICA WYMAN (Nyack) was omitted: 5 LaVeta
Place, 358-4789
The website should read: www.rcmtg.org
JOHN LAMPKIN has received a commission from the University of
Central Oklahoma to compose a work for concert band. "Migrations," which is
inspired by the migratory patterns of five animal species, will be featured at the national convention of the
Society of Composers in March.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
This past year I was given a small digital camera which is the first camera that I have had exclusive use of in decades. This kind of camera does not use film so there is never the expense or wait time of developing. It can store hundreds of pictures at a time which can be downloaded onto my computer leaving room for hundreds more. So it followed naturally that when I went to Malta in the Mediterranean a few weeks ago I did take hundreds of pictures. Seeing the vivid and honest images of what I thought I remembered so clearly reminded me of an experience just a few weeks before with another kind of record keeping. At the chamber music conference I attended there was occasion to hear an audio recording of myself and others playing Mladi. What a revelation! You might think listening intently when you are making music is enough. Desirable, necessary it is. But hearing the unbiased recording avails a higher level of listening to a musician and is an invaluable tool in hearing one's work. That is why this year I am going to encourage my students to get out the family tape recorder and listen to themselves practice!
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"The Other Side"
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The Other Side invites contributions from our membership. Please send submissions to editor John Lampkin. Barry Weinberg is one of the founding members of our Guild. He has since relocated in Florida but continues to share his perspective and insights, and will be our speaker this month.
TWO SUBJECTS. ONE AND A HALF MOTIFS
by Barry Weinberg
I like to teach through asking questions, telling stories, and life experiences. I find I can invite students to travel a logical path with me by making the subject at hand relevant to their lives. Likewise, I invite them to make corrections and adjustments in the way they study by appealing to their intelligence and common sense. It's my teaching style to try to do this in a lighthearted, humorous way. Here are two examples I use in my studio.
FINDING YOUR WAY TO MY STUDIO
"Let's imagine you've never come to my studio before. Now you come here five times, and each time you take a different route. Do you ever learn your way to my studio? No, you don't. Now let's say you come here five times, and each time you take the same route. Do you now know your way to my studio? So what has helped you? By taking the same route five times in a row, the path was reinforced on your memory. Do you think, by consistently taking the same fingering, your fingers will also memorize the route they should take, and you'll be able to rely on them to guide you to the correct notes?"
After telling this story, all I have to say to a student is, "Gee, I don't know how you found your way here today", and they automatically know they haven't followed the fingering. Making that statement once or twice
usually solves the problem.
LET'S BAKE A CAKE
Students would be quite happy to learn the notes to a piece the first week, the fingering the next week, the counting the following week, dynamic markings the fourth week, etc. until the piece is "finished". To dissuade them from this faulty logic, I tell them the following story. "Let's say we're going to bake a cake. Are we going to put the flour in the oven and bake it, then beat up the eggs and put them into the pan and bake them, then add the milk to the pan and bake that, then the sugar and bake that, then the butter and bake that? You're laughing because you know we can't bake a cake that way. We have to mix all the ingredients together first, and then bake them all at the same time. Well it's the same with learning a new piece. You can practice as slowly as you like, but you must have all the ingredients of correct notes, correct fingering and correct counting from the very beginning, or you will not be happy with the look or taste of your 'cake'." When I see students have not heeded this advice, all I need say to get them back on track is, "I certainly wouldn't want to eat that cake!" I feel it is much better to guide students to the right path with a sense of humor and a gentle nudge to their common sense, rather than through intimidation and deprecation. I find that students will willingly change their practice habits when they are convinced it's actually easier and more time
efficient to practice in a more productive way.
2003 Barry Weinberg
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© 2003 Rockland County Music Teacher's Guild
Questions? Email Webmaster@rcmtg.org
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