Today I am reblogging an excellent post from Libby Wiebel on how to quit lessons in a way that is best for everyone!
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I am currently teaching the instruments of the orchestra in a couple of my general music classes. I find myself wanting to say, "this is one of my favorites!", with every instrument I introduce, and if there were enough hours in the day and years in my life, I'd probably try to play all of them! I love almost every instrument, both orchestral and not, when they are played well. However...there is one instrument which I hate! The bagpipes... I know that I shouldn't say I "hate" anything, but I do...I truly do! And unfortunately, as I sit here writing, I am listening to not one player but NINE!!! My ears might explode! The instrument's tone quality is completely grating to my ears, and approximately 86.8% of their notes sound out of tune! Now don't get me wrong, these guys are good players! They made those instruments sound as good as they possibly can...unfortunately. But!!!! There were people all over the place with their phones out videoing the bagpipe band's playing, and every time they finished a song the crowd cheered like the President drove by. There are obviously a lot of people who enjoy the bagpipes, and I am very glad for that! What a boring world it would be if everyone loved exactly what I did...no really...it would be a very boring world. So if you like the bagpipes, thank you for your part in the making the world a more diverse place. But I will go on hating them...and I'm okay with that :). Now, I'm going to listen to my awesome, beautiful wife play with the Pensacola Civic Band...now that is music to my ears! Last week I expressed my concern that the way we teach the melody/accompaniment relationship is flawed. Too many seem to think of the melody as "important" and the accompaniment as "unimportant", but that is simply not the case. Today we're going to look at what part of that relationship should look like.
A huge component in the relationship between melody and accompaniment is contrast, and when you find the right balance in that contrast, that's when the magic of music is made. It is this balanced contrast that keeps music interesting and alive, but if we put all of our work and attention on only one side, then the scale is tipped and true potential of the music is missed. There are many areas of contrast between melody and accompaniment that we must learn to take advantage of:
I'm sure there are even more areas of contrast between melody and accompaniment that I'm missing, but this list gives us a good start. Understanding this, gives the accompaniment a much greater role in the creative process and gives us an opportunity to make our music even more beautiful and captivating. Next time we will look at areas in which the melody and accompaniment should complement each other. Scales. Let me be completely honest. I hate playing them. I always have, and I probably always will. I love the theory side of them, and you ask any scale of me, in any form, and I could spell it out for you as easily as 1, 2, 3. But if you ask me to play them...meh. If you already think that you are going to completely disagree with this post, keep reading to the end, and I may just surprise you.
I have found there are basically two camps in the music teaching world (especially among pianists). One side says that scales are an absolutely essential part of any musical education, they must be learned in every form, and should be maintained throughout a players life. The other says that, while they can be useful to learn the notes in each key signature, they are basically a waste of time. My wife and I represent this dichotomy well. She falls under the first camp, and I fall under the latter. Of course, this is largely based on how we were taught growing up. She received a very thorough training of scales while she was in lessons and participated in many events where she was required to show her competency. As a young player, I learned my basic two octave major scales, but I never studied minor scales (GASP!!!!!). In college my professors were in the "scales are a waste of time" camp, so once again I never spent much times learning them. How could anyone believe that scales are a waste of time? Of course, no time spent on the keyboard could be called worthless, but there are some things that are more valuable than other. Those of us who are not quite sold on the value of scales have not chosen this stance simply because we hate playing scales. There are several reasons we feel that the time spent teaching scales in all their forms could be better spent elsewhere, but it all basically comes down to the fact that you rarely, if ever, see scales (the way we teach them) in the actual music you play everyday. When is the last time you saw a 4 octave parallel motion scale in your music? One octave? Sure. Two octaves? One direction maybe, but I doubt up and down. Three or four octaves? Ha! Scales rarely appear in their complete, basic form in music. What may start as an A major scale may end with a four or five note chromatic run. During a piece of music, scales often change direction once or more than once in the "middle" of the scale, creating dramatically different fingering patterns, especially is there are any skips involved. Scales very often start on a note other than the tonic or third of that scale. On the other hand, scales can be great for reenforcing key signatures, promoting facility, and balancing hand strength. I believe that they have their place in a pianist's education, but, in my opinion, that place is not the high and mighty pedestal where they have been placed. However... I do not have popular opinion on my side. Almost all student activities/contests/assessments have heavy scale requirements, and most universities have them on their undergraduate and graduate audition lists. My lack of training in scales came back to bite me just this weekend. I was at an audition, and part of this audition was four octave scales. Just my luck, I was asked to play the C# minor scales. I bombed. I couldn't get up and down fluently to save my life. Fortunately, my actually piano pieces and my sight reading saved me and I passed the audition. However, it was an extremely embarrassing event for me which I will never repeat again. Therefore, while I may not agree with the level of importance placed on scales by the piano community, I am going to become fluent in my scales and I am going to teach all of my students to be fluent in their scales. I want them to approach each piano performance in their life confidently and have no reason to be embarrassed when they walk of a stage. What are your thoughts on scale study? Vital or necessary evil? *Note: My position of this is completely opposite when it comes to stringed instruments. All string players MUST be fluent in their scales and practice them regularly for the rest of their playing lives. I'll try to write a post on why my standard is different for string players at another time. I LOVE the Pensacola Music Teacher's Association! I know I may seem a little biased since I am a board member, but joining was one of the best decisions I've made as a music teacher. I've been asked what I feel the benefits of joining are so many times that I've decided to start a series of posts on the topic. I hope you enjoy reading this, and, if you are a music teacher, I hope you will consider finding a similar organization where you are. If you are in Pensacola, we would love for you to join us!
Besides a few sickeningly well rounded people, I think most music teachers have experienced the feeling of being a misfit at one time or another. It is so important to spend time with people who understand you and share similar passions. This is the kind of community that I have found in the PMTA. There are so many practical, business advantages that come with joining the PMTA, but I have found the greatest treasure to be the people. I am constantly being challenged by and learning so much from my colleagues and have made some of my closest friends. Wednesday, the day after the terrible flooding, we got the following email from Kerri Turner, our PMTA President: Dear PMTA Members, I hope that you fared well during the storms last night. However, if you or someone you know needs help, please let us know.We are here not only as colleagues but as friends and neighbors. Blessings to you all Fortunately, as far as I know, none of our members suffered extreme damage. But it warmed my heart to know that if anyone had responded needing help, that they would have found it from us. That's what family does. Many teachers are apprehensive about joining associations like ours because of the yearly dues that come with membership (which are not exorbitant, IMHO). However, I honestly believe that it is worth the money just for the relationships you will make alone. I could not imagine trying to do what I do without my musical family to lean on! Chances are you've already heard about the terrible flooding that hit here in Pensacola late Tuesday night. If not, you can read about it here. Thankfully, my wife and I both had an unusual Tuesday evening at home. One or both of us are normally at rehearsal at Tuesday nights and likely would have been stuck wherever we were or stuck in our car somewhere along the road after trying to get home. We also were fortunate enough to have no damage to our home or property. However, many were not so fortunate. Our church, Olive Baptist, runs a School of Performing Arts where both my wife and myself teach quite a few students. We were saddened to find out that the church suffered from significant flooding, and the music suite received some of the worst of it. Yesterday morning, we went over to see how bad it was and to help start the clean up process. Fortunately, none of the pianos were damaged, but we have had to cancel lessons for the rest of the week to try and repair the flood's to the building. We also have had to cancel our big spring recital that was supposed to be this Saturday. I was also deeply saddened to find out that one of my students and his family lost everything they had in the flood. Their entire subdivision was under water, with most families fleeing to their attics and waiting for boats to come rescue them. Unfortunately, I'm sure we'll be hearing more and more stories like this over the next couple of days. Even in the midst of this tragedy, I'm ashamed at how easy it is to get upset over little things. We had an ice storm earlier this year that already gave most music teachers in our area more makeup lessons than they could handle, and now we are looking a lot more right at the end of the school year. It is also really disappointing to have to cancel a recital for which you and your students have worked so hard. But each time I look at a picture like the ones above, I remember how blessed I am to be alive and to have my family and home safe. My wife and I often laugh at how one-dimensional I can be. I work, eat, and breath music. There isn't much else to me. At times, I think this distorts my view of the world around me. This storm has helped me see my minor inconveniences and disappointments in a healthier perspective. Instead of complaining, I will thank God for his protection and blessings and I will work in whatever way I can to help those who are in need. "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him." - Psalm 28:7 |
Victor AndzulisChrist Follower, Husband, Classical Musician, Professor, Collaborative Pianist, and Violist in Williamsburg, KY. Archives
September 2016
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