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Cartoon Character Contest: People’s Choice Award

Wendy — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:00:19 +0000

Thank you all for voting in our Cartoon Character Contest! Each of the students received at least 1 vote, so I know that they will enjoy reading what you have written about their creativity.

For this picture, the “People’s Choice Award” was:

Sarah (Entry #4)

Here is her motive for this picture: Entry 4

A close second was Nicole Entry 3.

For this picture, the “People’s Choice Award” was:

Josh (Entry 7)

Here is his motive for this picture: Entry 7 Talon

Some of my students are still on vacation, so we still don’t have a winner of the “Student’s Choice Award,” but I will announce it when it is final!

Thanks again to all of you students and teachers for your participation!

Preparing for Fall: Highlighter Tape

Wendy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:00:10 +0000

There is one thing that I use in my studio that I think I cannot ever be without: removable highlighter tape! I use this for all ages of students and it is a wonderfully effective tool to draw attention to trouble spots in music. I use it in the following ways:

Highlight missed notes, staccatos, metronome markings, practically anything.
Ask students to place mark their own music with the tape as you discuss the trouble spots.
Ask students to highlight assignments in their journal that they have forgotten.

Here are 2 places that you can purchase removable highlighter tape:

Avid Aviator
Music Educators Marketplace

This is one product that I always make sure I have in stock before I begin the teaching year.

Preparing for Fall: Useful Adjectives for Teaching

Wendy — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:00:05 +0000

I am a firm believer in finding the right word to coax a correct response from my students. It is so easy to fall into a rut in using the same words again and again to describe staccato (“short and jumpy”) or legato (“smooth and connected”). Since our students hear us use the words over and over again, it is easy for their minds to wander as we describe these things in such a rote fashion. Over the years, I have seen several lists of adjectives for teachers and facilitators to use in selecting just the right word for their description. I often take these lists with me if I am judging a festival or other music event so that I don’t keep using the same non-descriptive words over and over again. I have found yet another of these lists on Jason Sifford’s blog. This year, I plan to have this list handy in my own studio.

If you have never visited Jason’s blog, you are missing out! Please visit his site, The Piano Pedagogy Page, and see his list of adjectives in addition to his other wonderful resources.

Fantastic New Games

Wendy — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:00:49 +0000

Wow, I have just discovered another incredible website with fantastic new games! I remember Anne Crosby’s name from her book In My Dreams which I used with a student ever so long ago. Her compositions were delightfully fresh and appealing to my difficult-to-please student.

Well, Anne now has a new website called Piano Discoveries which provides a new online piano method for kids as well as some beautiful, professional looking games and worksheets at no charge. She does provide an easy way to donate if you wish to show your appreciation. I’m sure you’ll be amazed at her creativity. You must run to check out her site!

A few of my favorite games on her site include Leaping Ladybugs for drilling half and whole steps and The Funny Farm Game to review general music concepts.

HT: Ms. Natashia

Revised Manuscript Paper

Wendy — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:00:15 +0000

I just revised several files in the Manuscript Paper section of the website.

It always bothered me that my large print, “6 stave with grand staff” staff paper allowed only 3 measures per line, since so many phrases are in 4 measure increments. It was also curious to me that I called it 6 stave paper when there were really 8 staves on the page. So, I fixed all that and included a little extra room at the top for students to write a title for their piece if they wished.

Of course, there are other options on the page including:
8 stave paper
10 stave paper
10 stave paper with grand staff
12 stave paper
12 stave paper with grand staff

Hope this is helpful!

Preparing for Fall: New Music Stickers

Wendy — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:00:27 +0000

One of the things that I will be using this fall is a new set of stickers from Hal Leonard. I love these stickers because they are all music related and are inexpensive compared to the music stickers you might find at a craft, scrapbooking, or specialty store (96 stickers for only $4.99). Only 1 inch in diameter, they are just the right size for my students’ music or assignment journals.

If you are a member of the Hal Leonard First Choice New Release club, you probably just received these at 40% off (and with no shipping) in your latest packet. If you would like to join the HL First Choice New Release club, visit the First Choice page for more information.

Preparing for Fall

Wendy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:00:43 +0000

I am now on a break from teaching until mid-August when I begin my fall semester. During the next few weeks, I’d like to prepare for fall by doing the following:

Establishing achievable overall goals for my studio.
Organizing my games, resources, music so that I can access and use them easily.
Brainstorm on how to help my students stay organized and be efficient with practice.
Prepare materials for the first lesson in August

I’m sure there are more things things that I need to do, but I’ll be doing well to get these done. So in the next few weeks, I’ll post about some of the new things I’ll be doing for the fall and new materials I’m anxious to use. I’ll also be asking some questions on the ComposeCreate Facebook page about what you are doing to prepare for fall. Please join the discussion there or in the comments section of any post!

Irish Celebration: Clavier Companion Review

Wendy — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:00:50 +0000

In this month’s Clavier Companion (July/August 2010), Susan Geffen has written some very kind things about my Level 1 Irish Celebration piece. In her introductory paragraph, she talks about early level pieces which:

1. Can realistically be accomplished by 4-6 year olds who have limited visual and fine motor skills.

2. Have a clean page layout with minimal distractions,

3. Have colorful artwork that inspires imagination and storytelling,

4. Sound more difficult to play than they really are.

Irish Celebration is one of these early pieces which she thinks fit these criteria. Here is some of what she said:

This solo is an excellent first recital piece for a very early beginner. Written in C position, the right-hand melody moves almost entirely in stepwise progression while the left hand plays only three different notes. In spite of its simplicity, the piece allows the teacher to concentrate on the proper use of dynamics, and it introduces the music markings dal segno, coda, and dal segno al coda. Written in three-quarter time, the piece has a dance-like quality (the artwork suggest an Irish jig), and the teacher accompaniment provides a supportive steady beat in the form of a mostly drone bass…

Read more on page 56 of the July/August 2010 issue of Clavier Companion.

Hal Leonard Offer: 40% off until July 31st

Wendy — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:00:40 +0000

The Hal Leonard 40% off teacher discount has almost expired. You have until July 31st to place your order. When you call, ask for Jody or Andrea and tell them Wendy Stevens says “Hi!” They are part of the very friendly sales staff that I met in Texas! (Of course, you can talk to anyone…but they were great!)Here are the details:

Hal Leonard has just announced its spring special offers for teachers: Order up to two copies of these specially selected music publications at a 40% discount. The special offer includes:

• Hal Leonard Student Piano Library Method Materials
• Adult Piano Method
• Composer Showcase Series
Featuring the music of Phillip Keveren, Carol Klose, Jennifer Linn, Mona Rejino, Christos Tsitsaros, and others
• Willis Music Publications
Featuring the music of John Thompson, William Gillock, Glenda Austin, Eric Baumgartner and others
• Teaching Materials
• Supplementary Music and Much More!

Visit the Spring Savings Catalog page for lists of available titles. If you are on their mailing list, you should be receiving their catalogue in the mail soon. Order online or call the Hal Leonard Teacher VIP line at 1-800-322-1127.

To receive advance notice of these offers from Hal Leonard, join the HL Yahoo group or call 1-800-322-1127 to be added to their mailing list.

Cartoon Motive Contest: It’s a hit!

Wendy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:00:05 +0000

My students have been working on a Cartoon Motive Contest for the past 4 weeks. You may have noticed the beautiful student artwork on these previous posts: Cartoon Character Entries and Cartoon Motive Contest: Winners. I hope these posts have piqued your interest because I am finding that this project has been extraordinarly successful in getting students involved in composing, drawing, creating, notating, and simply in engaging them in a new way in piano lessons!

Yesterday, I posted the musical motives that my students have composed to go with the winning artwork. I will be selecting a “People’s Choice” award for the student who gets the most votes from readers of this blog, so please cast your vote in the comments section of this blog post to help encourage these students!

Here are some details about how we did this project:

Preparing

I first sent out this Letter to Parents explaining the contest and the ways that it could help their children musically. I then gave each student an assignment to draw 2 cartoon characters. I sent them this Cartoon Character Contest Guidelines to get them started.

Choosing the winning motive

At the first group lesson, each student brought 2 cartoon characters that they had drawn along with a short description. At the group lesson, we laid out the entries on a table, and students chose their top 2 favorite cartoon characters. They were instructed to pick the one that they felt would be the best character for which to write music, but they were not allowed to vote for their own character. NOTE: One thing I learned in having the students vote was that 2 characters per student was a bit much. Voting might have been easier if each student had only entered 1 character into the contest.

Composing the Motives

I then asked each student to compose a short motive for each character. At the group lesson, we talked about what motives were, listened to famous motives (Beethoven’s Fifth, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, etc.), and analyzed how composers used their motives throughout their piece. We discussed repetition, inversion, sequencing, etc. We analyzed some easy pieces that each of the student’s had played so that they could easily see as well as hear how the composer turned a small motive into a large piece of music.

Students who had not composed anything before seemed particularly surprised that composing a piece might be easier than they thought given the fact that most of the pieces we studied had only 1 main theme and 1 secondary theme! This opened the door of possibilities for these students and gave them confidence about composing.

In the weeks that followed, students would bring in their composed motives and play them for me. Some students were extremely pleased with their idea, so they were asked to notate them. I assisted them when necessary and I was particularly pleased when I was able to teach new concepts to students while we worked on notation. Requiring them to notate the motive also helped them see how little details like staccatos, legatos, etc. can make a huge difference in the “personality” of the motive.

For students who were not pleased with their motive, I asked them what they did and did not like about it. I will be sharing some examples of these conversations at a later date so that you can see how you might help your own students problem solve and come up with ideas that they like.

Finalizing and Recording the Motives

The week before our last group lesson, I recorded each student’s motive and converted them to mp3 files so that I could post them on this blog. Of course, this step is not absolutely necessary…students could play their own motive at the group lesson in which the best motive is chosen. But recording them allows for some anonymity in voting.

Voting

At the group lesson, I numbered and played each of the pre-recorded motives and students chose their favorite. Again, students were not allowed to vote for their own (students had to write their name at the top so that I could be sure they did not vote for their own). The motive with the most votes won and soon I will be showcasing this motive on the blog for all to hear and see!

Your Assistance Please?

But first…I wanted to not only have a ”Student’s Choice” award, but also a “People’s Choice” award. On Tuesday, I posted each of the motives and now I need your help in voting! Will you please visit the Cartoon Motive Contest Vote and cast your vote for your favorite motive for each picture? Your participation helps encourage my students, other students, and other teachers that their composing efforts are important and exciting for others to see! I appreciate your support in this effort and hope you have fun voting!