American Music Teacher articles from April 2006

American Music Teacher archives from April 2006

MTNA membership: priceless.(Music Teachers National Association)
April 1, 2006... When I began my teaching career 37 years ago as a very young professional right out of college, my department chair advised me that it was important to join MTNA, a respected professional organization. Wanting to start off on the right foot, I...

Piano duet: a new MTNA competition.(Music Teachers National Association)(Column)
April 1, 2006... The MTNA Board of Directors recently, unanimously and enthusiastically passed a motion to create a new competition category for the senior level: Piano Duet, one-piano/four hands. The Board's support of this new competition is to encourage...

NAMM joined in effort to support music education.(International Music Products Association)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The International Music Products Association's (NAMM) music advocacy initiative, SupportMusic.com, has recently added new partners to its effort to strengthen music programs in schools across the country. Five organizations--Roland, Casio Inc.,...

Yamaha Band & Orchestral Division launches podcasts.(Items of Interest)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral (B&O) Division, has launched a bi-weekly updated podcast. Unlike traditional radio broadcasts that happen on a set schedule, or Internet streams that you can't hear without being tied to your...

Midisoft seeks participants for education pilot program.
April 1, 2006... Midisoft Corp., has launched an education pilot program to donate music technology curriculum suites to schools and organizations to help music students of under-funded schools and at-risk youth. Midisoft's Quickstart Music series, a music...

American Orff-Schulwerk Association national conference.
April 1, 2006... The American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) will sponsor a research poster session to disseminate the results of innovative and thorough research at its 2006 AOSA National Conference to be held in Omaha, Nebraska, November 8-11. Research...

Oberlin College receives $5 million for jazz facility.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Oberlin College will construct a new facility for its jazz studies program with a $5 million gift from Stewart and Donna Kohl of Cleveland, Ohio. The Oberlin College Conservatory of Music incorporated jazz into its curriculum in 1972 and...

Taylor receives CMA's highest honor.(Billy Taylor, Richard J. Bogomolny National Service award, Chamber Music America)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Pianist and educator Billy Taylor was presented with the 2005 Richard J. Bogomolny National Service award by Chamber Music America (CMA). CMA presents this award, its highest honor, each year to an exceptional individual or ensemble that has...

Argento receives 2006 World of Song Award.(Dominick Argento)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... American composer Dominick Argento is the recipient of the 2006 World of Song Award. Presented annually by the Lotte Lehmann Foundation, the award alternates among composers, singers and collaborative pianists. It serves to raise public...

Casio introduces new Privia Digital Piano.(Music Merchandise)
April 1, 2006... Casio, Inc., 570 Mr. Pleasant Ave., Dover, NJ 07801; (800) 836-8580; www.casio.com. Casio recently unveiled its newest Privia Digital Piano. The PX-700 blends the lightweight, compact nature of a Privia Digital Piano with the traditional...

Meisel develops synthetic violin peg system.(Meisel Stringed Instruments)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Meisel Stringed Instruments, P.O. Box 90, Springfield, NJ, 07081; (973) 379-5000; info@meiselmusic.com; www.meiselmusic.com; $75. Violin and viola players can equip their instruments with a synthetic peg system that's durable and easy to...

New talent website launched.(Music Merchandise)
April 1, 2006... www.YouDontKnowMeYet.com; $29.95 per year. A new website aspiring to be the world's largest search engine for talent is now online. The site, www.YDKMY.com, allows musical artists of all types to showcase their arts and talents. For...

Former MTNA Executive Secretary Udell dies.(Budd Udell, Music Teachers National Association)(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Budd Udell, Executive Secretary of MTNA from 1974 to 1977, and well-known university music professor, died February 3, 2006, of complications from pulmonary fibrosis. He was 71. Udell was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through the years,...

Constance Keene.(Passages)(Obituary)
April 1, 2006... Constance Keene, one of the world's leading concert pianists and distinguished piano teachers, died December 24, 2005, at age 84. Keene had taught at the Manhattan School of Music since 1969 and was also on the school's Board of Trustees. ...

5 minutes with ... David Darling.(Music for People)(Interview)
April 1, 2006... Grammy-nominated artist, David Darling, is a multi-faceted cellist who co-founded Music for People, a non-profit educational network that promotes music improvisation as a means of creative self-expression. His dedication to arts-in-education...

Rediscovering classical keyboard style.
April 1, 2006... How was 18th-century keyboard music played? We will never fully know because we have no recordings from that time. There are, however, two available paths toward rediscovering classical style: one is to play the keyboard instruments that...

The conceptualization of a faculty-student performing ensemble.
April 1, 2006... The idea of pairing musicians of varying performance abilities and intellectual maturity in an ensemble might seem to be a strange idea. In normal circumstances, musicians tend to team up with others who have similar musical training,...

Musicians in novels: good reading for teachers and students.
April 1, 2006... When I mentioned to my colleague, Judy Solomon, that I was compiling a reference book of novels in which musicians are the main characters, she gave me a copy of an article entitled "Music and Fiction," written by Christopher Brennan for the...

Helping hands.(concerts)
April 1, 2006... One day, two years ago, buoyed by the thought of a few successful performances at retirement homes, I applied for a grant to do community outreach performances with my piano studio at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My proposal, like most...

Hurricane Katrina: teachers helping teachers.
April 1, 2006... It's been more than seven months since the eye of Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005. That day, for residents in the affected areas, marked the end of the lives they had known and the beginning of a very uncertain future. With...

New legal services benefit for MTNA members.(National Association News)(Music Teachers National Association )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... An exciting new benefit of MTNA membership will begin on July 1. MTNA will provide legal consultation services exclusively for our members. The service will be provided at no cost as a benefit of membership. The legal services will be...

MTNA partners with Fisher-Price to advance the value of music education.(National Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)(Can Play Piano)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... For 130 years, MTNA has advanced the value of music study and music making to society. To continue that advancement, MTNA recently partnered with Fisher-Price to include information about music study in the toymaker's new product, / Can Play...

Piano Technicians Guild Auxiliary funds scholarships for MTNA competition winners.(National Association News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The Piano Technicians Guild Auxiliary recently awarded two $500 scholarships to the junior and senior MTNA Piano Competition winners from the New York State MTA. The junior winner Allen Yu, of Cohoes, New York, is a student of Young Kim. The...

Online communities.(National Association News)(Music Teachers National Association)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Do you have a question for your fellow music teachers but don't have another local association meeting until next month? Did you know that MTNA's Online Communities give you access to the expertise of MTNA members and non-members alike from...

Save the date.(National Association News)
April 1, 2006... The ninth annual National Summit for MTNA Leadership will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 15-17, 2006. MTNA President Paul Stewart invites members of the MTNA Board of Directors, division directors, division directors-elect, those...

2006 summer state conference/convention dates (as of January 31, 2006).(National Association News)
April 1, 2006... 2006 Summer State Conference/Convention Dates (As of January 37, 2006) State Date Location City Alabama June 8-10 Mountain Brook Baptist Birmingham ...

MTNA exhibits at NAMM.(National Association News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... As part of MTNA's partnership with SupportMusic.com, the association exhibited at the 2006 winter show of NAMM, the International Music Products Association in Anaheim, California. MTNA shared booth space with other SupportMusic.com...

Membership dues.(National Association News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Membership dues for the 2006-2007 year have been determined. Annual active member dues will be $59; seniors age 70 and over receive a 25 percent discount off the national active member price. In accordance with MTNA policy passed by the...

Foundation Fund.(Music Teachers National Association)
April 1, 2006... This list includes individuals, associations, organizations and corporations who contributed $25 or more to the MTNA FOUNDATION FUND the period of January 1-December 31, 2005. * Deceased Founders Society Platinum Circle $10,000 or...

Professional certification.(Sylvia Coats, Music Teachers National Association)(Interview)
April 1, 2006... On March 29, 2006, Sylvia Coats, NCTM, became the new MTNA Certification Chair, succeeding Pat Tuley, NCTM. AMT presents this interview with your new Certification Chair. How does it feel to be MTNA's new chair? I am deeply honored...

Polyphony: empathy and technical development.(Professional Resources)(Column)
April 1, 2006... This month's column addresses two very different aspects in teaching. The first portion of this column centers on the development of empathy as a necessary component of great teachers, while the second pan focuses on the teaching of technique...

Random access: should music making be fun?(Professional Resources)
April 1, 2006... I ask these questions seriously: should music making be fun? What is your experience when you perform? How about your students' experience? Personally, I think performing is a blast. For me, that blast consists of a complex set of...

It's all your business: professional conferences and organizations.(Professional Resources)
April 1, 2006... Other than my academic degrees, nothing has shaped me more as a teacher, performer and professional musician than the many professional conferences I have attended, along with my longstanding membership in professional organizations. Since...

Music advocacy: what counts is the seed.(Forum Focus: Arts Awareness and Advocacy)
April 1, 2006... Can you imagine a world without music and the arts? Of course not! Why not? Perhaps, because you and 1 have had the luxury of involvement in music for most of our lives. We almost take it for granted--music will always be there. We take it as a...

Things I wish I'd known when I started my piano studio: "hat advice".(Forum Focus: Collegiate Chapters)
April 1, 2006... During her 40-year career as a music teacher, Jan Mouser, NCTM, has found that there is more to being an independent music teacher than just teaching. To operate a studio, one needs to wear many hats--financial planner, juggler and motivator,...

MTNA member survey results.
April 1, 2006... Who are the members of MTNA and what are the issues facing them? The 2005 MTNA Member Survey was created to answer these very questions. The results not only gave MTNA feedback on what it needed to do to be a better organization, it also...

MTNA corporate members (as of February 1, 2006).(Music Teachers National Association)
April 1, 2006... MTNA thanks the following corporate members for their support: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., www.alfredpub.com Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, www.abrsm.ac.uk/usa Bags Unlimited, www.bagsunlimited.com Brass Bell...

MTNA institutional members:.(as of February 1, 2006)
April 1, 2006... MTNA thanks the following corporate members for their support: Baldwin-Wallace College, www.bw.edu Bazthelmes Conservatory Berry College, www.berry.edu Bowling Green State University, www.bgsu.edu/colleges/music California...

The Tactful Teacher: Effective Communication with Parents, Colleagues, and Administrators.(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] The Tactful Teacher: Effective Communication with Parents, Colleagues, and Administrators, by Yvonne Bender. Nomad Press (2456 Christian St., White River Junction, Vermont 05001), 2005. 134 pp. $16.95. Although Yvonne Bender has...

Choral Music in the Twentieth Century.(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] Choral Music in the Twentieth Century, by Nick Strimple. Amadeus Press, LLC (512 Newark Pompton Plains Tpke., Pompton Plains, NJ 07444), 2005. 389pp. $18.95. Nick Strimple's Choral Music in the Twentieth Century is a scholarly...

Exploring Haydn: A Listener's Guide to Music's Boldest Innovator (w/Two Full-length Naxos CDs).(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] Exploring Haydn: A Listener's Guide to Music's Boldest Innovator (w/Two Full-length Naxos CDs), by David Hurwitz. Amadeus Press, LLC (512 Newark Pompton Plains Tke., Pompton Plains, NJ 07444), 2005. 256 pp. $27.95. Exploring...

Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia (w/CD accompaniment).(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia (w/CD accompaniment), by Bil Carpente. Backbeat Books, (600 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107), 2005. 515 pp., $24.95. There is something about gospel music that speaks to the soul....

Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction.(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction, by Robert Duke. Learning and Behavior Resources, (1401 The High Rd., Austin, Texas 78746), 2005. 176 pp. Reading Robert Duke's newly published...

Chopin Preludes (w/CD).(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] Chopin Preludes (w/CD), edited by Brian Ganz. Hal Leonard Corp., (7777 W. Bluemound Rd., P.O. Box 1381R Milwaukee, WI 53213), 2005. 96 pp. $12.95.a This new edition of Chopin Preludes is worth exploring, even by those of us with...

Heller Selected Studies, Opus 45 and Opus 46 (w/CD).(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] Heller Selected Studies, Opus 45 and Opus 46 (w/CD), edited by William Westney. Hal Leonard Corp., (7777 W. Bluemound Rd., P.O. Box 13819, Milwaukee, WI 53213), 2005, 62 pp. $12.95. This new collection, one of Hal Leonard's...

Cloud Gazing, Level Three.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2006... Cloud Gazing, Level Three, by Lisa Bastien. Neil A. Kjos Music Co., (4,380 Jutland Dr., San Diego, CA 92117), 2005. 4 pp. $2.95. Cloud Gazing is a lovely, "Disneyesque" early-intermediate piano solo. The melody in the A section is mostly...

30 Easy Piano Studies in Classical, Jazz and Popular Styles.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2006... 30 Easy Piano Studies in Classical, Jazz and Popular Styles, by Mike Cornich. Theodore Presser Co., (588 N. Gulph Rd., King of Prussia, PA 19406), 2005. 47 pp. Elementary to intermediate. It's difficult to find supplementary material that...

The Christopher Norton Latin Preludes Collection (w/CD).(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] The Christopher Norton Latin Preludes Collection (w/CD), by Christopher Norton. Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd./Hal Leonard Corp., (7777 W. Bluemound Rd., P.O. Box 13819, Milwaukee, WI 53213), 2005. 46 pp. Four years ago, I...

Sonata: For Piccolo and Piano.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2006... Sonata: For Piccolo and Piano, by Gary Schocker. Theodore Presser Co., (588 N. Gulph Rd., King of Prussia, PA 19406), 2005. Piccolo and Piano: 20 pp; Piccolo: 8 pp. $18. 95. Zart Dombourian-Eby, a highly regarded piccoloist and flutist,...

Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer (w/CD).(Book review)
April 1, 2006... [website] Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer (w/CD), by Anne Peckham. Berklee Press (1140 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02215), 2006. 117 pp. $24.95. As a modern day voice teacher, it is impossible to ignore the lesson requests coming...

I Read Music 1.0, (2 CD-Rom set).(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2006... I Read Music 1.0, (2 CD-Rom set). Midisoft Music Software (24325 Crenshaw Blvd., 108, Los Angeles, CA 90505). $35. Beginning and intermediate. I Read Music 1.0 offers theory drills in a game-like atmosphere. It comes with a bonus CD, Music...

The Golandsky Institute Discovery Series: the Art of Rhythmic Expression (3-Part DVD).(Video recording review)
April 1, 2006... The Golandsky Institute Discovery Series: The Art of Rhythmic Expression (3-Part DVD), The Golandsky Institute (Park West Finance Station, P.O. Box 20726, New York, NY 10025). "At the beginning, there was rhythm"--Edna Golandsky This...

Leadership.(Music Teachers National Association)(Directory)
April 1, 2006... Paul Stewart, NCTM President University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music Greensboro, NC 27402-6167 Work (336) 334-5380 Fax (336) 334-5497 pbstewar@uncg.edu Gall Berenson, NCTM President-elect...

Repertoire in reverse.(music education)(Column)
April 1, 2006... In high school, forbidden stacks of pop sheet music bulged my creaking piano bench. I hid them there, sitting on a gold mine of pleasure. Hanon, Bach, Schumann paled next to REO Speedwagon and Bon Jovi, with air time only after weekday practice...