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(Scroll down to October’s Child, and there you’ll see the interview with Principal clarinetist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Joaquin Valdepenas.) Check out what he says about learning other instruments near the end of the interview.
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I am offering $25 iTunes gift cards to the next 5 people to sign up for lessons with her. Min. $100/month package, until November 15, 2009.
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Just thought I’d share some hints for the Royal Conservatory of Music/National Music Certificate Program for the harmony exams, as I picked up from my theory teacher.
1) Figure out your cadences first.
2) In chorales, do 1) first, and then figure out the basic I-IV-V-I progression
3) Use the filler chords (especially vi, but I^6 and dim 7th chords according to the rules.)
4) Move the alto and tenor as little as possible, staying on the same note or a neighbour note if possible.
5) Spell out your chords, and circle the third. The third is only doubled in a 7th chord, never in others.
6) Double the root when chords are in root positions, otherwise, double the fifth. (except in a 7th chord)
7) Memorize the different types of non-chord tones. Mark Sarcknecki’s Harmony, Book 1 has a chart of them.
Memorize the chord patterns that are sequences.
9) Don’t be afraid to use passing notes to avoid a parallel 5th or 8ve.
10) Use oblique and opposite-direction part writing, this will avoid most disallowed parallels.
11) If the soprano part gets lower than about a first line E, move the next soprano note upward if possible.
12) Figure out your bass line first, then your soprano, then alto and finally the tenor part.
If you have any more hints for harmony exams, please share them and I’ll add them here.
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Well, it’s one of those nights when I couldn’t sleep, I figure I should probably write on my blog…
More on sports and music…
Another advantage music has over sports is the much lower potential for injury, especially serious injury…I’ve heard of a number of students who got injured seriously from athletics which meant they could not do athletics for the rest of their life, while even in cases when a musician develops an injury (and some musicians do not) they can usually continue making music. Music is for life, most people don’t do athletics after high school or college, yet I know many musicians in their 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond who are still active musicians, some even taking lessons themselves.
The misinformation some teachers give in lessons…
I have heard of a number of stories of students associating the bass clef with the left hand, and the treble clef with the right hand. However, such students often have trouble when both hands are written in the bass clef, or, more commonly, especially in duet repertoire, both hands written in the treble clef. Another problem related to clefs and music reading is the notes placed on the staff: some method books say that the notes below middle C are on the bass staff, and notes above middle C are on the treble staff. This causes problems when students see treble clef notes written in bass clef (Stephen Heller’s Fluttering Leaves is an example), or in music written for other instruments, that read treble clef notes below middle C (such as the clarinet) and bass clef notes above middle C (several bass clef instruments).
An idea on how to help students who like to play fast all the time:
Record them playing a piece beautifully in slow motion, perhaps with audio recording software, and then speed up the recording to an appropriate final temp. Also have them record it playing fast but sloppy.
On parents asking for advice with purchasing an instrument…
I love it when my students ask for advice on an instrument…especially my clarinet students, but with the teacher helping them pick out an instrument, they can get one that plays well that fits their needs and budget. Sometimes the teacher gets a commission, but in most cases they do not.
Writing in your music…
I write a fair bit on my music, I use the markings as places to focus carefully on what I am doing; this is essential when you are reading music with weird figurations for easy chords (Debussy comes to mind) or marking a particular fingering (especially when a passage requires an alternate fingering) or accidental I miss.
Congratulations…
To the student I chose for a scholarship/barter arrangement. After carefully interviewing her, she definitely was the type of person who definitely needed the scholarship to further her musical studies!
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On older versus newer class method books for school music programs:
I really like the older ones much better, mainly because most of the newer books have only an excerpt of a tune. I also don’t like the CDs and DVDs included with some of them, a lot of them have an average to mediocre sound.
On students and parents asking potential teachers to perform for them…
Teachers should have a few pieces they can play on short notice and maintain. I notice that many good voice teachers are also excellent performers, same with most other instruments–except piano! Teachers should regularly play along with their students, especially their beginners and intermediate students, particularly duets.
Teaching students how to compose…
I let them record what they made up in my audio recording program, teach them ways on modifying it (playing it backwards, upside-down, creating varations, creating a canon), show them some harmonization techniques, usually single notes for the earlier beginners, and chords and inversions for the more advanced ones. I teach them about melodic sequences too, some of my students have created some very nice compositions. I’ve shown some of my students (usually 8 and up) how to transcribe their pieces into notation, and my computer ear training program has a component where they have to translate the rhythm they hear into a written rhythm. Does wonders for them learning to locate where the notes are on the staff, especially the piano students.
A few ways I help students understand rhythm…
I will often have students tap out rhythms they are struggling with on a rhythm instrument, sometimes having them tap the rhythm while I play, reverse the roles, together, and finally with them on their own. But sometimes word cues work, for the dotted quarter, eighth, quarter quarter rhythm, I find a lot of students find the word cue of “deck the halls with” helps in playing it. A couple of my students like the terms the Fabers use for combination quarter and eighth notes, using walk for quarter notes, and running for eighth notes.
On using easy versions of favourite pieces versus pedagogical repertoire…
Though I hate the overly simplified versions available of many pieces (if I have to use one, I’ll let them play the correct rhythm, not the simplified one), I prefer to familiarize students with the great themes from the masters as opposed to the pedagogical repertoire out there, especially for piano. The Fabers publish a fabulous Pretime to Bigtime series for beginners to intermediate students, which a lot of students are inspired by. Sometimes I’ll create arrangements of the themes students enjoy if I can’t find one, such as one early intermediate student loving (and sometimes dancing to) the Chopin Revolutionary Etude which is on his digital piano. I wrote out a version where he plays the main theme, and an advanced pianist plays the accompaniment. After all the learning repertoire of most other instruments is easy classical themes and folk tunes.
Why I think it’s important for students to perform in front of an audience…
It’s important for the advanced students to inspire the beginners, the beginners to gain confidence performing even really easy pieces, and for the advanced students to see how far they have progressed.
Detecting vision problems with music students…
Check if they have difficulty with sight-reading very easy stuff after about 3-6 months. And sometimes music for other instruments is printed quite small, even the clarinet method I use with most beginning students I think is too small, and sometimes I will copy the pages slightly larger. Also paper colour may make a difference.
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Tips on finding money to pay for lessons:
Make sacrifices in order to afford lessons. Cable and internet can cost a fair chunk of change, if you can live without out (believe me, you get used to it pretty quickly) upi could have the money for a couple of lessons a month. Sell any recent model video games systems you have, and even the games. Bring your lunch to school and/or work, instead of eating out. Switch to a cheaper cellphone plan, like most prepaids are less expensive than monthly. Cut down or eliminate movie rentals from the video store.
Apply for a scholarship. You could have a well-off friend or relative sponsor you for lessons. See what’s available through the school, the professional musician’s association, the government, or independent organizations such as Musiclink.
Offer to help the teacher in exchange for lessons. There are a lot of things that go into running a music business, there are some tasks I would love to have an assistant for, like post flyers, mailbox delivery, do mailings, work as a page turner.
On teachers who only offer a quarterly, semester, or yearly option…
Some of us take lessons on more than one musical instrument, and I currently take three sets of lessons. It’s much easier for people who take multiple sets of lessons to pay month in advance (say at an average $150/month per subject) than it is to find $1000+ every 3-6 months. No way would I be paying for lessons a semester at a time if more than one teacher asked that.
It would also be challenging for most families with more than one person taking lessons to pay by the quarter, semester, or yearly.
More on money and music lessons…
Teachers should be open to the choice of payment students prefer. I personally prefer cash, though I don’t make it mandatory, as I know some people like to keep track of their expenses. I also don’t approve of teachers who ask for a semester’s or year’s worth of post-dated cheques, that is in several parts of North America, illegal.
On teacher’s leave of absence policies…
Some teachers say that a student is not allowed to return to a teacher’s studio after they leave. Personally I think this is not a good idea. I know I’ve had to stop my own lessons for months or years, not because I wanted to, but because I couldn’t afford to pay for them even monthly. And I’ve had some students come back, because they were attending school out of town, often after a break they were ready to work again, or become much more appreciative of what I offer and how I teach after getting instruction from another teacher and eventually realizing they had it much better with me, in terms of results and offerings. But study continously with a teacher for at least 6 months so you can see the fruits of their efforts.
Dumb reasons to leave a teacher:
Wanting a closer teacher. Wanting a cheaper teacher. If you had a really good teacher in the first place, often you will have at least two or three not so good teachers before either quitting or rarely, going back to the original teacher.
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On teaching by rote…
There is a place for it, after all, music is an aural art. Especially in helping students associate the sound of the rhythm with the notation. Best to connect sight and sound in music.
On why some students have trouble learning written notation…or their sight-reading declines significantly over a period of time
Music students with difficulties should be assessed at least for visual problems, especially tracking issues. But other signs of trouble include having to put the music very close to the eyes or a significant downturn of sight-reading ability, especially in a student that is normally a good sight reader. Sometimes using music books that are printed slightly larger or have better spacing can improve the progress of some students with visual problems.
The work teachers do outside of lessons…
The last couple of days I have been doing a lot of work. Doing my advanced theory assignments (which takes a few hours a day over the course of a week), taking three sets of lessons, teaching, creating posters for two upcoming concerts (my student concert and my professional concert), practicing two instruments, practicing my ear training, setting up the ear training program for student use, finalizing the details of a “music bucks” incentive program (which by the way is a hit, contact me to learn more about it.), creating new ads, submitting concert listings, trying to find someone who wants to work for me in exchange for lessons…and yet I am shocked that so many teachers don’t set respectable fees.
Why I still prefer CDs over downloading mp3s…
The sound is cleaner, they’re much more likely to be recorded by professionals, and I like reading the liner notes that come with many CDs, at least two or three times liner notes have been helpful in writing about particular pieces.
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Over the years of taking lessons, and being a a teacher myself, I have thought about the ways students have made music teachers feel appreciated, even though rudeness towards music teachers, and to other people generally are prevalent in modern Western societies.
An easy way to make the teacher feel appreciated is by giving them a little extra for their efforts. Especially if it is say within a month after a student has done extremely well on an exam, competition or audition.
Give them more than they might expect from students. At least give them an extra 1/2 months of lesson fees at Christmas if possible. A three of my student’s families give me at least $100 extra (or a gift worth that amount), and I tell you, I go out of my way to help them a little more than I typically do.
Another way is by having students make pictures. Several students I have and have had have drawn pictures related to our lessons, and I have kept them.
A third way is to take out your teacher for lunch or dinner once or twice a year.
Bring them some baked goods from their favourite bakery or cafe. (Three times last year I brought my piano teacher something from Tim Horton’s (which is one of his favourite places to eat out)
Give them a gift for their birthday.
Give them a gift just because you appreciate all the effort.
Compose a piece of music based on what you have learned in your studies (I did this with my piano teacher, and I’m currently doing this with my advanced theory teacher. Planning to write something for my clarinet teacher.)
Write an article or essay based on their teachings.
Write a thank you card for a teacher doing something that few teachers do. Like writing custom arrangements for a student or ensemble, and especially if they wrote a composition.
Give them a travel gift card. Teachers may or want to get out of town for a few days.
Get them a CD of music that they don’t have.
Get them the sheet music of a piece or book they want.
Do an exchange of services, especially if your business is a high-value one. I would gladly trade lessons for someone to clean my apartment every couple of weeks, drive around and put up my advertising materials in various neighbourhoods and music stores, or web design services. I’d also consider someone who wanted to make my advertising materials look really professional, or pay to get them printed on good quality paper.
Always pay on time, even a bit early if possible. And if you have to pay late, give them at least 10% extra for the delay.
Attend at least 1 performance that they do per year, those that they do with their professional ensemble for example.
These are just some ways I, or other teachers I know have been made to feel appreciated for their efforts.
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Notes on how people used to find a music teacher…
It’s amazing how it used to be that if you liked the way a musician plays in a performance, and you were interested in learning how to play yourself, you would ask if they taught. Now many people seem to pick a teacher from an ad, not knowing how well they or their students play. People rarely seem to attend concerts anymore.
Another benefit of learning a second instrument besides piano…
Students learn to not hesitate on the difficult parts, because they are a member of an ensemble. You can’t hesistate on a difficult section because of difficulties you’re having with your part.
Thoughts on parents teaching their kids how to play an instrument…
In most cases, it’s probably best to have someone outside the household. Unless the parent has achieved a very high level of playing, the instrument is one the teacher knows extremely well, and the child is generally cooperative.
On page turners…
The person should be able to read music well, at least to an early advanced level. That way they can follow the music and understand where the page turns are.
Benefits of connecting with other teachers…
Some teachers accuse other teachers of poaching or stealing their students. I think private teachers, especially piano teachers with teachers of other instruments should be a lot more cooperative, because there may come a day when teachers might need to temporarily or permanently transfer a student to a different teacher, perhaps because the main teacher is overloaded with students. Sometimes it’s good to discuss ideas with other teachers, like one piano teacher I know has her students use a ruler for their music theory assignments, something which I had not thought of. Or those teachers of other instruments may need a pianist, or have students who might want to be part of an ensemble. Often two (or more) heads are better than one!
More benefits of taking lessons with a good teacher…
Students can receive extra marks in school. And you want the kids to really sound good, right? Plus if a student is interested in auditions and competitions, a good teacher will help choose pieces that shows off individual student’s strengths that the student can learn to play comfortably. A good teacher can provide ensemble opportunities with other students who play well.
On treating all music students as if they may become professionals one day:
There is nothing wrong with it, because one never knows who may decide to pursue music as a career. And music is more fun when you can play an instrument well. Plus advanced studies on an instrument or two is often beneficial to applying for scientific and business programs, because it shows commitment and the ability to plan ahead to work towards goals.
On making kids learn to play an instrument…
I think most if not all kids should be made to learn to play an instrument. There is nothing wrong with making kids take, say, piano lessons. Since piano is the basis of music theory, and a growing number of students are teaching students music theory, the students who don’t understand the piano keyboard usually have a hard time with music theory.
An observation about classical music listeners and car stereos…
Has anyone noticed that people who listen to classical music (and often jazz) rarely if ever turn up their stereos so that everyone can hear them?
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