Recital Programs Through the Years

The Piano School Spring Recital: Everything You Need to Know

Basic Info

The Spring Recital is on Sunday, June 2, 2013 in Talmadge Recital Hall at Hollins University.  At 2:30, students should go to the front porch of Main Building (the building with rocking chairs outside) to have their individual pictures taken. We will line up for the group picture on the steps of Main at 2:45 and go up to the recital hall in adjacent Bradley Hall just prior to 3:00. The entire program should be over by 4:30. Please enter and exit the hall only during applause.

What to Wear

Students, please dress nicely. Here are a few examples:

      

     

Of course, you should wear what seems right for you, but try to be dressy about it, and consider how your wardrobe might affect your ability to play piano comfortably. If you use pedal in your piece, try your shoes out with pedal at home. You should be able to feel the pedal somewhat through the sole of your shoe, and try to select shoes that won't slip off the pedal. Bracelets should not be worn. Fingernails should be trimmed short.

What to Bring

1. Your recital music
2. Any materials on loan that you need to return.
3. Paper and pen for young children, or a book, or a quiet toy.

Just for Parents

I think all of you are terrific! Just a few reminders:

1. Please escort crying or discontented children from the recital hall.
2. Please settle your account for the semester (see invoice in your email if applicable).
3. Allow your pianist to feel relaxed and unhurried before the recital if possible.

Handicap Access

We have no adequate handicap access at this venue, but here is an option which may help you: There is a back door to the recital hall which will place you behind the stage in the green room. To enter this door, you will need to have someone in your party go through the front entrance, walk onto the stage, and go through the stage door marked "Exit." They will be able to open the back door from inside. The back door is not free of steps (I believe there are 2 or 3 outside), and you will have to walk through an uneven grassy landscape to get to it. You will also need to be prepared to descend three steps from the stage into the audience seating area. I regret that access is so limited, but until Hollins makes improvements (as they have vowed to do), we must make do. Also, the restroom is downstairs. Eek.

Restrooms and Water

Restrooms are available on the ground floor of Bradley in the lobby area (downstairs from the recital hall). A water fountain is located downstairs as well. Go through the double doors and down the hall.

Crying Babies

Please do your best to make sure babies and toddlers do not disrupt the program. Every pianist who performs in the recital will be a bit nervous, and he/she will need to concentrate fully while playing. It is extremely difficult to be alone on stage performing a solo piano piece. (Personally, I find it easier to give a speech.) Let's help these brave musicians perform without disruption, and I'm sure they'll be grateful.

Before you Leave Home

Students should plan to be ready early so they can warm up at home. You will almost certainly play better if you have warmed up in a relaxed fashion at home before coming to Hollins.

Before you Leave the Recital Hall

Do a quick survey of your seating area and make sure you have picked up any programs, awards, music books, or personal items that belong to you. Unwanted programs can be left by the recital hall door. We want to leave the facilities in good shape! Hollins provides us with a discounted rental rate, and we would do well to show our appreciation by leaving things tidy.

Okay, I think that about covers it. If you think of any questions that I have not addressed, do send me an email so I can help. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you Sunday!

The Piano School Charms

Okay, you guys, I've finished creating the charms I was brainstorming before Spring Break, and I'm going to show you how you can earn them. There are eight sets of two (front and back) charms that you may collect in any order. The purpose of this incentive program is to reward you for memorizing your scales. There is a small cost, 25 cents per side, which helps me buy the supplies. Here we go! (Each picture shows the front and back sides of a single charm.)

C Major, G Major, and D Major scales,
memorized and with correct fingering.
One octave gets you The Piano School charm.
Two octaves gets you The Piano School and Piano Kitty.
25 cents per side.
(The Piano School logo is copyrighted by my studio.)

A Major, E Major, and B Major scales,
memorized and with correct fingering.
One octave gets you the Bach charm.
Two octaves gets you Bach and the Organ.
25 cents per side.

F Major, B-flat Major, and E-flat Major scales,
memorized and with correct fingering.
One octave gets you the handsome Beethoven charm.
Two octaves gets you Beethoven and Keep Calm and Practice Scales.
25 cents per side.

A-flat Major, D-flat Major, and G-flat Major scales,
memorized and with correct fingering.
One octave gets you Brahms when he was young and handsome! :)
Two octaves gets you Brahms and Raisin Brahms!
Don't get the reference? Click here.
25 cents per side.

A Minor, E Minor, and B Minor scales
memorized and with correct fingering.
One octave gets you the Bartok charm.
Two octaves gets you Bartok and Piano Puppy.
25 cents per side.

F-sharp Minor, C-sharp Minor, & G-sharp Minor scales,
memorized and with correct fingering.
One octave gets you 11-year-old Josef Hofmann.
(Josef Hofmann was an amazing pianist! More about him here.)
Two octaves gets you Josef Hofmann and Carnegie Hall.
25-cents per side.

D Minor, G Minor, and C Minor scales,
memorized and with correct fingering.
One octave gets you the Chopin charm.
Two octaves gets you Chopin and Music Genius.
25 cents per side.

F Minor, B-flat Minor, and E-flat Minor scales,
memorized and with correct fingering.
One octave gets you the Steinway Concert Grand charm.
Two octaves gets you the Steinway and the Harpsichord.
25 cents per side.

Spring Recital Countdown

COUNTDOWN FOR WEBSITE

Collectible Charms for Scales?

The basic look of the charms I can create

I've been working on a new incentive for students who master certain scales - collectible charms. I create them using a groovy charm maker I bought last year. So what kinds of charms should I create? Composers? Cool-looking pianos? General musical?

And how should they be earned?

Should they cost any money?

And what about boys? Are there any manly ways to use charms?

Here's what I'm thinking right now:

• Each charm would have to be earned with demonstrated mastery (memorization, correct fingering) of something like three scales.
• I don't know if I should separate the scales into groups myself or if I should allow students to select which three they want to do. If any piano teachers are reading this, I'd love to hear your thoughts. It seems like it would be easier to keep track of who has done what if each charm has a corresponding set of three specific scales. That way, students will be encouraged to master some of the tougher scales in order to earn certain special charms.
• I can hear future conversations between students now... "Oh, you have the Carnegie Hall charm! What scales did you have to do for that?" At least I hope to hear things like that.
• If you play these scales one octave, the back of the charm will be blank/empty. If you play them multiple octaves, there would be some sort of extra image on the back of the charm.
• Each charm would cost 50 cents. That would cover the cost of making them (I think), and it's affordable for students.
• Students could choose to wear or display the charms any way they like - on a chain, a bracelet, a hook of some kind, etc... Do you have any additional ideas about this? I'm particularly thinking about the boys and wanting them to dig the idea.

Possible charm ideas:

• Bach (C Major, G Major, and D Major) + 2 or more octaves ("Epic" on back)
• Beethoven (A Major, E Major, and B Major) + 2 or more octaves (Josef Hofmann on back)
• Brahms (F Major, B-flat Major, and E-flat Major) + 2 or more octaves (Diamond on back)
• Bartok (A-flat Major, D-flat Major, G-flat Major) + 2 or more octaves ("Beast" on back) 
• Grand Staff (A Minor, E Minor, B Minor) + 2 or more octaves (Chopin on back)
• Organ (F-sharp Minor, C-sharp Minor, G-sharp Minor) + 2 or more octaves ("Like" on back)
• Harpsichord (D Minor, G Minor, C Minor) + 2 or more octaves ("Ear Candy" on back)
• Grand Piano (F Minor, B-flat Minor, E-flat Minor) + 2 or more octaves (Carnegie Hall on back)

So, anyway, this is what I'm brainstorming. Got any better ideas? Tell me!

Where is the best place to nap during my child's piano lesson?

Here is a brief tutorial on parental napping during piano lessons.

Q: Should I nap during my child's piano lesson?
A: Sure!

Q: Should I nap in your piano studio?
A: No.

Q: Where is a tired parent to nap then?
A: In your car, your home, or perhaps the coffee shop?

Q: Why can't I just catch a few z's in your piano studio?
A: Are you really asking me this?

Q: Yes.
A: Because the studio policy states that parents must not nap in the piano studio. Because sometimes people snore when they nap. Because I don't like it when people sleep a few feet away from me while I am delivering world-class piano instruction. Because when my husband comes home from work and sees men sleeping on his sofa, he feels creepy. Because it's rude. Because I don't come to your workplace and take naps beside you while you're working. Because it undermines your child's study environment. Because it's inappropriate. Because you have to be awakened when it's time to go. Because it's gross. Because I told you up front that I didn't want you to nap in my studio.

Q: Don't you think you're being harsh?
A: Would you rather nap in another piano teacher's studio? Because maybe I can email my colleagues and ask if any of them are good with parental napping in their studios.

Q: Are you mad at me?
A: No. I just don't want you to take your nap in my piano studio.

And this concludes today's tutorial on parental napping during piano lessons.

Don't forget to vote for The Piano School (question 48) in the 2013 Best of Salem poll! Thank you! Here is the link: Best of Salem 2013 Poll

Fun Music Programs for Your iPad: Flashnote Derby and Note Squish

This morning, I did a workshop for our local music teachers' group about using iPads in our music studios. We looked at lots of neat apps, and I'm going to show you two of them here.

Flashnote Derby, $.99

Flashnote Derby

One of my favorite note-reading games is Flashnote Derby. It is a horse race format that is fully customizable to any reading level. If a student is just learning his/her first notes, you can limit the scope of the questions to just those few. If you have an advanced student who needs more of a challenge, you can adjust the settings to include note reading above and below each staff with several ledger lines.

In the screenshot above, you can see that some notes are yellow and some are black. The yellow notes are the ones that you have selected for drill in the student's game. I use this app with as little as two notes for my earliest readers, and it really seems to help them remember what they are learning in their method books.

Note Squish, $.99

Note Squish for iPhone/iPad

Note Squish is another note-reading game that many students love. It is actually an iPhone app, but you can easily use it on an iPad and enlarge the image size to fit. It is basically a musical version of the old arcade game, Whac-a-Mole. The object is to name the displayed note as fast as you can by tapping on the critter that has the correct note atop his head. You can get bonus points by also tapping the worms and rabbits that pop up through the mole holes.

Like Flashnote Derby, Note Squish is fully customizable to suit your student's reading level. You can limit the scope to as few as two notes on one staff or expand it to include all of the notes on both staves, reaching out to ledger lines above and below as well.

Note Squish settings

Each of these games costs 99 cents in the App store. You should get them!

Don't forget to vote for The Piano School (question 48) in the 2013 Best of Salem poll! Thank you!
Here is the link: Best of Salem Reader's Poll

The Piano School's Fifth Annual Masterclass is March 16

The Piano School's annual masterclass for middle and high school students will take place on Saturday morning, March 16, from 10:00 to 11:30. Last year, students voted on the theme for this year's class, and the winner was "Disney Music."

Our guest teacher will be Brooke Dezio. Brooke holds a doctorate in piano performance and is a fun and energetic teacher. She will give us lots of good ideas to try out with our music.

There will be prizes at the masterclass! After each student plays his/her piece (only a few students will play...the rest will listen), we will draw a name for a prize.

Don't forget to vote for The Piano School (question 48) in the 2013 Best of Salem poll! Thank you!
Here is the link: Best of Salem Reader's Poll