When a student doesn’t want to come….

As teachers, we all have students who want to cancel their private lesson because they are not prepared…they didn’t practice.  When they (or their moms) call to cancel, I tell them this is a slippery slope; one week of not practicing turns into two, and before they know it, they don’t want to come to lessons anymore because their skills have gotten away from them.

I encourage them to come to that lesson anyway; even though they have missed an opportunity for muscle memory growth that week, it doesn’t mean you have nothing to teach them.  Don’t yell at them!  I don’t mean you shouldn’t admonish them, but don’t scare them into not wanting to come back.

Think of it as an opportunity to use their instrument to explore a new facet of music theory, to learn more about the composer of their piece, and yes, to find out just how important that lost week of muscle memory was….I have a lever harp in my studio that I use sometimes in those cases; I strongly believe that transference of skills (i.e.,relation of notes on the piano to notes on the harp) facilitates a deeper understanding of music theory and appreciation.

Authentic Purpose and My Passion

          http://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Purpose-Tamilyn-Banno-ebook/dp/B00A7D12XE

My sister, Tamilyn Banno, recently wrote a wonderful little book called “Authentic Purpose”.  She asked if I would read some drafts before publishing, and do some editing.  I thought, “How cute, my little sister is writing a little book”.  Well, it turns out I was very profoundly taken by her written words.

There is a “quiz” in it, but not like any quiz I have ever taken…as a matter of fact, I hemmed and hawed before I finally agreed to do it; I thought I just didn’t have the time.  I wanted to edit what she had written; I didn’t have time for actually answering the questions!  It’s sort of like a Cosmo magazine quiz we used to take when we were young (What Are You Looking For In A Relationship..remember those?).

But I did take it….and as a result, my purpose in life has never been more clear.  I do a lot of different kinds of things to make a living, and getting the bills paid each month was about all I could think about…until I took that little quiz.  I realize that my “Authentic Purpose” is more than teaching or performing.  My real passion, as I’ve now discovered, is providing my students with an opportunity to perform…not just for the sake of showing mom and dad what they’ve been working on, but by helping them learn, through recitals, that life can be a little messy.

Recital pieces are rarely perfect.  They’re not; get over it.  Yes, we strive for excellence, of course we do; but the real measure of a person, I feel, is how they handle their mistakes. That is what I often focus on in my teaching, and a much happier lady I am for helping my students to understand that.

Evolution of Music by Pentatonix

This group’s Facebook video was sent to me on Facebook.  I had to pass it on; what wonderful, tight transitions, great pronunciation and blend.  If you like a capella groups, this is not to be missed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExW80sXsHs&feature=youtu.be

 

Confused about Latin Pronunciation?

I thought I was pretty good at singing church Latin, but I was admonished by a choir member who taught classical Latin in the past for teaching incorrectly. This disturbed me, and I was actually afraid to do anything in Latin! I mean, I was pretty sure I was right, but still…I admit I don’t know everything…

Then another choir member put my mind at rest by this post:

“The EWTN network has a website, and they address the issue.  Maybe [the Latin teacher] would accept that as a source.”

“A characteristic difference would be the pronunciation of regina coeli. In Classical Latin the “g” is hard and the “c” sounds like “k”. In Ecclesiastical Latin, which is defined as: Latin spoken as Italian would be pronounced in Rome, the “g” is soft and the c has a “ch” sound.”

You can view the rest of it here:

http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/ecclesiastical_latin.htm

So, my classical Latin friend was correct, but only in her milieu; what singers have learned is correct in ours. Give the website a look, if you’re concerned; the vowel pronunciations are great if you’re learning or teaching how to sing a diphthong.

Dipthongs and Smooth Phrasing

This is an exercise that is difficult at fist, but becomes much easier in just a short period of time. If I could only pass along one single technique, this would be it!

We’ll be using this melody I made up for the occasion:

I Will Praise Your Name

What is a Diphthong?

Music Education: How and when to pronounce “S”

Oh, my……how and when to pronounce “S”,  if done incorrectly, will make the smile of any trained singer listening to the choir’s performance turn into a grimace!  We need to fix that problem immediately!

This requires more than just a conductor giving cues for ending a phrase; singing in and around an “S” requires group practice.

Many times, especially with an older group, I have found that an elongated “sss” is not uncommon; often I find that choir members who do this consistently are actually trying very hard to follow my directions.  If you can isolate the offenders, I recommend asking for ‘help’ from them, and a few others, in this area by asking them to help out by “lisping” when an “S” comes along.

I myself always use a lisp when I am a choir member; in this way, I am not contributing to the problem! It helps that I actually had a mild lisp as a child; my youngest sister had one, too, and we went to the “speech teacher” at our elementary school.  I was able to overcome my problem pretty easily (turns out I was “lazy”…Me!  Can you believe it?  Maybe that’s why I am such a stickler now…)

This helps with elongated “S”, but it’s up to you as the conductor to make sure that your choir holds off on closing their syllable; they’ll need to close their “S” all at the same time to avoid any “hisssssing” that might result from individuals closing to pronounce the “S” at different times.

Next time, a nice change of pace for us…don’t miss this video!

Unison vowel production in Music Education II

What do you think?  In my post ” Unison vowel production in Music Education”  dated September 29, 2009,  it has been suggested that perhaps I should demonstrate via video….comments are encouraged!

When to Begin to Read Music I

Students, especially beginners, will often balk at learning to read music.  Oh, learning the musical alphabet may be OK, and knowing how to find middle C on a keyboard is as far as they want to go; sometimes even that is going a little too far.  They prefer to think of themselves as having a “gift”, and that they are a “natural talent”.  Indeed, they might be a natural talent; but that alone will probably not get them very far.

Sometimes getting students to understand that learning to read music is difficult, but it’s vital; vital to their personal growth, and vital to the groups they may perform with.

Michelle