Video of the Month Club

In my last post, I mentioned how inspirational it can be for our budding little students to get out and see some performances. It can really make the music come alive and be a giant motivation to keep practicing those skills! It works that way with most everything, not just music! In fact, one of the biggest inspirations and motivations for my own little aspiring lacrosse player was getting to see the Edmonton Rush play at Rexall last spring. However, not everyone has the time or money to get out and experience these wonderful opportunities. And so, inspired by a mention made by a teacher in my Pedagogy Etude group and a mention in a blog post by Anne Crosby Gaudet, I’ve decided to start a Video of the Month Club for my studio. Each month I will be Facebook-ing, blogging and emailing a video of the month.

I hope these videos will inspire, teach and entertain and that through them my students will be able to experience many different and wonderful styles of music as well as meet some new instruments!

My debut video for the month of October, 2013 is The Piano Guys One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful. I am introducing this video this week at our master classes and giving out an active listening journal sheet for them to read and fill out at home. I chose this video because the lid and music desk on the grand piano have been removed and a camera placed above and it gives an awesome view into the inner workings (I called them “piano guts” during the lesson to much uproarious laughter or..all out groans!) of a grand piano. I also love it because it shows the individuality of all these parts and the amazing sounds they can make when a little creativity is added….and frankly, I just think it’s the COOLEST!

I played this video for both master classes yesterday and I was astounded at the reaction. I knew they would enjoy it, but I worried that maybe most had seen it and would think it passé. In fact, only 2 of yesterdays 20 students had seen it before (but were excited to see it again) while for the rest it was a new and exciting experience. They all watched with rapt attention. I have never seen 10-12 children so focused and quiet for that length of time….they were glued to the performance….and at the end they had so much to share. Their reactions were so exciting, I wished I could’ve captured them all on video!

And so, I will share this YouTube video here with you and hope that you find it as enjoyable as they did!

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Last Lessons of the Year Are Here! June 10-12 Master Classes

We made it through another recital and what a wonderful job everyone did!  I heard a lot of people enjoyed our surprises and thought the Surprise Symphony number was pretty neat!   Certificates and little gifts were handed out last week during lessons, special medals were awarded during the recital for MYC graduates and those doing exams and if I were giving out another award this week it would be for Exceptional Effort and Enthusiasm!  I guess we will settle for some ice cream instead! 😉

 

So this week is our final lesson week until September.  It will be special, un-parented group lessons.  We will be doing solo performances, rhythm drills and inventions, ensemble playing and improvising and a few games to review all that we’ve learned this year…..then we will wrap up with an ice cream treat and celebrate a year of exceptional and outstanding effort!

 

 

YEAR END MASTER CLASSES AND ICE CREAM WRAP UP

 

WHEN:

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to sign up yet for a group, I want to let you know that the Tuesday 6-7pm class is VERY full already with 13 signed up.  There is still some room in Wednesday 6-7pm and Monday 6-7pm is very lonely right now with only 4 signed up!!!!!!  So, if you were wondering which time to pick, know that there is still lots of room for you!

 

WHAT TO BRING:

I have peanut free ice cream and some peanut free toppings, but a potluck of toppings would be fun to share with each other so if you have a favorite ice cream topping you would like to share with the group, feel free to bring it along to share!

Also, remember to bring your book bag as you will need to play a solo and might want something to take your blossoms from the practice tree home in.

 

 

I hope you all are looking forward to a well-deserved summer break with lots of special plans!  I am hoping to do a few things over the summer to freshen up our studio just a bit and am quite excited to get started!  All the best this week to: Annaliese, Brayden, Delaney, Dexter, Jessica, Kira, Mary, Matthew and Ryan as they do their Conservatory exams!

Thank you again for such a wonderful year.