tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-176509062008-03-22T01:55:16.173-05:00Brent HughBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-27514839591501303792008-03-22T01:52:00.002-05:002008-03-22T01:55:16.217-05:00

The San Francisco Symphony's web site for kids - instruments of the orchestra, the Music Lab, and Make a Tune with the Composerizer . . .

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-18096593186236251232008-01-31T18:44:00.000-06:002008-01-31T18:46:03.681-06:00

Stephen F. Zdzinski wrote the following in the January 2002 issue of Piano Pedagogy Forum: What do Andrea Boccelli, Evelyn Glennie, and Hitoshi Oe all have in common? Each of these people is a successful professional musician (a vocalist, a percussionist, and a composer who is a pianist), and all are special learners (visually impaired, hearing impaired, and mentally challenged). These people

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-54395952094262497772008-01-17T12:45:00.000-06:002008-01-17T13:51:22.991-06:00

Ricci Adams' MusicTheory.net has lessons and online training for basic music reading and theory--a good place for music students to learn and practice the basics.

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-15914620116633560442008-01-13T21:49:00.000-06:002008-01-13T21:57:02.475-06:00

In this video, India Aquino of Austin State University shares ideas about teaching piano in a group situation: Tips in this video include: Watch studentsConsider different students' learning stylesKeep explanations brief and to the point Keep lessons active and moving--less talk and more action

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-21300562070772935052007-12-30T15:00:00.000-06:002007-12-30T15:03:29.524-06:00

Today's Columbia Tribune has an article about an MU professor who has studied was to make the human voice healthier: Nandhu Radhakrishnan, an assistant professor of communication science and disorders at the University of Missouri, said exercises can help people who want to sing better or people who depend on their voices to earn a living. "There used to be a notion that good voice is only for

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-46141638614150335232007-11-22T12:35:00.000-06:002007-11-22T12:38:53.836-06:00

User Sarabande posted the following idea on the Piano World Piano Teacher's Forum: [S]ometimes at lesson or piano group get-togethers, we play a game involving sight-reading. I get out a bunch of easy beginner books usually 5-finger, or a little harder for more advanced students. We take turns rolling a dice (I use a cloth dice I found at the dollar store). Everyone is assigned "even" or "odd"

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-55348472622327498352007-11-20T08:17:00.000-06:002007-11-20T08:20:53.982-06:00

MTNA's web site has a useful annotated bibliography of books on musician wellness. MTNA recognizes three issues that teachers can address regarding the health of their students: * Hearing health. Exposure to loud music for long durations can lead to noise-induced hearing loss, a problem that is increasingly prevalent among children due, in part, to changing listening habits associated with

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-24737897769815747742007-10-09T20:07:00.000-05:002007-10-09T20:48:55.677-05:00

Find out more about the Taubman Approach at The Balanced Pianist or at the Taubman Institute.

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-91889339693235605312007-09-03T19:30:00.000-05:002007-09-03T19:34:59.676-05:00

Guitar teaching videos have become a phenomenon on YouTube--some reaching many thousands of viewers. Justin Sandercoe has one of the most complete lineups of video lessons--everything from 12-bar blues to changing a guitar string. Most lessons include a YouTube video and notes to go along with the video. Will online video lessons catch on for other instruments as well?

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-7631407975286141662007-08-13T09:54:00.000-05:002007-08-13T09:57:49.810-05:00

Itzhak Perlman teaches a masterclass--and discusses his philosophy of masterclasses:

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-76811795587865114952007-06-25T15:20:00.000-05:002007-06-25T15:23:03.619-05:00

Fundamentals of Piano Practice--a complete book about piano practice that is available for free online--talks about practice routines: Many students use the following practice routine: 1. First, practice scales or technical exercises until the fingers are limbered up. Continue this for 30 minutes or longer if you have time, to improve technique especially by using exercises such as the Hanon

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-3771160520595089272007-06-11T13:11:00.000-05:002007-06-11T13:13:03.782-05:00

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-6838596502152477822007-05-06T22:07:00.000-05:002007-05-06T22:17:57.623-05:00

by Brent Hugh This is Part 1 of a two articles published in MMTA Notes. Part 1 was published in the Spring 2007 issue of Notes. During the years 1996-2002 I became very interested in the subject of musical preferences. How are musical preferences developed? How do they change throughout life? Can they be changed through education or exposure to new music or different musical styles? What is the

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1174620578284943012007-03-22T23:29:00.000-05:002007-03-22T23:29:38.320-05:00

Today's Springfield News-Leader has a fascinating story about John Hopkins, a pianist who suffered a stroke in 1999, losing the use of his right hand: It wasn't enough for Hopkins to simply survive the stroke. Two years ago, he wrote a curriculum for teaching piano to adults with limited physical abilities, including senior citizens and stroke survivors like himself. So on Tuesday mornings, he

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1172810482463815802007-03-01T22:41:00.000-06:002007-03-01T22:41:22.503-06:00

Eric Edberg has a fascinating page on improvisation for classical musicians. He has excerpts from his book-in-progress on improvisation, ideas for using improvisation in teaching, a bibliography, and links to interesting pages around the internet about improvisation. Edberg says, "I incorporate improvisation as much as possible in my classroom and cello teaching. I write from time to time

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1171320256488865042007-02-12T16:44:00.000-06:002007-02-26T10:24:09.303-06:00

Wired News recently wrote about the Ejamming software, which allows musicians to play together, using live instruments, over the internet: In March, eJamming will introduce eJamming Audiio, an online music studio that uses peer-to-peer connections to eliminate lag times between live performers. The software may have a big impact on learning how to play an instrument. Playing with other

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1165207960063003632006-12-03T22:52:00.000-06:002006-12-03T22:52:40.136-06:00

Richard Beauchamp talks about aspects of practicing for pianists: Time has to be spent on note learning. Again this varies enormously depending on the intellectual quickness and physical co-ordination of the player. Some players have to do hours of actual physical playing because they rely on what is known as ‘muscular’ memory, while others can simply look at the score and have it memorised in a

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1163748857813394822006-11-17T01:34:00.000-06:002006-11-17T01:34:17.873-06:00

Wired News has a rundown on some new software technology that seems to make music learning fun: Called In the Chair, the application encourages music students and budding guitar heroes to play along with real musicians by syncing scrolling sheet music with a prerecorded video of a band playing the song. The app monitors your playing through your computer's microphone, and gives you instant

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1162438651696331192006-11-01T21:37:00.000-06:002006-11-01T21:37:34.263-06:00

In 1897 Mathilde Diez wrote her impressions after moving to England and spending 24 years teaching piano students there: I may safely say, that at least nine out of every ten had never been grounded at all, and even though they had been learning Music for a considerable time, they were totally ignorant of the very elements of it. Now, this seems very strange in a country where, as in England,

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1162219901938447462006-10-30T08:51:00.000-06:002006-10-30T08:51:42.213-06:00

The Piano Education Page has a list of their top ten suggestions for piano teachers: 1. Be organized! - Be as organized in ALL facets of your teaching as possible, ranging from billing to repertoire lists to teaching materials for your students. Although it appears to take time away from the lessons, the time you spend getting organized now will make it much easier to give lessons, as well as

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1161319263401948392006-10-19T23:41:00.000-05:002006-10-19T23:41:03.460-05:00

Since MMTA auditions and competitions are coming up, many teachers are thinking about how to get students ready for those auditions. One way is to have the student perform their repertoire pieces regularly. Here are some ideas for doing that, from Jenny MacMillan's Notebook for Suzuki Piano Teachers: Regular performance opportunities at different levels * Individual lessons - observers

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1160232987213276582006-10-07T09:56:00.000-05:002006-10-07T09:56:27.270-05:00

Pianists perpetually face a dilemma about pianism - specifically, how to learn or teach piano technique. We encounter a myriad of different ways of playing the piano, and recognize that even "experts" of piano technique, whether they are teachers or performers, often disagree on what are the essential principles of healthy piano playing. At times, the paradox of the naturally gifted pianist

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1159751092760112522006-10-01T20:04:00.000-05:002006-10-01T20:04:52.816-05:00

The "MarioCast" covers the subject of using duets in your piano teaching. Duets and fun for students and can help students with the subjects of sight reading, tone quality, ensemble playing, rhythm, physical dexterity, and musical expression. The video also covers some ideas about duet repertoire for beginning to intermediate students. (To view the video above requires the Flash plugin.)

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1159635666368245532006-09-30T12:01:00.000-05:002006-09-30T12:01:06.853-05:00

Practice till you get it correct. Then play it two more times. THIS ADVICE MAY SOUND TRITE. Or, it may appear to be a superstitious ancedote for the belief that the student played correctly by having had good luck. "Au contraire," the piano teacher knows what she is talking about, after all! According to studies on automaticity by SDSU EdTec students Johnnie Perry and Julie Collett,

Brent Hughtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17650906.post-1158439175875247172006-09-16T15:39:00.000-05:002006-09-16T15:45:44.590-05:00

by Rebecca Ashe Published in the Fall 2006 issue of MMTA Notes Liberalism and Nationalism were two words on the lips of every Hungarian middle and upper class society member in the mid to late 19th Century. The Hungarian Revolution of 1848-1849 abolished serfdom, and allowed Hungary to embrace the values of liberty and equality from the French Revolution. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise,

Brent Hugh