Welcome to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS) Newsletter!
Written and Published by Nicholas Ambrosino
www.musicsimplymusic.com
director@musicsimplymusic.com

November 5, 2004

Table of Contents:

1. MTIPS Theme
2. Welcome Notes
3. MTIPS Development
4. Notable Quotables

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1. MTIPS Theme

When I asked her what she was drawing (only a question that a "mature" adult would be interested in knowing!) she replied, "I don't know yet, Daddy, I'm still looking for the picture."

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2. Welcome Notes

Welcome to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS) Newsletter!

Thank you to those who contacted me in response to last month’s MTIPS. Below is an excerpt from one of the emails that I received. This will be the topic of this month’s issue.

“I very much like the idea of your seasonal adjustments…. I'm very interested in one of your suggestions that you made, that of starting with a creative exercise instead of technique. This would be a very interesting topic for me to have you write on or to explore via a pool of ideas from all teachers. I like the idea very much and am thinking hard about the kinds of things that you might mean to start with.”
Arlene Baschak

Several MTIPS subscribers contacted me last month with regard to helping you create a plan through which your private lessons can become a serious source of income. I am looking forward to working with my new coaching relationships to help them create a greater impact on the lives of their students and in turn to create a greater impact on their own financial well being. If you are interested in creating a vision and plan that has students knocking down your door to study with you, please feel free to give me a call! 

Finally, several groups have contacted me to explore options about conducting workshops for them in the up-coming year. I find great joy in sharing my passion for growth through music with others. SHAMELESS MARKETING PLUG: If you would like to arrange a workshop with me for your group, please contact me at or give me a ring the old fashioned way at 631-863-2069 ext. 62. I would love the opportunity to fuel the fire of musical passion for you and your colleagues! I can design a workshop to meet the needs of your group or we can choose from many that I have already conducted. “Pop Piano Can Make You Popular”, The Scientific Art of Doodling”, “Music Sound Pictures: A Musical Approach to Reading Music”, “Creativity for the In-Experienced Creator”, “I Teach People, not Pianos”, “I Love My Students and I Still Need to Make Money” are just a few of the workshops I have led. Give me a call and let’s explore the possibilities! 

My goal for MTIPS is to provide you with practical tips and insights that will make your career or education in music, more fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to see a certain topic covered in an upcoming issue of MTIPS. My email address is editor@musicsimplymusic.com

FREE REPORTS! 
http://www.musicsimplymusic.com and follow the links to the FREE report page. This page is only accessible if you are a registered MTIPS subscriber. We have lots of information, and resources you can use. 

And a REQUEST: If you enjoy MTIPS, please encourage your friends and colleagues to subscribe. Our growth over the years simply comes from "word of mouth." Anyone can subscribe by simply sending an email to: http://www.musicsimplymusic.com/newsletters.htm

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3. MTIPS Development

One of the motivating forces to creative starts was a improvisation teacher I studied with for many years. But the idea really took hold of me as I watched my youngest daughter, Phoebe, who loves to do art, begin an art "practice." She started just doodling with her colored pencils. When I asked her what she was drawing (only a question that a "mature" adult would be interested in knowing!) she replied, "I don't know yet, Daddy, I'm still looking for the picture." Her reply caught me off guard and made me think about my piano practice ritual, which usually began very traditionally (scales, arpeggios, etc.) So I started experimenting with "doodling" at the piano with different musical elements and thus began the exploration of a new start to my own lessons as well as those my students. 

The key to starting a lesson creatively isn’t just in a completely free exploration of the instrument. Perhaps on a more advanced level, this would be appropriate. Novice players, I believe, need structure. Yet, even in making this statement, I believe the structure should be pliable to respond to what the student brings to the instrument. So, most of the creative warm-ups I do to begin a lesson are geared toward the exploration of a specific musical element, a specific rhythm, an interval, an expression element, a particular accompaniment style, a texture. What determines which element is chosen? Naturally, the path of the student.

Let’s say a student is being introduced to relative minor scales. I could, in a more traditional format, have him simply play his major scales and then play each relative minor that is related to the major or…

I could have him, while I create a simple I-V7 accompaniment, play an opening section that is in the major key and then, without stopping the music, move into a second section that is in the relative minor key. This approach would, at some point, require that the student create a theme in the major that would eventually become transposed into the minor. It would also spurn a conversation about how, throughout history, composers used this format as a means of development. And hopefully, I will have the student working on a piece of traditional literature that reflects this.

If the idea of being creative rattles your nerves a bit, look at the opening of a lesson as a chance to make music with your student, not as a chance to test him on his theory and technique. You will see how his theory and technique are progressing through how he handles himself when he is free to create. 
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4. Notable Quotable

Do not call the inability to start laziness. Call it fear.

Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way p. 152 

Copyright © 2004 Nicholas Ambrosino. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute MTIPS so long as this copyright notice and full contact information about the author is attached. The author of this issue is Nicholas Ambrosino and he may be contacted at director@musicsimplymusic.com or reached by telephone at 631-863-2069

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