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Welcome
to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS)
Newsletter!
July
4, 1999
Table
of Contents:
1.
MTIPS Theme
2. Welcome Notes
3. MTIPS Development
4. Notable Quotables
1.
MTIPS Theme
Allow
the scale to have a beginning, a climax and a clear
ending, just as a good melody does. Shape it! Add
dynamics and accents. Have fun with it! And watch your
students willingly practice their scales while boredom
disappears and is replaced by creativity!
2.
Welcome Notes
Welcome
to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS)! Thank
you to our friends who forwarded MTIPS to their friends
and colleagues. As a result of your vote of confidence,
we've added many new subscribers this month! That's how
we grow and have a greater impact on the music
community. THANKS!
Welcome
to our new subscribers! Please email me with your
suggestions and music instructional needs. I will either
address your needs in an up coming issue of MTIPS, or
send you a personal email. MTIPS is a free monthly
newsletter that's goal is to provide piano teachers,
(hopefully you!) with insightful practices that will
make the career of sharing music with soon-to-be
musicians a more rewarding and successful one. I hope
that this electronic publication assists you in creating
a more enjoyable and successful lesson for you and your
students. Please let me know how I can be of service to
you in reaching this goal.
You
may contact me at NickAmbrosino@musicsimplymusic.com.
I look forward to playing with you through this
newsletter. Let's have some fun!
3.
MTIPS Development
How
many of you get bored hearing your students do the same
old scale exercises? You know the ones of which I am
speaking; a certain number of octaves ascending at a set
tempo, with a set rhythm, followed by the same number of
octaves descending at the same tempo with the same
rhythm. Well I must admit, this part of the piano lesson
was never my favorite...until I decided to add some
creativity.
I
like to spice up the scales by adding improvisation and
musicianship to those exercises; I have the student
develop the scales (and even arpeggios) into a musical
piece. Try these activities and let me know how they are
received by your students.
First,
if your student is ready, have him play hands in
parallel motion while utilizing different changing
rhythms. Allow the scale to be played more melodically.
Try eight notes followed by sixteenth notes, dotted
rhythms and syncopated rhythms. Try them all, make the
rhythm change at odd fingering spots (this will
strengthen weaker fingers). If the student is a beginner
and working on separate hands, have him play the scale
melodically, while you provide a simple accompaniment
beneath him.
Set
a time limit for this activity, instead of an octave
limit. Choose a time; a minute or two on the same scale.
Allow the scale to have a beginning, a climax and a
clear ending, just as a good melody does. Shape it! Add
dynamics and accents. Have fun with it! And watch your
students willingly practice their scales while boredom
disappears and is replaced by creativity!
4.
Notable Quotables
'Do
not get too fussy about how every part of the thing
sounds. Go ahead. All processes are at first awkward and
clumsy and "funny"'.-Carl Whitmer, The Art of
Improvisation
"The
only thing that stands in the way of improvising is a
reluctance to take the first steps."- Mildred
Portnoy Chase, Improvisation
Copyright
© 1999 Nicholas Ambrosino. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute
MTIPS so long as this copyright notice and full
information about contacting the author is attached. The
author of this article is Nicholas Ambrosino and he may
be contacted at:
http://www.musicsimplymusic.com
director@musicsimplymusic.com
To
subscribe/unsubscribe, send an email to: Mtips-list@musicsimplymusic.com
With either words "subscribe MTIPS" or the
words "unsubscribe MTIPS" in the body of the
email.
"We
enjoy what we do, and so will you!"
phone: 631-863-2354
fax: 631-471-8311
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