We awoke to a beautiful, sunny morning and ...
...right on schedule—Amy had prepared a delicious breakfast: hard-boiled eggs, a baked oatmeal-cinnamon dish, berries, and bananas. Once our tummies were full we dove right in to Session #2.
Second Session:
We began with a review of Edwin E. Gordon’s development of Music Learning Theory (MLT) and his list of the Five Vocabularies (Listening, Speaking, Thinking, Reading and Writing) and how those can be applied to learning music. There was some discussion as to whether Writing should come before Reading but there is some overlap in the development of these vocabularies so we left that discussion to pursue our intended focus on creativity, improvisation and composition. What should we teach and how do we teach it? At this point, Joy shared some conclusions from her college note-taking days when she was privileged to hear Dr. Gordon in person. Her paraphrase:“Don’t get hung up on what method you should use to teach. Just know how children learn and there’s no ‘wrong’ way to teach.”
At this point, we examined improvisation resources by choosing items from a stack of books by various composers and publishers, including Forrest Kinney, Tim Topham, Faber, Joy Morin, Bruce Adolphe and others. It was all very exciting, as a group like ours--experienced music teachers, bringing with them a wide variety of performing experiences--was a fountain of insights as to how many of these ideas could be implemented in our own studios, as well as which books were strictly for teachers and which could be useful for adult students.
Probably the most unusual books we examined included “Indian Ragas for Piano Made Easy” by John Pitts and “Incidental Music for Piano” by Joy Morin (for the silent-film pianist). The latter would definitely be of interest to anyone planning a “Silent-Film” themed piano recital.
By this time, some of us were hungry and we all took a break to eat lunch, some in the dining room and some gathered around a table on the enclosed front porch. Amy hit a home run again, this time with grilled chicken, noodles, and cashews on a bed of dark green, leafy vegetables with, of course, something yummy for dessert.
Third Session:
The title of our next session was “Striking a Chord with Your Students: Nurturing Young Composers in Your Music Studio.” We read through a brief outline of what to do and how to do it, then examined some composition resources. These included “We Make Our Own Music”, a very good, but out-of-print beginner book; “Piano Safari Composition Book 1”, “Creative Composition Toolbox” by Wynn-Anne Rossi; “Music By Me” (FJH); “Learn to Compose and Notate Music” by Dr. Lee Evans; “Write it Right!” By Dan Fox; “Piano Teacher’s Guide to Creative Composition” by Carol Klose; and “So You Want to Be a Composer?” a complete summer camp curriculum by Joy Morin.
After a brief break to stretch our legs—I ran upstairs to see the third floor and the spectacular view from the fourth floor sunroom—we all gathered out in the front yard of the house for a group photo. Across the road from the house was a river with four huge swans flapping their wings and splashing around in the water. Such a lovely place. But there was more to learn so it was time to go back inside for another group activity from The Mind’s Ear. This time we took turns having one person read a poem while another improvised on the spot music to go with the poem being read. I played along to Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” Two other poems were read while other volunteers improvised but I was unfamiliar with those poems. That was a fun activity.
During the course of the weekend, a couple of the teachers brought in music to give away as their studio needs had changed. Always good to get a first hand look at what’s out there, whether old or new.
After a break for supper, which included an excursion to the Salt Springs Brewery in nearby downtown Saline, our retreat was joined by four of Joy’s students for a sample lesson using Marilyn Lowe’s Keyboard Games. It’s always beneficial to see how theories and ideas work with real children in the real world. The students ranged in age from four to eight and the older students were more “proficient” than the younger students, but all were attentive, cooperative, and engaged. Joy was also a good role model for how to accept each student’s efforts with encouragement at this stage in their development, rather than unnecessary “correcting.” After the students were dismissed, they each had a treat and a chance to play in the backyard pool, while the teachers took advantage of the opportunity for a question and answer session with Joy regarding the lesson that was demonstrated, the Keyboard Games series, and further questions about how she uses that series in her studio overall.
