Winter
2004, Vol. 15 #4
Richard - Revisited
Because December 31st marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Richard Chronister, the founder of Keyboard Companion (in 1990), and its Editor-in-Chief until his passing in 1999. I would like to devote my column in this issue to remembering Richard and revisit some of his wise words about teaching and learning.
About teacher training
Throughout his pedagogical
career, Richard was intensely interested in the training of future
teachers, and he spent a great deal of time not only instructing
intern teachers enrolled in institutional degree programs, but
also in advising teachers in the earlier years of their careers
who sought ways to fine-tune their teaching techniques. In December
of 1998, Richard directed the following remarks to a group of
such teachers:
Actually
THREE this issue! Audio and video clips, photographs, and other
extras supplement an interview and an article in the Teacher/Student/Parent
and the Rhythm Departments. There are also additional text references
for the Adult Piano Study Department.
"Most
generally, I would like to suggest that you consider (these)
things as you plan lesson activities:
- In what specific ways does everything I do promote the student's independence?
- Does everything I do develop fluency and facility in addition to understanding?
- Will the student know exactly how everything I do relates to home practice?
- Is everything I do creative, musical, and fun, and therefore a motivating influence?
"I . . . base the (following) comments on the stages of learning as described by Johann Herbart, whose work in this field preceded Alfred North Whitehead. I think that Herbart's stages work better in a discussion of piano study because he indicated four (of them) rather than three. These are: 1) Preparation, 2) Presentation, 3) Association, and 4) Generalization.
"Someone once said that all learning begins with improvisation and ends with improvisation. If you think about the spoken language, this is easy to see. Babies obviously enjoy experimenting with (improvising) sounds that become language and use it freely and fluently long before they have any understanding of it (the preparation stage of language). When they are grown, after the end of their time in school learning about language (the presentation and association stages of learning), they enter the life-long generalization stage in which most of their creative use of language is improvisation - speaking in conversation. Our piano teaching can have the same properties if we make sure that fluency, facility, independence, and enjoyment are primary considerations as we lead students through the first three (learning) stages (preparation, presentation, and association). If we are successful, the fourth stage (generalization) will happen - as adults, our students will continue to sit at the piano and have musical conversations with themselves because they can sight-play what they see in front of them and can improvise their own music."
MTNA's Pedagogy Saturday
Richard Chronister also played an active role in the creation and implementation of MTNA's Pedagogy Saturday. Below is an excerpt from the 1997 Proceedings, in which Richard was paraphrasing the remarks of one of the panelists in a discussion, Janell Whitby:
"Good teachers are those who take delight in the success of their students . . . (they) find ways to become fully proficient in the intricacies of getting others to learn . . . (they) continue to learn and develop their craft every year they teach. My goal is to have thirty years of experience rather than one year of experience repeated thirty times." (From Proceedings of MTNA's Pedagogy Saturday I, Dallas, 1997)
The National Conference on Piano Pedagogy
Richard's
continued advocacy for the provision of adequate instruction
in piano pedagogy at the collegiate level led to the creation
of The National Conference on Piano Pedagogy (NCPP).
He said its goal was "to provide a forum for the exposure
of all that goes on in the field of piano-teacher training without
bias or prejudice and without endorsement or disapproval."
(NCPP: from Proceedings of The Columbus Conference,
1994)
Speaking about the curriculum for the college piano major, Richard said, "One thing should be clear - at no point in the curriculum can there be a dichotomy between pedagogy and performance. Both are essential to any piano student who is interested in making a career as a pianist. The curriculum we build must allow the student to develop both his ability as a performer and ateacher. It is the successful marriage of these two goals which will change our profession in a way that will enhance the work of all of us." (NCPP: from Proceedings of The Urbana Conference, 1980)..."Until we achieve this (marriage), our duty is to find ways to move closer to (this) goal each year. Every inch closer means more children each year who will not drop out of piano lessons because of poor teaching." (NCPP: from Proceedings of The Ann Arbor Conference, 1986)
"it is past time to change the idea that piano teaching is only the 30-minute piano lesson given somewhere in the neighborhood. Piano teaching - whether in the neighborhood, in the college studio, or in the pedagogy class, is one of the guardians of music education." (NCPP: from Proceedings of The Chicago (Oakbrook) Conference, 1988)
(The NCPP)..."has avoided the easy goal of seeking the great and final answers to the questions pianists and piano teachers have asked through the years. By avoiding this goal, we have produced a forum for the consideration of all the answers - knowing that each of us takes away the unique combination of answers which allowsus to take our place in the ongoing, never-ending chain of events and circumstances which defines the art of music to each succeeding generation of new - and always unique - musicians." (NCPP: from Proceedings of The Schaumburg (IL) Conference, 1990)
Editor's Note: The National Conference (now called the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy), continues on as a biennial event under the sponsorship of The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy of which Richard was also a founder. With its theme of Extraordinary Results with Every Student, the next Conference will be held on August 3-6, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency Oak Brook, in Oak Brook, IL (a western suburb of Chicago). For more information, please visit: www.francesclarkcenter.org.
Keyboard Companion
Richard was as passionately interested in the needs of pre-college level piano students and their teachers as he was in adequate teacher-training at the collegiate level. This was exemplified in 1990 by his creation of Keyboard Companion. A few excerpts culled from his Editor's Page columns of the magazine follow.
"Piano lessons are not about learning to play the piano...(they) are about playing the piano. Somehow we have to accomplish a miracle - we have to emphasize the enjoyment of making music over the hard work of learning the language and technique of music." (KBC, Summer, 1996)
"...think about how most of the lesson time is spent in your piano lessons. The amount of satisfaction a student feels following any piano lesson is in direct ratio to the amount of time spent feeling good about playing the piano. Something is wrong in any piano lesson that isn't mostly filled with the pleasure of music-making. Let's determine that our students' memories of this year's piano lessons are going to be about the excitement of making music at the piano." (KBC, Autumn, 1995)
The cover of the Autumn 1991 issue of the magazine featured a "Peanuts" cartoon logo which showed Schroeder making music at his piano and his pal, Snoopy, jumping for joy beside him. The caption for the cartoon was: "Have funPlay the piano!" and this prompted Richard to write the following remarks in his Editor's Page for that issue:
"Although Schroeder's life as a pianist doesn't always result in fun playing the piano, the caption, Have fun...Play the piano! represents the overall result of successful piano study. Students who stick with lessons to the point that what they can do equals what they dreamed of doing realize that years of hard work do payoff. The ability to make music at the piano is part of the American dream the teacher's responsibility (is) to make sure that playing the piano produces weekly - even daily - satisfaction on the part of the student.
"The importance of good technique, good reading ability, and good rhythm must never take precedence over the joy of music-making itself. Technique, reading, and rhythm are essential to successful music-making, of course, but the student's perception may be that we care more about a curved finger than we care about the music itself. I heard about a student's consternation when he heard his teacher say, 'Oh, isn't that a beautiful piece!' The student's wide-eyed response was, 'I didn't know you liked music!'
"(As) piano teachers, (we) must accept the challenge of cultivating every student's ability to enjoy making music at the piano - regardless of the innate talent each individual student brings to lessons. There are as many ways to do this as there are piano teachers. The mission of Keyboard Companion is to provide a way for us to share our successes as well as our frustrations, causing us all to do a better job every day that we teach." (KBC, Autumn, 1991)
*****
And from Richard's last Editor's Page in Keyboard Companion:
"Piano teachers are in the
best position of all other music educators to lead the reform
needed to insure a nation full of literate musicians. Let's not
settle for our cozy, insulated position that served the past
so well. It's the future that counts." (KBC, Winter,
1999). (Click here
to read his entire last Editor's Page)
* * * * *
When we lost Richard
Chronister, we lost a treasured colleague whose life's work was
devoted to the pursuit and implementation of excellence in music-making
and piano teaching, and who continually inspired all of us to
join him in this endeavor. Although we miss his presence, we
continue to celebrate the legacy he left for us, and we remain
dedicated to furthering the same musical and pedagogical goals
which his professional life exemplified.
About Our Cover Picture
Cover photo courtesy of Robert T. Wolski of Trenton, NJ. He is a graphic artist, and a member of the Trenton Artists' Workshop Association. The photo was taken in the early 1980s at the home of a friend who lived in Mill Valley, Marin County, CA.
To see a larger image of our cover art, please visit our Art Gallery.
MULTIMEDIA ARTICLES
Teacher/Student/Parent
Department
 Bruce Berr interviews Ms. "W", the mother of one his students, Isabella, in order to explore Part Two of, "What special qualities do parents of children who succeed at the piano share?" There are seven audio clips of short extracts from the actual interview, as well as several audio clips of six-year old Isabella playing along with her teacher, her mother, and by herself. |
Rhythm Department
 Deborah Price explains, "What is 'Shakespearean Counting' and how do you use it in your teaching?" Ms. Price provides us with numerous audio clips and video that communicate much about the musicality and effectiveness of this novel approach to counting and musical perception. There are also extra photographs and information on the chamber music school for pre-college students that Ms. Price has founded in the Columbus, Ohio area. |
Adult Piano Study Department
| Pete Jutras provides additional text references for his article, "What do you do to promote learning outside of the piano lessons?" |
Also be sure to check out our page of
links to ALL of our multimedia articles in past
issues.
These are the other articles that were in the Winter 2004 issue
Information on obtaining back issues
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The Magic Triangle: |
What special qualities do parents of children who succeed at the piano share? Part Two |
Ms. "W" |
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The Other Teacher: |
A Teacher's roundtable on solutions to common practice problems |
Alisa Delliquadri |
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Independence Day: |
What do you do with transfer students whose reading level is far below their performance level? |
Mary Brostrom Bloom |
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Let's Get Physical: |
How do you teach weight transfer to early-level students? |
Carol Gingerich |
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The Heart of the Matter: |
What is "Shakespearean Counting" and how do you use it in your teaching? |
Deborah Price |
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Issues and Ideas: |
How do you recharge your teaching batteries? |
Kathleen Murray |
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It's Never Too Late: |
What do you do to promote learning outside of the piano lessons? |
Pete Jutras |
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Putting It All Together: |
How do you introduce your students to Beethoven's "Fur Elise?" |
Ann Guest |
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Tomorrow Today: |
How do you use technology in student recitals and competitions? |
Luke Bartolomeo |
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The World Around
Us: |
How do you counsel a student who receives an adjudication report that conflicts with your instruction? |
Maribeth Gowen |
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Keyboard
Kids' Companion |
Puzzles, Practice Projects, Meet the Composers, and more! |
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