Technology
George Litterst, Editor
How often have you attended a student piano recital and observed a student who breaks down and can only get restarted by returning to the beginning of the piece or to the beginning of a major section? Such things probably don't happen in your studio, but they are common elsewhere.
There can be many reasons for this tendency. These piano students may have learned their pieces starting at the beginning, for example. During the learning process, the beginning portion of their pieces received far more practice than did the middle or the end. Often, the students' ability to play the middle or the end of their pieces depends upon an unbroken chain of motor-memory events that always start at the beginning. Without having learned to start in other places and without having learned the skill of recovering in the middle of the piece, the students who have trouble during performance have only one learned skill on which they can rely: a return to the beginning for another try.
I have observed that wind and strings students do not exhibit this tendency as much, especially if they play in orchestras, bands, or other ensembles. For many wind and string students, playing in an ensemble constitutes a large portion of the total lesson and practice experience.
A large portion of traditional piano instruction focuses on solo performance. Many teachers try to bring musical balance to the experience by playing teacher duet parts, pairing students in order to teach ensemble literature, and offering group lessons. The benefits of such ensemble instruction are well documented. Ensemble-playing develops the ear, assists students in establishing a music groove in their playing, and trains students to go forward at all times.
Technologies that can assist with ensemble training: There are many technologies that can assist us in providing ensemble training for our students. The oldest technology, of course, is a metronome. Far better replacements for the metronome are audio recordings and MIDI disk recordings that provide both an inflexible rehearsal ensemble and a musically meaningful experience.
MIDI disks have an advantage over audio recordings in that we can easily set the playback tempo to something that is appropriate for the student. When the student is ready for a flexible, MIDI practice partner, score-following software makes it possible for the MIDI accompaniment to track the rubato of the student.
This month, two
of our contributing teachers discuss their use of technology in
the context of traditional piano lessons and piano ensembles.
Our third teacher discusses keyboard ensembles-a musical
situation in which students play non-piano (i.e. instrumental)
parts on electronic keyboard instruments.
from Shana Kirk's article
Bringing student performers together with technology
Ensemble teaching can benefit from technology as much if not more than other areas of our teaching. Of course MIDI accompaniment disks can enhance duets and larger ensembles as well as solos, but for me the real advantage of using technology for ensembles is getting help solving some of the challenges inherent to having more than one player.
With students' busy schedules, it sometimes seems impossible
to get duet teams together for more than a couple of rehearsals.
By using MIDI recording technology, however, students can record
individual parts and have a "virtual" duet at private
lessons. Of course this doesn't replace live rehearsals, but if
parts are recorded anew each week, at least the partners can get
a sense of each other's progress. The added bonus of this is that
the student who is expecting to be recorded each week just may
have a little more incentive to practice! This procedure can be
taken a step further (especially with older students) by having
students make recordings on their own at home and exchange MIDI
files via E-mail with their partners on a more frequent basis.
I have even experimented using E-mailed MIDI files with students
from other teachers' studios around the world. It's very exciting
for students to work with a virtual duet partner who doesn't even
live in the same hemisphere! . . .
As a product specialist for the Yamaha Corporation of America, Shana Kirk performs nationally in the Say Yes to Music™ outreach program, using the Clavinova™ digital piano. She also maintains a private piano studio in Denver, CO and is active in that region as a studio technology consultant and clinician.
from Susan Flinn's article
Using MIDI and video tools
The most obvious and helpful piece of music technology in my studio is my Yamaha Disklavier, an acoustic piano with MIDI functions. I use it to teach every lesson, but it can be especially useful with ensemble groups and duets because of the recording and playback features it offers.
With duets, it is effective for students to be able to record
either the primo or secondo and then practice along with it. I
use the recording of one student at the lesson of the duet partner
on a weekly basis. It is fun for the students because they prefer
this to practicing with a metronome, and the experience is more
authentic than it is when I play the other part. When playing
with the recorded duet part, my students quickly discover that
their partner's recording does not stop if they do! If the student
stops, he/she has to figure out how to jump back into the music
and keep going. . .
Susan Flinn holds a degree in Music Business from James Madison University and has been teaching independently for 14 years. With her husband as business manager, she teaches 50 students in their home studio in Stafford, Virginia. In addition, their two children, ages 7 and 9, also help run the "family business."
from Kathy Maskell's article
Technology for Keyboard Ensembles
A significant portion of my keyboard instruction takes place in the context of working with electronic keyboard ensembles-a situation in which each participant in the ensemble plays a particular instrumental part, such as a string part or a wind part. I have found that my approach to the instruction of keyboard ensembles is much the same as the approach of an orchestra conductor or choir director to a traditional ensemble. Having experience with the latter, I think of the keyboard ensemble as a group of individual voices and personalities, and my objective is to bring them together as one voice. Even though we are working with orchestral sounds rather than vocals, the premise of listening to one another is a high priority.
For the students, being a participant in a keyboard ensemble involves more that just learning to follow the conductor. Critical listening skills are developed during the ensemble experience, skills that can only enhance the learning process for that two-part invention that will be studied at a later date. . .
Kathy Maskell is Massachusetts Music Teachers Association State President and Eastern Division Composition Competition Chair. She is the owner and founder of MusicWorks, Inc. in Tewksbury, MA and has recently been appointed adjunct professor teaching class piano at Regis College in Weston, MA.
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