Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This is likely my last post of 2014, and I'm looking forward to a little rest, relaxation, and reflection for the next couple of weeks. We have a few gigs in February, but they all depend on our local ski hill being open. The ski hill opening depends on getting more snow. We have about 6" on the hill right now. One of my band mates told me he'd read that by 2060--if this warming trend keeps up--our ski season will be about 6 weeks long in February and March and will be relegated to the high peaks in Colorado and Utah. Ugh.
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On December 7, my music students and I put on our 3rd piano recital. It was a great experience for everyone, in one way or another, and I think we all learned a lot. I recorded the event (let me know if you're interested in how, but computers make is SO EASY to get reasonable recordings) and I've been listening and reflecting on how well everyone did, and how we can do better.
Before I get to that, though, I'm amazed that my piano teaching "business" has grown the way it has. In 2010, I started this endeavor with 1 student who wanted to learn to read and play out of a fake book. She didn't know it at the time, but she really wanted to understand scales and chords. D.K.'s kids joined me in 2012, but one decided to take up the cello instead, so I was down to 2. I added a 3rd in 2012, then a 4th, and then 2 guitar students in 2013. This year, my enrollment swelled from 6 to 15, which prompted schedule rearrangement and much thought about priorities. I really enjoy teaching music, and I enjoy working with little kids much more than I thought I would. That said, I'm not quite ready to quit the day job, because it's pretty compelling to manipulate matter on a molecular level to create new compounds and materials (yes, that's what a chemist does) and it earns a good living. The more compelling thought, though, is that I can attract business, even though 1) I hardly advertise, 2) there are several good piano and guitar teachers in town, and 3) I don't have a music or teaching degree, something that the mainstream social construct tells us would be useful. Apparently folks are ready for a different approach. My mission statement is, unofficially, to bring up the next generation of jazzers and rockers, if they are so inclined. Or, as my band mate Jeff puts it, to train "functional" musicians. More on that in another post.
Back to the recital. Of my 15 students, 12 were able to play solos in this recital, giving an event that was about 25 minutes long (these were fairly short pieces). I did find it interesting that most of my students avoided the standard classical material that pianists have relied on for years, despite the fact that I did offer some simpler Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart compositions as choices. My own piano teacher gave me a great model, actually--while she insisted that I play from the standard classical repertoire, she also brought in other materials, such as ragtime (which I still enjoy). I recently found a composer, Bill Boyd, who wrote 4 of the 14 pieces that were played in this recital. There are several composers and arrangers who are writing jazz, blues, and ragtime music for kids, a development that I find very exciting as a teacher who is interested in teaching mainly jazz, blues, and ragtime.
I give each student several choices of pieces and let them pick what they want to perform at a recital. That way, they have "buy in" and are more motivated. Many had their pieces memorized weeks before the recital. I don't think I'll change that approach. I am rethinking my "no sheet music at the recital" policy. A couple students could have really used their music during their performance. I still want the music memorized because it looks more professional and polished, but stuff comes up--one kid was sick, then traveling with her folks, then busy with other activities, and as such, didn't have her piece memorized as well as she would have liked. Memorization strategies will be a significant part of lessons in 2015; May's recital will involve more challenging pieces (I'm debating between a couple 5-page ragtime pieces for my own study), as well as some duets, both 1-piano-4-hands and piano-guitar.
One aspect of this recital that stands out, though, is how nervous everyone was. I've been thinking hard about this for a couple weeks now, and dealing with stage fright will be part of our lessons leading up to the next recital in May. I plan to spend some time over the Christmas and New Year break looking for material for the next recital, but I also plan to do some reading on strategies for dealing with performance anxiety, starting with this article from The Bulletproof Musician blog. I play a lot, and I know how to channel stage fright into increased focus. It's taken a while to get to that point, though.
Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!
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