S P R I N G 2 0 1 2. Studio Calendar at a Glance. Studio Notes. The Newsletter
of The Piano Studio of Joy Morin. Practice Tips. What better way is there to ...
S P R I N G 2 0 1 2
Studio Notes T h e N e w s l et t e r o f Th e P i an o S t u d i o o f J o y M o r i n
Practice Tips
Welcome! It looks like Spring is here! The sun is out, and my tulips and daffodils are well above the ground. The studio has important reminders and announcements...the Spring Recital, details about Summer Camps, and a couple of other performance opportunities for students. Details are all right here in the newsletter. Read on!
Studio Calendar at a Glance
Conference Attendance:
Save the Date:
NO LESSONS March 23-‐29
Sat., April 22 @ 1:30
Enjoy the week off – Miss Joy will be in NYC attending the national conference of the Music Teachers National Association.
Get ready for our Spring Recital held in the library’s atrium!
What better way is there to prepare for an upcoming performance than to “practice performing”? During upcoming lessons, we will practice performing for an imaginary audience in preparation for the Spring Recital. Students can practice performing at home too. The audience can be real (family members) or imaginary. (I’ve even had students tell me they like to perform for an assembly of their favorite stuffed animals!) The point is for the student to mentally put themselves through the performance and imagining themselves succeeding. What to do: • As your imaginary audience applauds wildly, enter from stage left and take a bow. • Sit down at the piano and check the bench. • Take a deep breath and begin when you feel ready. • As you play, think about the mood of the piece and what the music is depicting. • When you are finished, stand, smile, and bow once again. ♫♪
THE PIANO STUDIO OF JOY MORIN
STUDIO NOTES NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2012
News from the Studio Spring Recital Update
Piano Party
Our Spring Recital is coming up! It will be Saturday, April 22 at 1:30pm and held in the atrium of the library here in Bowling Green. Please invite your friends and family! Students should wear dress clothes and bring their music along even if they have their piece memorized. I would appreciate a few volunteers for bringing cookies or bars for our reception afterwards – please let me know if you are willing to help out.
Before the Spring Recital, I’d like to host a Piano Party for students (teen/adult students are excused) to perform their recital pieces for each other and play music games. Please email me to let me know which Saturday works best for your schedule: April 7, 14, or 21. Also let me know if you would prefer morning or afternoon. I would like to try to find a date that works for the most students so we’ll have a good turnout!
Two Additional Performance Opportunities I’d be pleased to enter a few students in these events, so please let me know if you might be interested in playing your recital piece at one (or both!) of these events: •
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Student Adjudication Festival: Saturday, April 14 from 9-‐11am at BGSU's Moore M usical Arts Center. Students of any level may enter and play one or two pieces by memory for an adjudicator within a 5-‐ minute time constraint, and will receive a comment sheet from the adjudicators with encouragement and suggestions for improvement. The adjudicators for this event will be piano majors from BGSU who are studying piano pedagogy. An application fee of $5 is requested to support the BGSU Student Chapter of the Ohio M usic Teachers Association. Wood-‐Ottawa Counties Recital: Sunday, April 22 at 2:15pm in the library's atrium. This recital is sponsored by and features students of teachers who are members of the Ohio Music Teachers Association. This event is simply a sharing and celebration of music. Performers each play one or two pieces by memory. I would love to have a few students play on this recital, or simply attend to hear the music being shared!
Homeschool Music Class Update
I’m proud to announce that our Homeschool Music Class is doing very well! We’ve been studying the musical instruments of the orchestra and learning about the music of a classical composer each week. We’ve also been working on learning to read rhythms and notes on the staff, and identify the keys on the piano. On the right is a picture of our composer timeline, showing all the composers we have studied so far! 2
THE PIANO STUDIO OF JOY MORIN
STUDIO NOTES NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2012
2012 Summer Camps Below is the information regarding this year’s summer camps as it was emailed out a few weeks ago. Registration forms will be available in April. Current Students: As you may recall from the Studio Policies, students have two options for the summer m onths (June-‐August): (1) students ages 6-‐12 m ay participate in a camp each m onth plus take 5 lessons scheduled approximately every other week around family vacations; or, (2) students may continue weekly lessons (10 total) as normal. Students who choose to continue lessons as normal are welcome to sign up for 1, 2, or all 3 summer camps on top of their lessons if desired, at a special rate of $60/camp. You do not have to be one of Joy’s piano students to attend these camps, so please join us and invite your friends too! A music background is not required to attend the camp, although it would be beneficial.
Camp Information •
Ages: 6-‐12.
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Days/Times: Each camp meets for two hours each day (from 10:00am-‐12:00pm) for four days (M-‐Th). If the morning session fills up with more than 8 students, an afternoon session will likely be offered as well. Campers -‐-‐ please arrive 10-‐15 m inutes early each morning so we can start the fun on time!
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Location: All camps will take place at the home of Joy Morin, located on Pearl Street in Bowling Green, Ohio.
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Cost: Tuition for each four-‐day camp is $75 (or $60 for Joy's current students). Campers are w elcome to register for one, two, or all three camps, if desired! A snack will be provided each day of camp. If registration with full payment is received before May 1, campers will receive a FREE camp T-‐shirt!
2012 Summer Camp Offerings JUNE 11-‐14: Musical Olympics! This camp is designed to get students experiencing and learning about music through movement activities and team games like Rhythm Toss, Musical Hoops, Rhythm Splash, and the Musical Alphabet Relay. On the first day of camp, campers will be divided into two teams that will compete for the gold medal throughout the week! Campers -‐-‐ be sure to wear your swimsuit under your clothes, because there just might be a game involving water planned for each day of camp! Tuition: $75 if paid before June 1 or $90 if paid after June 1. Note: Campers attending the Musical Olympics camp in June will be outdoors for most (if not all) of the activities, and the weather might be hot, so please dress appropriately! Tennis shoes, swimsuit (under clothes), baseball caps, sunscreen, etc. are encouraged. JULY 9-‐12: So, You Want To Be A Composer? During this composition bootcamp, campers will gain inspiration and tools for composing their own music! Students will examine the creative process of a famous composer each day, and then create/notate their own composition in a related fashion. For example, the French Impressionist composer Claude Debussy w as inspired by colors, so we will learn to notate a composition using various colors of paint! In addition to individual work, there will also be opportunities for improvising and composing as a group throughout the week. Students will also craft a musical instrument to take home each day. Tuition: $75 if paid before July 1, or $90 if paid after July 1. AUGUST 6-‐9: Music History Blast From The Past! During this camp, we will be traveling back in time to get a glimpse into the lives of the great classical composers. Each day, we will focus on a time period from music history and create a scrapbook page of pictures/notes to take home. As we study the composers we will be not only listening to the music of each time period, but also looking at the instruments, clothes, and art of each time period in order to make the past come alive. Campers will be sure experience the thrill of a blast from the past during this music history camp!
Tuition: $75 if paid before August 1, or $90 if paid after August 1. 3
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THE PIANO STUDIO OF JOY MORIN
STUDIO NOTES NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2012
Musical Events in the Community It is very motivating for students to hear great musical performances as they practice and study music themselves! Here’s a listing of some upcoming musical events the community: • Friday, March 16 @ 7-‐8pm: Ardan Academy plays tradition Irish music. Free with $5 parking at Toledo Museum of Art. • Friday, March 16 @ 8pm: BGSU student Mary Kefferstan gives her Master’s piano recital in Bryan Recital Hall. • Sun, March 18 @ 3-‐4pm: Dr. Michael Boyd plays piano solo music at the Toledo Museum of Art. • Sat, March 24 @ 12pm: BGSU student Jeff Manchur gives his DMA piano recital. • Sun, March 25 @ 12pm: BGSU student Yisi E gives her Master’s piano recital. • Sat, April 7 @ 2pm: BGSU student Melanie Bandera gives her Senior piano recital. • Sunday, April 22 @ 2:15pm: Wood-‐Ottawa
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Counties Recital of students of members of OhioMTA, held in Wood Co. library atrium. Free. Fri, March 23 @ 8-‐9pm: Music by modern composer John Cage, including a Suite for toy piano! Toledo Museum of Art. Sun, March 11 @ 3-‐4pm: A performance of music and dance telling a magical story about a girl, a star, and a book. Toledo Museum of Art. Mon, April 9 @ 8pm: BGSU presents guest artist Jason Hardink, piano. Mon, April 18 @ 8pm: BGSU presents guest artists Susan Chan, piano. Sunday, Apr. 29 @ 7-‐8pm: Pianist Michael Boyd and cellist Damon Coleman play at the Toledo Museum of Art.
A Love for Learning A Reflection upon Self-Improvement and Continued Education
I was honored to speak for a couple of local associations back home in Michigan (the Holland Piano Teachers Forum and the Kalamazoo Area Music Teachers Association) recently. My presentation was titled, “Business Sense for the Piano Teacher of the 21st Century” and covered a variety of topics, including utilizing technology in the studio, effective studio policies, and how to market a piano studio. It was so fun to talk with the teachers of these associations about these topics.
learning. Humans naturally have a desire to self-‐ improve and reach for goals.
Spending time with these experienced teachers (some of whom were somewhat intimated by the technology we were discussing) reminded me that no matter our age, we are never done learning. Even the most experienced piano teachers attend monthly meetings of their local piano teachers associations so they can stay up-‐to-‐date. Such commitment arises out of a dedication to ones profession – but more importantly, from a love of
With all of this in mind, I look forward to attending the National Conference held by MTNA in just over a week. There’s still much more for me to learn about piano teaching, and I intend to get as much out of this conference as I can!
When I teach piano, I do my best to nurture a love of learning in my students. Sometimes when a new piece seems “too hard” to the student, I them: “Hard stuff makes your brain exercise. Without exercise, your brain won’t get any smarter!” and “If it were easy, it probably wouldn’t be worth doing.” Encouragement like this points the students toward enjoying the process of a challenge and anticipating the feeling of success afterwards.
Musically yours,
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Joy Morin, MMus
