music lessons

Sight-reading Tips

1 Comment / College Prep, High Schools, Teaching Music /

By John Gardner

Solo and Ensemble no frameMusicians auditioning for acceptance or for music scholarships are working on prepared pieces — likely the same piece he/she is using for solo contest. An aspect of many auditions that are a challenge is the demonstration of sight-reading proficiency. Colleges want to know how quickly you can learn their music.

In most sight-reading circumstances, there will be time for you to preview what you are about to play. In a concert band festival, the sight-reading session involves 10 minutes to look over a piece (counting/clapping rhythms, checking out different aspects, before time is up and the judge is ready. Whatever amount you get, gage the time to get through the following:

Key signature. What key are you in? Finger through the scale. Look throughout and see if or how many times it changes during the piece.

Notes. Check range. If possible, sing or sound what you see…. Can you hear and sound what you see? Some people refer to those aural skills as “seeing ears” and “hearing eyes”.

Time signature. Does it stay the same or change?

Tempo. If marked, this should give you a general guideline, but keep in mind that is a performance tempo. For sight-reading, look for the most difficult passage that you will play, get a quick idea of how fast you think you can play it accurately, and use that as your overall tempo. Once you start, you don’t want to change the pulse depending on difficulty.

Rhythms. Scan for anything that looks tricky and take a moment to count, clap, sing or whatever — to get that/those rhythm(s) in your head.

Dynamics. Scan for them and then be aware as you play.

Stylistic markings. Staccato, legato, articulation, accents, etc. The tendency in sight-reading is to concentrate on notes, which are primary but watch for the other signs as you go. Like driving the car, staying on the road (notes) is important, but watching the road signs (slow down, stop, cross-walk, etc) are equally important to getting to your destination safely.

Once you start – DON’T STOP! If you miss a note, that one is history, you can’t go back and fix it … part of practicing for sight-reading (or for any performance) is to force yourself to continue.

Finding music to sight-read. Get books from other similar-range instruments. Pick random hymns in a church hymnal. Check the band director’s office. Go to the music library and pull out random pieces. For sight-reading practice, however, don’t keep playing the same piece(s), unless it is to prepare them for performance or to see how quickly you can perfect them.

Another important aspect to sight-reading is evaluation. If possible, have someone else listen to you and critique what you played. You may be playing a rhythm wrong that you will continue to play wrong.

Hope this helps. Add your comments or send questions.

 

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Solo contest judge’s #1 recommendation

Leave a Comment / College Prep, High Schools, Music Department, Music Performance, Parenting, Solo Prep, Teaching Music /

By John Gardner

excellentMost participants in high school solo competitions are only in the performance room long enough for his/her performance and maybe for a couple friends’. They could learn so much by sitting and listening/observing for a while.

During some down time in between local student performances at a state level contest, I sat in a few performance rooms just to hear examples of what other students around the state are doing.  I did not expect to see the wide range of performance quality given that I was at a STATE level contest and everyone participating had already received a GOLD (top) rating at district competition. If I had to summarize that experience, it would be with the conclusion that…

…not all music education results are created equal.

…

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Solo contest judge’s #1 recommendation Read More »

Three Seniors One Solo

Leave a Comment / Music Performance, Personal experience, Solo Prep /

One of the best things my high school band director ever did for me was to secure me an “audition” to take clarinet lessons from Robert Roden, the director of Simon Kenton High School, and undisputedly the best clarinet teacher in the area. There were two challenges. The first was that he was very selective in who he accepted into his studio. And second, he was more expensive than my mother was going to be able to afford. I’m not sure what Mr. Copenaver told him in advance, but he seemed to know something about my family’s financial situation. 

I was a high school freshman when Mom drove me to his home in Taylor Mill. He was in a lounge chair listening. At the end of the “audition”, Mr. Roden presented his “offer” that went something like this:

“You play well. I can help you get better. But you can’t afford me. As it turns out, I have a bad heart and can’t do yard work or heavy lifting. So, if you would be willing to cut my grass or shovel my snow, or do any other jobs around my house as needed, then I will provide you clarinet lessons until the day you show up here unprepared. Do we have a deal?”

Of course, we had a deal. I knew the significance of what had just happened.

It took about an hour and a half to cut his grass. Typically, Mom would drop me off and come back about three hours later. The Rodens always had a drink/snack break for me. I was either their pet or their adopted son. They were very kind to me. I only remember shoveling snow once or twice. There were a few times where he would have me move the living room furniture around. Sometimes I think he tried to come up with something just so I could feel like I worked for my lessons.

I kept my end of the bargain by always being prepared. And so did he. By senior year, after studying with him four years, I had earned the first chair in the All-State Orchestra, full-ride scholarship offers from Morehead State University, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Kentucky — and 1st chair clarinet in the United States Collegiate Wind Band, which toured Europe and the U.S.S.R. in the summer between high school and college.

I played Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsodie for Solo Contest in Junior Year. That was the hardest piece I had ever worked on until he gave me Variations on Au Claire de la Lune by JeanJean. He did something senior year, however, that was either genius or cruel. 

I was his student as 1st chair clarinet from Holmes High School in Covington, KY. He also taught the 1st chair clarinetist from Campbell County High School and from his own school, Simon Kenton. He gave all three of us the same solo. Rival schools. Rival bands. Bragging rights. 

Here is a professional rendition of that solo. I do not have a recording of myself.

There is a very long piano intro. If the video starts at the beginning, move it to 1:00, which is just a few seconds before the clarinet comes in.

 

A couple of notes about the piece. It is set up a theme and variations with piano interludes in between some of the solo parts. Everyone who knew me could tell you my biggest strength was my technical proficiency, which this piece highlighted. And my biggest weakness was endurance or lack thereof. There would have been some ‘cuts’ to get the piece short enough for contest parameters, but I kept at least most of the piano interludes to give me a break. 

The three clarinetists were not friends. We were not even friendly competitors. The schools were fierce competitors in sports and bands ….and now, in clarinets. The bands got involved to support their “star” and solo contest that day was one I will never forget. Typically the only people in the room for a solo evaluation is the soloist, accompanist, the judge and assistant, and maybe the next person in line, family or a few friends. This was not a typical day.

I don’t remember which of the girls went first, but she got a “I” (Superior Rating). The room was full. The second girl went in a bit later and also got the highest Superior rating. 

My performance was in the afternoon and the pressure was on. Representatives from all three schools tried to fill the performance room. The judge ordered the door to remain open so people in the hallway could hear. 

I knew this judge, Earl Thomas, clarinet professor from Eastern Kentucky University. I had worked with him four summers that I attended the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camp at EKU. He really wanted me as a student. I liked him. 

The crowd in the room made me nervous. The judge did not ….. UNTIL he said, 

“John, I don’t know when I have ever heard this piece played in a high school event and you are my third hearing of it today. The pressure is on you, son because I gave the two girls the highest rating. Are you ready?

Yes, sir.

Oh, and I’ve heard all these piano interludes before……could you just skip those?:

GULP!

As you can see from the old copy of the judge sheet, he didn’t say much. I don’t even remember him closely following the music (which he probably knew well). He just sat and listened.

When I finished, I got a standing ovation from the students in the room — and the judge stood too. 

On my sheet, he gave the rating of a “I+”, which I don’t think existed officially…..but it did indicate I had won the three-way battle. Of course, all three of us got medals for a “Superior” rating. 

PS

This was the piece I played for my college scholarship audition for Phil Miller, clarinet teacher from the University of Kentucky. I felt pretty good when I finished. His words, 

“NASA can teach monkeys how to wiggle their fingers.”

Also, I should note that Mr. Roden played in some “stage bands” at the Beverly Hills Supper Club. This is where my high school prom was held. Roden was one of the casualties in the 1976 fire at the supper club that killed about 165 people. As I understand it, he got out, but went back in to get his music and did not make it out the second time. My father, an off duty firefighter, went to the fire (without his equipment) to help. 

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Safety, Transparency and Reputation when Coaching Students

Leave a Comment / Classroom Teacher, College Prep, Communication, Consulting, High Schools, Parenting, School Security, Teaching Music /

By John Gardner

transparencyFor a short time during my earliest teen years, without concern about walking to and into his home, I studied piano with a single guy who lived a few blocks away. During high school freshman year, I took lessons with a college girl who came to our school and went with me into a sound-proofed practice room. Later in high school, I would travel weekly to an area band director’s home for instruction. Concerns about safety transparency and reputation never came up.

But times are different now. Priests, coaches, and teachers are convicted of having inappropriate relationships with children and students, creating a sensitive and suspicious society that dissuades good teachers and students from participating in the time-tested tradition of individualized instruction.

The concept of innocent until proven guilty does not apply. No one can afford even an accusation. A School of Performing Arts that provides private lessons for area children put windows in all the classroom doors, instituted a parental sign-in/out procedure, and has a staff member walk in on every lesson every time. Band directors schedule lessons in busy offices or in large ensemble rooms full of distractions. College students video lessons with middle/high school students, not only for critique but also for security.

One band director told me that

…you don’t have to be guilty….an accusation can destroy a reputation and/or cost your job. And unfortunately, even after proven innocent, the doubts, questions and hesitations can continue to damage a reputation that took decades to build. Teachers have to be soooo careful.

The very nature of individualized music instruction almost mandates that student and teacher be alone in a room with a closed door. How do we take the legitimate safety concerns that student, parent, and teacher share along with the teacher’s concern for reputation (and employment) and still provide specialized, accelerated training?

SAFETY is everyone’s concern even if from different perspectives. Be aware and be careful.

TEACHERS…

  • invite parents to sit in or be nearby during lessons.
    • My experience: When I teach 1-1 lessons in my home, parents can relax in my living room while I work with the student in the dining room. A 6th grader’s mother would bring a book and sit in the room.
  • leave a door open or at least ensure it is unlocked and/or has a window. Enable anyone to walk in on you. That delay while you get up to open the door from the inside can cause undue suspicion or concern (and increase interruption time).
  • schedule lessons when others are around. Avoid evenings or non-school days when teaching at school or make sure someone else is home if the student is coming to your home studio. Do everything reasonable to remove any question andensure both student and parent are comfortable. Keep in mind that teens are increasingly cautioned to beware of one-on-one situations with adults. Respect that.
    • My experience: When a mother requested I work with her student over holiday break, I scheduled it at school along with an appointment for another teacher to drop something off to me during the lesson time. I left the band room door opened and set up the chairs in clear view from the hallway so passing janitors could see and hear.
  • video or audio record the session. Make sure everyone knows. Place the camera so both teacher and student are visible, but NOT in a way that makes the student uncomfortable or could set you up for a different kind of complaint.
    • My experience: When I teach lessons via Skype, I ask that the camera be pointed so that I can see either fingers, embouchure or both, so I am usually looking at a profile view of the student’s top front. When girls start adjusting their clothes, there is some discomfort. Be aware, empathetic, and be careful. Explain your reasoning — or move the camera to remove the discomfort.
  • if you have a regular coaching schedule, post the schedule. If you have a website with a calendar, parents (and students) are better reminded and informed.

PARENTS…

  • check references. In addition to safety, you want to make sure you’re getting a good product (teacher). If the teacher is an outsider coming to the school, the school should have conducted a background check. Ask.
  • sit in or be in the area, at least periodically. Sitting in an adjacent room can provide reasonable privacy while often enabling you to hear your child play. They won’t do that for you at home, right? Bring a book.
  • for virtual lessons (via Skype, for example), be in the area. You don’t have to stand over the child’s shoulder, but listen in and even walk in a couple times….say hi to the teacher.

STUDENTS…

  • meet a new teacher for the first time with a parent and in public.
  • go with your gut.
  • if anything makes you uncomfortable, speak up or get out. Nearly 100% of the time, you are either mis-interpreting or the teacher is completely unaware and will respond and adjust. Don’t destroy an opportunity based on your misunderstanding a teacher’s oversight.
  • if a parent is dropping you off, have a cell phone to call if the teacher is not there, you finish early (or going over), or you otherwise need parental pick up.
    • My experience: It was during a storm and I was mid-lesson after school when the power went out. Emergency lighting came on, but not enough to continue.
  • if you are going to a lesson, tell your parents (or someone) when, where and for how long.
    • My experience: I’ve had an unnecessarily disgruntled parent when I scheduled some after school coaching with a student who never got around to communicating and mom didn’t know what was going on ’til the student didn’t get off the bus. My mistake was assuming the parent knew.

TRANSPARENCY helps everyone.

Sometimes there is a drop off in parental involvement and in student/parent communication during high school. Teens want more responsibility and independence and both parent and teacher should strive to help them in those areas. Assumptions often cause problems, however, and most issues I’ve ever experienced in the triangular relationship with parent and student elevate because somebody “assumed”. Several years ago, I gave each of my business office employees a personalized, engraved magnet that said, simply:

Assume Nothing!

TEACHERS…provide a list of expectations and policies.

  • Payment. How much, how often and what happens when they don’t. Are materials (music) included?
  • Cancellations when you cancel, when student cancels, how much notice and what if there isn’t any?
  • Minimum requirements; lessons per month, practice time, materials such as tuners or metronome, a functioning instrument with adequate supplies (reeds, etc)…
  • Privacy. Don’t share student/parent contact info or details about what happens during lessons. That is why they are called “private” lessons.
  • Communication. Be easy to contact. Determine whether your communication is to be with the student or parent. Any written communication with the student should be copied to a parent, when possible, including texts, emails or other types of media messages.

REPUTATIONS are slow to build and quick to crumble.

Students and parents need to realize how important that is to the teacher, especially when their very livelihood depends on it. Younger or single teachers need to be hyper-aware, but no one is too old, fat, bald or ugly for legitimate concern and caution.

Without an element of TRUST, this simply cannot work. Hopefully, the teacher has ‘earned’ some trust from both the student and the parental. It is unfortunate that we hear via national news when trust has been abused. That is horrible. But it is also a very, VERY small percentage of people. My advice to all…. in a nutshell:

Be Aware & Take Care!

Thanks for reading.

 

 

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