The Teaching Philosophy for all courses of study is that developed during my teaching career and published in my dissertation, 'Kodaly-Inspired Musicianship Training and the Beginning Piano Student: Integrating Musical and Technical Skill Development'. (UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Piano
Voice
Musicianship
Theory
Piano
Development of aural, reading, and playing skills. Students experience and skill level will be determined and materials selected accordingly. Texts and playing materials will be used as suited to the progress of the student.
Musical skills will always be developed in music contexts, using a variety of musical examples.
-Rhythmic understanding
-Tonal understanding
-Melodic understanding
-Style/Periods/Expression understanding
Hearing, singing, reading, writing, physical feel, memory, expressiveness, playing are developed within the context of the music.
Technical skills are developed in a hands-separate then hands-together approach.
Hands-separate:
-Keyboard: key sets, letter sets, hand position, fingering, steps/skips within hand, change positions, change/extend fingering.
Hands-together:
-Coordination of hands to play many types of music textures.
Performance opportunities are an important component of study, and are of the following types.
-Recitals: informal playing for other students and parents within the Studio; formal performances of memorized music open to the public.
-Competitions: Adjudicated performances at which the student may perform memorized music only for a judge, or may play before a public audience with judges in attendance.
Voice
Development of aural, reading, and singing skills. Students experience and skill level will be determined and materials selected accordingly. Texts and singing materials will be used as suited to the progress of the student.
Musical skills will always be developed in music contexts, using a variety of musical examples.
-Rhythmic understanding
-Tonal understanding
-Melodic understanding
-Style/Periods/Expression understanding
Hearing, singing, reading, writing, physical feel, memory, expressiveness are developed within the context of the music.
Technical skills are developed appropriate to the maturity of the voice, but will always include the following areas.
-Intonation
-Breathing/Phrasing
-pronunciation(diction)/pure vowels and consonants
-beautiful/ musical sound
Performance opportunities are an important component of study, and are of the following types.
-Recitals: informal singing for other students and parents within the Studio; formal performances of memorized music open to the public.
-Competitions: Adjudicated performances at which the student may perform memorized music only for a judge, or may sing before a public audience with judges in attendance.
Musicianship
Musicianship study is based upon an evaluation of the students musical and related experience, from which a plan, and text and music materials, will be determined.
Skills to be developed will include the following.
Rhythmic skills include movement, feeling, reading, writing.
-Beat, beat division, beat elongation, rhythm
-Coordination of 2 or more of the above
-Time signatures, natural accent, various beat subdivisions
Tonal skills include singing, hearing, reading, writing.
-Intonation; sense of Major key, relationship of tones within a scale, memory
-Study of intervals, solfa, Kodaly hand signs
-Reading, writing, improvising, composing, playing/singing melodies
-Inner hearing, simultaneous melodic parts
Expression/Style skills include:
-Articulation, dynamics, tempi
-Polyphony
-Harmony
-Historical perspective
Theory
Advanced theory study is based upon an evaluation of previous musicianship and performance skill development. Also, consideration of student goals for such study will help develop an appropriate syllabus.
Areas of study might include:
-Harmony
-Form/analysis
-Counterpoint
-Orchestration
-Improvisation
-Composition/arranging