Maestro’s Musings 45

Greetings readers.

I am sorry to announce that I have decided to discontinue writing the Maestro’s Musings blog.  I have had a fun time doing it and I appreciate everyone who read it and gave me feedback.  I hope all of you found it helpful and entertaining. I simply feel like I am heading in a different direction right now and the Musings perhaps would be better served with me taking what I’ve already written and trying to find a wider audience than with continuing to concoct blogs every week.

Does that mean that Maestro’s Musings is done?  Absolutely not.  I am still happy to accept guest blog spots and do interviews. If anyone would like to write a guest blog, please let me know; same if anyone would like to be interviewed by phone or email.  Even if there is a blog topic I didn’t cover that you would like to see, give me a shout and I just might do a Brett Favre and come out retirement.

Thanks again for everyone’s support.  Before I go let me leave you with a few more jokes:

#1) There’s a couple that gets to the point where they can’t even talk to each other without fighting, so they remain silent the whole time.  The husband goes to a marriage counselor and tells him the problem.  The marriage counselor calls the wife and has her meet the husband at a jazz club.  The two of them sit at their table and listen.  The sax player solos first, then the piano player.  Then the bassist starts to solo…and the husband and wife look at each other and start talking.

#2) Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Philip Glass.

#3) Q. What did the Indian band leader say to the American drummer who sat in on a gig while touring in Calcutta?

A. “You sound good but I need more of a backbeat on 6 and 23.”

#4) Q. What was written on the blues musician’s tomb stone?

A. “Well, I didn’t wake up this mornin’….”

Maestro’s Musings 44: Vacation Music School (“Drums Stop, Very Bad!”)

I begin this blog with the understanding that not every student–adult or youngster–wants to take a “working vacation”. If your student is visiting Yosemite National Park or British Columbia or Alaska, the last thing you should want is for them to be thinking about the Mixolydian scale. However, with many students traveling during the summer, or even taking “Stay-cations”, it can’t hurt to consider ways of helping them stay productive.

For some students, especially if they are visiting friends and family who also play, a vacation can be an opportunity to do a little jamming. One of my students couldn’t help but grin when he recalled how he played his brother-in-law’s collection of vitually untouched guitars during a visit. Another student’s parents bragged about how he got to play the piano on a cruise ship. I’ve been given music-related souvenirs from traveling students such as a pick from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and a dinner bell from Graceland, which I have dubbed the “Elvis Bell” (which I ring when a student makes too many mistakes at a recital).

But between the vacation purists and the students who may actively seek out musical opportunities on their trips is another group: Those who may not be aware of all of the things they can do to keep themselves in the loop musically during their time off.

Obviously, bringing an instrument, if possible, is best. This suggestion will probably be better received by voice and flute students than piano students, but it’s worth throwing out there. Guitar students should know about the Martin Backpacker, a portable and functional acoustic guitar that is much more compact than a standard model, and others that are similar. (Remember, if you teach guitar, bass or any other stringed instrument, make sure your students LOOSEN THEIR STRINGS before taking them on the plane!) The parents of one of my young piano students bought a small, portable keyboard to take with them.

Even if bringing the instrument is not an option, students can still work on activities such as note and interval identification, chord spelling and more; if you have students who are studying theory at any advanced level, tell them to use the airplane time productively. No, most students don’t live and die for the C# melodic minor scale, but when the other option is to watch an edited version of “Saw VI”, suddenly those A-sharps and B-sharps just might seem more exciting. If you teach students who are involved with songwriting or composition (see blog #43), remind them that if they are inspired by what they see on the road they can always put pen to paper.

Time off can also give students opportunities to catch up on some listening, be it to old favorites that might have been forgotten in the hustle and bustle of life, or to new stuff. And listening to new stuff doesn’t only have to happen on the iPod; there may be good live music at their vacation spot, be it at a jazz club or the local concert hall. Your students might even consider taking a page out of John 5′s playbook. The Marilyn Manson/Rob Zombie guitarist was once quoted that whenever he traveled with his bands, he liked to drop into local stores to take a lesson. I experienced the reverse of this when I took on two cousins of my students who were visiting for a month from out of town. Make yourself available not just to students who want to be regulars but to out-of-towners who might want to sharpen their skills while on the road.

Encouragement of productivity from vacationing students might sometimes fall on deaf ears, but the more involved with music they are, the better off they–and you–will be. A month without practice does not a fun lesson or happy student make. No, your students don’t need to blaze through the entire Charlie Parker “Omnibook” on their cruise to Cabo, but you have nothing to lose by giving them some ideas about how to keep their musical momentum on the road.

The question of the week is: How have you encouraged your students to be productive on vacation, and what ideas have they come up with themselves?

And the joke of the week: A guy is vacationing in Africa, where he takes a cruise down a river through the jungle. He enjoys the scenery but is annoyed by a persistant drumming that he hears from the trees. He asks the guide, “What’s with that drumming?” The guide simply shakes his head and says, “When drums stop, is very bad.”

The tourist sits back down and tries to ignore the drums, but they get louder and louder. He says to the guide again, “How long are they going to keep doing this?” All the guide says is, “When drums stop, very bad.” The tourist is starting to get annoyed but sits back down and tries to block out the sound. But finally he can’t take it anymore and says, “What happens that’s so bad when the drums stop?”

The guide pauses.

“Bass solo.”

Maestro’s Musings 43: Writes of Passage

In the long, hot days of August, it’s common for students to get tired of doing the same stuff over and over again (as it is for teachers to keep teaching the same stuff over and over again). If you’re looking for a way to put a new spin on your lessons, consider giving them some kind of music writing assignment.

For younger students, writing a song can be a fun way for them to better learn their instrument and to develop their ear training and music notation skills. When one of my students finishes a piece I sometimes print it out for them in music notation software. For young kids who have never seen music printed out from a computer, it can be exciting. (My software of choice, the discontinued and probably currently unavailable Digital Sheet Music Plus, isn’t exactly on the leading edge of the industry, but it gets the job done).  Students can find printable staff paper at www.blanksheetmusic.net, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.

For intermediate students, who perhaps have already tried writing songs, I encourage them to write music to help them with their technical challenges. For example, if a piano student has a tough time with key signatures, have them write a song with a lot of sharps or flats, or perhaps one that modulates. If a guitar student is having a problem with a specific chord, have them write a song that features it.

You can give advanced students an assignment where the composition itself has certain rules that challenge them to be creative. Have a student write a song in an odd time feel; with a groove or in a style they’re not used to; or with a chord progression that might be outside of their comfort zone. Of course, you can also challenge your students to downsize. Sometimes writing less is harder. A teacher of mine at Berklee College of Music said that one of the toughest things he ever had to do was write a piece that was four minutes, and no longer, for a concert program. “Not Long Ago”, which seems to be one of my more popular instrumentals, was an assignment I gave myself. Perhaps it was an unconscious rebellion against the jazz and film scoring education I had just completed, but my challenge to myself was to write the simplest song I could, using only the three most common and basic chords.

I often ask my students if they’ve ever heard a song on the radio and thought, “I could write something better.” The answer is almost always yes. “Well, then write it!” I will say. “Record it, submit it, get it played, make money. I’ll consider a 5% commission more than enough.” You never know, the next Bruce Springsteen or Sheryl Crow might be your student at 4pm on Tuesdays.

The question of the week is: How have you encouraged students to write music, and how have they responded?

And the joke of the week:

A piano player and female vocalist are playing at a jazz club. The singer says, “Let’s do ‘My Funny Valentine.’ How do you want to play it?”

The piano player says, “Let’s start off in C minor, play the next eight in D minor in 3/4 time, play the bridge in F in 5/4 time and the last section in G minor in 6/8 time.”

The singer gives him a look and says, “Are you crazy? How am I going to keep track of that?”

 The piano player replies, “That’s how you played it last night.”