Surprise, surprise. Yet again I have fallen behind in the world of blogging. On the other hand, it has been a hectic last term for the year experimenting with teaching method and planning for 2011. At the beginning of this year I wanted to make it a goal of mine to be able to update and work on this blog a lot more, and it is something I am planning to enforce for next year (especially if I can get myself a laptop for my travels).
The big push for 2011, through my teaching work, is to establish small ensembles involving my Coffs Harbour and Bellingen students. The time has arrived where the students have developed to a standard where they can meet the challenge and experience playing in a small ensemble. I am hoping to establish a saxophone quartet and wind trio with my private tuition students, and a clarinet ensemble at the high school in Bellingen. To top things off, the clarinet choir in Grafton (Clarinza) will be looking at expanding into a woodwind choir for a couple of performances next year.
Students have been incredibly successful this year in performing. Sectional wins at the local eisteddfod and major prizes, 21 students completing and all passing their AMEB practical exams, high results achieved in HSC performances, and to cap off the year I had three students successfully nominated for the Junior State Wind Band for 2011. Obviously, I have been challenged to go for better results in 2011.
I mentioned a new method of teaching I experimented with for the last term of the year. This method was designed to keep track of practice and to prove strategies and approach that are most effective. The great aspect was that this could be applied to any standard of performer, and it is something I will be embracing next year with all of my students. Students as young as nine set themselves goals and aimed to establish strategies in approach to their practice and achieving their targets through this method. Not only did we see incredible improvements in playing, but it also reinforced the point of when good practice and inconsistent practice was established and how it had an effect on playing. It also brought to light where support was evident from parents/families and schools, and where it was a lot less evident. During the holidays, I will be developing this practice tracking system further for 2011.
All the best during the Christmas/New Years break, and bring on 2011 for another successful year!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Time to "BUSK" out!
So from my last entry, I mentioned that the HSC music performance examinations were on. All of the students I was involved with either for performing or teaching from Grafton, Coffs Harbour and Bellingen did a fantastic job on the day. There was a great feeling of satisfaction from everyone in terms of how they performed, even for one student who had a technical hiccup with some electronics for his instrument (fortunately it wasn’t that deterring for him). All performance programs were at a high standard allowing students to provide their best on the day. So now we will have to wait for the results after all of the other exams have been completed.
I also mentioned in the previous blog entry the Helfgott Scholarship finalists had been announced for next month. A point I presented, but did not raise much concern about, was the fact that four finalists had been chosen for the instrumentals instead of three. While I have nothing against this decision made, I would like to pose a question. Two years ago when there were six finalists (three for the vocals, and three for the instrumentals) the Jetty theatre that hosts the event was a full house. From where I was sitting up the back there was not one free seat, from the 250 available, with the place an absolute buzz of excitement. So if we have another finalist thrown into the mix, and mind you there is a lot of support and interest in the musicians for this event, could this possibly mean people being turned away from being able to attend?
As local people would gather from the title, the International Busker and Comedy Festvial commences today in Coffs Harbour. Over the years, this event has become something of debate amongst people involved in the arts in Coffs Harbour. And even then, there have been people I have met who have an interest or take part in an artistic activity that hold their own views.
This event has proven to be great for businesses, especially for those located in the Palms Centre and the mall. People gather to see the busking acts in the fenced off areas, and have the opportunity to grab a coffee, something sweet to eat, or maybe even purchase something fashionable while being entertained. On the other side of the fence, artistic integrity has been criticised and slammed in comparison with other local artistic events. The festival is held in areas of town, such as the Palms Centre and mall, where busking is normally a fineable offence. Years ago, when I was really young, you could freely perform in this area of town with no complaints. Years later you had to purchase a busking licence in order to be able to perform. Now it is completely outlawed for anyone to busk in this area without being first fined, and then perhaps arrested later with a second fine.
The quality of entertainment, without a doubt, is of an international standard. Some of the acts have been incredibly popular amongst locals and they continue to return. At the same time, no local acts are being permitted to perform. To think that Coffs Harbour has schools of music, dance, drama, and even circus, and not one can be given the chance to exhibit or promote what they do. The Bellingen Music Festival was a great promotion for international-standard performers, while being supported by local groups and musicians to make it a tremendous event. So why can’t this festival do the same?
Without a doubt the event should be a success business-wise and great exposure for the international buskers and comedians, but yet again this could be a kick in the guts for the local arts community with entertainment being brought in displaying no signs of development in the area.
And just to cap off this entry, a “Happy Birthday” shout out to my mum as she celebrates today! Hope she has a wonderful day.
I also mentioned in the previous blog entry the Helfgott Scholarship finalists had been announced for next month. A point I presented, but did not raise much concern about, was the fact that four finalists had been chosen for the instrumentals instead of three. While I have nothing against this decision made, I would like to pose a question. Two years ago when there were six finalists (three for the vocals, and three for the instrumentals) the Jetty theatre that hosts the event was a full house. From where I was sitting up the back there was not one free seat, from the 250 available, with the place an absolute buzz of excitement. So if we have another finalist thrown into the mix, and mind you there is a lot of support and interest in the musicians for this event, could this possibly mean people being turned away from being able to attend?
As local people would gather from the title, the International Busker and Comedy Festvial commences today in Coffs Harbour. Over the years, this event has become something of debate amongst people involved in the arts in Coffs Harbour. And even then, there have been people I have met who have an interest or take part in an artistic activity that hold their own views.
This event has proven to be great for businesses, especially for those located in the Palms Centre and the mall. People gather to see the busking acts in the fenced off areas, and have the opportunity to grab a coffee, something sweet to eat, or maybe even purchase something fashionable while being entertained. On the other side of the fence, artistic integrity has been criticised and slammed in comparison with other local artistic events. The festival is held in areas of town, such as the Palms Centre and mall, where busking is normally a fineable offence. Years ago, when I was really young, you could freely perform in this area of town with no complaints. Years later you had to purchase a busking licence in order to be able to perform. Now it is completely outlawed for anyone to busk in this area without being first fined, and then perhaps arrested later with a second fine.
The quality of entertainment, without a doubt, is of an international standard. Some of the acts have been incredibly popular amongst locals and they continue to return. At the same time, no local acts are being permitted to perform. To think that Coffs Harbour has schools of music, dance, drama, and even circus, and not one can be given the chance to exhibit or promote what they do. The Bellingen Music Festival was a great promotion for international-standard performers, while being supported by local groups and musicians to make it a tremendous event. So why can’t this festival do the same?
Without a doubt the event should be a success business-wise and great exposure for the international buskers and comedians, but yet again this could be a kick in the guts for the local arts community with entertainment being brought in displaying no signs of development in the area.
And just to cap off this entry, a “Happy Birthday” shout out to my mum as she celebrates today! Hope she has a wonderful day.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The Upcoming Events
It was my birthday last Friday, and I didn’t have much time to put together another entry for the blog. Students are keeping me on my toes as events quickly approach. Some of the things that will be coming up very soon...
HSC Performances
For some, HSC performances in music will have commenced. Students I am involved with teaching or participating in ensembles will all be performing next week in Coffs, Bellingen and Grafton. A lot of work and preparation has gone into these works, and we are looking forward to seeing these students impress and show what they are capable of achieving as musicians. The Bellingen High School students will be giving one last public performance this coming Sunday afternoon at 2pm at the Memorial Hall. Some of these students had the opportunity over the course of last weekend to workshop some of their pieces with members of the AYO Wind Quintet. This was definitely appreciated by the students and teaching staff. You will not be disappointed by the calibre and standard of this year’s class.
Helfgott Scholarship Finalists Announced!
The Helfgott Scholarships Finals will be held on the 9th of October. What is quite extraordinary this time is that four finalists have been selected for the instrumentalist scholarship, instead of the standard selection of three. The standard of the musicians’ performances in the finals two years ago was quite high and captivating, and this year should be no exception. More details can be found at the con website here.
Clarinet Capers
For the first time in several years, I will be giving a public recital in Grafton as part of a very successful staff concert series that has been hosted by the Clarence Valley Conservatorium. I will be accompanied by fellow staff member Leanne Taylor as I give a recital primarily on clarinet, featuring a few saxophone works. Works by Piazzolla, Reade, Castel-Nuovo Tedesco, Bozza, Cockroft, and few others will be featured, including (hopefully) a world premiere of one of my own compositions. This concert will be held October 16th at 7:30pm at the Clarence Valley Con.
HSC Performances
For some, HSC performances in music will have commenced. Students I am involved with teaching or participating in ensembles will all be performing next week in Coffs, Bellingen and Grafton. A lot of work and preparation has gone into these works, and we are looking forward to seeing these students impress and show what they are capable of achieving as musicians. The Bellingen High School students will be giving one last public performance this coming Sunday afternoon at 2pm at the Memorial Hall. Some of these students had the opportunity over the course of last weekend to workshop some of their pieces with members of the AYO Wind Quintet. This was definitely appreciated by the students and teaching staff. You will not be disappointed by the calibre and standard of this year’s class.
Helfgott Scholarship Finalists Announced!
The Helfgott Scholarships Finals will be held on the 9th of October. What is quite extraordinary this time is that four finalists have been selected for the instrumentalist scholarship, instead of the standard selection of three. The standard of the musicians’ performances in the finals two years ago was quite high and captivating, and this year should be no exception. More details can be found at the con website here.
Clarinet Capers
For the first time in several years, I will be giving a public recital in Grafton as part of a very successful staff concert series that has been hosted by the Clarence Valley Conservatorium. I will be accompanied by fellow staff member Leanne Taylor as I give a recital primarily on clarinet, featuring a few saxophone works. Works by Piazzolla, Reade, Castel-Nuovo Tedesco, Bozza, Cockroft, and few others will be featured, including (hopefully) a world premiere of one of my own compositions. This concert will be held October 16th at 7:30pm at the Clarence Valley Con.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
AMEB Results and Western Band Camp
Again, it's been a while since I updated. AMEB examinations, Western Band Camp, tutoring, and even involvement in a high school musical (no, not the "High School Musical"... relax...) is keeping me incredibly busy. Here a couple of events that occurred recently.
AMEB Examinations a Success!
24 candidates I teach were enrolled for exams this year, with 21 taking part from Grafton, Coffs, and Bellingen. The results were outstanding with everyone passing, including two As, and a multitude of B+s and Bs. While the results didn't quite match the amount of As earned last year, I am still very pleased with the development of the students over the course of the last 12 to 18 months (for some, even less). This development really showed through their performances. The exams ranged from Preliminary grade all they way through to the new Certificate of Performance.
One of the examiners commented on how impressed they were with the students presenting themselves with very little nerves. If anything, it was mild anxiety that quickly disappeared as they established themselves for the exam. I was informed several other woodwind students examined in one of the towns were withdrawing from examinations on the day, or were incredibly unsettled with nerves from which they could not recover. The three withdrawals of mine were due to one being enrolled for AMus (AMEB couldn't provide a second examiner), a conflicting music camp, and a broken instrument.
Well done, and congratulations, to all of my students taking part in the AMEB exams for 2010.
Western Band Camp
The Western Band Camp for 2010 was a major surprise, and moreso for the sudden leap in standard compared with last year's ensemble.
An advanced ensemble was formed with the performance of Gelato con Caffe, Japanese Graffiti X, and the first movement of Vaughan-Williams' English Folk Song Suite. Some of these works were a real eye-opener for the kids, especially for some as young as the age of ten or eleven. What was even more surprising was that some of these really young musicians had solos in these advanced works that they performed.
The band, as a whole, were quite unified and are developing the skills of balance and ensemble awareness. All round there was quite a good balance in instrumentation despite lacking a little in the bass end. However, I have heard that there may be some tubas on the rise for the next year. We shall see. Everyone involved learnt something new about their instrument, performing, notation, and even the styles of different pieces.
There were very few illnesses within the camp this time. Last year I finished the camp feeling incredibly ill, and there was a small fear that I would start the camp in the same fashion this time. The exhaustion of the exams had hit me very hard, but resting on the night when the exams finished and the next day allowed me to recuperate and fight on (along with some very powerful vitamin C tablets).
Projects Post-Exams/Camps
Now that my involvement in the band camps for 2010 is finished, it's full steam ahead for teaching. The quality of playing and practice from students is really lifting for 2011 exams, HSC exams, and for some the opportunity to audition for the state wind bands next year.
My research into teaching and teaching practice continues and I am really enjoying it. Even though it's not for a degree, the personal professional development is key to being a great teacher in my opinion. Whether it's exploring new method for technique, researching other people's techniques, or even studying the art or psychology of teaching and learning, I feel it is always better to be thoroughly prepared or "over prepared" with the knowledge than to sit dormant and rehash basic information with no inspiration. You can never learn too much.
A dream goal of mine has been to help set up small ensembles with the students I teach in the region and this is appearing to be possible now between those I teach in Coffs and Bellingen. There is the potential to form a saxophone quartet and a small clarinet ensemble, as well as having individual musicians team up with students of other instruments in the area to form duos, trios and possible quartets. Students and parents are very keen to see these projects occur, and these ensembles will do wonders for students developing their own skills as well as ensemble skills.
Until next time, keep on playing!
AMEB Examinations a Success!
24 candidates I teach were enrolled for exams this year, with 21 taking part from Grafton, Coffs, and Bellingen. The results were outstanding with everyone passing, including two As, and a multitude of B+s and Bs. While the results didn't quite match the amount of As earned last year, I am still very pleased with the development of the students over the course of the last 12 to 18 months (for some, even less). This development really showed through their performances. The exams ranged from Preliminary grade all they way through to the new Certificate of Performance.
One of the examiners commented on how impressed they were with the students presenting themselves with very little nerves. If anything, it was mild anxiety that quickly disappeared as they established themselves for the exam. I was informed several other woodwind students examined in one of the towns were withdrawing from examinations on the day, or were incredibly unsettled with nerves from which they could not recover. The three withdrawals of mine were due to one being enrolled for AMus (AMEB couldn't provide a second examiner), a conflicting music camp, and a broken instrument.
Well done, and congratulations, to all of my students taking part in the AMEB exams for 2010.
Western Band Camp
The Western Band Camp for 2010 was a major surprise, and moreso for the sudden leap in standard compared with last year's ensemble.
An advanced ensemble was formed with the performance of Gelato con Caffe, Japanese Graffiti X, and the first movement of Vaughan-Williams' English Folk Song Suite. Some of these works were a real eye-opener for the kids, especially for some as young as the age of ten or eleven. What was even more surprising was that some of these really young musicians had solos in these advanced works that they performed.
The band, as a whole, were quite unified and are developing the skills of balance and ensemble awareness. All round there was quite a good balance in instrumentation despite lacking a little in the bass end. However, I have heard that there may be some tubas on the rise for the next year. We shall see. Everyone involved learnt something new about their instrument, performing, notation, and even the styles of different pieces.
There were very few illnesses within the camp this time. Last year I finished the camp feeling incredibly ill, and there was a small fear that I would start the camp in the same fashion this time. The exhaustion of the exams had hit me very hard, but resting on the night when the exams finished and the next day allowed me to recuperate and fight on (along with some very powerful vitamin C tablets).
Projects Post-Exams/Camps
Now that my involvement in the band camps for 2010 is finished, it's full steam ahead for teaching. The quality of playing and practice from students is really lifting for 2011 exams, HSC exams, and for some the opportunity to audition for the state wind bands next year.
My research into teaching and teaching practice continues and I am really enjoying it. Even though it's not for a degree, the personal professional development is key to being a great teacher in my opinion. Whether it's exploring new method for technique, researching other people's techniques, or even studying the art or psychology of teaching and learning, I feel it is always better to be thoroughly prepared or "over prepared" with the knowledge than to sit dormant and rehash basic information with no inspiration. You can never learn too much.
A dream goal of mine has been to help set up small ensembles with the students I teach in the region and this is appearing to be possible now between those I teach in Coffs and Bellingen. There is the potential to form a saxophone quartet and a small clarinet ensemble, as well as having individual musicians team up with students of other instruments in the area to form duos, trios and possible quartets. Students and parents are very keen to see these projects occur, and these ensembles will do wonders for students developing their own skills as well as ensemble skills.
Until next time, keep on playing!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Mindset versus the Music Exam
The AMEB exams are almost upon with a little less than two weeks to go. The final preparations are being made by students of mine in Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Grafton. Of the twenty-two candidates will be sitting on their exams on clarinet and saxophone ranging from Preliminary grade right through to the new Certificate of Performance. The age range of students taking part is from not-quite-seven, right through to those studying for their HSC.
The feeling amongst a lot of the students is anxiety, obviously not knowing what to expect, but at the same time the confidence and self-belief that they are capable of performing for a distinction (or an “A”) is very high. This is not something you would normally witness amongst a group of students. There is no fear of the mistakes that could be made, or any of the technical work forgotten, but reliability in the strengths and capabilities they have developed as studying musicians. I would be willing to bet that some students won’t be afraid to take some risks with their repertoire on the day.
“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra
Going back twelve months when the preparation first commenced, and even with less than six months to go, the belief may not have been there but it is firmly established now. Some students have never experienced getting a high mark, which does have an effect on your confidence and preparation. The perspective and mindset on the other hand is of far greater importance, and it is this that needs to be established in order to attain a high mark.
Over the course of this year I have been concentrating a lot more on the mental preparations, more so to the point where it has balanced really well with the instrumental practice. As a private/single-studies teacher I’m surprised a lot more music tutors/teachers, especially qualified, don’t consider mental preparation as an area for improvement. After all, musicians do need to focus and concentrate on a task with understanding AND a positive mindset.
What are your thoughts?
The feeling amongst a lot of the students is anxiety, obviously not knowing what to expect, but at the same time the confidence and self-belief that they are capable of performing for a distinction (or an “A”) is very high. This is not something you would normally witness amongst a group of students. There is no fear of the mistakes that could be made, or any of the technical work forgotten, but reliability in the strengths and capabilities they have developed as studying musicians. I would be willing to bet that some students won’t be afraid to take some risks with their repertoire on the day.
“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra
Going back twelve months when the preparation first commenced, and even with less than six months to go, the belief may not have been there but it is firmly established now. Some students have never experienced getting a high mark, which does have an effect on your confidence and preparation. The perspective and mindset on the other hand is of far greater importance, and it is this that needs to be established in order to attain a high mark.
Over the course of this year I have been concentrating a lot more on the mental preparations, more so to the point where it has balanced really well with the instrumental practice. As a private/single-studies teacher I’m surprised a lot more music tutors/teachers, especially qualified, don’t consider mental preparation as an area for improvement. After all, musicians do need to focus and concentrate on a task with understanding AND a positive mindset.
What are your thoughts?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
An Eisteddfod of Opportunities... Missed?
Over the course of the last week and a bit, Coffs Harbour has held its annual eisteddfod. This event is an exciting opportunity for students and teachers to showcase the potential talent of Coffs Harbour and its neighbouring towns. However, it appears the media these days aren't as enthusiastic to report on such an event.
Today’s edition of the Coffs Coast Advocate (10/06/10) decided to give a massive two-page write up on the whole eisteddfod. It’s probably more than what would usually be reported, but it was nonetheless disappointing. What was reported on the whole eisteddfod (yes, a massive summary) was a tiny feature written about a high school drama group, with two photos of this drama group and photos of one drama student and two primary school vocal groups. This was all that the eisteddfod was about. All of the award winners were crammed together in one large incomprehensible sentence that would have been no larger than half a postcard. Did I forget to mention that this two-page feature displayed advertising that would have taken up one of those pages, completely unrelated to the eisteddfod?
I was, and still am, infuriated that such little attention and appreciation is given towards not only this event but the young talent that has developed and emerged within Coffs Harbour and its surrounding communities. This continues to further the points of Coffs Harbour being a “town of missed artistic opportunities”, and a “Franchisee Mecca”. If anything, it would have been better to not report on the eisteddfod at all and let word of mouth pass around about the excellence and achievement of these students.
The instrumental sections alone were outstanding and brought together a high-standard level of performance. Some of the best musicians in the state were being featured, yet the local newspaper neglects to report or investigate this. The amount of participants in the instrumental eisteddfod this year has been the largest since 1999/2000. Friday night saw, essentially, a packed house for the ensembles sections. The widest range of instruments was on display from the usual soprano range suspects all the way to the double bass played by a primary student. The range of repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary repertoire of Australian composers of the last 25 years left audiences stunned, emotionally moved, and in awe of the poise and maturity of performers from primary school through to HSC level. The standard of repertoire in the open championship, and other sections, was as high as LMus (Licentiate Musician) level in accordance with the AMEB (for those that don’t know, LMus is the highest level of accreditation in an instrumental syllabus section). Sections were so close that there would only be a single point in it at times, and the adjudicator remarked how difficult a position she would be in to determine a winner.
By the end of the instrumentals, high praise was held for the students that took part from the adjudicator, organising secretary, committee members, teachers, and audience members. This was only one of the several sections that make up the eisteddfod. If only the media were there to witness that...
Today’s edition of the Coffs Coast Advocate (10/06/10) decided to give a massive two-page write up on the whole eisteddfod. It’s probably more than what would usually be reported, but it was nonetheless disappointing. What was reported on the whole eisteddfod (yes, a massive summary) was a tiny feature written about a high school drama group, with two photos of this drama group and photos of one drama student and two primary school vocal groups. This was all that the eisteddfod was about. All of the award winners were crammed together in one large incomprehensible sentence that would have been no larger than half a postcard. Did I forget to mention that this two-page feature displayed advertising that would have taken up one of those pages, completely unrelated to the eisteddfod?
I was, and still am, infuriated that such little attention and appreciation is given towards not only this event but the young talent that has developed and emerged within Coffs Harbour and its surrounding communities. This continues to further the points of Coffs Harbour being a “town of missed artistic opportunities”, and a “Franchisee Mecca”. If anything, it would have been better to not report on the eisteddfod at all and let word of mouth pass around about the excellence and achievement of these students.
The instrumental sections alone were outstanding and brought together a high-standard level of performance. Some of the best musicians in the state were being featured, yet the local newspaper neglects to report or investigate this. The amount of participants in the instrumental eisteddfod this year has been the largest since 1999/2000. Friday night saw, essentially, a packed house for the ensembles sections. The widest range of instruments was on display from the usual soprano range suspects all the way to the double bass played by a primary student. The range of repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary repertoire of Australian composers of the last 25 years left audiences stunned, emotionally moved, and in awe of the poise and maturity of performers from primary school through to HSC level. The standard of repertoire in the open championship, and other sections, was as high as LMus (Licentiate Musician) level in accordance with the AMEB (for those that don’t know, LMus is the highest level of accreditation in an instrumental syllabus section). Sections were so close that there would only be a single point in it at times, and the adjudicator remarked how difficult a position she would be in to determine a winner.
By the end of the instrumentals, high praise was held for the students that took part from the adjudicator, organising secretary, committee members, teachers, and audience members. This was only one of the several sections that make up the eisteddfod. If only the media were there to witness that...
Sunday, May 23, 2010
New England, New Zealand, and Riverina.
From New England, to New Zealand, to the Riverina, the musical work never stops. And the enjoyment of it all doesn’t either. Having arrived home last night after completing 13 hours of travel, I think I am more than ready to complete a long awaited blog update.
NZ Tour
The New Zealand tour with the University of Newcastle Wind Orchestra was an incredible experience, and a pleasure to be involved with an ensemble performing at a professional level. While many of the old guard had left, it was great to see some past members still performing and to meet and make new friendships with those emerging through the ranks either in their late secondary or early tertiary studies.
At the Aurora Music Festival, the UNWO was awarded the gold medal for its round of performances by the panel. Prior to the performances, the UNWO and St Lukes Grammar School ensembles had workshops with the conductor of the Arizona State University Wind Symphony, Gary Hill. The workshops Gary lead were a pleasure to watch (and be a part of) from a teaching perspective, and certainly provided me with a few new skills and perspectives on teaching and learning.
Apart from the wind orchestra music, we also had the opportunity to perform “The Klezmer Suite” arranged and composed by Alexis Ciesla with a clarinet choir formed from the ensemble. This suite has its challenges, and these were all overcome in the space of an hour! Fingers crossed this group can remain together and continue performing clarinet choir music.
Many thanks to Cookie for giving Emelia and myself the opportunity to travel and view the sights of New Zealand.
New England/Riverina Band Camps
Prior to New Zealand, the New England Band Camp was held. And a couple of days ago the Riverina Band Camp concluded. Both of these camps were quite an experience and really blew me away by the talent that these regions have, how far they have come from, and the new talent beginning to emerge.
This year, the shoelace ligature has played a massive role and influence on single reed players as students and teachers are intrigued by the improvement it makes. The majority of people who have tested this are very pleased by its enhancement, while everyone who has taken part in testing the shoelace have noticed a great difference and some sort of improvement to tone and control in the different ranges of their instruments. This coming week will see the NSW Senior Ensemble (Years 9-12) taking part, and there certainly will be students travelling down using this new technique (with a lot of fingers pointing back to me). In the near future I will detail an entry explaining why I use the shoelace ligature and why I find it to be better than certain ligatures that you would pay over $100 for!
The repertoire for both camps was more challenging, including the advanced band. Both camps handled the repertoire incredibly well, but it left a question to be asked after the Riverina camp; how come, with both camps at similar levels of ability, the Riverina kids absolutely chewed through the standard repertoire moving into the advanced band repertoire and the New England kids didn’t? I’ll be quick to point out that both clarinet sections I worked with were fantastic from the solo chair down to 4ths and bass, and that both ensembles were similar in ability all round. It was absolutely bizarre.
The tour video was finally shown to the Riverina kids, and there was a very good response all round. It took me right up to the final evening that I left on for Tamworth, to format the video so it could be re-converted for DVD. There are still a couple of sections I would edit, or get the audio to line up with the video, but everyone enjoyed the various sights and sounds presented and took encouragement from the concert performances and the various words of Di Hall (whilst she was driving).
That's my update for now. Soon I will be posting more in relation to the shoelace ligature and a few of my compositions in the works.
NZ Tour
The New Zealand tour with the University of Newcastle Wind Orchestra was an incredible experience, and a pleasure to be involved with an ensemble performing at a professional level. While many of the old guard had left, it was great to see some past members still performing and to meet and make new friendships with those emerging through the ranks either in their late secondary or early tertiary studies.
At the Aurora Music Festival, the UNWO was awarded the gold medal for its round of performances by the panel. Prior to the performances, the UNWO and St Lukes Grammar School ensembles had workshops with the conductor of the Arizona State University Wind Symphony, Gary Hill. The workshops Gary lead were a pleasure to watch (and be a part of) from a teaching perspective, and certainly provided me with a few new skills and perspectives on teaching and learning.
Apart from the wind orchestra music, we also had the opportunity to perform “The Klezmer Suite” arranged and composed by Alexis Ciesla with a clarinet choir formed from the ensemble. This suite has its challenges, and these were all overcome in the space of an hour! Fingers crossed this group can remain together and continue performing clarinet choir music.
Many thanks to Cookie for giving Emelia and myself the opportunity to travel and view the sights of New Zealand.
New England/Riverina Band Camps
Prior to New Zealand, the New England Band Camp was held. And a couple of days ago the Riverina Band Camp concluded. Both of these camps were quite an experience and really blew me away by the talent that these regions have, how far they have come from, and the new talent beginning to emerge.
This year, the shoelace ligature has played a massive role and influence on single reed players as students and teachers are intrigued by the improvement it makes. The majority of people who have tested this are very pleased by its enhancement, while everyone who has taken part in testing the shoelace have noticed a great difference and some sort of improvement to tone and control in the different ranges of their instruments. This coming week will see the NSW Senior Ensemble (Years 9-12) taking part, and there certainly will be students travelling down using this new technique (with a lot of fingers pointing back to me). In the near future I will detail an entry explaining why I use the shoelace ligature and why I find it to be better than certain ligatures that you would pay over $100 for!
The repertoire for both camps was more challenging, including the advanced band. Both camps handled the repertoire incredibly well, but it left a question to be asked after the Riverina camp; how come, with both camps at similar levels of ability, the Riverina kids absolutely chewed through the standard repertoire moving into the advanced band repertoire and the New England kids didn’t? I’ll be quick to point out that both clarinet sections I worked with were fantastic from the solo chair down to 4ths and bass, and that both ensembles were similar in ability all round. It was absolutely bizarre.
The tour video was finally shown to the Riverina kids, and there was a very good response all round. It took me right up to the final evening that I left on for Tamworth, to format the video so it could be re-converted for DVD. There are still a couple of sections I would edit, or get the audio to line up with the video, but everyone enjoyed the various sights and sounds presented and took encouragement from the concert performances and the various words of Di Hall (whilst she was driving).
That's my update for now. Soon I will be posting more in relation to the shoelace ligature and a few of my compositions in the works.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
New England Band Camp and Term 1 2010
It’s that time of year again as the regional band camp series kicks off. As usual, the camp to commence proceedings will be the New England region at Lake Keepit. Being the night before I have to leave, I thought I would quickly do a term wrap up and how things have progressed so far with teaching in Grafton, Coffs Harbour and Bellingen.
Bellingen HSC Recitals
Last night, Year 12 Bellingen High School students provided audience members from the community including parents, fellow students, tutors, musicians and people outside of the school and outstanding program. The combination of solo and ensemble performances lead to rapturous applause and even cries for an encore!
It’s not very often you are presented with the opportunity of working with a talented group of musicians, especially in this region where it can be considered to be languishing behind other regional areas in the state. But in the town of Bellingen you can definitely be assured that the arts are very well and thriving and I feel very privileged to be assisting in the development of these very fine musicians.
The next series of these public performance assessments will be held in Term 2 as we close in on HSC and AMEB examinations.
Riverina Tour Video
The Riverina Schools Tour video from 2009 is nearing completion, and will be giving an advanced screening to staff at the New England camp (hopefully). The amount of time, editing, crashing software, and frustrations in putting this video together have been worth it. However, I will be reconsidering the software I purchased to edit the footage after the amount of glitches and errors I encountered (and that’s after applying TWO patches that were meant to fix these). The only problem I am having now is burning the product as a whole, with disc menu, without having the audio go out of sync with the video. If only technology could be simpler...
New England Band Camp
I have, roughly, a five hour trip ahead of me from Coffs Harbour to the camp site. The trip shouldn’t be a problem, but after having some serious car issues earlier this week I am hoping the trip will be smooth with no hiccups or mishaps along the way. And yes, whenever I have a long trip ahead of me this does play on my mind. I don’t fear the days of the “Big Red Car” being limited or on the verge of ending, but it would be a lot more reassuring to know that I can drive a car that I would trust a lot more and feel safer in. Hopefully I won’t have to contend with a detour due to flooding this time unlike last year.
It should be an exciting week ahead as it always is. And with the trip leading right up to the New Zealand tour with the wind orchestra it makes it something to look forward to that little bit more.
Time to go pack, and get ready to hit the road!
Bellingen HSC Recitals
Last night, Year 12 Bellingen High School students provided audience members from the community including parents, fellow students, tutors, musicians and people outside of the school and outstanding program. The combination of solo and ensemble performances lead to rapturous applause and even cries for an encore!
It’s not very often you are presented with the opportunity of working with a talented group of musicians, especially in this region where it can be considered to be languishing behind other regional areas in the state. But in the town of Bellingen you can definitely be assured that the arts are very well and thriving and I feel very privileged to be assisting in the development of these very fine musicians.
The next series of these public performance assessments will be held in Term 2 as we close in on HSC and AMEB examinations.
Riverina Tour Video
The Riverina Schools Tour video from 2009 is nearing completion, and will be giving an advanced screening to staff at the New England camp (hopefully). The amount of time, editing, crashing software, and frustrations in putting this video together have been worth it. However, I will be reconsidering the software I purchased to edit the footage after the amount of glitches and errors I encountered (and that’s after applying TWO patches that were meant to fix these). The only problem I am having now is burning the product as a whole, with disc menu, without having the audio go out of sync with the video. If only technology could be simpler...
New England Band Camp
I have, roughly, a five hour trip ahead of me from Coffs Harbour to the camp site. The trip shouldn’t be a problem, but after having some serious car issues earlier this week I am hoping the trip will be smooth with no hiccups or mishaps along the way. And yes, whenever I have a long trip ahead of me this does play on my mind. I don’t fear the days of the “Big Red Car” being limited or on the verge of ending, but it would be a lot more reassuring to know that I can drive a car that I would trust a lot more and feel safer in. Hopefully I won’t have to contend with a detour due to flooding this time unlike last year.
It should be an exciting week ahead as it always is. And with the trip leading right up to the New Zealand tour with the wind orchestra it makes it something to look forward to that little bit more.
Time to go pack, and get ready to hit the road!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The GLU Holding Me Together In March
Another General Life Update, and already I have caught myself out for being a little slack in updating this blog. Yet again, things have been quite busy but it's good when we keep ourselves preoccupied! Here are a few updates for recent events and happenings.
Bellingen Addressed
In my last blog entry I addressed the biased, yet poorly formed, special investigation by A Current Affair that was aired over a week ago. In the the Saturday 7th March edition of the Coffs Coast Advocate an exceptional article was presented with the statement raised "We need the community to tell us when crime happens. If the issues are real then they will be addressed." A very valid point overlooked by the ACA. If there was so much crime in the area and it was being reported, then who is to blame? With so much fingerpointing going on towards the youth, police, and even a small amount towards the parents of the "hoodlum vigilantes", did some of the members of the community forget they have a responsibility to report the crimes that occur? And "trolling" about crimes on the ACA website won't go through to the police station, like a few people attempted on the video page. You actually have to ring the police.
Settling the Teaching
It looks like my teaching routine for the week has clicked into place, finally. With two days of teaching each in Grafton and in Bellingen I do have to make sure I am on top of things. The variety of continuing students of mine from last year, along with the new students, are a real delight to teach. What is even more impressive from the students is the work ethic displayed and desire to strive to get better at what they do. Yes you still get the occassional student that will slack off, but overall students a really raising the standard and the bar.
AMEB Closing Dates (North Coast Series)
Friday the 19th of March is the close off date for students looking to take instrumental examinations. As I have told many students of mine, the AMEB exams are an opportunity to be able to gauge where a student is at with their playing, are given the opportunity to perform, receive any advice or assistance from the examiner through feedback, and it is a personal goal to work towards.
After seven As and three Bs in 2009, more students will be entered and hopefully we can produce a similar amount of results. Students will be entered from the Preliminary and First Grades for clarinet and saxophone all the way through to an AMus candidate.
Coffs Eisteddfod
The Coffs Harbour Eisteddfod is on again this year, and hopefully we won't have the wild weather like we did in 2009 which prevented a lot of competitors from being able to perform. The close off dates for entries are March 31st. Details can be found at the website here.
This year will probably become the most compact program I have ever seen. The School Instrumental is essentially being rolled in with the Instrumental program. It seems each year the program gradually gets smaller and smaller.
All I have to say to this is we need our local teachers and tutors to enter as many students as they can to give them the opportunity to perform, and to support a fantastic local event where we can show off and uncover local talent. In a community where we are having more local professional performers stand up and be counted, it's about time more of our teachers and tutors do the same thing to encourage students to take part instead of leaving the proverbial "lamp under the bowl".
That's my GLU for the moment. Coming up soon, I'll be looking at the band camp series for 2010 including the first camp this month in the New England region.
Bellingen Addressed
In my last blog entry I addressed the biased, yet poorly formed, special investigation by A Current Affair that was aired over a week ago. In the the Saturday 7th March edition of the Coffs Coast Advocate an exceptional article was presented with the statement raised "We need the community to tell us when crime happens. If the issues are real then they will be addressed." A very valid point overlooked by the ACA. If there was so much crime in the area and it was being reported, then who is to blame? With so much fingerpointing going on towards the youth, police, and even a small amount towards the parents of the "hoodlum vigilantes", did some of the members of the community forget they have a responsibility to report the crimes that occur? And "trolling" about crimes on the ACA website won't go through to the police station, like a few people attempted on the video page. You actually have to ring the police.
Settling the Teaching
It looks like my teaching routine for the week has clicked into place, finally. With two days of teaching each in Grafton and in Bellingen I do have to make sure I am on top of things. The variety of continuing students of mine from last year, along with the new students, are a real delight to teach. What is even more impressive from the students is the work ethic displayed and desire to strive to get better at what they do. Yes you still get the occassional student that will slack off, but overall students a really raising the standard and the bar.
AMEB Closing Dates (North Coast Series)
Friday the 19th of March is the close off date for students looking to take instrumental examinations. As I have told many students of mine, the AMEB exams are an opportunity to be able to gauge where a student is at with their playing, are given the opportunity to perform, receive any advice or assistance from the examiner through feedback, and it is a personal goal to work towards.
After seven As and three Bs in 2009, more students will be entered and hopefully we can produce a similar amount of results. Students will be entered from the Preliminary and First Grades for clarinet and saxophone all the way through to an AMus candidate.
Coffs Eisteddfod
The Coffs Harbour Eisteddfod is on again this year, and hopefully we won't have the wild weather like we did in 2009 which prevented a lot of competitors from being able to perform. The close off dates for entries are March 31st. Details can be found at the website here.
This year will probably become the most compact program I have ever seen. The School Instrumental is essentially being rolled in with the Instrumental program. It seems each year the program gradually gets smaller and smaller.
All I have to say to this is we need our local teachers and tutors to enter as many students as they can to give them the opportunity to perform, and to support a fantastic local event where we can show off and uncover local talent. In a community where we are having more local professional performers stand up and be counted, it's about time more of our teachers and tutors do the same thing to encourage students to take part instead of leaving the proverbial "lamp under the bowl".
That's my GLU for the moment. Coming up soon, I'll be looking at the band camp series for 2010 including the first camp this month in the New England region.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Bellingen has a what?!
A Current Affair aired a “Special Investigation” segment last week entitled “Hoodlum Vigilantes”. The segment targeted youth in Bellingen after incidents in town of break-ins and theft. How the whole story was presented was anything but informative, but rather something that will now stain and taint the image of youth from the town.
Hoodlum vigilantes
Normally I would not even give the show attention, but last Tuesday it was the talk of the school when I went to tutor. Students were talking about A Current Affair arriving in Bellingen to do a story on “truants” in the town. At that stage I was wondering if, perhaps, the reporters were a bit far south and needed to travel north to Yamba after an incident occurred of arguably more dire consequences. Nope, they were here for a story in Bellingen. Unfortunately they weren’t going for one of the more positive stories that has started to become a common occurrence in recent times, they wanted the drama and to stereotype the youth as thugs with booze and drugs. Maybe instead of a shotgun visit some of the reporters should visit the town to see the more positive activities, initiatives, and pro-active creativity that the youth are actually involved with.
I had to laugh, and several other people did as well, when at the beginning of the story a “gang of youths” were described as calling themselves the “Underbelly of Bellingen”. A lot of people I was asking in the high school today had completely no idea that there was an “underworld” in the town (oh, maybe that’s what they intended to say on ACA!). Come on ACA, in a town with a population of 2200? Was this fact or just a subliminal plug for the new upcoming season of your show on your station? Or perhaps it was falling to the creative prowess of the youth? Who knows...
Apparently some of the youth were “so brazen they bragged about their break-in on the internet”. There’s a quote on the internet these days known as “Screenshot, or it didn’t happen”. This was the quote that the ACA supplied.
They didn’t say which social network site it was from, but have a “Facebook” profile in the background. Even though it is possible to have security that prevents people, not listed as your friend, from being able to see your profile. ACA presented a quote, that could have easily been typed up by one of their staff, rather than highlighting the portion or showing the page in its original state with the quote. This piece of evidence lacks integrity, but could still sufficiently tarnish the image of youth of the town. Then again, there is that other quote... “It must be true! The internet said so!”
It became a “journalistic hero” story, with the investigator stating the police only turned up to patrol Bellingen that night because ACA was in town.
I won’t harp on too much more about the story, because it really was poorly done, but you do have to ask this. Why is it that the youth and police were targeted but questions were never raised about the parents of these “hoodlum vigilantes”?
Are ACA even aware of the creative culture of the town? Arguably Bellingen has established itself as one of the creative and artistic centres of the mid-north coast. A lot of students have been brought through and have established themselves in the areas of music, arts and drama. Now it seems the intent is to drag them through the mud with the few that decided to misbehave.
By no means am I defending the youth, listed in the report, for conducting themselves with criminal acts but is it hardly any different from other towns that have these issues? Especially the much bigger towns with a population greater than 2200 that have a police presence? Yamba anyone? As one of the many tutors that provides opportunities for the youth of this town in an area whether it is the arts, sports, and academics, this “special investigation” was a real kick in the teeth.
Hoodlum vigilantes
Normally I would not even give the show attention, but last Tuesday it was the talk of the school when I went to tutor. Students were talking about A Current Affair arriving in Bellingen to do a story on “truants” in the town. At that stage I was wondering if, perhaps, the reporters were a bit far south and needed to travel north to Yamba after an incident occurred of arguably more dire consequences. Nope, they were here for a story in Bellingen. Unfortunately they weren’t going for one of the more positive stories that has started to become a common occurrence in recent times, they wanted the drama and to stereotype the youth as thugs with booze and drugs. Maybe instead of a shotgun visit some of the reporters should visit the town to see the more positive activities, initiatives, and pro-active creativity that the youth are actually involved with.
I had to laugh, and several other people did as well, when at the beginning of the story a “gang of youths” were described as calling themselves the “Underbelly of Bellingen”. A lot of people I was asking in the high school today had completely no idea that there was an “underworld” in the town (oh, maybe that’s what they intended to say on ACA!). Come on ACA, in a town with a population of 2200? Was this fact or just a subliminal plug for the new upcoming season of your show on your station? Or perhaps it was falling to the creative prowess of the youth? Who knows...
Apparently some of the youth were “so brazen they bragged about their break-in on the internet”. There’s a quote on the internet these days known as “Screenshot, or it didn’t happen”. This was the quote that the ACA supplied.
They didn’t say which social network site it was from, but have a “Facebook” profile in the background. Even though it is possible to have security that prevents people, not listed as your friend, from being able to see your profile. ACA presented a quote, that could have easily been typed up by one of their staff, rather than highlighting the portion or showing the page in its original state with the quote. This piece of evidence lacks integrity, but could still sufficiently tarnish the image of youth of the town. Then again, there is that other quote... “It must be true! The internet said so!”
It became a “journalistic hero” story, with the investigator stating the police only turned up to patrol Bellingen that night because ACA was in town.
I won’t harp on too much more about the story, because it really was poorly done, but you do have to ask this. Why is it that the youth and police were targeted but questions were never raised about the parents of these “hoodlum vigilantes”?
Are ACA even aware of the creative culture of the town? Arguably Bellingen has established itself as one of the creative and artistic centres of the mid-north coast. A lot of students have been brought through and have established themselves in the areas of music, arts and drama. Now it seems the intent is to drag them through the mud with the few that decided to misbehave.
By no means am I defending the youth, listed in the report, for conducting themselves with criminal acts but is it hardly any different from other towns that have these issues? Especially the much bigger towns with a population greater than 2200 that have a police presence? Yamba anyone? As one of the many tutors that provides opportunities for the youth of this town in an area whether it is the arts, sports, and academics, this “special investigation” was a real kick in the teeth.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Something to think about... (H.S. Concert Band)
So I had a meeting with a high school music teacher today about running their school concert band. As it stands, we're not sure if it will be a concert band for the time being.
To be honest I was feeling very nervous at the time, and rightly so for a few reasons.
*This high school, in the past, was basically "the man" (or "the ensemble") when it came to music and large ensembles in the late 80s all the way through the 90s. Come the new millenium the music program essentially folded and has almost been non-existant since then. With a new music teacher and principal at the helm, a revival of the music program and its ensembles will be attempted.
*We have a lot of inexperienced students and new ones starting out on instruments. While this may appear to be a negative, it is actually a massive positive because they are very keen to be playing music and to take part in an ensemble. All up we have about fourteen at the moment.
*The music resources, in terms of charts, is slightly limited. We found some teriffic charts, but we are still fairly limited in ability. At the same time, we don't want to be spoon-feeding easy music but to be able to challenge and develop the students as the group progresses.
*Some of the current primary band programs in schools, that have kids move on to this high school, are discouraging children from taking further part and are making them quite cautious.
When I arrived home after teaching some students this afternoon, I reflected on the first ensemble that I played in when I moved to a new school. The school orchestra I played in was established in 1996. The music program was essentially the same; fairly new coming almost from non-existance. The first rehearsal we had saw an attendance of 12 students, playing a fairly diverse range of instruments. From there I stayed with the ensemble all the way up to Year 11 in 2000 and witnessed its development from those 12 students to an ensemble of 60+ students. What was even more remarkable was that students from other schools would join in, after school, at rehearsals.
You would normally expect a miniature ensemble, based in a high school, to fall flat on its face. Some of the best ensembles that have come out of schools have started out as these small groups through persistance, determination, and hard work from everyone.
Next week I will start meeting several of the students, the majority being in year seven. I am very keen to be a part of this project and hopefully rejuvenate this intergral part of the music program in the high school.
Fingers crossed.
To be honest I was feeling very nervous at the time, and rightly so for a few reasons.
*This high school, in the past, was basically "the man" (or "the ensemble") when it came to music and large ensembles in the late 80s all the way through the 90s. Come the new millenium the music program essentially folded and has almost been non-existant since then. With a new music teacher and principal at the helm, a revival of the music program and its ensembles will be attempted.
*We have a lot of inexperienced students and new ones starting out on instruments. While this may appear to be a negative, it is actually a massive positive because they are very keen to be playing music and to take part in an ensemble. All up we have about fourteen at the moment.
*The music resources, in terms of charts, is slightly limited. We found some teriffic charts, but we are still fairly limited in ability. At the same time, we don't want to be spoon-feeding easy music but to be able to challenge and develop the students as the group progresses.
*Some of the current primary band programs in schools, that have kids move on to this high school, are discouraging children from taking further part and are making them quite cautious.
When I arrived home after teaching some students this afternoon, I reflected on the first ensemble that I played in when I moved to a new school. The school orchestra I played in was established in 1996. The music program was essentially the same; fairly new coming almost from non-existance. The first rehearsal we had saw an attendance of 12 students, playing a fairly diverse range of instruments. From there I stayed with the ensemble all the way up to Year 11 in 2000 and witnessed its development from those 12 students to an ensemble of 60+ students. What was even more remarkable was that students from other schools would join in, after school, at rehearsals.
You would normally expect a miniature ensemble, based in a high school, to fall flat on its face. Some of the best ensembles that have come out of schools have started out as these small groups through persistance, determination, and hard work from everyone.
Next week I will start meeting several of the students, the majority being in year seven. I am very keen to be a part of this project and hopefully rejuvenate this intergral part of the music program in the high school.
Fingers crossed.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
GLU: What’s holding me together in January
What exactly is GLU? It sounds like “glue”, and it’s very much the description of what holds me together and keeps things interesting. Everyone has something that keeps them going outside of their line of work, so I’ll quickly share some of my things as part of my General Life Update.
The Cricket Colts
I haven’t mentioned this yet, but leading in to the Summer for 09/10 I was approached by the president of the Park Beach Bowling Club Colts Cricket Club (woah, that’s a mouthful), Neil Coogan, for sponsorship. People would normally consider it a strange, and perhaps ludicrous, proposition; a musically-based business putting money into a sporting club. In this case, I saw it as an exciting opportunity.
I’ve played cricket since my juniors, and continue to play today (the indoor form a lot more than the outdoor). To put money into a club that runs development programs, in particular for junior players, and a Twenty20 competition for the district is a real privilege and I am more than pleased to be a part of. Both the PBBC Colts and my business share the same vision of a culture that aims to develop and establish junior players; a club/business of the future.
Teaching Preps
Enrolment forms have been drawn up for 2010, as well as new invoice templates. I’m very keen to be trialling a direct deposit system as a payment method for parents/students. Some of the feedback I had from a couple of parents last year was that they did prefer to do all forms of transaction over the internet, including receiving invoices via e-mail. The good thing about this form of payment is that unlike payment by cheque you don’t have to wait to get to the bank, worry about insufficient funds for other transactions. This should definitely make transactions a lot more efficient for parents.
I will also be looking at drawing up short newsletters and making parents aware of any upcoming events or workshops.
Culture Centre in Coffs?
The debate still carries on as to whether Coffs Harbour needs a cultural centre or not. I’ve been following this with keen interest for a while now and I am still of the view that Coffs Harbour does not need, but more importantly isn’t ready for, this facility.
The general vibes I have received in this discussion is that the town is disadvantaged and put to shame by other towns with cultural centres, and that if the cultural centre is established music ensembles and groups will increase and flourish.
In the weekend edition of The Coffs Coast Advocate Nov 22-23 in 2008, the director of the Coffs regional conservatorium was quoted as saying “...Coffs Harbour doesn’t have a Youth Orchestra, simply because we don’t have the space.” There were some teachers that I came across that were taken aback by this quote, but as soon as proposals and people came up with the argument for Coffs Harbour to have a cultural centre some jumped onto the bandwagon very quickly. Buildings don’t create or establish ensembles, people do. What enhances the ensembles are not the chandeliers, drapes, and lighting effects, but rather the skills, musicianship, and team work of the people involved.
Australia Day
It’s Australia Day today and I am looking forward to chilling out, spending some time with family, and finalising preparations for lessons that start tomorrow. After this week, it will be full operations once again for teaching.
All the best.
The Cricket Colts
I haven’t mentioned this yet, but leading in to the Summer for 09/10 I was approached by the president of the Park Beach Bowling Club Colts Cricket Club (woah, that’s a mouthful), Neil Coogan, for sponsorship. People would normally consider it a strange, and perhaps ludicrous, proposition; a musically-based business putting money into a sporting club. In this case, I saw it as an exciting opportunity.
I’ve played cricket since my juniors, and continue to play today (the indoor form a lot more than the outdoor). To put money into a club that runs development programs, in particular for junior players, and a Twenty20 competition for the district is a real privilege and I am more than pleased to be a part of. Both the PBBC Colts and my business share the same vision of a culture that aims to develop and establish junior players; a club/business of the future.
Teaching Preps
Enrolment forms have been drawn up for 2010, as well as new invoice templates. I’m very keen to be trialling a direct deposit system as a payment method for parents/students. Some of the feedback I had from a couple of parents last year was that they did prefer to do all forms of transaction over the internet, including receiving invoices via e-mail. The good thing about this form of payment is that unlike payment by cheque you don’t have to wait to get to the bank, worry about insufficient funds for other transactions. This should definitely make transactions a lot more efficient for parents.
I will also be looking at drawing up short newsletters and making parents aware of any upcoming events or workshops.
Culture Centre in Coffs?
The debate still carries on as to whether Coffs Harbour needs a cultural centre or not. I’ve been following this with keen interest for a while now and I am still of the view that Coffs Harbour does not need, but more importantly isn’t ready for, this facility.
The general vibes I have received in this discussion is that the town is disadvantaged and put to shame by other towns with cultural centres, and that if the cultural centre is established music ensembles and groups will increase and flourish.
In the weekend edition of The Coffs Coast Advocate Nov 22-23 in 2008, the director of the Coffs regional conservatorium was quoted as saying “...Coffs Harbour doesn’t have a Youth Orchestra, simply because we don’t have the space.” There were some teachers that I came across that were taken aback by this quote, but as soon as proposals and people came up with the argument for Coffs Harbour to have a cultural centre some jumped onto the bandwagon very quickly. Buildings don’t create or establish ensembles, people do. What enhances the ensembles are not the chandeliers, drapes, and lighting effects, but rather the skills, musicianship, and team work of the people involved.
Australia Day
It’s Australia Day today and I am looking forward to chilling out, spending some time with family, and finalising preparations for lessons that start tomorrow. After this week, it will be full operations once again for teaching.
All the best.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Tech Talk: To bis, or not to bis... (Saxophone)
In my first couple of years of establishing my teaching studio in Coffs I have come to notice a couple of things. Some habits in this town haven’t died hard in terms of music tuition. The first point is that we are still in the situation of teachers being over-protective of their own students. We are not the only town that is guilty of this offence. I have come across other teachers and institutions within the state that belong in the same boat. I raised this point last year after tutoring on the Western Band Camp in July. The second point is that we have teachers quick to come out and point out incorrect technique, applied by students, being taught by another teacher. Especially when the technique taught by the supposed teacher at fault is in fact correct.
I’m not going to come out blasting saying that my technique is perfect and that everyone else is wrong. I could go ahead and justify the technique that I use for teaching and put forward a more-than-satisfactory case that would support my method. As the old saying goes "There's more than one way to skin a cat". In this post, I am going to address two notorious fingerings for the saxophone; the notes “B flat” and “C”.
The Note B Flat/A Sharp
As tutors, it is normally accepted practice for us to examine three different types of performers. These would be the student performer, the professional performer, and our personal performance. It came of interest when I conversed with a performer/composer from Sydney about saxophone technique that I discovered the fingerings used and the comparison of fingerings, they drew upon, with well known performer and teacher Mark Walton. Of main interest in our conversation was the note “B Flat”, but we did mention “C” as well since it can be closely linked to the note being a tone away.
The note B Flat can have up to four fingerings. These include...
*The first two fingers on the left hand and pressing the B Flat key with the right hand
*The first finger on the left hand and any one of the fingers on the right hand
*The same fingering as the bottom B Flat with the octave key added
*The “bis” fingering, having the first finger on the left hand press the first pad, and the pad in between the first and second pads (known as the “bis” key)
Before I go on, the first thing that I will firmly state is that NONE of these fingerings are incorrect. They all play the note B Flat, and some may possibly have some pitch differences and timbre qualities. However, it is how the fingerings are utilised in runs and leaps are where the fingerings should become most effective and put a performing saxophonist in their prime.
The first B Flat fingering that several saxophone teachers introduce to students is using the “bis” key. Now I don’t have a problem with this, even though I don’t use this fingering at all (gasp, shock, horror!!!). No, that doesn’t make me a bad teacher or performer. I simply have not found a justification to use this fingering in a performance that allows for a flowing run or phrase. Virtually any piece of music I have played I have used either of the first two fingerings I have listed. When I first began learning the saxophone, after having being clarinet for six years, I was never shown the “bis” key. Getting back to the current point of the fingerings introduced to students, I have found some teachers will teach the “bis” fingering but never teach the other alternatives.
Mistake number one; always teach students the different options they can potentially utilise in performance practice. The second fingering I list is absolutely key for passages that have a B Flat major arpeggio, an F Sharp major arpeggio, or a piece in B (major or minor) where the dominant harmony (F Sharp major) arpeggiates in the melody and resolves (those that have studied harmony will understand this). The first fingering I listed is the stock-standard one I teach to students when they first learn this note. In fact, you would have a much better chance of getting away with using this fingering all of the time instead of the “bis” fingering. The main issues I have with the “bis” fingering are that finger swapping is involved (which can result in untidy technical work or causing the performer to put gaps in between notes by stopping and starting the air again instead of the notes flowing constantly), and that one finger is being required to cover two pads at the same time. Being of clarinet background, the fingering system we use (Boehm) is partially adopted by the saxophone. There is never a case where we are required to cover two tone holes, or partially cover a second, with one finger. And this is a method I have taken across from my clarinet playing and have gone ahead and applied to my teaching with great results. I have students I have taken over teaching from other tutors that use the “bis” fingering, and they are comfortable to use it. I haven’t gone ahead and told them they are wrong, but I have presented the other options to them. And they do use these every now and then depending on the situation of their phrasing.
The Note C
We have two options of playing the note C (three if you include the bottom fingering with the octave key). The first fingering we teach students is the stock-standard middle finger on the left hand. We first teach these fingerings as the basics for students to master. So don’t panic if the first unit in your method teaches the notes G, A, B, and C and a lot of finger swapping is involved. Allow the basics to settle before moving on a lot later with the alternative way of playing C.
*The fingering for the note B is used (first finger left hand), but add the middle side key used by the right hand known as the “C Key”.
I’m surprised this fingering is not taught enough as common method. In the “Learn As You Play Saxophone” book it is taught as soon as Unit 11. This is roughly when a student is around 2nd Grade standard for AMEB. I have a student currently studying for his 4th Grade saxophone and was told off by an “artisan” teacher that the alternate C fingering method was incorrect, and that he should be finger swapping. He compared the two fingerings and found the alternate was better to use in a situation when he had scale runs, instead of finger swapping, and was more fluent.
The only case where I have found a difficult alternative is in a C melodic minor scale run where the turn is at the tonic note (i.e. B, C, B Flat). Again, there is no incorrect method. But, you should keep as many options open as you can. The “Brasiliera” arrangement from the “Scaramouche Suite” by Milhaud can easily find a student out if they are not prepared technically. Yes, it can be a challenging and demanding piece. If the fingerings are sorted out and organised, there can be a lot less stressful moments in this piece.
Some teach “bis”, and some don’t. It’s not a cardinal sin, but to not teach the different options after the basics can possibly prove to be more of a major flaw in the development of a performer and their fluid technical playing. Keep your options open!
I’m not going to come out blasting saying that my technique is perfect and that everyone else is wrong. I could go ahead and justify the technique that I use for teaching and put forward a more-than-satisfactory case that would support my method. As the old saying goes "There's more than one way to skin a cat". In this post, I am going to address two notorious fingerings for the saxophone; the notes “B flat” and “C”.
The Note B Flat/A Sharp
As tutors, it is normally accepted practice for us to examine three different types of performers. These would be the student performer, the professional performer, and our personal performance. It came of interest when I conversed with a performer/composer from Sydney about saxophone technique that I discovered the fingerings used and the comparison of fingerings, they drew upon, with well known performer and teacher Mark Walton. Of main interest in our conversation was the note “B Flat”, but we did mention “C” as well since it can be closely linked to the note being a tone away.
The note B Flat can have up to four fingerings. These include...
*The first two fingers on the left hand and pressing the B Flat key with the right hand
*The first finger on the left hand and any one of the fingers on the right hand
*The same fingering as the bottom B Flat with the octave key added
*The “bis” fingering, having the first finger on the left hand press the first pad, and the pad in between the first and second pads (known as the “bis” key)
Before I go on, the first thing that I will firmly state is that NONE of these fingerings are incorrect. They all play the note B Flat, and some may possibly have some pitch differences and timbre qualities. However, it is how the fingerings are utilised in runs and leaps are where the fingerings should become most effective and put a performing saxophonist in their prime.
The first B Flat fingering that several saxophone teachers introduce to students is using the “bis” key. Now I don’t have a problem with this, even though I don’t use this fingering at all (gasp, shock, horror!!!). No, that doesn’t make me a bad teacher or performer. I simply have not found a justification to use this fingering in a performance that allows for a flowing run or phrase. Virtually any piece of music I have played I have used either of the first two fingerings I have listed. When I first began learning the saxophone, after having being clarinet for six years, I was never shown the “bis” key. Getting back to the current point of the fingerings introduced to students, I have found some teachers will teach the “bis” fingering but never teach the other alternatives.
Mistake number one; always teach students the different options they can potentially utilise in performance practice. The second fingering I list is absolutely key for passages that have a B Flat major arpeggio, an F Sharp major arpeggio, or a piece in B (major or minor) where the dominant harmony (F Sharp major) arpeggiates in the melody and resolves (those that have studied harmony will understand this). The first fingering I listed is the stock-standard one I teach to students when they first learn this note. In fact, you would have a much better chance of getting away with using this fingering all of the time instead of the “bis” fingering. The main issues I have with the “bis” fingering are that finger swapping is involved (which can result in untidy technical work or causing the performer to put gaps in between notes by stopping and starting the air again instead of the notes flowing constantly), and that one finger is being required to cover two pads at the same time. Being of clarinet background, the fingering system we use (Boehm) is partially adopted by the saxophone. There is never a case where we are required to cover two tone holes, or partially cover a second, with one finger. And this is a method I have taken across from my clarinet playing and have gone ahead and applied to my teaching with great results. I have students I have taken over teaching from other tutors that use the “bis” fingering, and they are comfortable to use it. I haven’t gone ahead and told them they are wrong, but I have presented the other options to them. And they do use these every now and then depending on the situation of their phrasing.
The Note C
We have two options of playing the note C (three if you include the bottom fingering with the octave key). The first fingering we teach students is the stock-standard middle finger on the left hand. We first teach these fingerings as the basics for students to master. So don’t panic if the first unit in your method teaches the notes G, A, B, and C and a lot of finger swapping is involved. Allow the basics to settle before moving on a lot later with the alternative way of playing C.
*The fingering for the note B is used (first finger left hand), but add the middle side key used by the right hand known as the “C Key”.
I’m surprised this fingering is not taught enough as common method. In the “Learn As You Play Saxophone” book it is taught as soon as Unit 11. This is roughly when a student is around 2nd Grade standard for AMEB. I have a student currently studying for his 4th Grade saxophone and was told off by an “artisan” teacher that the alternate C fingering method was incorrect, and that he should be finger swapping. He compared the two fingerings and found the alternate was better to use in a situation when he had scale runs, instead of finger swapping, and was more fluent.
The only case where I have found a difficult alternative is in a C melodic minor scale run where the turn is at the tonic note (i.e. B, C, B Flat). Again, there is no incorrect method. But, you should keep as many options open as you can. The “Brasiliera” arrangement from the “Scaramouche Suite” by Milhaud can easily find a student out if they are not prepared technically. Yes, it can be a challenging and demanding piece. If the fingerings are sorted out and organised, there can be a lot less stressful moments in this piece.
Some teach “bis”, and some don’t. It’s not a cardinal sin, but to not teach the different options after the basics can possibly prove to be more of a major flaw in the development of a performer and their fluid technical playing. Keep your options open!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Welcome to 2010!
I didn't get the chance to post a wrap up to 2009, but at the same time I am delighted to have a fresh start for 2010. A fresh start, in particular, for this blog. My New Year's Resolution for 2010 is to post more here, including providing insight and my own thoughts towards technique in music tuition, performance practice, composition, and analysis.
As music tutors we should have nothing to hide. I feel it is something that has become a recurring practice, I feel, in this region. On the other hand, we are getting more professional musicians involved in the region to help ignite the determination and persistance for the craft of music. As one of the modern hymns says; "It only takes a spark to get a fire going."
2009 was the real launch pad for my teaching career, and I think the results spoke for themselves.
- Selection was gained once again for regional band camps, and I am happy to announce I have been invited back to teach again (the only region not to offer just yet is the home region of North Coast).
- Students from Grafton and Coffs Harbour have been incredible, including a good number of these achieving personal milestones with AMEB exam results, ensemble performance opportunities, and public performance opportunities in musical and dramatic prouctions.
- 2009 welcomed an invitation to tutor clarinet and saxophone at Bellingen High School, and the students have been tremendous. There was so much that could be achieved, and the students have discovered this and really taken it upon themselves to develop and further their musical journeys. Students gained selection in the combined schools state wind band, and even went further on to positions in the Schools Spectacular orchestra. Now I have been asked to develop students further from a grass roots level in the primary school, something that every music tutor should be keen to work with. No sarcasm whatsoever.
What to expect in 2010
- More updates, personal thoughts, and helpful hints to be provided through this blog.
- Invitations to regional band camps around NSW as part of the state band program.
- The clarinet choir from the Clarence Valley Conservatorium has been invited to be the representative ensemble in Sydney at a convention for the NSW regional conservatoriums. It is yet to be confirmed, but this ensemble may receive a name of its own.
- A trip to New Zealand with the Newcastle Conservatorium Wind Orchestra for the Aurora Music Festival. Emelia and I are both looking forward to the trip.
- More compositions to be completed. In progress currently are a clarinet work, double concertino for alto and bari sax, and the most challenging work yet (for me to compose) for soprano, clarinet, and vibraphone exploring the matter of sound and how it is, and can be, manipulated.
- Commencement on an L.Mus program for 2011.
- To further develop my students as musicians, and for them to branch out further for musical, teaching, and personal opportunities of their own.
And there will be much more!
Welcome to 2010. A new year, a new decade, a new opportunity.
As music tutors we should have nothing to hide. I feel it is something that has become a recurring practice, I feel, in this region. On the other hand, we are getting more professional musicians involved in the region to help ignite the determination and persistance for the craft of music. As one of the modern hymns says; "It only takes a spark to get a fire going."
2009 was the real launch pad for my teaching career, and I think the results spoke for themselves.
- Selection was gained once again for regional band camps, and I am happy to announce I have been invited back to teach again (the only region not to offer just yet is the home region of North Coast).
- Students from Grafton and Coffs Harbour have been incredible, including a good number of these achieving personal milestones with AMEB exam results, ensemble performance opportunities, and public performance opportunities in musical and dramatic prouctions.
- 2009 welcomed an invitation to tutor clarinet and saxophone at Bellingen High School, and the students have been tremendous. There was so much that could be achieved, and the students have discovered this and really taken it upon themselves to develop and further their musical journeys. Students gained selection in the combined schools state wind band, and even went further on to positions in the Schools Spectacular orchestra. Now I have been asked to develop students further from a grass roots level in the primary school, something that every music tutor should be keen to work with. No sarcasm whatsoever.
What to expect in 2010
- More updates, personal thoughts, and helpful hints to be provided through this blog.
- Invitations to regional band camps around NSW as part of the state band program.
- The clarinet choir from the Clarence Valley Conservatorium has been invited to be the representative ensemble in Sydney at a convention for the NSW regional conservatoriums. It is yet to be confirmed, but this ensemble may receive a name of its own.
- A trip to New Zealand with the Newcastle Conservatorium Wind Orchestra for the Aurora Music Festival. Emelia and I are both looking forward to the trip.
- More compositions to be completed. In progress currently are a clarinet work, double concertino for alto and bari sax, and the most challenging work yet (for me to compose) for soprano, clarinet, and vibraphone exploring the matter of sound and how it is, and can be, manipulated.
- Commencement on an L.Mus program for 2011.
- To further develop my students as musicians, and for them to branch out further for musical, teaching, and personal opportunities of their own.
And there will be much more!
Welcome to 2010. A new year, a new decade, a new opportunity.
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