The January Wrap

The new school year has commenced, and so much has already happened throughout January. Just prior to the New Year I became an uncle. Many congratulations to Tim and Ailsa on the birth of their son, Arthur. The family is very pleased, and little Arthur is doing very well.

New Laptop!

After biding my time, I finally purchased a laptop for my business and it is a huge relief to use. From now on I’ll be using this a lot more often to type up entries for my blog, especially on Friday when I have a break between tuition as I have a coffee at a café.

West of the NSW Divide Band: Hawaii Preparations

Prior to the start of the school year we held what was an intense band camp for the students selected on this trip in March. For a week in Dubbo, held at the Macquarie Conservatorium, the band would rehearse and learn music further from 9am through to 7pm as we aimed to gel and develop this ensemble. The progression and results achieved through this camp were outstanding, and the work ethic displayed was incredible.

This time around, I decided to decline the offer on going on this trip. It was a difficult decision to make, especially working with a group and section of students that I have been involved with since my first camp back in 2005 (yes, we have students in the current ensemble from those earlier years!). I am still confident the students will give a strong display and performance in Hawaii and represent the regional areas of NSW with pride.

New Horizons: Distance Teaching

While I was at the camp in Dubbo, one of the parents involved with the band approached me on the first night and asked me about my thoughts on the concept of video conference/distance learning.

Video conferencing was a concept I never thought too much about before. The only experience I had with video education was while I studied in Lismore and we had a couple of link up classes with a campus in Coffs Harbour. There are other music educators from this country that certainly make use of such a facility, especially for regional music education, and have yielded tremendous results with music education in rural regions.

After having a good chat about the concept, and mulling it over with a good camp dinner provided by the “chefs” of the camp (thoroughly deserving of the title for the meals!), it was determined that it could be feasible provided the tools were readily available. A couple of nights later the proposal was put forward to me to attempt a video link lesson from my home with a student from Griffith. I decided to take up the offer and attempt this.

On Wednesday, I conducted my first video link lesson from my home using Skype, and it was a tremendous success. Video and sound quality was fantastic, and I was surprised at how evident the different concepts of performance practice were still on display audibly and visually. After a quick configuration of the microphone for position, we were able to conduct a lesson as if I was in the same room as the student. The big difference I need to overcome is if I want to make eye contact with the student, I need to look into the webcam instead of my monitor (something I am sure I will correct).

Exercises and files could be sent through with ease, especially if I came up with an idea on the spot. Towards the end of the lesson, we were looking at altissimo range notes on the clarinet (in other words, really high pitched notes) and how to practice them. With a notation program handy, I quickly drew up the exercise, printed as a PDF file, and sent it through to the student in the space of a couple of minutes. Something I normally wouldn’t be able to do in a teaching situation with another student in the room with me, although this laptop may prove useful in regards to that now.

If this teaching works out well, I may be made a further offer of more students from the Riverina region for distance tutoring.

Back to woodshedding!

A lot of my students have returned to the New Year, determined to complete an assortment of tasks in regards to their playing. Already, students have inquired about examinations and eisteddfods as performance opportunities with a lot of eagerness. And, several have practiced and worked hard at their playing over the holidays and in their first month back at school. The results are showing already, and both the students and I are hoping for bigger and better things to come.

My coffee cup is now empty, so until next time.

West of the Divide Camp

Just about to leave for what will be a unique band camp. From the 19th to the 25th of January we will be holding a camp for students selected from the New England, Riverina and Western regions leading up to their trip to Hawaii in March to perform in what will be an international event.

The kids can expect to be worked hard, and pushed even further with their playing. Some of them will already know of these expectations through the Facebook page they created, allowing us to pass on useful information and for the students to post any queries in regards to their music.

I'll arrive back home Australia Day (26th January), getting ready to commence a new year of teaching. Some very exciting developments are occurring, and hopefully these will progress further.