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?
Showing posts with label ameb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ameb. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Saturday, August 29, 2009
A First For Everything
(This entry was started two weeks ago, so some information may already be known in previous entries)
It’s been a while, again, since I last updated my blog. Since Western band camp things have been quite busy in the world of music for myself, and for other people I am currently working with. With the free moment that I do have, I decided I would recap what has occurred and also reveal what plans I have in mind.
I decided to call this entry “A First For Everything” because there have been several things happening that have been a first in different areas of music. This period of time has been quite exciting, and I am looking forward to see how things do pan out.
AMEB Examinations
The AMEB examinations commenced late last month for the North Coast series. While my Coffs Harbour and Bellingen candidates are still putting on the finalisations for their preparations, my candidates from the Clarence Valley Con in Grafton were the first students to complete their exams. There were four candidates all sitting clarinet exams ranging from first through to third grade. Before my candidates took their exams, the examiner had not awarded any As to students the whole day. With all the students completing 12 month preparations, I was confident all of them would walk out with at least a B. The end results were two As and two Bs from my candidates. It was the first time I had a student awarded an A for an AMEB exam, despite it being only my second year of entering candidates. All of the students were thoroughly pleased with their results, and the confidence in all of their playing has skyrocketed as questions were immediately asked for their next collection of works for 2010. While new repertoire is being sorted out, all of the students continue to take part in the Clarence Valley Con Clarinet Choir.
Composition Corner
For the first time since November 2005, I have finally finished composing a work. Surprisingly it is not one of my works I have been writing for the last few years, but one that was part of a request by a fellow regional band camp tutor and conservatorium student. The work is “Poco Fantasie – for Flutes and Marimba”, a piece that goes for about three minutes demonstrating the ability of the marimba performer and how the instrument sounds along with the tone and range of the flute family as a flautist performs on C flute, but then changes to alto flute towards the end. Originally the request was for a 3-4 minute work using marimba and flute, but after completing this short work I am planning on revisiting it at some point to turn it into a small suite.
UPDATE: Commenced working on a second movement, shifting up from the E tonal centre to F. A lot more jazz harmonies are being encountered in this at the moment. Feature section will be when the flute is in the 3/4 and the marimba in 12/16. Yes, I do realise they are virtually the same key signature but rhythmically the parts are going to be very different.
A second composition is currently in the works and nearing completion as well. “Conglomerate” is the title of the work, a piece for clarinet, bass clarinet and piano. I’ve already started showing the piece to a couple of clarinettists from Newcastle Con, and the feedback has been very positive. I am hoping this piece will be performed before the end of the year at some point (in some location).
UPDATE: The work is essentially complete now. There have been a couple of suggestions from some comrades in terms of modifying sections, and those suggestions have worked very nicely. Articulation and dynamic markings need to be addressed, as well as some proofreading to make sure fingerings and technique are feasible, but this piece is pretty much finished.
Music Performance in Shakespeare
We’ve had a local production of the Shakespeare work “Hamlet”, thanks to the CHATS team. I was rather fortunate to see the show on opening night, and the local team did not disappoint. The services of Beckley Vincent in the lead role were tremendous, delivering a performance of poise and with intensity exhibiting the strong restlessness and hunger of his character.
Why would I mention a drama production in my blog? One of my students, that I normally teach clarinet, was asked if she could play recorder in the production. This was about three months before the first show. The first month or so we did a quick crash course on the recorder, then I brought out the piece of music that I deemed to be periodically suitable. To my student’s disappointment, it was not the theme from the TV series “Spiderman”. Instead it was an old traditional called “It’s A Rosebud in June”, condensed to 24 bars. It was until there was about a month before the first show my student really bit the bullet and learnt the whole piece. After showing she could play it from memory, the director asked if she could play just the first eight bars. I was informed that at every performance she never missed a note or beat. Well done!
-----
BIG UPDATE!!!
To complete this entry, even though this isn’t a first, I would like to pass on my congratulations to Adam Herd who won the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition at the QPAC in Brisbane. This would actually be a first in winning this particular competition for himself, so I guess we can throw it into this category :-P.
Adam is a pianist, who was also a saxophonist, from Coffs Harbour but moved to Queensland for further studies some years ago (sorry, Adam, I can’t remember when you commenced your studies! :-( ). There were very few times where we competed against each other. The last time we did was in 2001 as part of a concerto competition on the coast, and even then it wasn’t a competition but more-or-less an audition (that everyone present passed).
Recently Adam gave a performance in Coffs Harbour, which I unfortunately could not make due to work commitments in Grafton, and it left people raving about the tremendous talent and how far he has come. I do sincerely hope Adam does grace the stage of Coffs Harbour some time again in the future.
If Adam reads this, I found something quite interesting at the piano workshop this week (of course, being Reuben’s). Back in 1993, Reuben Fox composed a piece of music for you. He left a copy lying around on a piano at the workshop. Do you remember this piece, and the title of it? (HINT: It was quite “colourful”).
Until next time, happy musicking!
It’s been a while, again, since I last updated my blog. Since Western band camp things have been quite busy in the world of music for myself, and for other people I am currently working with. With the free moment that I do have, I decided I would recap what has occurred and also reveal what plans I have in mind.
I decided to call this entry “A First For Everything” because there have been several things happening that have been a first in different areas of music. This period of time has been quite exciting, and I am looking forward to see how things do pan out.
AMEB Examinations
The AMEB examinations commenced late last month for the North Coast series. While my Coffs Harbour and Bellingen candidates are still putting on the finalisations for their preparations, my candidates from the Clarence Valley Con in Grafton were the first students to complete their exams. There were four candidates all sitting clarinet exams ranging from first through to third grade. Before my candidates took their exams, the examiner had not awarded any As to students the whole day. With all the students completing 12 month preparations, I was confident all of them would walk out with at least a B. The end results were two As and two Bs from my candidates. It was the first time I had a student awarded an A for an AMEB exam, despite it being only my second year of entering candidates. All of the students were thoroughly pleased with their results, and the confidence in all of their playing has skyrocketed as questions were immediately asked for their next collection of works for 2010. While new repertoire is being sorted out, all of the students continue to take part in the Clarence Valley Con Clarinet Choir.
Composition Corner
For the first time since November 2005, I have finally finished composing a work. Surprisingly it is not one of my works I have been writing for the last few years, but one that was part of a request by a fellow regional band camp tutor and conservatorium student. The work is “Poco Fantasie – for Flutes and Marimba”, a piece that goes for about three minutes demonstrating the ability of the marimba performer and how the instrument sounds along with the tone and range of the flute family as a flautist performs on C flute, but then changes to alto flute towards the end. Originally the request was for a 3-4 minute work using marimba and flute, but after completing this short work I am planning on revisiting it at some point to turn it into a small suite.
UPDATE: Commenced working on a second movement, shifting up from the E tonal centre to F. A lot more jazz harmonies are being encountered in this at the moment. Feature section will be when the flute is in the 3/4 and the marimba in 12/16. Yes, I do realise they are virtually the same key signature but rhythmically the parts are going to be very different.
A second composition is currently in the works and nearing completion as well. “Conglomerate” is the title of the work, a piece for clarinet, bass clarinet and piano. I’ve already started showing the piece to a couple of clarinettists from Newcastle Con, and the feedback has been very positive. I am hoping this piece will be performed before the end of the year at some point (in some location).
UPDATE: The work is essentially complete now. There have been a couple of suggestions from some comrades in terms of modifying sections, and those suggestions have worked very nicely. Articulation and dynamic markings need to be addressed, as well as some proofreading to make sure fingerings and technique are feasible, but this piece is pretty much finished.
Music Performance in Shakespeare
We’ve had a local production of the Shakespeare work “Hamlet”, thanks to the CHATS team. I was rather fortunate to see the show on opening night, and the local team did not disappoint. The services of Beckley Vincent in the lead role were tremendous, delivering a performance of poise and with intensity exhibiting the strong restlessness and hunger of his character.
Why would I mention a drama production in my blog? One of my students, that I normally teach clarinet, was asked if she could play recorder in the production. This was about three months before the first show. The first month or so we did a quick crash course on the recorder, then I brought out the piece of music that I deemed to be periodically suitable. To my student’s disappointment, it was not the theme from the TV series “Spiderman”. Instead it was an old traditional called “It’s A Rosebud in June”, condensed to 24 bars. It was until there was about a month before the first show my student really bit the bullet and learnt the whole piece. After showing she could play it from memory, the director asked if she could play just the first eight bars. I was informed that at every performance she never missed a note or beat. Well done!
-----
BIG UPDATE!!!
To complete this entry, even though this isn’t a first, I would like to pass on my congratulations to Adam Herd who won the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition at the QPAC in Brisbane. This would actually be a first in winning this particular competition for himself, so I guess we can throw it into this category :-P.
Adam is a pianist, who was also a saxophonist, from Coffs Harbour but moved to Queensland for further studies some years ago (sorry, Adam, I can’t remember when you commenced your studies! :-( ). There were very few times where we competed against each other. The last time we did was in 2001 as part of a concerto competition on the coast, and even then it wasn’t a competition but more-or-less an audition (that everyone present passed).
Recently Adam gave a performance in Coffs Harbour, which I unfortunately could not make due to work commitments in Grafton, and it left people raving about the tremendous talent and how far he has come. I do sincerely hope Adam does grace the stage of Coffs Harbour some time again in the future.
If Adam reads this, I found something quite interesting at the piano workshop this week (of course, being Reuben’s). Back in 1993, Reuben Fox composed a piece of music for you. He left a copy lying around on a piano at the workshop. Do you remember this piece, and the title of it? (HINT: It was quite “colourful”).
Until next time, happy musicking!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Last Month or so Wrap
It's been a while since I last provided a blog entry, and with some spare time up my sleeve I might as well recap the different happenings, occurances, and upcoming events.
North Coast Regional Band Camp
North Coast had their regional band camp last month, and the feedback from students from the Clarence area has been really positive. As mentioned previously, last year was an incredible low for the band camp showing how dire the situation was in terms of employing specialist tutors and having staff encourage and relate to the children partaking. It was guaranteed that the camp could not get any worse than last year, but it was a question of how well the North Coast could bounce back. Staff selections were exceptional, selecting studying musicians from Newcastle combined with tutors based in the region. The standard of pieces selected was not only higher, but thoroughly enjoyed by the campers taking part. We will be hoping for some bigger and better things for this regional camp next year.
Performing Arts Submission
A member of the music community has put forward a submission for a performing arts space in Coffs Harbour. I was quite interested in this submission that was put forward, because Coffs Harbour doesn't really have a professional level performing arts space. We do have assorted performance buildings, but it seems there is something that is not right with each location. The big factors are usually either seating or acoustics, although it does appear religious values want to be cast into the fray as well now.
The submission is fairly thorough detailing why "Coffs Harbour urgently needs and deserves a proper venue for performing arts". The comparison with other towns caught my attention, especially when Port Macquarie was mentioned with their new "Glasshouse Theatre" costing the local council 50 million dollars. I'm interested to find out if Coffs Harbour council would be prepared to spend that much money on a new auditorium. And the whole business of Coffs Harbour "needing" and "deserving" this building certainly had me reflecting on the current music programs offered and the amount of musicians emerging from these programs. To cut the long story short, unless we have more students being encouraged to partake, be trained up, have more ensembles and members of these groups established it would be completely foolish and embarassing to have such a building constructed that would either be hardly used locally or filled with very few numbers. Constructions don't build musicians and ensembles, people do. This thinking has been shared by the local conservatorium this year and there are several locals that are opposed to this.
AMEB Examinations
Preparations are all falling into place within the three camps of Grafton, Coffs and Bellingen. The candidates from Coffs and Grafton are fairly relaxed, all knowing their pieces quite well and feeling settled with their performances. The Bellingen preparations have been slightly stressful working with only six months to get ready, but I am feeling confident that we will still be achieving some terrific results. After conducting extra lessons with students this afternoon in Bellingen, I am already amazed at the change in some of these students in terms of performance practice and their approach to music. A lot more character is being added to several students and their playing, bringing out personality. The quiet ones are speaking up and playing out more now, huzzah!!! We still have about six weeks on average, which should be enough time for finalising touches on pieces AND memorising technical work (a common feature across the board).
It still amazes me that there are music tutors and teachers that are of the opinion that scales, arpeggios and technical work can be of little relevance. Sure they might be boring, but hello?! Music is made up of sections of scales, arpeggios and technical work. If anything, technical work should be easy to play straight up and down since it all follows the same line. Therefore, the technical work should be easy and pieces of music difficult. With students, this trend somehow flips itself the other way around. What a bizarre phenomenon.
PAA Announce Next Program
The next program has been announced for September, and my goodness it is quite a program.
William Tell Overture - Rossini
Waltz from Der Fledermaus - Strauss
3rd movement Trumpet Concerto - Haydn
Slow movement 7th Symphony - Beethoven
Carmina Burana - Orff
Instead of my jaw dropping at the program, I was left scratching my head. This was in particular with the Carmina Burana. To put it bluntly, it's a bloody big work and I don't know how we are going to have the numbers for it. There is talk of a choir (obviously) accompanied by full orchestra and two pianists. What I'd like to know is where are we going to find the following...
* Flutes (especially those that can double piccolo)
* Eight clarinets amongst three players (everyone doubles with B flat and A, plus 2nd uses an E flat and 3rd a bass)
* A contrabasson (some people would be saying a "contrawhat"?)
* French Horns (there might be one available just outside of the region, but no others within. We need four)
* A tuba (no one jump up straight away)
* Five timpani
* A bass drum (no, the "kick" off a drum kit doesn't count)
* Tubular bells (no, we can't steal church bells from around town)
* A celesta (where? And how much do you want for it?)
* A full string section (and I do mean a FULL string section from top to bottom)
Logically, I cannot see this working or being done justice. The program, and Carmina alone, is going to be way too much. At the moment we just don't have the orchestra for it. Why do we need to target the big popular works? Why can't we simply accommodate for smaller sized ensembles or the musicians we readily have available in the area? Ignorance is... meh... I don't mean to sound like a stick in the mud, but we honestly don't have the resources to pull a big project like this off successfully.
With that all said and done, it's time to get back to composing. I'm hoping to complete three compositions before the next band camp, something I haven't done since 2005. It will be a massive relief.
Until next time! :-)
North Coast Regional Band Camp
North Coast had their regional band camp last month, and the feedback from students from the Clarence area has been really positive. As mentioned previously, last year was an incredible low for the band camp showing how dire the situation was in terms of employing specialist tutors and having staff encourage and relate to the children partaking. It was guaranteed that the camp could not get any worse than last year, but it was a question of how well the North Coast could bounce back. Staff selections were exceptional, selecting studying musicians from Newcastle combined with tutors based in the region. The standard of pieces selected was not only higher, but thoroughly enjoyed by the campers taking part. We will be hoping for some bigger and better things for this regional camp next year.
Performing Arts Submission
A member of the music community has put forward a submission for a performing arts space in Coffs Harbour. I was quite interested in this submission that was put forward, because Coffs Harbour doesn't really have a professional level performing arts space. We do have assorted performance buildings, but it seems there is something that is not right with each location. The big factors are usually either seating or acoustics, although it does appear religious values want to be cast into the fray as well now.
The submission is fairly thorough detailing why "Coffs Harbour urgently needs and deserves a proper venue for performing arts". The comparison with other towns caught my attention, especially when Port Macquarie was mentioned with their new "Glasshouse Theatre" costing the local council 50 million dollars. I'm interested to find out if Coffs Harbour council would be prepared to spend that much money on a new auditorium. And the whole business of Coffs Harbour "needing" and "deserving" this building certainly had me reflecting on the current music programs offered and the amount of musicians emerging from these programs. To cut the long story short, unless we have more students being encouraged to partake, be trained up, have more ensembles and members of these groups established it would be completely foolish and embarassing to have such a building constructed that would either be hardly used locally or filled with very few numbers. Constructions don't build musicians and ensembles, people do. This thinking has been shared by the local conservatorium this year and there are several locals that are opposed to this.
AMEB Examinations
Preparations are all falling into place within the three camps of Grafton, Coffs and Bellingen. The candidates from Coffs and Grafton are fairly relaxed, all knowing their pieces quite well and feeling settled with their performances. The Bellingen preparations have been slightly stressful working with only six months to get ready, but I am feeling confident that we will still be achieving some terrific results. After conducting extra lessons with students this afternoon in Bellingen, I am already amazed at the change in some of these students in terms of performance practice and their approach to music. A lot more character is being added to several students and their playing, bringing out personality. The quiet ones are speaking up and playing out more now, huzzah!!! We still have about six weeks on average, which should be enough time for finalising touches on pieces AND memorising technical work (a common feature across the board).
It still amazes me that there are music tutors and teachers that are of the opinion that scales, arpeggios and technical work can be of little relevance. Sure they might be boring, but hello?! Music is made up of sections of scales, arpeggios and technical work. If anything, technical work should be easy to play straight up and down since it all follows the same line. Therefore, the technical work should be easy and pieces of music difficult. With students, this trend somehow flips itself the other way around. What a bizarre phenomenon.
PAA Announce Next Program
The next program has been announced for September, and my goodness it is quite a program.
William Tell Overture - Rossini
Waltz from Der Fledermaus - Strauss
3rd movement Trumpet Concerto - Haydn
Slow movement 7th Symphony - Beethoven
Carmina Burana - Orff
Instead of my jaw dropping at the program, I was left scratching my head. This was in particular with the Carmina Burana. To put it bluntly, it's a bloody big work and I don't know how we are going to have the numbers for it. There is talk of a choir (obviously) accompanied by full orchestra and two pianists. What I'd like to know is where are we going to find the following...
* Flutes (especially those that can double piccolo)
* Eight clarinets amongst three players (everyone doubles with B flat and A, plus 2nd uses an E flat and 3rd a bass)
* A contrabasson (some people would be saying a "contrawhat"?)
* French Horns (there might be one available just outside of the region, but no others within. We need four)
* A tuba (no one jump up straight away)
* Five timpani
* A bass drum (no, the "kick" off a drum kit doesn't count)
* Tubular bells (no, we can't steal church bells from around town)
* A celesta (where? And how much do you want for it?)
* A full string section (and I do mean a FULL string section from top to bottom)
Logically, I cannot see this working or being done justice. The program, and Carmina alone, is going to be way too much. At the moment we just don't have the orchestra for it. Why do we need to target the big popular works? Why can't we simply accommodate for smaller sized ensembles or the musicians we readily have available in the area? Ignorance is... meh... I don't mean to sound like a stick in the mud, but we honestly don't have the resources to pull a big project like this off successfully.
With that all said and done, it's time to get back to composing. I'm hoping to complete three compositions before the next band camp, something I haven't done since 2005. It will be a massive relief.
Until next time! :-)
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