A PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION DESIGNER PIANO TEACHERS ART MUSIC STUDENT MOTIVATION FORMS OF DELIVERY THE Piano Teaching WHOLE PERSON THE LESSON LEARNING TO PRACTISE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE PRACTICE JOURNAL A Guide for Nurturing PRE-EMPTING DEVELOPING Musical Independence TECHNIQUE STAGES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT THE VERY YOUNG STUDENT METHOD BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS ADULT TUITION GROUP LESSONS PREPARING FOR TEACHING EXAMS POSTURE-USE AND ABUSE OF THE BODY INTERPRETATION THE STUDIO TUITION THE AGREEMENT RESUME ACCOUNTING SIDE THE TRIANGLE - Faith Maydwell STUDENTS/PARENTS/TEACHERS THE RESOURCE FILE A BASIC LIBRARY REPERTOIRE SELECTION THE INSTRUMENT PIANO CARE PURCHASING AN BIBLIOGRAPHY INSTRUMENT INTERNET SITES West Australian-born Faith Maydwell has taught piano for more than 30 years. Her complementary activities since completing a Master of Music degree at the University of Western Australia in 1982 have included solo recitals, broadcasts for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, accompanying, orchestral piano with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, examining for the Australian Music Examinations Board, lecturing at the University of Western Australia and the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in the areas of keyboard harmony, sight reading and piano pedagogy, adjudicating, and presenting papers at state and national music seminars and conferences. Faith’s university piano studies were under the tutelage of David Bollard (a student of Ilona Kabos and Louis Kentner), a founding member of the Australia Ensemble. In 1978 Faith won the Convocation Prize (UWA) for the best student of any year in the Bachelor of Music course and in 1979 she was a state finalist in the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s Young Performers Awards competition. She has published a manual, Sight Reading Skills: A Guide for Sight Reading Piano Music Accurately and Expressively (See inside back cover for details). Piano Teaching A Guide for Nurturing Musical Independence Faith Maydwell New Arts Press of Perth 31B Venn Street North Perth 6006 Western Australia Copyright © 2007 by Faith Maydwell All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. The New Arts Press of Perth and colophon are trademarks of The New Arts Press of Perth, Inc. For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact: [email protected] DESIGNED BY ANTHONY MAYDWELL Manufactured in Australia National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-publication Data Maydwell, Faith, 1957- Piano Teaching: A Guide for Nurturing Musical Independence / Faith Maydwell Contents: A Philosophy of Music Education, Designer Piano Teachers, Art Music, Student Motivation, A Good Question, Forms of Delivery, The Whole Person, The Lesson – Learning to Practise, Public Performance, Practice Journal, Pre-Empting, Developing Technique, Stages of Child Development, The Very Young Student, Method Books for Beginners, Adult Tuition, Group Lessons, Preparing for Teaching Exams, Posture – Use and Abuse of the Body, Interpretation, The Studio, Tuition Agreement, Résumé, The Accounting Side, The Triangle – Students/Parents/Teachers, The Resource File, A Basic Library, Repertoire Selection, The Instrument, Piano Care, Purchasing an Instrument, Appendix: Internet Sites, Bibliography. 1. Piano – Pedagogy. 1 Title CONTENTS PREFACE__________________________________________________________vii INTRODUCTION ____________________________________________________1 A PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC EDUCATION _______________________________4 DESIGNER PIANO TEACHERS ________________________________________7 ART MUSIC________________________________________________________12 STUDENT MOTIVATION ____________________________________________21 A GOOD QUESTION ________________________________________________23 FORMS OF DELIVERY ______________________________________________25 THE WHOLE PERSON_______________________________________________26 THE LESSON – LEARNING TO PRACTISE _____________________________27 PUBLIC PERFORMANCE ____________________________________________34 PRACTICE JOURNAL _______________________________________________36 PRE-EMPTING _____________________________________________________37 DEVELOPING TECHNIQUE__________________________________________40 STAGES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT__________________________________42 THE VERY YOUNG STUDENT _______________________________________42 METHOD BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS___________________________________46 ADULT TUITION ___________________________________________________47 GROUP LESSONS___________________________________________________49 PREPARING FOR TEACHING EXAMS_________________________________51 POSTURE – USE AND ABUSE OF THE BODY __________________________53 INTERPRETATION _________________________________________________56 THE STUDIO_______________________________________________________59 TUITION AGREEMENT______________________________________________60 RESUME __________________________________________________________60 THE ACCOUNTING SIDE____________________________________________61 THE TRIANGLE – STUDENTS/PARENTS/TEACHERS____________________62 THE RESOURCE FILE_______________________________________________63 A BASIC LIBRARY _________________________________________________71 REPERTOIRE SELECTION___________________________________________73 THE INSTRUMENT _________________________________________________74 PIANO CARE_______________________________________________________76 PURCHASING AN INSTRUMENT_____________________________________78 GOODBYES________________________________________________________79 APPENDIX: INTERNET SITES________________________________________81 BIBLIOGRAPHY____________________________________________________82 PREFACE I am not sure that I imagined specialising in piano pedagogy as a young adult but I do remember asking my professor shortly after completing a master’s degree at university, “What do I call myself?” His answer was immediate. “Why? You are a MUSICIAN.” Thirty years later I find myself feeling passionate about the possibilities of the piano studio and putting forward a way of teaching that emphasises the development of the whole person and the complete musician. The journey has provided experiences in accompanying, solo recitals, concertos and broadcasts, teaching in tertiary institutions and music specialist schools, orchestral keyboard playing, examining and adjudicating. Not only am I grateful for the rich and varied background but I have seen first-hand how different areas of music making are complementary to others. When I was completing two performance degrees at university, back in the 1970s and 80s, there were no specific teaching units for the piano students who planned to be studio teachers. This was despite the great majority of performance majors, on their exodus from university, teaching in some capacity to supplement their income. How I first taught was mostly influenced by what I had experienced in my student years. Over the decades, a range of teaching experiences and further study has contributed to a major shift in my approach. I have always enjoyed teaching, but now look forward with great anticipation to the return of my students after a holiday period and regard music teaching as an exciting and privileged occupation. Whilst teaching piano pedagogy at university and wading through the dullest of method books on the subject, something new would always be revealed. This is what I love about the subject. It is huge and it is intriguing. For instance, I thought I had the teaching of scales all wrapped up. However, over lunch recently with a piano teacher, I gained new insight by listening to a summary of her approach. Should you decide to become a piano teacher, be prepared to be fascinated for a lifetime. Reading material is endless and there is always an intellectual or musical challenge to be met. These pages reflect my observations and lessons learnt over the years. I realise that people have many different ways of teaching piano. Tertiary teaching, in particular, showed me that important musical concepts need to be addressed in the early stages of a student’s development. If this has not happened all is not lost as much can still be accomplished with hard work and good teachers. However it would be so much better if students were helped to be well-rounded musicians from the beginning. I often encounter adult students who do not know, for instance, how to use their body effectively at the keyboard, how to hear inwardly, how to produce a variety of tone colours – even how to learn a Bach fugue. I hope that piano teaching continues to become more professional and that all teachers come to understand their privileged position. Acknowledgements Thank you to these students, friends and colleagues who through their discussions and encouragement have enabled this project to be brought to fruition – Jill Ailsa, Vivienne Ward, Patsy Shadbolt, Jody Pettit Danielle and Micheál McCarthy. Special thanks to Margaret Huggins and Tony Maydwell for their editing and typesetting skills and Éilis McCarthy (age 8) for the back-page illustration. Dedication To my piano teachers Miss Piercy, Mr Huddle, Dawn Fisher, Wallace Tate and David Bollard Faith Maydwell INTRODUCTION To whom is this book directed? To piano teachers who may be looking for a fresh perspective and to piano students who are thinking about piano teaching as a career. It is a manual that examines the why, how, what, who and when of the subject. Piano teaching is a profession that is rewarding but also challenging. It suits people who are fascinated with human behaviour and an art form which demands some of the most complicated feats of human coordination. It must be remembered that to know the literature alone is probably too big a task for one lifetime. As teachers we are extremely fortunate to be working in most situations with one student at a time. This allows for a closeness that is not possible in a group. Those who have been blessed with a good teacher who has unveiled the mysteries of music will understand the tenderness and respect felt for the person who has enriched their lives. I remember Miriam Hyde’s keynote address, Memories of My Nine Piano Teachers, at the 5th Australian Piano Pedagogy Conference in 2001. She eloquently recalled what each one of her teachers added to her pianism. Reading an article such as Edwin Fischer – Remembering My Teacher by Alfred Brendel (On Music, p. 328, A Cappella Books, 2001) shows how a teacher affects a person’s life. My university teacher often recalled stories of his teachers and great pianists he had heard whilst studying in London. When I recounted this to one of my adult students she was amazed to hear that attending concerts by pianists such as Richter, Cherkassky, Michelangeli, Kentner, Arrau, Serkin, Curzon and Giles could have a profound effect on personal and musical development. Sadly, from some students I hear accounts of educational experiences that have a negative impact. Recently I spoke to a mother whose daughter repeatedly endured the criticism of a music teacher who, amongst other things, called her unmusical. I don’t believe children should be weighed down with criticism, which may cause the wrong preconceptions to be carried throughout life. Musicality is learnt. Even the tiny percentage of students who seem incapable of independent development can still enjoy music by imitation. Playing a piece of music beautifully by rote is more enriching than not to play at all. Piano teaching can build a student’s confidence. The experience should be a happy and rewarding one for both student and teacher. Those who have learnt from certain teachers will also have had the advantage of being part of a great composer/performer line, passing down ideas from generation to generation. Even in Perth, Western Australia – the world’s most isolated city – I had a teacher whose lineage, in five steps, goes back to Beethoven via Liszt and Czerny. I had the good fortune to study with David Bollard for three years before he went to Sydney to become a founding member of the Australia Ensemble. He studied piano with Ilona Kabos for about a year and a half and then with Louis Kentner for four and a half years. He talked of the predominant qualities that emanated from their teaching. Kabos emphasised the need for the music to have a sense of direction and for the phrase to breathe in a natural way. With Kentner it was the importance of a beautiful cantabile tone and the awareness of the need to strive constantly to defeat the basic nature of the instrument, whose sound is produced by percussive means. I have heard piano pedagogues deride musical lineages saying that this is totally irrelevant because teaching evolves with each generation. However, keyboard pedagogy has a close connection to the great masters. If we have the chance to hear at first, second or even fifth hand how a composer wanted his music to be played, are we not better off? David Bollard 2 told me he questioned Kabos about an interpretive issue in a piece of Liszt, and her reply was, “I know darling, I studied with his pupil!” Sometimes a musician whose main interest is not piano can have a profound effect on a student’s life. A Hungarian musician highly regarded and who had a great influence on Kabos and Kentner, Leó Weiner, is listed in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as a composer and teacher of chamber music having studied composition with Zoltán Kodály. It still excites me every time I think of this wonderful line of musicians that I now belong to and the privilege I have of passing my knowledge on to future generations: Ludwig Beethoven Carl Czerny Franz Liszt Arpád Szendry Ilona Kabos David Bollard Faith Maydwell We can learn much from our teachers on the subject of teaching whether they are a well- known concert artist or the neighbour next-door. I suggest that a list be made of the qualities admired in your piano teachers as well as the qualities which you do not wish to take with you into your career. Be prepared as you examine teaching to change your view. Sometimes issues are not black and white. I remember my second teacher Mr Huddle who used to pick me up from school and take me to my home for lessons. The spider webs in the corner of his car used to fascinate me, as did his thick fingers which had the consistency of crocodile skin. He was a stickler for key signatures. I am grateful now for not flinching when greeted by a key signature of six or seven sharps, a skill which has greatly aided my sight reading, though his method of teaching this filled me with frustration and anger at the time. I don’t recall the method but I do strongly recall the feelings. In my teenage years Mrs Dawn Fisher helped me to focus during a difficult time. I remember being inwardly rebellious. Piano lessons during university were the highlights. I would look forward with eager anticipation to each lesson, riveted to the new score and listening intently to David Bollard as we examined music in minute detail. Before the question of why one would want to be a piano teacher is addressed, let’s look at why we are attracted to this instrument in the first place. Over the past few years we seem to