The Music Stand Jul-Sep 2016

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Incorporated

PO Box 4 RUNDLE MALL SA 5000

Print Post Pub. No 100003224

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016 www.mtasa.com.au

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MTASA AGM from 3:45pm All welcome Platinum Expo Partners:

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

CONCERT PERFORMANCE DAY 1 by Betty Snowden Held: Saturday May 14 Where: Unley Uniting Church, Unley Road, Unley

Masako Kondo’s smiling face at reception The Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia provides a twiceyearly opportunity for students to play in a concert situation with an unaccustomed audience, and on an unfamiliar instrument in the case of pianists. In her welcoming speech Norma Knight spoke about this event being a ‘practice performance’ and as such exceptionally valuable experience for the student.

and Poulenc’s Novelette, to Miriam Hyde’s Magpies at sunrise and Debussy’s Reverie, with many other interesting pieces performed.

What struck me was the strong evidence of outstanding talent amongst the 47 students who played.

A number of the performances were exceptional. In the main the students were pianists, however there was also a flautist, violinist and four singers.

One really sweet five-year-old pianist played his second piece standing up, the stool being too far away for him.

Commentators: Diana Harris OAM and Koula Raptis

Some performers with Norma Knight

Norma Knight welcomes everyone The first Performance Day for 2016 was held on Saturday 14 May at the Unley Uniting Church, which is a generous space. There were three sessions each with about 16 students, and displaying a range of ages and ability. Performers offered a wide diversity of music, ranging from T-rex hungry by Chua and Patter Dance by Margaret Sutherland, to Prokofiev’s Soir, Liszt’s Liebestraum Notturno III

sit and think about the piece they are about to play and also not to hurry the performance. They said that under concert situations some students rush the pieces due to nerves and that they should relax and take their time.

The teachers must be congratulated on their excellent efforts in nurturing and refining their students’ talents and they are well justified in feeling proud of their achievements.

The four commentators who shared sessions (two for each session): Leonie Hempton, Elizabeth Koch, Diana Harris and Koula Raptis, were excellent and their contributions were greatly appreciated.

After each session they spoke to the students offering positive advice.

They stressed the importance of students presenting themselves with a smile and letting their audience know that they are pleased to be playing to them. They also noted that students should not rush into beginning, but to

There is a real benefit to younger students having a range of ages and experience in their session. This can be inspirational and motivate them to renewed efforts.

It is essential that MTASA continues to provide this unique opportunity for our young musicians.

More performers

♫♫♫

HUMOUR At a concert of avant garde music, a musician is seen battering the piano lid with a sledge hammer, much to the annoyance of one erudite audience member; ‘I do wish they wouldn’t tamper with the score, this passage is clearly marked for the hatchet!’

Choir Director to new chorister, ‘And what might be your name, young man?’

Chorister, ‘It might be Cecil, but it isn’t!’

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

“THE MUSIC STAND”

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. VOLUME 24 NO 3 – July/September 2016 PATRONS: Dr. Doreen Bridges AM Emeritus Professor David Lockett AM

MTASA Inaugural Music Educators’ Expo

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CONCERT PERFORMANCE DAY 1

by Betty Snowden Humour

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PRESIDENT’S WELCOME by Rodney Smith FROM THE TREASURER by Samantha Penny

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COMING MTASA EVENTS MEMBER INFORMATION OTHER ORGANISATIONS’ EVENTS PEDAGOGY MATTERS by Rodney Smith

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COMMUNICATING WITH YOU!

by Carly McDonald

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ACCOMPANIST’S CORNER: ACCOMPANY, OR GOOD COMPANY? by Elsabeth Parkinson

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MUSIC EDUCATION IN THE COPPER COAST

by Julie Ayles

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THE MUSICAL BODY: BIOMECHANICS AND EMOTION by Norma Knight and Pat. H. Wilson

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THE HEART OF TEACHING ART

by Pete Barter, ETI_Music

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PRESIDENT: Rodney Smith VICE PRESIDENT: Robert Brown SECRETARY: Masako Kondo TREASURER: Samantha Penny AUDITOR: Australian Independent Audit Services COUNCIL: Pete Barter, Robert Brown, Malcolm Day, Norma Knight, Masako Kondo, Monika Laczofy, Carly McDonald, David Metin, Elizabeth Pearce, Samantha Penny, Rodney Smith, Betty Snowden, Hayley Wedding, Pat Wilson EDITOR: Newsletter Layout:

Robert Brown Masako Kondo

Membership enquiries to the Secretary – PO BOX 4, RUNDLE MALL, ADELAIDE SA 5000 Mobile: 0402 575 219 E-mail: musicteacherssa@gmail.com For more about us, please visit our website http://www.mtasa.com.au

ADVICE FOR PIANISTS: PIANO MYTHS, PART 1 by Howard Richman

Advertising – Please contact the Secretary Please see MEMBER INFORMATION page for Advertising Price List.

Mobile: 0402 575 219 E-mail: musicteacherssa@gmail.com CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEWSLETTER ARE WELCOME. Material to be printed in the next issue must reach Robert Brown (robbrown@adam.com.au) no later than Monday, October 31.

MTASA WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK The MTASA website has had a makeover. Please visit http://www.mtasa.com.au/ to have a look.

Please visit the new MTASA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/The-Music-TeachersAssociation-of-SA-Inc-883307955101655/.

LESSON

MUSIC HOMEWORK by Nick Peterson

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY: NOTES FROM SOME PRESENTED SESSIONS: PREPARATION FOR AND DELIVERING A CONFIDENT PERFORMANCE AT MORE ADVANCED LEVELS by Amanda Grigg

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MUSICIANSHIP (INCLUDING STYLE AND INTERPRETATION) AT MORE ADVANCED LEVELS by Diana Weekes

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MIRIAM HYDE AWARDS by Malcolm Day

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CONTACT DETAILS FOR OTHER ORGANISATIONS

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME During April, May and June the running of MTASA has been in the capable hands of Acting President Robert Brown and Acting Vice President Norma Knight during my absence due to other commitments. Robert and Norma have shown both dedication and talent in looking after MTASA during this time, as well as achieving a very great deal in so comparatively short a period. I’m immensely grateful to them for stepping in and wish to record my personal thanks for all they have done.

Dare we hope for a new, rejuvenated website soon? I think so, with Robert and Norma helping to overcome the myriad problems we’ve encountered since commencing the task. In the meantime Carly McDonald has purposefully molded our Facebook presence to something we can all be pleased with, helping to fill the gap.

Throughout The Music Stand you’ll find reports on the many successful events MTASA has presented recently. Council has been exceedingly busy organizing and running them, but it’s not simply a matter of repeating previous years. We’re acutely aware of the need for us all to maintain and improve our skill levels in an era of professional accountability. MTASA will be playing its part to provide members with appropriate events that map across to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, which scaffold much of our work.

Other upgrading continues apace and by the time you read this we shall have held our Special General Meeting on Wednesday July 6 which we anticipate will endorse alterations to our Constitution needed to meet today’s changing conditions. In advance, thanks to Robert for his tireless efforts to facilitate all this.

Rodney Smith, President FROM THE TREASURER by Samantha Penny MTASA NEW SUBSCRIPTION BILLING CYCLE EXPLAINED OLD BILLING CYCLE

2015

INTERIM: 6 months ended 30/6/16 1/1/16 to 30/6/16

NEW BILLING CYCLE

1/7/2016 to 30/6/2017

Subscription Invoices issued in November 2015 were for the Interim cycle in GREEN. New invoices issued are for a full year ended 30 June 2017, in BLUE. Subscription Fees RED and BLUE cycles:

Subscription Fees GREEN cycle:

Full

$105

Full

$52.50

General

$105

General

$52.50

Associate

$100

Associate

$50

Student

$52

Student

$26

2016/2017 SUBSCRIPTIONS Invoices are now due. They are payable by cash (by deposit at an ANZ branch and quoting our BSB and Account number, and your name/invoice number for reference), cheque, EFT (quoting invoice number & surname) or Credit Card (fees & charges apply).

By not being a 2016/2017 subscriber, your current 2016 membership of MTASA will lapse at 31 December 2016, according to the MTASA Constitution, and you will be required to complete a new application.

ACCOUNT CLOSURE Please be advised that the MTASA account held at the People’s Choice Credit Union is now closed. Please use our ANZ account: BSB 015 208 ACC 2868 81594 .

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

MEMBER INFORMATION RECOMMENDED TEACHING FEES The following teaching rates are recommended to members by the MTASA Council for 2016.

Full Member General Member Associate Member Student Member

$70 per $70 per $60 per $45 per

hour hour hour hour

MTASA MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES AND FEES Full Member General Member Associate Member Student Member Friend Member Institution Member

$105 $105 $100 $52 $30 $30

MTASA MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL 2016/2017 Subscription renewal notices were sent out in May and are due by December 30, 2016.

Please pay these promptly. They are for a period of twelve months. Subscriptions will be due again on June 30, 2017.

NOTICE TO STUDENT MEMBERS Have you fulfilled the requirements for Associate or Full Membership? Student members are reminded that Student membership is restricted to four years after which time it is expected that they would be eligible for another membership category. Student members who are ready to upgrade their membership are invited to submit an application form to the Secretary together with the required supporting documents. Criteria can be downloaded from the MTASA website (www.mtasa.com.au) or obtained from the Secretary.

ACCREDITATION Members are invited to seek accreditation by obtaining applications forms from the MTASA Secretary and submitting them to the Music Teachers’ Association of New South Wales. Visit http://www.musicnsw.com.au/teachers/accreditat ion/ for more information.

Upon gaining accreditation members are then requested to advise the MTASA Secretary if they wish to have this qualification entered either on our website or in ‘The Directory of Teachers of Music’. This information cannot be supplied by the Music Teachers’ Association of New South Wales due to privacy laws.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

COMING MTASA EVENTS Concert Performance Day 2 When: Venue: Sessions: Admission:

Saturday August 13 St Andrew’s By The Sea Uniting Church 92 Jetty Road, Glenelg 12.30 pm, 1.45 pm, 3.00 pm gold coin

Reimann – Robinson Scholarship When: Venue: Admission:

Saturday September 17, 1.00 pm Cynthia Poulton Hall, St. Peter’s Cathedral 27 King William Road, North Adelaide gold coin

Music Educators Expo 2016 & Annual General Meeting When:

Venue: Admission:

Sunday September 25 Expo: 1.00 pm-4.00 pm AGM: 3.45 pm Thebarton Community Centre corner South Road and Ashwin Parade, Torrensville $7 pre purchase; $10 at the door

Norman Sellick Memorial Prize When: Venue: Admission:

Saturday October 22, 1.00 pm Cynthia Poulton Hall, St. Peter’s Cathedral 27 King William Road, North Adelaide gold coin

OTHER ORGANISATIONS’ EVENTS The Metropolitan Male Choir of SA Inc. invites applications for the Annual Music Scholarship. Valued at $2,000, the scholarship is open to young musicians with proven musical ability and a strong desire to continue their musical development. A second prize of $1,000 may be awarded on the recommendation of the adjudicating panel. The award is designed to recognise the ability of outstanding young musicians, to encourage them to pursue their studies and to provide opportunities for the winners to perform publicly as associate artists with the choir. Applicants must be aged between 12 and 16 years as at January 1, 2017. Enquiries: Bill Scott, Ph. 8227-0472, e-mail bandliscott@gmail.com, or Geoff Sieben, Ph. 8242-7333, e-mail geoff@sieben.com.au, or visit the website at www.mmcsa.org. Entries close on Saturday, September 3, and the auditions will be held on Saturday, September 24.

Exam Dates and Last Date of Entry for Diploma, Jazz and Practical Exams October- December: Friday, July 22 Theory of Music Dates and Last Date of Entry Saturday, November 5: Friday, September 16 ABRSM Exam regulations and information, free syllabuses, entry forms, etc., are available upon request from the local ABRSM Representative, Anastasia Chan, e-mail abrsmsa@hotmail.com or phone 0423-282-589. For more information, please visit ABRSM’s website at www.abrsm.org.

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

ADELAIDE EISTEDDFOD PROGRAMME 2016 EMAIL ADDRESSES MTASA would like to update all members’ e-mail addresses. Please send to the Secretary at musicteacherssa@gmail.com.

DIRECTORY OF TEACHERS OF MUSIC The 43rd Edition will be issued towards the end of 2016. It will be distributed to music stores throughout Adelaide and will be available to students/parents who are seeking a teacher.

The distribution of the Directory is assisted by the businesses and associations who have placed advertisements.

ADVERTISING PRICE LIST FOR THE MUSIC STAND, 2016 A4 size page (210 mm X 297 mm) Full Page Half Page Third Page Quarter Page Sixth Page

Per issue Colour B/W

For 4 issues Colour B/W

$250 $125 $83 $63 $42

$800 $400 $267 $200 $133

$200 $100 $67 $50 $33

$640 $320 $213 $160 $107

INSERTION FEE FOR POSTERS AND FLYERS

One issue $100. Four issues $360.

Advertisers have two choices: 1.to provide the inserts, 2. To provide the artwork, MTASA will arrange the printing and invoice for this.

Members placing an ad are entitled to a 15% discount.

CLASSIFIED AD MTA Members, free. Non-members, $15.

Please contact the Secretary about advertising.

Mobile: 0402 575 219 E-mail: musicteacherssa@gmail.com QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS We congratulate our Past President Elizabeth Koch for being awarded an AM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for ‘significant service to the performing arts, particularly to music education and performance, and through executive roles with professional associations’.

Detailed programmes can be found at http://www.sacomment.com/aes.htm.

General admission for sessions: $7, Adelaide Eisteddfod Members and Children 12 years and under free STRING AND WIND RECITALS Adjudicator: Peter Webb OAM When: Monday August 1st, 6.30 pm Venue: Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood STRING DIVISION Adjudicator: When: When: When: Venue:

Ian Russell Monday August 1st, 12.15 pm Tuesday August 2nd, 9 am Wednesday August 3rd, 1 pm Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood

EISTEDDFOD ENSEMBLE EVENT Adjudicator: Ian Russell When: Tuesday August 2nd, 6 pm When: Wednesday August 3rd, 6.30 pm Venue: Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood PIANO DIVISION Adjudicator: When: When: When: When: When: Venue:

Marija Bajalica Friday August 5th, 9-30 am Saturday August 6th, 9-30 am Thursday August 11th, 1-30 pm Friday August 12th, 9-30 am Saturday August 13th, 9-30 am Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood

WOODWIND DIVISION Adjudicator: Alan Aungles When: Friday August 12th, 6.50 pm When: Saturday August 13th, 1.30 pm Venue: Unley Uniting Church, 187 Unley Road, Unley FLUTE DIVISION Adjudicators: When: When: Venue: When: Venue:

Alan Aungles, Lisa Gill and Julia Grenfell Saturday August 13th, 10 am to 1 pm, 1.55 pm to 5 pm Sunday August 14th, 2 pm Unley Uniting Church, 187 Unley Road, Unley Monday August 15th, 5.30 pm Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood

BRASS DIVISION Adjudicator: When: Venue:

Bruce Raymond Saturday August 13th, 1 pm Unley Uniting Church, 187 Unley Road, Unley

ADELAIDE EISTEDDFOD CONCERTO Adjudicator: Emeritus Prof. David Lockett AM When: Thursday August 18th, 6 pm Venue: Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood VOCAL DIVISION Adjudicator: Elizabeth Koch AM OAM

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Guila Tiver

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

NEW HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS

Immediate Past Presidents Debra Andreacchio and Elizabeth Koch AM OAM have been awarded Honorary Life Membership for their service to the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia.

When: When: When: When: Venue: When: Venue: Admission:

Debra Andreacchio

NEW MEMBERS The Music Teachers’ Association extends a warm welcome to the following music teachers who have joined the association. We looking forward to meeting them at our events.

Lye Cheong Yeong, Student member, Piano

SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING This was held on Wednesday July 6 to discuss the proposed changes to the Music Teachers’ Association’s Constitution.

Each of the proposed changes was discussed and the motion to accept these was carried.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

Tuesday September 6th, 10 am to 8 pm Wednesday September 7th, 12-30 pm to 5-45 pm Thursday September 8th, 12-30 pm to 9-30 pm Saturday September 10th, 10 am-11-30 am, Australian Song; 12-30 pm-4 pm, Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship Heats Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood Sunday September 11th, Arnold Matters Vocal Scholarship Final Flinders Street Baptist Church 65 Flinders Street, Adelaide, 7-30 pm Adult $10; Senior/Fulltime student $8; Member $5 (2 tickets per member), Children under 12 free

ADELAIDE EISTEDDFOD SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS’ CONCERT When: Monday, September 26, 7-30 pm Where: Salvation Army Citadel, 55 George Street, Norwood.

Admission: Adult, $10; Seniors/Students, $8; Children under 16 free.

YOUNG VIRTUOSO SA FINAL 2016 (previously MBS Young Performer) Adjudicators: Tim Sexton and Norma Knight When: Sunday, October 16, 2-30 pm Where: St John’s Anglican Church, 379 Halifax Street, Adelaide Admission: Adult $15, 5MBS Member/Student $5 MITCHAM ORCHESTRA When: Sunday, October 23, 3-00 pm Where: Cumberland Park Community Centre 390 Goodwood Road, Cumberland Park (200 metres south of Big W).

Conductor: Mike Kenny.

Admission: $12, Family $20 (2 Adults, 2 Children), at the door.

Recitals Australia Wednesday Lunch Hour Concerts 2016 When: at 12-10 pm and 1-10 pm Where: Pilgrim Church, 12 Flinders Street, Adelaide Admission: Adults: $5. Tickets at the door. Enquiries:Ph. 8266-4936.

Visit http://www.recitalsaustralia.org.au/ for more information.

ELDER HALL Elder Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series 2016, 1-10 pm.

Elder Perspectives 2016, Intimate Concerts at Elder Hall.

Admission: $30/$24/$19.50.

Evenings at El Hall 2016.

Visit www.eldehall.adelaide.edu.au for more information.

CLASSIFIED AD

FOR SALE: Yamaha Upright Piano and stool, Model T121 Ebony (last model made in Japan).

Purchased new in 2005 but hardly used, in excellent condition: $4,750.

Also a comprehensive collection of piano music and some reference books for sale.

Please ring Victoria on 0438 189 362.

PEDAGOGY MATTERS by Rodney Smith Plans for next year’s meeting of the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference in Adelaide (APPC 2017) are advancing quickly. Please visit the conference’s Facebook page for up to the minute information. A Linked In group has also been established and the main website is steadily being updated. The dates will be Monday July 10 to Friday July 14, 2017 and the venue will be the University of Adelaide. With major sponsorship from Kawai, Hal Leonard and the University, MTASA members can be sure there will be much to interest them and of course they can gain a large number of valuable professional development hours into the bargain.

The University of Adelaide’s next intake for its Graduate Certificate in Music Teaching Program will commence January 2017. There is still plenty of time to ask questions about the program which is especially designed for in-service instrumental teachers wishing to upgrade their qualifications to a level that is recognized by the Teachers’ Registration Board. While there is information on the University’s website, I’m happy to answer such questions and can be contacted on rodney.smith@adelaide.edu.au.

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

COMMUNICATING WITH YOU! by Carly McDonald MTASA is now on Facebook! It is a great new way for us to keep our members informed and for us to be able to communicate with you. It is also a way we can all keep in touch as a music community in South Australia.

All of our events and updates are available on the page, together with interesting industry information and other events of interest in South Australia.

How can you be involved?

Have you ‘Liked’ the MTASA Facebook page? It’s easy to do.

Firstly, log into Facebook. Then search for The Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia, Inc. and click the ‘Like’ button (the thumbs up). This can be done either via your phone or computer.

If you would like to ensure you see all of our updates, click on ‘See First’ and it will always come up in your newsfeed.

For quick access here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/The-Music-Teachers-Association-of-South-Australia-Inc883307955101655/ What’s so great about this?

• Regular updates straight to your Facebook feed • Event details all in one easy to access place • Photos of events and competitions • A public professional profile for MTASA • Access to a network of professional colleagues • Up-to-date information about professional development opportunities in South Australia • Your MTA at your fingertips!

Get on board and ‘Like’ MTASA’s Facebook page today!

If you have other friends who are music teachers or you feel the information available would also suit parents and students in your studio, invite them to the page and help us expand our professional network! ♫♫♫

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Stunning solos for upper grades—6-8+ ‘Charming, tuneful, beautifully written for flute’...Jane Rutter 8

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

ACCOMPANIST’S CORNER ACCOMPANY, OR GOOD COMPANY?

By Elsabeth Parkinson Three is a magic number. Place a pianist on a concert stage with a violinist and cellist, and those three musicians become a piano trio – one of the most established and respectable ensembles in our musical landscape. Perhaps they perform Beethoven’s lustrous Archduke Trio or one of Mozart’s, and then at the end they stand and bow as one to the applause of a delighted audience. But take away, say, the cellist, and now you merely have two players: the material for a violin sonata, in which the soloist will fiddle away while the pianist plays second fiddle on the keyboard. In this two-piece scenario, the violinist is the one who will bow; the pianist, if it’s a lucky day, will perhaps be rewarded with a gracious gesture of acknowledgement.

The part he played was no less demanding in the sonata than in the trio – indeed, it may easily have been more so. But in the minds of the audience, the violinist was the main attraction: the piano merely (!) accompanied.

‘Accompanied’ – the word itself has the taint of subordination, suggesting an inequality in rank, where one leads and another meekly follows.

As a term it was presumably born during the golden age of the concert tour, when world-famous singers travelled with their own ‘accompanist’. The soloist was the star, even more so than the music.

As for the pianist, he was merely a convenient and well-trained backing with a good grasp of Lieder.

pianists rarely wrote ‘accompaniment’.

There is intricate and intimate dialogue between the instruments, exchanges, counterpoint, and conversation. In art songs the piano sets the scene, contains the atmosphere, and then proceeds to duet with the soloist.

Beethoven’s violin sonatas were first published (and note the word order here) as sonatas ‘for piano and violin’.

As our left hand supports and converses with our right, so also does the piano co-operate with its fellow instrument.

Over time, terminology is catching up with these musical realities.

In the ‘30s Gerald Moore pioneered accompanying as an art, demonstrating through his own brilliant playing the concepts that he outlined in books like ‘The Unashamed

King Frederick the Great and C.P.E. Bach.

Accompanist’.

In America, Samuel Sanders popularized the term ‘collaborative pianist’ and founded university degrees to prepare a new generation of musical collaborators.

Peter Pettinger, a British pianist and writer, coined the phrase ‘duo partnership’.

Australia is always a little slow in these matters, but even here it is becoming increasingly common, on program notes, brochures and concert posters, to see any relevant pianist billed as the ‘associate artist’. Perhaps that is one of the most apt new terms of all: we are indeed artists who associate, are socially-minded musicians.

Our instrument loves companionship and often holds its best conversations as one of a pair – after all, while three’s a crowd, two is good company.

♫♫♫

Need an accompanist for your students?

Consult the Guild’s Register of Accompanists. The Register lists accompanists alphabetically & by area. It includes qualifications and work preferences. The latest Register is available in hard copy for $10. Better still, consult the Guild’s website for current listings and news about Guild activities.

Yet the repertoire itself holds the hints of the true nature of things.

Composers who were themselves

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

MUSIC EDUCATION IN THE COPPER COAST As seen through the eyes of local piano teacher, Julie Ayles

Julie Ayles with her piano student Chloe Martin.

Chloe won the AMEB Eva Lines Prize in 2015.

The South Australian towns of Kadina, Wallaroo and Moonta make up the Copper Coast region, so named as it was a significant copper mining area from 1860 to the early 1900s.

Miners from Cornwall emigrated to work in the mines and brought with them their love of music.

During the mining years there were numerous choirs and brass bands and even a symphony orchestra.

The Copper Coast mining heritage takes pride in its link with the Elder Conservatorium.

South Australian pioneer, Thomas Elder, had financially successful investments with the copper mines of Moonta and Wallaroo, leading to his generous bequests to assist in the establishment of music study at the University of Adelaide. Today the Cornish heritage is celebrated with a biennial festival known as the Kernewek Lowender, in which music is an important part.

Kernewek Lowender Street Parade

Present day Copper Coast has a residential population of approximately 14,000 with large

numbers of visitors in the summer holiday season attracted to the coastal towns of Moonta and Wallaroo.

Kadina, being the commercial centre, draws people from beyond just the Copper Coast to its agricultural businesses, banks and administration services and general shopping.

The Copper Coast has three R-12 schools – Kadina Memorial School with an enrolment of 1,200 students, Moonta Area School with 500 students and Harvest Christian School with 315 students. There are also three Primary Schools, namely Mary MacKillop, Wallaroo Primary and Wallaroo Mines Primary School.

The Kadina Memorial School, with which I have the most contact, uses the distance education system for instrumental music, with Brass, Woodwind and Percussion being offered from Year 5. The school has recently been identified by the Education Department as a Music Focus School. It is planned in the years ahead that teachers for the Instrumental Music program will be based at Kadina, providing instruction to students in the Copper Coast schools as well as areas beyond.

Kadina Memorial School has an active and vibrant music program across all year levels, with choir activities and a variety of instrumental ensembles and bands. The Senior Jazz Band participates each year in the Generations in Jazz Festival at Mount Gambier and rock bands enter the school section of the Balaklava Eisteddfod.

I have taught piano and music theory in the Copper Coast region for over 40 years, teaching from beginners to Eighth Grade AMEB with students of all ages. In cooperation with school classroom teachers I also enjoy assisting Year 12 students with their piano solo or ensemble performance study. When required, I take the role of accompanist for local instrumental exams with the AMEB.

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As I live on a farm 15 kilometres from Kadina, most of my teaching occurs from rented rooms in the town. Over the years my teaching venues have changed according to the availability of suitable accommodation. At the moment I am situated in a small hall used by a Senior Citizens group, complete with a small but new piano. I prefer to teach from a venue independent to individual schools, as I feel that I am then equally accessible by all students in the Copper Coast as well as for students from neighbouring country areas. The hall is also an ideal venue for my students’ annual concert which is usually held mid Term 2. Being an agricultural region, concerts at the end of the year clash with harvest as well as the usual round of end of year school activities, and I find that a midyear concert is very well supported and appreciated by the students’ families.

In the past 3 years I have also become involved with early childhood music education, an area new to me.

Jennifer Cowley, a cello teacher and performer who currently lives at Moonta, runs Suzuki Early Childhood Music classes for 0-3years. For the following age group, the 3 and 4 year olds, Jenny and I co-present the Kinder Beat program. Kinder Beat is a most engaging early childhood program written by Mark Gibson and Morna Robinson of Encore Music Education in Queensland. Through the use of props such as a parachute, rainbow ring and streamers and with the use of tuned and non-tuned percussion, the little ones are introduced to the world of music. The children, along with a parent or care giver participate in one 45minute class each week. As a teacher, these classes on a Monday and Tuesday morning are a wonderful way to begin the week.

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. The teaching of singing is not strong, but there are choir opportunities in some of the Copper Coast churches and the local Sing Australia group, as well as individual vocal involvement in local bands.

Julie Ayles working with children from a Kinder Beat Class.

Piano is the main instrument taught in the Copper Coast by the local teachers.

Cello, guitar and percussion teachers are also resident, but most instrumental instruction is via the program in the schools.

With the brass band heritage in the area, one band still exists. The Kadina Wallaroo Moonta Band is currently described as being a community band that plays brass music. Musicians of all instruments and of all ages are welcome. A training session is held prior to the weekly practice night, providing valuable instruction to those wishing to improve their band playing skills.

Both the MTASA and the AMEB have been at the core of my piano teaching. Over the years the MTASA has conducted visits to Kadina to provide guidance to country teachers from not only the Copper Coast but also adjacent areas. Alison Holder OAM, Joan Pitchford, Beatrice Pitcher, Sister Alphonsus Horgan, Elizabeth Smart and Kerin Bailey have all been MTASA visitors. (For Kerin, this was a trip back to his childhood home, having been born at Kadina.)

I regularly attend the Association’s Professional Development activities in Adelaide.

The AMEB has always been the examining body used by Copper Coast teachers. The visits to local teachers’ studios in August is greatly appreciated by students, teachers

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Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016 and parents. I personally appreciate the examiners travelling the 15 kilometres from the town of Kadina to my home, so that my students can be examined on my own piano. The main instrument examined in the Copper Coast is the piano, but more of the school based instrumental students are now looking to the AMEB experience to expand their playing skills.

Since beginning teaching in the Copper Coast in the 1970s, the number of children learning the piano has declined.

However, with the strong instrumental programs in the schools there are now far more children learning a variety of different instruments.

Some of the music activities may have changed since the early mining days of the Copper Coast, but people of all ages still enjoy learning and participating in music, adding to the cultural fabric of the community.

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

THE MUSICAL BODY: BIOMECHANICS AND EMOTION

by Norma Knight and Pat. H. Wilson

Norma Knight

musicians. These two items set us thinking about some common requirements for the performance of all music - a tuned and co-ordinated body that does what the musician tells it to.

Whether we play an external instrument or an internal (laryngeal) one, the training of each musician is, of necessity, a highly physical one.

Biomechanics and the performer

Pat Wilson It’s rumoured that Victor Hugo once said ‘Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come’.

South Australian MTA members will have noticed an idea enjoying some currency lately which pairs biomechanics and music. An article

by Rosslynn McLeod in the last issue of Music Stand (McLeod, 2016) references her DVD about F.M. Alexander and the practical applications of Alexander Technique, particularly to rehabilitate piano students’ arm, hand and finger habit patterns developed during intense electronic media usage, especially phone text use. MTA members in this state have also been contacted

by Jessica Stanhope, a postgraduate scholar of the University of Adelaide, requesting participation in a survey she is currently conducting into musculoskeletal disorders in

The physical frame with which each musician approaches music-making may differ hugely, but the principle of a strong, flexible body honed by regular and carefully-graded repetitive training is familiar to all music teachers. Because we work with singers, those empty-handed musicians whose own bodies are clearly their instruments, this is easy for us to keep in mind. However, with other musicians, whose musicmaking demands an external object, it can be all too easy to see the violin (or the clarinet or the piano…) as the instrument, and the musician as the player. We would argue that the person and the implement are, as an integrated whole, the instrument.

Bone, breath and tissue unite under the orchestration of the nervous system and the spirit and will of the performer, into a symbiotic relationship with the instrument.

Singing researcher Dr Jean Callaghan observes, ‘The joint enterprise of the student and teacher is to enable use of the human voice as a musical instrument and aesthetic communicator.

That instrument is, of course, the whole person’. (Callaghan, p. 15). Before we discuss some of the ways in which we singing teachers work to ensure that the neuromuscular structure of each singing student is most efficiently able to ‘play’ its instrument, we should begin by

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acknowledging our great debt to sport science. In today’s world, there are rivers of gold being directed towards those areas of sport science research which assist athletes of all kinds to excel, avoid injury, build faster reflexes and seamless coordination skills. The amount of money directed towards primary research into musicians’ health and skill enhancement is peanuts by comparison. And thus it is that music performance researchers world-wide delight in piggy-backing on the findings of sports science, which, in many cases, are analogous in condition to those of performing musicians.

(See the paragraph above: ‘…the principle of a strong, flexible body honed by regular and carefully-graded repetitive training…’.)

Using biomechanical principles which encourage the warming-up of a body before it begins to take on new skills, most singing teachers begin with some physical movement or challenge in order to connect the student’s management of their sound. These elements can vary from the most elementary torso twists, a simple spine roll, or star jumps through to a quick bout with a skipping rope.

Wisdom which has guided singing pedagogues for centuries proposes that ‘sound comes before pitch comes before consonants comes before sung words’. The football player who rushes from the change rooms to the playing field, and immediately commences playing a football game is not serious about his sport, and has no future within it.

Thanks to sport science, we know that the physical side of singing is also a series of neuromuscular skill acquisitions, and all those sensible sport research principles apply to us too. Thus the wisdom of gentle, graded voice exercises; names to

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. cite here include Garcia, Lamperti, Vaccai, Marchesi, Panofka and Concone. Whether you’re singing belt or bel canto, these warm-up principles still apply.

on their performance to the exclusion of any other peripheral event.

A balance board is a piece of equipment which many singing teachers world-wide use to make sure that the core musculature of a singer is correctly engaged, both in order to enhance breathing and also to enable a freely expressive body to tell a story in song. Based on Angela Caine’s excellent empirical research (Caine, 1995; 1998; 2010), this simple tool demands body management and balance whilst singing. Sports science also uses them widely for exactly the same end results (Zech et al., 2010).

The body that supplies the breath pressure via a filter to acousticallytuned apertures (the Source-Filter acoustics of phonation, proposed by Fant, 1960), is much more than a mechanical device employed by singers to provide sung sound. Each musician (and yes; singers are musicians too!) has the task of making meaningful emotional communications via their performance.

For a singer, this necessitates breathing emotionally, according to the content of the song.

The basic expansion of lower ribs and abdominal wall will always be there, but sometimes a song requires a wistful overtone, or annoyed, or overjoyed, or querulous, or... you get the idea. By allowing the emotion to dictate the final intake of breath (what singers sometimes call ‘my own personal up-beat’), a whole palate of vocal colour can be accessed. As an emotion, anger/annoyance tends to tighten the muscles of the body, leading to stronger ‘bracing’ and a brighter, louder tone. Laughter or happiness loosens/relaxes the muscles and frees the tone so that flow phonation is more easily achieved. The vocal colour is very much influenced by the emotional content of the vowel. The vowel is what carries the voice to the listener, who then recognizes the emotion and gets caught up in the song. The singer may have a beautiful voice, but if there is no emotional connection the audience will be unmoved.

Much research also supports the use of a large Swiss ball for singing training (Carrière, 2000; De Veer, 2009; Varley and Caine, 1999; Wilson, 2013). There are a number of different ways in which to employ it; all of them result in a singer whose physicality is at the service of the song and its artistry.

It occurs to us that, just as singing science has found useful material within sport science research findings, so instrumental teachers may equally find material they can use which is of direct relevance to their students’ neuromuscular skills acquisition.

I (Pat) have fond remembrance of watching coaches and sports scientists at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra training Olympic-standard archers.

The athletes had a series of targets to shoot in a given time, and were aware that they may (or may not) be squirted with cold water whilst shooting. Being squirted with cold water unexpectedly is pretty punitive in Canberra in winter. The aim of the training was to maintain physical efficiency, shooting accuracy, and absolutely no loss of focus towards the task.

I’ve sometimes daydreamed about training singers like this (on the back lawn, perhaps?), but I can see technical problems arising with violinists and clarinettists.

The principles are, however, entirely transferable. Elite performers need to be able to focus

The emotional body

It occurs to us that wind, brass and stringed instrument performers could use this same thought process to inject emotional intelligence into their playing, thereby bringing their music to life.

It is precisely because instrumentalists work in an emotional area which is beyond words that they would need to make up a story of what the music seems to say to them.

This is much the same process that singing teachers adopt when teaching Vocalise to their students. Endowing the wordless

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Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016 sung tone with an imaginative story stops the singing from sounding boring, and keeps the student singer engaged in the task.

Posture is also closely allied to breathing and emotion. Basically tall and straight, but overlaid with military bearing or grief? Anger or delight?

Again the audience will recognize the visual clues and be able to tune in to the performance.

Well-being – an integrated body, mind and spirit Not all musicians are aware of the existence in Australia of ASPAH, the Australian Society for Performing Arts Healthcare [www.aspah.org], whose contribution to interdisciplinary research and education in all areas of healthcare for performers has already changed the face of performing arts in this country.

Caring for the physical health and stability of our students, in whatever discipline we are working, is of primary concern to all music teachers.

Rosslyn McLeod’s recent article (see above) is an excellent example of this.

Since all performers are artists, and their art can only proceed from their own inner lives, the student performer’s spirit needs to be both challenged and nurtured. Much oldschool performance training was of the ‘blood, sweat and tears’ school. A popular encourager for pupils ran along the lines of recounting a particularly punitive aspect of your own training, and then asserting ‘It never hurt me; look at me today!

Now, you buckle down and do it; it’ll do you good’.

More recent pedagogical practices recognise the need for nurture as well as the whipcracking gung-ho trainer aspect of performance teaching. A chapter in Jennie Morton’s recent book, ‘The Authentic Performer’ (2015), is headed ‘Perseverance or abuse?

The balance of training’. Among her wise observations, she says, ‘Supporting the development of autonomous individuals with a strong sense of their embodied selves should be the ultimate aim of all performing arts training’ (p. 114). It is only from the foundation of a psychologically well-balanced,

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. confident, imaginative and sensitive artistic spirit that real musicianship can be expressed.

We are both fond of a fine threevolume work by Graham Welch and Leon Thurman (2000). It’s a rich compendium of information for any singer or singing teacher, and its primary title is ‘Bodymind and voice’.

Thurman and Welch hold that there is an entity which they call the ‘bodymind’; it’s a term which helps to remind us of the happy marriage of cognitive and psychomotor processes which must take place whenever we teach musical performance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Caine, A. (1995). Beyond chewing. CranioView, 4, 33-41.

Caine, A. (1998). Not only canaries need sing. The Therapist, 5, 10-14.

Caine, A. (2010). Add the voice to your functional treatment plan. IFUNA Journal, 1, 30-38.

Callaghan, J. (2014). Singing and science: Body, brain and voice. Oxford, UK: Compton Publishing.

Carrière, B. (2000). The Swiss ball: Theory, basic exercises and clinical application. Berlin, Springer.

De Veer, C. (2009). The Alexander Technique: Rehearsal tools for releasing the actor’s voice.

In Cook, R. (Ed.) The moving voice: The integration of voice and movement studies.

Cincinnati, OH: Voice and Speech Trainers Association.

Fant, G. (1960). Acoustic Theory of Speech Production. Mouton and Co., The Hague, Netherlands.

McLeod, R. (2016). Fingers. The Music Stand, 24(2), 9.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016 Morton, Jennie (2015).

The authentic performer: Wearing a mask and the effect on health. Oxford, Compton Publishing Ltd. Thurman, L. and Welch, G. (Co-editors) (2000). Bodymind and voice: Foundations of voice education (rev. ed.) In 3 volumes. The VoiceCare Network, National Center for Voice and Speech, Fairview Voice Center, Center for Advanced Studies in Music Education.

Varley, P. and Caine, A. (1999). Voice therapy and dentistry. Dentistry Monthly, 2429.

Wilson, P. H. (2013). Building the body that speaks and sings: A practical workshop with toys. In: Hughes, D. and Callaghan, J., eds.

8th International Congress of Voice Teachers, 2013 Brisbane, Australia. ICVT, 251.

Zech, A., Hübscher, M., Vogt, L., Banzer, W., Hänsel, F. and Pfeifer, K. (2010). Balance training for neuromuscular control and performance enhancement: a systematic review. Journal of Athletic Training, 45, 392403.

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THE HEART OF TEACHING ART by Pete Barter, ETI_Music Be it theatre, film, performing arts, dance music or creative arts, being an art teacher does not only mean having the requisite academic qualifications but also the innate attachment and devotion to art that will enable students to have a good learning experience.

Some people approach teaching the arts as a business or a way to earn a living but it requires a lot more than that as far as the positive impact to the students is concerned.

leading to increased between them.

collaboration

and

cooperation

• Employing an attributes-based approach An effective creative arts teacher must be able to empower the students by viewing them according to their varying talents and capabilities. A good teacher must be able to identify and acknowledge the strengths of each student and also note their individual weaknesses and deficits. In doing this, a teacher can effectively use the students as a resource, thereby being able to intentionally structure opportunities for the students to learn from the teacher and also from each other. This attributes-based approach does not imply that the teacher should ignore the students’ deficits but rather for providing a mindset that will purposefully seek out the individual strengths of each student.

• The passion A person’s passion towards art is certainly going to produce an effective teacher. Being a creative arts teacher involves instilling and bringing out the creative nature of students through teaching methods that are bound to unlock the students’ creativity by providing an opportunity for students to explore their talents. A passionate teacher will not only help in developing the students’ knowhow but also in imparting crucial skills that would help the students in shaping successful and exciting careers in art.

• Motivation and mentoring As a music teacher, how much enthusiasm do your students have towards learning new skills and ideas? The highly practical nature of the arts requires that students receive good mentoring in order for them to develop the right attitude towards the specific thematic areas of art.

The chance that enables a student to muster a new skill or improve on something has a direct effect on the motivation and attitude, hence the responsibility lies on the educator in creating an enabling environment for this to happen.

• Mutual connection with students Music is generally a technical area with a wide scope and an extensive curriculum. Sometimes, teachers may feel some tension between the desire to build a classroom culture that is inclusive and the intense pressure to get on with the respective curriculum. However, an effective teacher must be able to foster a close connection with the students in order to build a learning culture, which encourages the contributions and thoughts of all students.

By doing this, opportunities will be structured where the teacher will be able to learn more about the students

As it can now be seen, teaching creative arts needs a multi-faceted approach to teaching. This is necessary so that the educator can ultimately bring out the best from the students.

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ADVICE FOR PIANISTS: PIANO LESSON MYTHS, PART 1

by Howard Richman Howard B. Richman is a pianist, composer, songwriter, teacher and author. Mr. Richman’s formal training is in music. He received a B.A. degree in piano performance from UCLA in 1980 and an M.F.A. (Master Fine Arts) degree from California Institute of the Arts in 1984, where he also taught on the faculty for three years. Mr. Richman was selected to be a participant in the very first film scoring workshop with Earle Hagen in 1986, sponsored by BMI. He is President of

Sound Feelings (http://www.soundfeelings.com).

Publishing

assumptions regarding piano lessons, so that they might truly reach their goals.

Piano lesson myths are so ingrained into our culture and our consciousness that it almost seems silly to counter them. But on close examination, even the most ‘obvious’ beliefs about piano study and piano practice are not only wrong, they are damaging to the individual who is bound by their chains. This material is an attempt to help pianists of all levels to be liberated from such mental constraints, attitudes and

‘My teacher will drop me if I make a lot of mistakes’.

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Reality: Most teachers enjoy teaching and are inspired when they see someone who really tries and is diligent with their practice. In fact, good teachers PREFER to witness your mistakes so they can help you not only fix the problem, but learn how to avoid the problem in the future. This could be in the realms of practicing suggestions, fingering,

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. hand position, eye movements and more. If you have latent mistakes that you somehow are able to hide for the lesson, the teacher may not be able to help you fix these hidden problems, which means that they may appear later when you are performing. Also, fear of making mistakes tends to distract you from the music and will actually CAUSE the very mistakes you were trying to avoid! So, never be afraid to make mistakes for your teacher.

‘I have to study classical music before I can play pop or jazz’.

Reality: If a student’s ultimate goal is to play popular music, or even to do it

with classical on an equal footing, this idea that you must study classical music first is incorrect. In fact, even if one’s goal is to focus strictly on classical literature, there is great value in studying popular chord technique and improvisation. The best way to study music theory is through POPULAR music! This is because chords are presented in a straightforward manner, as chord symbols, without even having to read music! (These are sometimes called ‘guitar chords’ and are printed above the music staff.) Theory knowledge can make you a better performer, a better sight-reader, a better memorizer, a better interpreter and a

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016 better overall musician!

And, of course, these attributes are applicable to playing classical music.

The easiest way to start a path towards music theory is to study popular music, with a teacher who knows how to explain chord-reading (not notation). So, one could study classical first and then popular, but considering that these are different skills that take time to master, why not do them concurrently? To avoid popular music till classical music is mastered will make it much harder to learn music theory and in turn to derive the benefits of this knowledge.

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MUSIC HOMEWORK by Nick Peterson The study we completed to become musicians is responsible for our musical accomplishment s. Because it is the source of our strengths, many music teachers routinely set homework in the manner in which they received it. But the same music homework is also accountable for our weaknesses, and shortcomings shouldn’t be passed on to students. At the 2016 MTASA Summer Conference, the session ‘Music Homework’ encouraged attendees to consider the validity of the homework they set.

The insecurities shared by fellow musicians are symptoms of flaws in the teaching we received. These are revealed in feelings of: • reluctance (to perform if we haven’t recently practised or warmed up) • unwillingness (to play even familiar pieces because ‘I don't have my music with me’) • aversion (to risking the slightest chance of a mistake) • defensiveness and defencelessness (when suddenly put in a position to sight read) • apprehension (at the thought of playing in front of other musicians) • uneasiness (with improvisation) Such misgivings expose inadequacies in the imparted instruction rather than in our musicianship. Questioning homework validity and acknowledging problems are prerequisite to developing and instigating improvements; without which we merely carry on teaching in the manner that we were taught, set homework as was prescribed for us, and in so doing propagate the same insecurities in our students.

How might we recognise an area of weakness in the homework we received? Very simply: Identify a personal weakness regarding any aspect of music, and ask the question: ‘Am I the only one with this problem?’ If similar reservations are apparent in fellow musicians, then the source of the failing lies in the training.

The field of sight reading can serve as a convenient example. The techniques involved in reading any notation are essentially the same. If for instance you can read language notation fluently, yet are deemed in music to be a poor sight reader, the problem must originate in the music pedagogy and not in you. The answer to the question: ‘Am I the only one?’ reveals that self-doubt with sight reading is common among musicians. Once a pedagogical problem is apparent, we can endeavour to formulate a solution.

While many elements of the homework we set are indeed responsible for sound musical advancement, teachers should discern between the components that facilitate learning and those that impede it. Then superior homework strategies can create students who are better, more confident musicians, able to enjoy music because of the teaching, rather than in spite of it.

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Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY Theme: Teaching more advanced students successfully Wednesday April 20 at Hartley Concert Room, University of Adelaide

Reception

We’re all together

Lunch

SUMMARIES OF SOME PRESENTED SESSIONS Presentations were given by Amanda Grigg, Keith Crellin OAM, Diana Weekes and Rodney Smith in connection with the general theme.

The following brief notes were kindly provided by Amanda Grigg and Diana Weeks with a view to assisting those present who may not have been able to take as complete a record as they would have liked.

It is hoped brief notes concerning Keith Crellin’s and Rodney Smith’s presentations may appear in a later issue of Music Stand.

Please be advised these presentations were not delivered as Papers and complete transcripts are not available.

PREPARATION FOR AND DELIVERING A CONFIDENT PERFORMANCE AT MORE ADVANCED LEVELS Supplied by Amanda Grigg 19.6.16. Edited by Rodney Smith.

Amanda Grigg Notes from power point presentation.

My message was that as a teacher you know more than you think you do!

Knowledge - Passion for instrument, musical judgement and a knowledge of the repertoire.

Skills - Technical skills, needed to understand the process of effective practice and have practical experience.

Personal Qualities of effective

teachers - Passion and purpose, communicate effectively and listen empathetically, discipline and focus, commitment and courage, authentic confidence, self awareness, patience and genuine care and the ability to connect with learners.

Technical Skills } Need technical skills to do what is required. } Ongoing – boring.

Raw technique versus functional technique (technical exercises with musicality). } Sound is everything. } Control – using the body efficiently. } Staying focused – listening. } Being able to manipulate and use the technique. } Need technical skills to do what is required.

} Ongoing – boring.

Pieces } Selection - technically achievable and musically varied. } Identify and work on the technical skills required first. } Start slow and learn with all the musical nuances the whole piece some decisions need to be made with the final tempo in mind. (Half speed with a metronome).

Performance } Practice performing - performance thinking. } Invest time in performing under different conditions. } Different instruments. } More adrenaline. } Run and record whole program. } Focus on what you are trying to say.

MUSICIANSHIP (INCLUDING STYLE AND INTERPRETATION) AT MORE ADVANCED LEVELS Notes supplied by Diana Weekes 22.6.16.

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The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Diana Weekes • ‘Teaching advanced pupils more successfully’, rephrased: ‘Teaching more successfully at an advanced level’.

• Benchmark figure for real competence: 10,000 hours.

• Knowing how and what to practise prevents bad habits from forming.

1. Strong commitment to a daily practice routine; 2. A basic understanding of the instrument; 3. The reasons for practising technical work;

4. Sight-reading to include dynamics, articulation, phrasing and Italian terms; 5. A thorough knowledge of the theory behind pieces AND technical work; 6. Disciplined use of appropriate fingering; 7. Ability to balance and coordinate the two hands successfully; 8. Ability to play part of any program from memory; 9. Good aural skills; 10. Good listening abilities and exposure to good repertoire.

• Good piano technique uses a closed hand (DEMO: Scale, arpeggio, various exercises).

• Importance of Keyboard Musicianship (DEMO: circle of fifths).

• sight reading without looking at keys, and reading upside-down, left hand first.

Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016 • performance instructions important from the beginning (DEMO: P-plate pieces).

• Resources on the internet: Wikipedia (General Knowledge) and YouTube (pieces).

• Demonstration central to the idea of good one-to-one tuition.

• Historical traditions: masterclasses by performer-teachers for advanced students.

1. Read and realise the score accurately: notes, rhythm and performance instructions; 2. Critical listening and comparative evaluation of student’s own, and other performances; 3. Familiarity with early instruments; 4. Background information on composers, periods, etc.; 5. Rewards for finding own fingering; 6. Importance of using good editions.

Further study for teachers working with more advanced level pupils – Rodney Smith

Technical challenges at more advanced levels – Keith Crellin OAM

MIRIAM HYDE AWARDS by Malcolm Day

Held: Saturday June 25 at Cynthia Poulton Hall, North Adelaide

Adjudicator: Stefan Ammer the memory of Miriam Hyde in the delightful venue of Cynthia Poulton Hall. The tone was set by adjudicator, Stefan Ammer having a few words to say before both the Junior and the Senior sections. He gently and clearly expressed that the most valuable result from an event such as this would be gained by allowing the performers to enjoy the experience of sharing their growing love of music, rather than by stressing the element of competition.

Cynthia Poulton Hall On Saturday June 25 a rather small number of performers, families and friends celebrated

In the junior section, Yujun Wei and Casey Sullivan received first and second prizes, and Susan Xia’s performance was commended.

The intimacy of the group permitted a little conversation, even helpful comments,

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between items, and it was very evident that the players were able to settle out of the ‘nervous’ manner into something with which Miriam Hyde would have been pleased.

In the event, Stefan suited his adjudication to this expressed philosophy, by choosing to commend Casey Sullivan, Nicky Poznak and Bianka Laurovics, all three competitors, in the Open section equally. The council members present enthusiastically accepted this decision, and our lovely and competent secretary Masako cheerfully tore up the cheques and undertook to write and post new ones.

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

Casey Sullivan Miriam Hyde Junior Award Contestants: Susan Xia, Yujun Wei, Casey Sullivan with Stefan Ammer

Junior Award First prize: Yujun Wei (piano).

Teacher: Gil Sullivan Second prize: Casey Sullivan (piano).

Teachers: Gil Sullivan and Monika Laczofy

Yujun Wei was born in Fujian, China, in March 2002. He began learning the piano at the age of five. When Yujun was eleven years old, he moved to Australia with his parents.

David Metin was his previous piano teacher in Australia for over three years. Yujun is currently learning piano with pianist Gil Sullivan. Gil Sullivan is Australia’s only fulltime concert pianist and has been recognized as ‘The finest interpreter of Mozart in the world’ (Südhessen Woche, Germany).

Yujun have participated in many music events.

He has competed in piano competitions and he played Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5 with his classmate violinist Alexander Chan in Stradbroke Primary School’s graduation ceremony in 2014.

Casey Sullivan was born in 2003 and is 13 years old. Her earliest piano lessons began in 2008 with her mother, Eunice. The following year she began lessons with Monika Laczofy, under whom she still studies, as well as her father Gil. At eight, Casey won First prize and $500 in the Allans Music + Billy Hyde Junior Piano Competition. Last year she won First prize in the Miriam Hyde Junior Award, and this year won equal First prize in the same competition, but in the Open Award. She has also completed numerous AMEB Piano Exams, on most occasions attaining High Distinctions.

During most of her Primary School years, she was an enthusiastic member of the school choir, which, last year, won a place to record a CD for this year’s Music Festival. Her favourite composers are Mozart and Schubert.

Some of the highlights of her musical life have been to play on the stage of the Berlin Konzerthaus in 2012, and meeting Murray Perahia in Melbourne in 2013.

Casey is excited about being a ‘Special Music Student’ at Marryatville High School this year, and all the ensembles and other commitments that go with it. She is a voracious reader in many different genres, and loves story writing.

Open Award Three equal First prizes (in order of performance) Casey Sullivan (piano).

Teachers: Gil Sullivan and Monika Laczofy Nicky Poznak (piano).

Teacher: Alex Poznak Bianka Laurovics (piano).

Teacher: Monika Laczofy

Nicky Poznak Nicky Poznak demonstrated a strong interest in the performing arts from a young age, starting ballet when she was four. Though she enjoyed dance, her attention and passion

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Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016 slowly shifted towards music and she began studying piano at the age of eight under the tutelage of her father, Alex Poznak. She quickly found that she had made the right decision as she completed Grade 4 AMEB exam at age 10 with Distinction. Nicky regularly performs for the Music Teachers’ Association, as well as participating in the Miriam Hyde competition. She also performs both within and outside of her school.

In 2015, at the age of 15, Nicky successfully completed her Certificate of Performance exam with a High Distinction, receiving the David Merchant Prize for her efforts. She studies at Cabra Dominican College, where she is in Year 11, and aspires towards becoming a professional musician.

Bianka Laurovics At the age of 14, Bianka Laurovics started formal piano lessons with her classically trained High School Music teacher, and quickly discovered her passion and talent in music. The following year she was accepted in the Elder Conservatorium’s Single Studies Program, also being awarded the Maude Puddy Scholarship. For two years, she took professional lessons with the Conservatorium’s Head of Keyboard, Lucinda Collins. At the age of 20, Bianka is now a second year student at the Conservatorium, completing a Bachelor of Music (Classical Performance) degree under Monika Laczofy, where she aspires towards becoming a professional musician and teacher.

She has participated in the Adelaide Eisteddfod competitions, where she has won first and second places in numerous categories. Last year she had the privilege to perform at the Government House Open Day. Outside of her studies, Bianka enjoys singing with the Elder Conservatorium Chorale, as well as being the Choir Conductor and accompanist at her local church. She also enjoys playing the violin and has played Chamber music in many venues.

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Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016

CONTACT DETAILS FOR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 5MBS Visit: www.5mbs.com

AMEB Email: ameb@adelaide.edu.au

FLUTE SOCIETY of SA INC http://saflutesociety.org/

ABRSM International Representative – South Australia – Anastasia Chan Email: abrsmsa@hotmail.com Tel: 08-8234 5952/ 0423 282 589 http://au.abrsm.org/en/home

ANATS SA & NT CHAPTER The Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing, Ltd. Enquiries: President (Pat. H. Wilson) – (08) 8355 3526 Email: anats.sa.nt@gmail.com Website: www.anats.org.au

MUSICA VIVA http://www.musicaviva.com.au/ for concert details.

ACCOMPANISTS’ GUILD of SA INC. Contacts: The Secretary, Frances Wood, fdwood@adam.com.au, the President, Monika Laczofy, mlaczofy1@bigpond.com or the website www.accompanist.org.au ADELAIDE BAROQUE www.adelaidebaroque.com.au ADELAIDE CHAMBER SINGERS www.adelaidechambersingers.com ADELAIDE PHILHARMONIA CHORUS For enquiries please contact the Secretary at, secretary@philharmonia.net ADELAIDE EISTEDDFOD SOCIETY INC. www.sacomment.com/aes.htm.

ADELAIDE YOUTH ORCHESTRA www.adyo.com.au

ASME www.asme.sa.edu.au AUSTRALASIAN DOUBLE REED SOCIETY http://adrs.org.au/web/ AUSTRALIAN STRING QUARTET www.asq.com.au BALAKLAVA EISTEDDFOD www.balaklavaeisteddfod.org.au or write to PO Box 253, Balaklava, SA 5461 or Ph/fax (08) 8863 1242.

ELDER CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC www.music.adelaide.edu.au ELDER HALL www.elderhall.adelaide.edu.au or Contact: Elder Hall Concert Manager 8313 5925

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Mt GAMBIER EISTEDDFOD Enquiries, Secretary, PO Box 1711, Mt Gambier, SA 5290, telephone (08) 8725 5905, E-mail backstageinc@internode.on.net, website www.backstageinc.orgf.au/default.asp.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS MUSIC FESTIVAL, http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/musicprograms/pages/ MusicPrograms/PSMusicFestival/?reFlag=1 AUSTRALASIAN DOUBLE REED SOCIETY, http://adrs.org.au/web/ THE SOCIETY OF RECORDER PLAYERS SA INC. Society mobile number 0410 109 135, E-mail npope@bigpond.net.au SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BAND ASSOCIATION, http://www.sabandassociation.org/ SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MUSIC CAMP ASSOCIATION INC., www.samusiccamp.net.au ANZCA MUSIC EXAMINATIONS, http://www.anzca.edu.au/

The Newsletter of the Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc.

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Vol. 24 No. 3 – Jul/Sep 2016