Micek Music

I am attending the annual Music Teachers Association of CA (MTAC) convention at the Marriott hotel in downtown Oakland this weekend. Here's a summary of the events I attended today: "Practicing Performing" lecture by Fred Karpoff: - Mr. Karpoff's whirlwind presentation this morning focused on wisdom he's gained from two prominent performance coaches: Don Greene, Ph.D. and Robert Caldwell. I say that the presentation was "whirlwind" because Karpoff was allotted a mere 45-minutes to deliver a bushel full of material. He was speaking so fast at times that I thought steam would begin surging from his ears. Unfortunate that he was forced to rush, because he had much vital material to share. Upon reflection, the most striking thing he said this morning was that we spend too much time practicing the wrong things. We should seek to stimulate performance scenarios more frequently in order to become more comfortable with the tense sensations inherent in that endea...

I am attending the annual Music Teachers Association of CA (MTAC) convention at the Marriott hotel in downtown Oakland this weekend. The city of Oakland is a great tease. It seduces you with its grand history, cultural diversity, and urban attitude. But just as soon as you let your guard down it buffets you with some harsh reality. For many Oakland residents I'm sure the first blow is a personal encounter with crime. I can attest to this sensation from my years living in Oakland: when my car was stolen, I experienced a loss of innocence coupled with a feeling of violation. I love Oakland, but now that I'm almost two years removed from living there I understand better why it's best for me to reside elsewhere. On my lunch break today I was saddened at the number of homeless people sleeping on the ground in Ogawa Plaza at midday. Adding to my melancholy was the amount of rubbish on the ground in the plaza. Trash was everywhere and it was not a pretty sight. My Jamba Juice sm...

I am attending the annual Music Teachers Association of CA (MTAC) convention at the Marriott hotel in downtown Oakland this weekend. I couldn't rouse myself from sleep for any of the early presentations this morning. June was a challenging month for me, and now it's July 1st; this convention snuck up on me. I'm going to do my best to glean insights from the weekend's events, despite my fatigue. Here's a summary of the events I attended this afternoon: Meeting the authors of the "Just The Facts" Theory books: - Any parent or student of mine knows that I swear by the "Just The Facts" music theory books. Almost all of my students work from this series of books. They are absolutely the best I have found. A couple months ago I was placing a phone order with them and the woman helping me, Regina, mentioned that they'd have a booth at the MTAC Convention this year. I promised I would come by and meet her then.  I doubt she remembers me from ou...

Susan Clark is a flute teacher and the newly inaugurated MTAC President. Her July 6, 2009 acceptance speech is published in the Fall 2009 issue of the MTAC publication "The California Music Teacher". It contains many passages that I find inspiring. Here are some excerpts: "So ... we are all music teachers. We all go through the same grind of scheduling the students who have chosen us as a teacher, teaching them the basics and the intricacies of the instrument they have chosen to play and we have chosen to teach, and then collecting our due payment for instruction. We coddle the slow-learners and revel in the joy of teaching those who catch on quickly... We keep our distance from stuffy noses and coughs... We deal with late arrivals, and those who hang around after lessons when we wish they would leave. We juggle our own lives to allow time for teaching and end up juggling the students' lives as well, as they try to find a balance between school and sports and mus...

The weekend rolls along. I woke up bright and early this Sunday morning to attend: Film Scoring Seminar with Glen Stark, " Teaching Film Scoring in a Traditional Studio" - I am interested in developing a method for teaching music composition to interested students. A further step past that goal is the possibility of instructing students in scoring music for film (!). While I have composed my fair share of original music, I have never worked on synchronizing music to film, so I am presently lacking expertise. Mr. Stark is the leading light in this new MTAC program. He presented a short lecture on how to teach film scoring, and then fielded questions from the audience. Many teachers were concerned about the technical aspects of the program, i.e. how to employ certain computer software, how to record the music, etc. It's a new avenue of instruction, and it appears that very few MTAC teachers have attempted to teach film scoring thus far. I need to allow this idea to simmer f...

Day 2 of the convention was invigorating. I took in much great information today and will focus on digesting said information over the next few months. Here are the events I attended today: Hans Boepple Advanced Master Class: - I arrived late to this event. Our country's forefathers fought and earned many things. Today I decided that among the things they won is my personal right to sleep in on July 4, Independence Day. Thank you, forefathers. Anyway, Hans Boepple is a piano master. Last fall I attended a he gave on the music of J.S. Bach. Boepple is filled with a depth of knowledge. I caught the 2nd hour of his "Master Class" today and it was excellent. Several high school-age students performed for him and he offered critiques. This can sometimes be a very clinical process, but Boepple managed to keep things light and always encouraging for the students. Michael Schneider Lecture on Louis Gottschalk: - Gottschalk (1829-1869) was America's first musical virtuoso. He ...

I am attending the annual Music Teachers Association of CA (MTAC) convention in Santa Clara this weekend. Here's a summary of the events I attended today: New Music lecture by Gail Lew: - A presentation of newly published works for piano. Each attendee received a packet with descriptive listings regarding the new works. The packet also included complimentary copies of select pieces. Free stuff -- hooray! Melody Bober lecture: - Mlle. Bober gave suggestions for how to effectively teach rhythm to younger students. I need to buy a wood block! Michael Schneider Intermediate Master Class: - Schneider, a noted concert pianist and teacher, tutored a select group of 5 students. Each student prepared 1 piece to perform, and then Schneider spent 10-15 minutes with each performer making suggestions and encouraging each how they can improve future performances. Some of these kids are musical machines. I am thinking of one of the little rascals in particular, though unlike your typical robot...