Micek Music

I must have corrected 60 theory tests today. It was a grind, but I'd rather work than loaf. The full day of work today fulfilled half of my obligated two work days for the Certificate of Merit program this year. Working at Transfiguration Church in Castro Valley was a pleasant change. The room we theory test correctors were situated in had many windows, which contributed a more cheery outlook to the proceedings. Our regular correcting room in the music building at Chabot College has no windows, which can make an occupant start to feel stir-crazy after being sequestered for hours within. I enjoyed the venue change. The teacher sitting directly across from me for most of the day at one point uttered this memorable line: "This student of mine scored 91%... the same score as last year. Another mediocre result." Is this fantasy? Am I a participant in this madness?  Jesse

-- My teaching schedule for March will be uninterrupted. I do have a couple conflicts due to my performance schedule at the end of the month, but I will communicate these to students individually. -- Here are the  Theta Music Trainer  exercises I'd like students to work on in January: Melody  --  Melodic Drops Harmony  --  Harmonic Drops Harmony  -- Number Blaster Sound  --  Channel Scramble The top Theta Music achievers for the month of February were: Emma, Alex, Katie, P.J., & James -- Here are the CM dates for the next two weekends: * Theory testing will be conducted on the weekend of March 3 & 4. ** Performance evaluations will be held on the weekends of March 3 & 4 and March 10 & 11.  -- The Song of the Month for March is "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson. Have a happy day, Jesse

-- My teaching schedule for February will be uninterrupted. -- Here are the  Theta Music Trainer  exercises I'd like students to work on in January: Melody  -- Flash Intervals Harmony  -- Chord Spells Harmony -- Key   Puzzles Sound  -- Band Match The top Theta Music achievers for the month of January were: Emma, Allyn, & Waldon --  As a reminder for students enrolled in CM, here are the CM dates for next month: * Performance  evaluations will be held on the weekends of  March 3 & 4 and March 10 & 11 .  ** Theory  testing will be conducted on the weekend of  March 3 & 4 . Have a happy day, Jesse

-- My teaching schedule for January will be uninterrupted. -- Here are the  Theta Music Trainer  exercises I'd like students to work on in January: Melody  --  Parrot Phrases Harmony  --  Tone Trees Rhythm  --  Rhythm Puzzles Sound  --  Dango Brothers The top Theta Music achievers for the month of November were: Carissa, Emma, Katie, Alex, and Kaitlyn T. --  As a reminder for students enrolled in CM, here are the CM dates for this spring: * Performance  evaluations will be held on the weekends of  March 3 & 4 and March 10 & 11 .  ** Theory  testing will be conducted on the weekend of  March 3 & 4 . Happy 2012, Jesse

-- I will not be teaching during the latter half of December. Here's a rundown of my schedule for the month: Monday students: I will see you twice, 12/5 and 12/12 Tuesday students: I will see you twice, 12/6 and 12/13 Thursday students: I will see you thrice, 12/1, 12/8 and 12/15 Sunday students: I will see you twice, 12/4 and 12/11 There are a number of students I will be scheduling make-up lessons for due to various conflicts of mine. I will contact you directly. If you do not hear from me, then follow the schedule above. -- There is a recital fee of $15 for every student participating in the recital. For families who have 2 siblings enrolled with me, the fee is $25 . Please include this amount with your payment for December lessons. -- The next student recital will be held on  Saturday, December 10  between noon - 4pm at CSUEB. Click here for all important info about the event . And here is a list of performers and which group they will be in . Have happy days, Jes...

-- My teaching schedule for November will be mostly uninterrupted. I am not be teaching on Thanksgiving Day holiday, of course. I need to shuffle some Thursday and Sunday students to different times this month due to my ongoing performances in Berkeley. I will communicate schedule changes to everyone on an individual basis. During the first two weeks of November I'm continuing my work with actress  Rita Moreno's one-woman play "Life w/o Makeup" at the Berkeley Rep Theatre . If anyone is still interested in seeing the show, you need to get moving: Sunday, 11/13 is the final performance. -- Fees for Certificate of Merit students are due with November lesson payments. As a reminder, here are the CM dates for this spring: * Performance  evaluations will be held on the weekends of  March 3-4 and March 10-11 .  ** Theory  testing will be conducted on the weekend of  March 3-4 . -- The next student recital will be held on  S...

From an article by Corinna Da Fonseca-Wollheim, published in the Wall Street Journal 9/29/11: Performance psychologists are invited into music departments nation-wide, as educators recognize the need to prepare musicians for the competitive, high-stakes world of classical music. In the past, performance anxiety was rarely discussed; if anything, it was seen as a Darwinian way of separating those fit for a solo career from those doomed to teach. Today, performance psychologists advertise their services as coaches, not shrinks, providing musicians the same concrete tools and drills offered athletes and CEOs. ----- Fear is not the problem: If you want to do well, you will probably experience fear. [The newer approach] is to build up the mental skills needed in a performance, like courage, trust and a focus on higher-order qualities: artistry and expression for musicians, strategy for athletes. Much of this involves [mental training] ... In addition, [performance psychologists coax] tea...