In this presentation, Dean will discuss the new narrative forms that Chopin created for the Ballades. He will explore ways of interpreting this music based on motivic and thematic structure and the specific details and terms that Chopin uses in the score. Dean will demonstrate extensively at the piano
In this presentation, Dean poses three challenges that each pianist must consider in the art of interpretation: the necessary, the possible, and the personal. Dean will explore these elements in the context of selected Beethoven's sonatas, with special emphasis on the personal. He will discuss personal elements, such as the "adjectives of emotion," or sound, that we can bring to the music while playing; music written for a medium other than piano as an interior part of interpretation; and the intention or "will" of making music with depth and meaning.
This presentation honors the centenary of Debussy’s final year (1918-2018) and will show how Debussy created his special “sound-world” for the piano in works such as Pour le Piano, Estampes, Images I and II, and others. The presenters will give special insights into the interpretation of Debussy’s sound-world through historical context, imagery, harmonic language, tone production, and the imaginative use of pedal.
Stage fright doesn’t sound so scary any more in this interactive workshop in which participants learn practical, hands-on methods for coping with nerves. The session will include actual case studies and teaching techniques. Attendees will receive a handout filled with up-to-date information and a list of proven survival strategies.
"If people take anything from my music, it should be motivation to know that anything is possible as long as you keep working at it and don’t back down." Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, a fatherless high school dropout who was bullied at school, had the motivation to become Eminem, the top-selling song artist of the 2000s. Are you and your students equally inspired? You can be! Join Scott for a research-based and anecdote-filled overview on the art of motivation, with many practical tips that will get your students achieving more—immediately!
"Does it really matter if you got it right? Does it really matter what was wrong or right? (yeah)"
The Backstreet Boy "Memories" (2005)
Playing from memory. It’s easy for the Backstreet Boys to sing about it, but we piano teachers know that it’s not so easy to do. Join Scott for an enlightening look at the history of memorization, along with some practical tips to make memorization skills a strong point of each of your students.
Effective and enthusiastic practice is perhaps the most important activity a violinist (and any musician for that matter) needs to learn. This workshop will remind us about some fairly fundamental principles of performance, human learning, and development as they are applied to violin playing. With the help of workshop participants I will show ways of improving performance notably and quickly through clear attention and affirmation, somatic understanding, clear visualisation and imagination and rhythmic organisation. Areas discussed will include co-ordination, tone production, phrasing and expression, intonation accuracy and reliability and selected instrumental techniques. The workshop will cover all relevant aspects of learning and practice. It will ultimately show how we can transform practice into an exciting discovery and profound process of learning.
Together we will explore how to make your playing more convincing - technically and emotionally. Learn concepts applied from the Alexander Technique and the Coordination Technique, by noted string pedagogue Karen Tuttle. If you have concerns with endurance, pain, physical frustration, or emotional detachment from the music then this workshop is for you. Open to all string players.
Who were and are some of the most important music makers? Who were their teachers, and how did they become more influential than their teachers? What if instead of focusing on music theory, technique, and sound production, we focus on what is happening in the brain? In this presentation we will discuss stages of development in thinking, regardless of age, and how these apply to music making and the music industry. We will also discuss the stages of critical thinking and how to use them for effective practice and performance, including how other people use them to overcome nervousness and stage fright. Throughout our time together, we will explore the importance of intellectual curiosity and asking questions so that you and your students can use your intellect to reach your full musical potential.
With around 10% of all candidates for graded music examinations worldwide coming from Singapore, and with the Singapore Government itself regarding certification from London-based examination boards as pre-requisites for music teachers, this workshop looks into the real value of graded music exams as both an educational and musical tool. Marc Rochester assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the system and asks whether its dominance in Singapore music education is beneficial or even desirable, and whether the time has come for a more relevant, locally-focused alternative.
"Tones sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes." Ludvig van Beethoven
These "tones" as mentioned by Beethoven inevitably come from one’s interior mindscape well before any note of an instrument or voice is composed or sounded. Creativity embraces a living bridge between the infinite and the finite. As musicians, how do we do this? Can we do this? This sometimes interactive presentation will construct multiple models through lecture and demonstration that may be useful for the creative process. It is the dichotomy of Chaos (right brain) and Order (left brain) in which the heart of the creative process resides. Both the triggering and the hampering of creativity would be discussed and explored. Under the best of conditions, craft arises as a by-product of creativity, a way to "ride the storm".
Programme notes are a vital link between the music, the performer and the audience, providing an invaluable road map to understanding and appreciating the music played and heard. Increasingly, performers are expected to write their own programme notes - and they are now an obligatory aspect of all diploma examinations. In this workshop session, Marc Rochester explains the function of programme notes, what they should contain (and what they should not), and offers guidance and advice on using appropriate language and on the level of detail expected in a variety of situations where programme notes are required.
For most musicians, the location of practice is a comfortable and familiar place, and the lesson venue less so; but, the performance space is a place of mystery, imagination and, sometimes, horror. As one moves from one location into another, what needs to be in the head, so the musician can play with heart, and what shouldn't be in the head, so the nerves don't run away with the performance? In this panel we will focus on how to successfully transition yourself or your students, intellectually and emotionally, from the practice room to the stage.
[Imagine Star Wars music and a floating script] Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there existed a world where musicians only practiced and became so good on their instrument that the only thing they did was practice and perform, and they didn't do anything else. Now let's leave the movie theatre and enter Singapore, and most other countries in the 21st century and discuss how musicians actually make a living, not by doing one thing, but a collective of activities that a musicians chooses to include in their portfolio. What are these activities, and how does one use them to make a living and chart a career in the 21st century?
"Why do I have to do it?" How often do you think children ask themselves this question about practicing, playing a particular piece, why a piece should be played a specific way, and several other questions? Then they get older. Why do most "child prodigies" fail to find success as adults? This panels focuses on kinds of relationships that are best between students and teachers, between teachers and parents, and between parents and their musical children, and how these different parties can synergise to find the most affirmative pathway for student learning.
In this presentation, Dean will discuss the new narrative forms that Chopin created for the Ballades. He will explore ways of interpreting this music based on motivic and thematic structure and the specific details and terms that Chopin uses in the score. Dean will demonstrate extensively at the piano
Who were and are some of the most important music makers? Who were their teachers, and how did they become more influential than their teachers? What if instead of focusing on music theory, technique, and sound production, we focus on what is happening in the brain? In this presentation we will discuss stages of development in thinking, regardless of age, and how these apply to music making and the music industry. We will also discuss the stages of critical thinking and how to use them for effective practice and performance, including how other people use them to overcome nervousness and stage fright. Throughout our time together, we will explore the importance of intellectual curiosity and asking questions so that you and your students can use your intellect to reach your full musical potential.
Stage fright doesn’t sound so scary any more in this interactive workshop in which participants learn practical, hands-on methods for coping with nerves. The session will include actual case studies and teaching techniques. Attendees will receive a handout filled with up-to-date information and a list of proven survival strategies.
In this presentation, Dean poses three challenges that each pianist must consider in the art of interpretation: the necessary, the possible, and the personal. Dean will explore these elements in the context of selected Beethoven's sonatas, with special emphasis on the personal. He will discuss personal elements, such as the "adjectives of emotion," or sound, that we can bring to the music while playing; music written for a medium other than piano as an interior part of interpretation; and the intention or "will" of making music with depth and meaning.
With around 10% of all candidates for graded music examinations worldwide coming from Singapore, and with the Singapore Government itself regarding certification from London-based examination boards as pre-requisites for music teachers, this workshop looks into the real value of graded music exams as both an educational and musical tool. Marc Rochester assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the system and asks whether its dominance in Singapore music education is beneficial or even desirable, and whether the time has come for a more relevant, locally-focused alternative.
"If people take anything from my music, it should be motivation to know that anything is possible as long as you keep working at it and don’t back down." Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, a fatherless high school dropout who was bullied at school, had the motivation to become Eminem, the top-selling song artist of the 2000s. Are you and your students equally inspired? You can be! Join Scott for a research-based and anecdote-filled overview on the art of motivation, with many practical tips that will get your students achieving more—immediately!
This presentation honors the centenary of Debussy’s final year (1918-2018) and will show how Debussy created his special “sound-world” for the piano in works such as Pour le Piano, Estampes, Images I and II, and others. The presenters will give special insights into the interpretation of Debussy’s sound-world through historical context, imagery, harmonic language, tone production, and the imaginative use of pedal.
"Tones sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes." Ludvig van Beethoven
These "tones" as mentioned by Beethoven inevitably come from one’s interior mindscape well before any note of an instrument or voice is composed or sounded. Creativity embraces a living bridge between the infinite and the finite. As musicians, how do we do this? Can we do this? This sometimes interactive presentation will construct multiple models through lecture and demonstration that may be useful for the creative process. It is the dichotomy of Chaos (right brain) and Order (left brain) in which the heart of the creative process resides. Both the triggering and the hampering of creativity would be discussed and explored. Under the best of conditions, craft arises as a by-product of creativity, a way to "ride the storm".
"Does it really matter if you got it right? Does it really matter what was wrong or right? (yeah)"
The Backstreet Boy "Memories" (2005)
Playing from memory. It’s easy for the Backstreet Boys to sing about it, but we piano teachers know that it’s not so easy to do. Join Scott for an enlightening look at the history of memorization, along with some practical tips to make memorization skills a strong point of each of your students.
Effective and enthusiastic practice is perhaps the most important activity a violinist (and any musician for that matter) needs to learn. This workshop will remind us about some fairly fundamental principles of performance, human learning, and development as they are applied to violin playing. With the help of workshop participants I will show ways of improving performance notably and quickly through clear attention and affirmation, somatic understanding, clear visualisation and imagination and rhythmic organisation. Areas discussed will include co-ordination, tone production, phrasing and expression, intonation accuracy and reliability and selected instrumental techniques. The workshop will cover all relevant aspects of learning and practice. It will ultimately show how we can transform practice into an exciting discovery and profound process of learning.
Programme notes are a vital link between the music, the performer and the audience, providing an invaluable road map to understanding and appreciating the music played and heard. Increasingly, performers are expected to write their own programme notes - and they are now an obligatory aspect of all diploma examinations. In this workshop session, Marc Rochester explains the function of programme notes, what they should contain (and what they should not), and offers guidance and advice on using appropriate language and on the level of detail expected in a variety of situations where programme notes are required.
Together we will explore how to make your playing more convincing - technically and emotionally. Learn concepts applied from the Alexander Technique and the Coordination Technique, by noted string pedagogue Karen Tuttle. If you have concerns with endurance, pain, physical frustration, or emotional detachment from the music then this workshop is for you. Open to all string players.
For most musicians, the location of practice is a comfortable and familiar place, and the lesson venue less so; but, the performance space is a place of mystery, imagination and, sometimes, horror. As one moves from one location into another, what needs to be in the head, so the musician can play with heart, and what shouldn't be in the head, so the nerves don't run away with the performance? In this panel we will focus on how to successfully transition yourself or your students, intellectually and emotionally, from the practice room to the stage.
[Imagine Star Wars music and a floating script] Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there existed a world where musicians only practiced and became so good on their instrument that the only thing they did was practice and perform, and they didn't do anything else. Now let's leave the movie theatre and enter Singapore, and most other countries in the 21st century and discuss how musicians actually make a living, not by doing one thing, but a collective of activities that a musicians chooses to include in their portfolio. What are these activities, and how does one use them to make a living and chart a career in the 21st century?
"Why do I have to do it?" How often do you think children ask themselves this question about practicing, playing a particular piece, why a piece should be played a specific way, and several other questions? Then they get older. Why do most "child prodigies" fail to find success as adults? This panels focuses on kinds of relationships that are best between students and teachers, between teachers and parents, and between parents and their musical children, and how these different parties can synergise to find the most affirmative pathway for student learning.