Spring
2003, Vol. 14 #1
We
have a new look
I'm sure that those of
you who are familiar with KEYBOARD COMPANION have already noticed
that this Spring 2003 issue has a "new look." The cover
design is different, and you have probably also seen that we
are now using "four-color" through-out the magazine.
In addition, the layout and design for the articles has a different
look.
Although all of us associated with KEYBOARD COMPANION are very pleased with the changes that have been made and hope that you will be, too, we want to assure you that one thing has not changed and that is the magazine's focus. Here is how Richard Chronister, KEYBOARD COMPANION'S founder, defined this on The Editor's Page in the Spring, l990 inaugural issue:
Rhythm
Dept: How does learning jazz enhance a person's rhythm? Rob Parton
and Bruce Berr
Music
Reading Dept: Adapting reading materials for students with learning
disabilities, with Alice Hammel
Adult Piano Study Dept: Compositional aspects that motivate adult students, with Mary Sallee and Paul Sheftel
- "Every piano teacher wonders how someone else handle the particular problem that came up that very day. Unlike many in other professions, piano teachers cannot walk down the hall to the next office and brainstorm with their peers. We want KEYBOARD COMPANION to provide you with exactly what it says-companions in this wonderfully complex profession we have chosen. We want to give you lots of answers to the day-to-day questions we all encounter each year we teach. Out of these answers will come new approaches that all of us can use in our own teaching and this will set us to discovering even more answers of our own."
Today,
as in 1990, our staff remains dedicated to addressing in a practical
way the many issues, ideas, and challenges that confront all
of us as we undertake our everyday experiences with our piano
students. Amidst the "cosmetic" changes that have been
made in our magazine's "look", its original logo, the
"magic triangle," remains intact, reminding us that
when students, parents, and teachers work closely together, the
result can be ever-expanding ways to ensure that all of us can
continue to experience the joy of music-making at the piano!
A postscript:
Frances Clark died on April 17, 1998 at the age of 93. As I was reading Edna TerMolen's article about her years as a piano student of Frances Clark (see the Teacher/Student/Parent column this issue), I remembered another article that Richard Chronister compiled for the Autumn 1998 issue of KEYBOARD COMPANION shortly after Frances' death in that same year - a column featuring a number of short vignettes written by persons who studied piano pedagogy with her. As we approach the fifth anniversary of Frances Clark's death, it seems that the inclusion of a few quotes from Richard's 1998 article is an appropriate postscript to Edna's piece.
By Sam Holland
There were only two of us in my pedagogy class in 1975. What an incredible richness! Just two of us with Frances Clark all to ourselves.
We didn't read pedagogy books. We read Socrates. And then we learned how Socrates made us better piano teachers through good questioning technique. We didn't read about music education. We read Comenius-and learned that natural law tells us how to sequence materials in piano study. We read John Dewey and learned that telling somebody something does not mean we have taught it. Our teaching only becomes real when we create experience. We studied Whitehead and the "rhythm of education," William James on the laws of habit, and much, much more.
At the center of it all, we learned to study the child. And, from that study, we learned that there is indeed music in every child. From Frances, we learned that "Those who can, teach. Those who can't go into some less significant line of work."
- (Sam Holland is Head of Piano Pedagogy at Southern Methodist University, and Executive Vice President of the Board of Trustees for The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy.)
By Ted Cooper
Frances was 84 when I had the great fortune to become her pedagogy student at the New School for Music Study. (She) was well-known for her stunning ability to articulate both sweeping philosophical ideas and their practical applications. What is perhaps less known is that she lived her ideas; they were her credo. Frances once said that teaching is a "with" thing-one cannot do it alone. Our teaching only takes on significance when it is received by someone else.
- (Ted Cooper, pianist, teacher, and composer, is a member of the faculty at the New School for Music Study, in Princeton, NJ)
By Craig Sale
There was something awesome and brilliant about this woman who always questioned, always wondered, always strove for the greatest in her students and in her life. I will always think of her when a student casts his or her own spell by a performance of a piece of music, and when the colors of autumn or spring catch my eye. I relish these things more intensely because she taught me not just piano pedagogy, but how to wonder and marvel at the gifts of life.
- (Craig Sale, an Associate Editor of KEYBOARD COMPANION, is on the faculty at Concordia University, in River Forest, IL.)
By Stephen McCurry
Remembering Frances Clark will never be difficult. In my still unfolding career as a piano teacher, pedagogy mentor, and now music school administrator, her voice continues to inspire and challenge. It is this voice that continues to teach me these many years later.
- (Stephen McCurry is Director of the Pasadena Conservatory of Music in Southern California.)
By Richard Chronister
I have often thought that those of us who worked with Frances in the 50's and 60's were the lucky ones. This was the time she was developing what were then - and still are today - the most comprehensive piano teacher training programs in the United States-first at Kalamazoo College, then (in Princeton, NJ) at Westminster (Choir) College, and later at the New School (for Music Study). This led her to do some deep thinking about what was behind her celebrated teaching success during the preceding 25 years. Her lectures during that time, and the opportunities to watch her teach, and to teach under her direction made more impact on our lives as musicians and educators than anything else in our entire education.
The legacy of Frances Clark is her insistence that we develop our own ability to be better at what we do tomorrow than we were today.
Our job is not to be like Frances, or to teach like Frances. Our job is to make sure that neither we nor the piano teaching world lose sight of the basic principles we learned from (her) If we do that, the magniÞcent life and work of Frances Clark will live forever.
- (Richard Chronister, internationally renowned pedagogue, was a founder of the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy and the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy. He also founded KEYBOARD COMPANION Magazine in 1990, and served as its Editor-in-Chief until his death in 1999.)
Back to the Editor:
This issue of KEYBOARD COMPANION
is dedicated to the memory of Frances Clark and Richard Chronister.
About Our Cover Picture
The colorful pinwheel
on this issue's cover appears courtesy of Nancy O'Neill Breth.
To see a larger image of our cover art, please visit our Art Gallery.
MULTIMEDIA ARTICLE
RHYTHM DEPARTMENT
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Bruce Berr interviews ROB PARTON, jazz trumpet player and educator. Part II of their conversation, "How does learning jazz enhance a person's rhythm?" explores aspects of piano and music teaching that are seen differently when approached from the jazz side of things. There are some audio clips of Rob scat-singing rhythmic licks to make his points, as well as a short clip of his jazz band. If you missed Part I with all of its audio clips, you can still read and hear that as well. |
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A FEATURE FOR NON-SUBSCRIBERS: Read condensed versions of some articles from the print magazine
MUSIC READING DEPARTMENT
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| Craig Sale's READING department column in the Spring issue addresses the question, "How do you adapt your reading materials for students with learning disabilities?" The guest writer is ALICE HAMMEL, nationally known music educator. |
ADULT PIANO STUDY DEPARTMENT
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| In the Adult Piano Study column, editor Brenda Dillon has asked teachers/composers MARY SALLEE and PAUL SHEFTEL to discuss the compositional considerations that motivate adult piano students. Both authors have also provided audio recordings of their performing one of their own compositions. |
These are the other articles that were in the Spring 2003 issue
Information on obtaining back issues
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The Magic Triangle: |
What qualities did you value in your piano teacher? |
Peggy Otwell |
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The Other Teacher: |
Practice puzzlers - "What do you do when . . . ?" Part II |
Nancy Breth |
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Independence Day: |
How do you adapt your reading materials for students with learning disabilities? |
Alice Hammel |
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Let's Get Physical: |
What are some strategies for developing optimal performance in early level students? |
Gail Berenson |
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The Heart of the Matter: |
How does learning jazz enhance a person's rhythm? - a Conversation with Rob Parton. Part II |
Rob Parton |
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Issues and Ideas: |
How do you deal with students |
Cynthia Benson |
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It's Never Too Late: |
What are the compositional considerations that motivate adult piano students? |
Mary Sallee |
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Putting It All Together: |
What jazz materials do you use with your students? |
Virginia & Kathryn Moore |
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Tomorrow Today: |
How should music technology companies improve their products? |
Alejandro Cremaschi |
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The World Around
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What advice do you give to your graduating high school seniors? |
Helen Smith Tarchalski |
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