Winter 2003, Vol. 14 #4

Announcing two new magazine features

The Keyboard Kids' Companion Page
One of the things that was suggested by a number of our subscribers in last spring's Readership Survey was the inclusion of a reproducible page in the magazine designed exclusively for students. We liked this idea and are therefore pleased to introduce in this issue, the Keyboard Kids' Companion Page! You'll find it on pages 17-18. This feature (which will be created for each issue by Helen Smith Tarchalski, our News and Views Editor) will contain activities and information such as practice pointers, composer information, puzzles, etc. For more details, see the NEWS column on pages 55-56.

New Products and Publications
Another new item which you will see appearing throughout this issue of the magazine is information submitted by our advertisers which describes some of their new materials and products. Although Keyboard Companion does not review or endorse any specific publishers' or manufacturers' products, we are pleased to offer this forum to our advertisers in appreciation for their continuing support of the magazine. We feel sure that you will find this information both interesting and useful.

A feature for non-subscribers: You can now read highlights from every department's offerings.

Video and audio clips that accompany an article in this issue's RHYTHM Department.

A Report on the 2003 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy: Click here
The next National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy will be held on August 4-6, 2005, with a pre-conference seminar on August 3. It will once again take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Oak Brook, Illinois. We hope to see you there!

SOS!!

Now that I have your attention, I want to share with you a serious concern that is confronting all of us associated with KEYBOARD COMPANION: the ever-present need to increase the number of our subscribers if the existence of the magazine is to continue.

When we resumed publication after the death of Richard Chronister in 1999, we, of course, rolled over the then-current subscribers list. And we are happy to report that that number has remained fairly constant throughout the past three years. However, our production costs have not. They continue to rise, and even with the recent slight increase in the subscription rate, we cannot continue to provide our readers with the quality magazine they have come to expect unless we can significantly expand our subscriber base.

We are therefore soliciting your help. Believing that word-of-mouth is perhaps the best marketing plan of all, if you believe in the value of the magazine as we do, won't you please "beat the bushes" in order to share your enthusiasm with colleagues who either may not know about KEYBOARD COMPANION, or have not yet gotten on board as subscribers? Other ways you can help are:

By helping to launch a group subscription plan for members of all local teachers organizations to which you belong.
By renewing your own subscription.
By asking your local library to add the magazine to the periodicals to which it subscribes.
By giving a subscription of KC to a colleague or friend.
By honoring an outstanding piano student with a gift subscription as an achievement award. (This makes a great graduation gift!)
By encouraging your adult students and the parents of your younger students to subscribe to and read the magazine.

And if you have other still other ideas that might be helpful in increasing our readership, won't you please send them to me? (etpearce@worldnet.att.net) The long and short of it is that we aren't going to be able to stay afloat unless we can meet our expenses through a substantial increase in subscriber revenue.

All of us on the Board of Trustees of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy greatly appreciate your enthusiasm and support over the years. This was certainly apparent in the hundreds of positive comments received in response to our Spring 2003 Readership Survey. We hope that by the start of the 2004-05 academic year, we can report that our subscription list has at least doubled - thanks to you!!

About Our Cover Picture

We very much appreciate having received permission from Terry Rosiak to reproduce her interesting photograph of the keyboard which appears on this issue's cover. Terry is a photographic artist who uses the camera as her tool, and the print as her canvas. She takes black and white photographs, prints them on fiber paper, and then uses transparent oils to transform them. The painting is then scanned and manipulated in Photoshop. Terry resides in West Berlin, New Jersey with her husband, John.

To see a larger image of our cover art, please visit our Art Gallery.

MULTIMEDIA ARTICLE

Renowned Dalcroze expert Robert Abramson answers the question, "How are timing and rhythm different from one another?" He also presents an online mini-workshop of several audio and video clips that vividly demonstrate his points.