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Best Practices From Selected High-Performance Pre-College Piano Studios
Dr. Jani Parsons
University of Michigan
Dissertation advisor: Dr. John Ellis
• Why are some teachers so successful in nurturing highly skilled, exceedingly musical students (what I term a high-performance student) within a large majority of their studio?
• What are the traits these outstanding teachers possess?
• Are there specific approaches to pedagogy that prevail among teachers with high-performance students?
• Is it possible to extract similarities and differences between high-performance teachers that can influence other teachers for the good?
• How does the high-performance teacher balance the many areas necessary to musical and technical mastery?
• Consistently produce talented students over many years
• Students regularly rise to the top in local and national
competitions, festivals, and public performances
• Students accepted for advanced studies at nationally
recognized Universities and Conservatories
High-Performance Teachers
• Questionnaire
• In-person Interview
• Lesson Observation
Mary Siciliano
• Her private students have distinguished themselves in many prestigious competitions such as the MTNA National Finals, the Piano Arts International Competition, and the Oberlin International High School Competition.
• She is currently teaching pedagogy at the University of Michigan with an active private studio. Previously she served as faculty at Oakland University.
• Mary is an active performer and clinician and has been published in several journals.
• Mary received her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Michigan State University and the Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded the Joseph Brinkman Award for excellence in performance.
Livonia, Michigan
Biography on Oakland University official website, accessed April 10, 2013.
Scott McBride Smith
• President and CEO of the International Institute for Young Musicians, he leads a summer program offering specialized training for gifted young performers from around the world.
• A long-time teacher of prize-winning students in Irvine, California, Dr. Smith’s students gone on to win major international competitions and be accepted in leading institutions
• Co-author of the college text The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher, Christopher Norton’s Guide to Microjazz, and American Popular Piano series as well as associate editor of the magazine Clavier Companion.
• Currently serving as president-elect of the Music Teachers National Association, Dr. Smith teaches pedagogy at the University of Kansas
• Scott McBride Smith received his doctorate from the University of Southern California, where he was co-winner of
the Outstanding Graduate in Piano award.
Lawrence, Kansas
Biography on Kansas University’s official website, accessed April 10, 2013.
Lorraine Ambrose• A long-time teacher at the Vancouver
Academy of Music in the esteemed pre-college department.
• Students of all levels have been recipients of numerous awards in local, national and international competitions, including concerto performances with professional orchestras in Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, and Vancouver.
• Previous students have competed in international competitions, been accepted to prestigious schools as the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute, the Eastman School, and the Royal Academy of Music (London), and gone on to successful careers in music.
• Attended the University of Alberta and completed her Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance. She also received Associate and Licentiate Degrees from the Western Board of Music and had subsequent studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg Austria and Munich, Germany.
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
Biography on the Vancouver Academy of Music’s official site, accessed April 10, 2013.
Brenda Huang• winner of the prestigious 1991 Gilmore Young
Artist Award, immigrated from Taiwan to the Chicago area at the age of nine, and had principally studied with Emilio del Rosario, Russell Sherman, and Carolyn McCracken-Forough.
• Ms. Huang was the first prizewinner of the New York Kosziuszko Chopin Competition, the national winner of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), an American Pianist Association finalist, and was chosen to represent the United States at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw by the National Chopin Foundation in Miami, and has performed with many leading orchestras.
• Students have won many local and national competitions with performances with recognized symphonies
• She received her B.A., M.A., and Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory and at the College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University. She is a member of the piano faculty at the Chicago Institute of Music in Winnetka.
Chicago, Illinois
Biography on Brenda Huang’s official website, accessed April 10, 2013.
Sasha Starcevich• Received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from
Yale University in May of 2003, with performances in United States, Canada, Asia and Europe.
• Starcevich has given recitals at New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, Windsor Castle, and in London’s Wigmore Hall.
• Recorded for CBS Television and has released two CD’s under the Britstar label.
• His students have been prizewinners of local, national and international awards, and have gone on to study music at the world’s most prestigious music schools have gone on to study music at prestigious schools such as the Eastman School of Music, the Juilliard School in New York, Yale University and the Peabody Conservatory.
• He is in frequent demand as a performer, adjudicator and presenter of Master Classes throughout North America and abroad.
• Has been affiliate professor of piano at the State University of New York, and department chair of music and professor of piano at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts. He currently maintains an active private studio in Bellevue, Washington.
Seattle, Washington
Biography on Sasha Starcevich’s official website, accessed April 10, 2013
Peter Mack • Professor of piano at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington.
• Had his early training with Frank Heneghan at the Dublin College of Music. Subsequent study was at Trinity College, Dublin, and at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, and the University of Washington where he earned his doctorate in piano performance.
• Has performed throughout the United States and Europe, as well as in Australia and the former Soviet Union. He is the winner of the New Orleans, Young Keyboard Artists and Pacific International Piano Competitions. His prize in the Sherman–Clay competition included a Steinway grand piano.
• Mack is well-known for his extensive repertoire, having performed 25 concertos with orchestras.
• The winner of several international piano competitions, he in high demand as a performer, teacher, adjudicator, conference artist and clinician.
• Pupils of Mack are frequent winners of local, national and international competitions.
Seattle, Washington
Biography on official MTNA website, accessed April 10,2013.
Studio Policies
• Not written down
• Agreed upon verbally
• Outlined in the audition/interview process
• Allows for more flexibility
Expectations:• LA: “With young students (up to age 13 or so), I expect the parent to attend
the lesson, take notes (until the student can do this), and sit with and help the student while practicing. Even if the parent cannot actually help very much with the practicing, I insist on one parent attending lessons and being very much involved.”
• SS: “I expect the parents to support my plan for their child, and to either be present at the lesson or set up a recording device (or both). I expect the student to complete all assignments given each week, and to log their practice time in a journal. My written instructions on how to practice are in a notebook and I expect them to follow that religiously.”
• BH and PM both have similar expectations that the parents be very involved in the lessons, creating a positive family dynamic with music in the fabric of the family life rather than simply a hobby or one after-school activity. – PM - “I like the parent to be there until the child can drive themselves to lessons.”
• MS also expects parental involvement along with the following:
– “Daily time at the piano and regular attendance with all of the materials. Daily listening to a classical piece that we will discuss as well as attendance to free local concerts, and use of an acoustic piano in the home – No keyboards.”
The Interview:
• Does the student behave?
• How do the parents interact with their child?
• Is the child responsive and engaged?
• Is time made in the family schedule for the study of music?
NOT JUST•Is the child talented?•Does the student show significant potential for public success and a future in music performance?
Talent Vs. Precocity
Precocity-
precociousness: intelligence achieved far ahead of normal developmental schedules.
from wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Talent -
Natural endowment or ability of a superior quality.
from thefreedictionary.com/talent
What are teachers look for?• “I look for commitment. In younger students (up to age
14), I want to see it in the parents; older students I want to see it in them. Obviously talent is a factor, but I find that talented students and their parents are almost always committed. One type of student that I really like is: very bright (not necessarily gifted), committed, loves music and is disciplined enough to practice enough to get an A.R.C.T. by Grade 10 or 11 in school. They will continue because they love music and will do chamber music, concertos etc… They will probably (study) medicine or law, which I think is great because they will go to concerts and support the arts.”
- Lorraine Ambrose
• “I look for intelligence, the ability to focus, and an affable personality. Shy, withdrawn children typically find it hard to express themselves, so the more free they are with their thoughts the better.” -Sasha Starcevich
Regular studio-classes
•Expected Participation•Bi-weekly or weekly•Offer sense of community within the studio•Offer low-pressure performances•Serve as motivators and constant short-term goals
REPERTOIRE
• Advance students through a variety of skills
• Motivate
• Challenge
Achievement Testing:
-Are considered a system not a method
-Are used in combination with other things
-Are not done yearly or grade-by-grade
I usually start students right away on 5-finger technique and
reading from the method books (Piano Adventures). The kids
tend to go faster if there are others of their age so I group
them together in the weekly theory and performance
classes. I also sign students up for many events.
Performance tests and competitions where they all play the
same pieces all help them learn faster.
Kids usually ask for hard pieces. They always like to play
the piece that they heard from the performance
class. Competitions with required repertoire tend to be on the
easier side so they get a balanced set of pieces. Yerin's pieces
during the observation were for a competition so they were
quite easy for her. Her other pieces included Schumann
ABEGG, a Rachmaninoff Prelude, Liszt Gnomen-reigen,
etc…- Brenda Huang
Beginner methodsSasha Starcevich --Focuses on sound
-Exercises for gesture and sound with dynamics
-Beginner note-reading method
-Bartok Mikrokosmos, Czerny, then Bach minuets
Lorraine Ambrose --Rooted in Suzuki approach
-Focus on beautiful legato and arm motion
-Reading from Methode Rose
-Reading from Suzuki books in addition to listening
to the CD
-By book 3-4, student is ready for early sonatas and
more advanced repertoire
Repertoire Sequencing for J.S. Bach-As followed by Lorraine Ambrose, Sasha Starcevich, and Mary Siciliano
Italian Concerto, Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue, etc.
to
Preludes and Fugues
to
Complete suites
to
Sinfonias
to
Inventions
to
Easier dances (of suites)
to
Minuets
Repertoire sequencing…Scott McBride Smith- Chess training and sequential challengesKey: Always have a task that is do-able but a little bit
beyond their current ability level
- Always have the student reaching for the next goal
- Teacher’s responsibility in planning (outside work)
Peter Mack-Many pieces learned quickly will gradually raise the
level of mastery(3 concertos at 87% is better than 1 concerto at 94%)
Organized…
• To meet long-term and short-term goals
• To maximize the effectiveness of the lesson
Brenda Huang on extra time spent:
“I know that I spent a lot of time with my students. My performance classes are free and I charge minimum for the theory classes. My students know that it is my choice that I gave them my time to do the classes and respond with a lot of enthusiasm. I, then, can demand excellence and dedication from my students, which they are willing (to try, at least).”
Lorraine Ambrose on organization:- writes down everything she has asked them to do for herself
- is sure to hear everything assigned
- is sure to cover all different aspects
- is able to plan repertoire
Use of the lesson time
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
BH SS MS PM LA
Technique
Repertoire
Observations during the
lesson • Students were playing for a majority of the lesson
• Instructions were spoken clearly and to the point, often in short commands: “softer”, “roll forward”, etc.
• Instructions were limited to several key points
• Details were written directly in photocopied scores (LA, PM, BH with various colors)
• Student were required to show immediate correction and understanding
• Practice techniques were outlined and performed correctly in the lesson (sometimes technical drills were introduced)
• Expectations for the next lesson were outlined
Technology
• Scott McBride Smith uses DiscKlavier for immediate playback and in-lesson listening
• Every student I observed was recorded for future reference by their parent. For all teachers, this is welcomed.
• A few of them have active websites that promote studio activities such as the studios of BH, SS, and SMS.
• Technology does not change the teaching itself, but is rather an aid to the student in further understanding.
SIMILARITIES
• Parental involvement was expected in every studio through observation,
practice-supervision at home, and attendance of events/studio-classes
• Students are kept busy constantly preparing for their next performance, be
it competitive or non-competitive
• Students are provided regular opportunities to interact with other students,
building community and peer-inspiration
• Repertoire is carefully chosen with consideration of where the student is at
in their training and where they are going
• Teachers give clear directions during the lessons on how the body should
move to create the desired sound
• Teachers do not move on until they have heard what it is they are looking
for
DIFFERENCES
• Personality: each teacher was unique in their
approach and interaction with their students
• Preferences for how time was spent
• What exactly was focused on in the sound
• Amount and depth of explanations
• Repertoire selections varied in difficulty
Philosophy• SS: To encourage a deep love for music and the ability to
express it through the marriage of good listening and physical skill.
• LA: to encourage a love for music in each student that will last forever, and the means and understanding to express it.
• MS: to give each student the gift of musical understanding and the means to express it.
• SMS: to play with joy, creativity, and understanding, and make decisions aligned with your core values.
• PM: to give each student the ability to express their own personality and love of music on their own.
• BH: to challenge students to master themselves and the instrument in order to express their passion and joy for music.
Thank you!
• Teachers and parents who participated in the study
• My own teachers who have nurtured my interest in pedagogy
• Dr. John Ellis for all your guidance
Please stay in touch!
