By: Melissa M. Slawsky, Ph.D., NCTM
Conferences
can be one of the greatest untapped resources for the personal and professional
development in the music world, especially for students. Conferences and
workshops allow you to network and share ideas with other music colleagues on a
grander scale—combining educational presentations, pedagogical sessions,
presentations on business practices for independent music professionals, and
master classes with the finest musicians and teachers in the world.
Unfortunately,
I was ‘bit by the conference bug’ a little late in my graduate studies (when I
could actually afford them). During the last two years of my doctoral studies,
I had the pleasure of presenting research at the 2010 GP3 Group Piano and Piano
Pedagogy Conference in Austin, Texas; 2011 Florida Music Educators Association
Clinic-Conference in Tampa, FL; and 2011 National Conference Keyboard Pedagogy
in Lombard, Illinois.
I
cannot believe how much I learned in such a short period of time, how many
amazing people I have met, and how much my passion for music and teaching has
been fueled by attending these events. If you want to cram a degree’s worth of
learning into a short amount of time and ‘rub elbows’ with some truly amazing
people, I cannot recommend music education conferences and workshops enough.
Fast
forward to 2012—I am 6 months into my post-Ph.D. slump… no longer eligible for
the student discount (usually 25% or less than the non-student member rate).
Although my conference budget had already been exhausted in the previous year,
I could not stay away from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)
conference in New York City this past week. Headliners included a master class
by Menahem Pressler (pianist and founder of the famous Beaux Arts Trio), a
session on teaching practice techniques to students by legendary piano
pedagogue, Martha Hilley, and exhibitor showcases from many of the publishers I
use in my piano studio on a daily basis. Although I did not originally plan
(and budget) to go, I simply could not stay away.
I
decided to make an impromptu visit yesterday (3/27/12) with the intent of
paying for one-day registration fee (at $155… OUCH!). Because I arrived so
late, I decided instead to ask for a complimentary pass to the exhibition hall.
This is where all of the vendors set up, give one-on-one presentations of their
products, and give out tons of freebies (especially on the last day when many
vendors don’t want to have to cart or ship everything back to their home town).
I wasn’t sure if I would learn as much as I had at previous conferences, but I
was pleasantly surprised by my experience, and it was well worth the trip!
My personal highlight reel-
- I had heard about Piano Marvel (www.pianomarvel.com), an interactive piano learning and assessment program that is essentially Guitar Hero for the piano, at a previous conference, but I had never got a chance to try it in person. I finally got to sit down with the inventor and founder and try it out for myself! Not only that, but I scored a great deal on a digital piano and bundle of books for my piano studio because it would have cost the owners so much to ship it back to their home state.
- In the piano teaching world, there are many ‘rock stars’ that grace the pages of piano teaching materials. It is such a pleasure to be able to walk up to my favorite composers and authors, such as Randall Faber and Dennis Alexander, introduce myself, and pander for autographs and pictures. Where else can you ask someone to recommend music and materials for your studio, what inspired their works, and how their compositional process works?
- Although I went with a personal shopping list in hand for sheet music to buy for my students, conferences are a great place to discover new music. I discovered a wealth of beautiful piano music written by a group of phenomenal composers hailing from Canada at the Red Leaf Pianoworks booth (http://www.redleafpianoworks.com). Not only did I get to talk to some of these brilliant women, I got a one-on-one consultation and performance of the recommended materials. I cannot wait to introduce my students to this beautiful music.
- Although I am usually not partial to the renowned Steinway brand of pianos, I had the opportunity to see a gorgeous ornate piano in the process of being hand-carved by an amazing artisan. Seeing this unfinished work of art truly made me appreciate the painstaking craftsmanship that goes into these instruments. I regretted the fact that I did not allot enough time to take a Steinway Factory tour (www.steinway.com).
- After the conference, it is so much fun to show my students all of the new stuff I learned and found, including the freebies! In celebration of Easter, I was able to give my piano students little packs of M&Ms and music dictation workbooks courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Royal Conservatory Achievement Program (http://www.theachievementprogram.org). I had tons of individual pieces of sheet music given by some of the various publishers— Alfred Music Publishers (www.alfred.com), Hal Leonard Corporation (www.halleonard.com), Faber Piano Adventures (www.pianoadventures.com), and the Neil A. Kjos Music Company (www.kjos.com).
So, listen up all of you music
students, musicians, and music teachers— The next time you hear about a
conference, workshop, training session, or summer music program in your area,
do not hesitate to take advantage of any and all of these opportunities. You
will not be disappointed.
