Help for self-employed private music teachers in WNC and crisis areas

Helping Private Music Teachers in WNC and other Crisis Areas

Please reach out if you are a private music teacher who has lost teaching materials from the recent hurricanes. 

After finding that there are no organizations that help self-employed private music teachers in crisis areas, Low Country Studios is working to find ways to help our sisters and brothers who may have lost teaching studios, instruments, and teaching materials in the recent hurricanes. 

Most self-employed private music teachers are not in the public eye and live quiet lives mentoring future musicians. Unlike full time performing musicians, who are well recognized in their communities, private music teachers don't have a fan following, or performing colleagues, to arrange benefit events for them.

Private music instructors can pay high membership fees to belong to professional organizations that provide opportunities for their students, but offer few to no benefits for the private music teacher. When a crisis hits, a self-employed private music teacher may not be able to find any help. Many of us discovered that there was no help for self-employed music teachers during the pandemic, or the Lahaina fires crisis.

Musicians in Need:

+Support Lyle Rickards through his Bandcamp.com page by purchasing his digital recordings on his Bandcamp page. Lyle is from Asheville and only made it out with his musical instrument.

+Join other piano teachers through the Piano Teachers facebook page to help Brandon Kouri who is the pianist/organist at Roser Community Church in Anna Marie Island FL rebuild his piano/organ music library. Brandon lost his personal music book library during Helene.

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If you are a private teacher who needs help, please send an email to us at LowCountryStudios at yahoo dot com.

We are searching for the best way to set up a transparent fundraising page for self-employed private music teachers in crisis. Until then, if you would like to help by making a small monetary gift to our Venmo, please indicate that it is for "hurricane area private music teachers." Our Venmo is @dollypaul with a photo of Miss Dolly and her cat as the avatar.

Thank you for caring.

Care,

Miss Dolly

Getting Started with Worship Songs

One of the joys of teaching, for me, is working with students who compose music. I have students whose focus is creating worship songs. These students write music for non-denominational and contemporary christian worship gatherings. A few have gone on to have successful careers in the field of worship music. Others have used the works they have written for their own personal times of worship. (God inhabits the praises of his people. Psalm 22:3) 

Some students write song melodies with ease, while others struggle to write melodies. Some students are more gifted with words, while others struggle with writing lyrics. (Lyrics are the words to a song.) 

Occasionally, a student will work with a friend who complements their writing skills. For instance, a student who is a strong melody writer will pair with another student who is a strong lyricist to write a song. But more often I see students who want to excel both as a music composer and a lyricist.

One of the first things I ask a student, when they want to start a new worship song project, is "What type of worship song are you writing?" When a composer can define what they want to express in a worship song, the words and music come together a lot faster. Let's look at three types of worship song forms used today.  

The first song form is, perhaps, the most obvious: Psalms. Psalms use the words of the Judeo-Christian bible for the lyrics. Verses containing the inspired word of God from the old and new testaments are used. 

The second form of worship song, that we talk about in lessons, is the Hymn. Hymns contain a doctrinal truth. A doctrinal truth is something that was, is, and always will be.

The last form we consider is the Spiritual Song. In a spiritual song the writer shares a personal story of what God has done in their life through grace, mercy, or a miracle, from their personal point of view. 

Establishing the purpose of a song and narrowing down the details can be a big help to students. Though it seems too simple, this step, at the start of a composition will really help.

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Please note: There are other forms of music used in places of worship that have different criteria than what I have shared above. It is always prudent to consult with your worship leader so you have a full understanding of the music and lyric guidelines that are welcome at your place of worship. 

Music Recitals: What are the Options?

Until the early 2000s, like many private music teachers, I held an annual Christmas Recital with a large food spread. I could usually count on one or more adult students, and a parent, to help with the kitchen end of setting up the food and drink tables and monitoring the food until after the performances had ended. Every studio member attended and brought extended family. We never had less than a feast with families bringing meat trays, casseroles, ice cream punch mixes, cookies, cakes, and more. The students had fun and there was a real sense of community. How times have changed. 

Event spaces and churches were always happy to extend free, or reduced fee, recital space to private music teachers in their communities. However, since the pandemic, and along with event rental inflation in our area specifically, it is close to impossible to find a place to hold recitals. Event space rental here in Charleston is now priced beginning at $5,000.00, per portion of a day (not even a full day), for most of the locations we have researched. Churches, that would donate space for a contribution or smaller rental amount, no longer offer use of their buildings saying they are concerned about covid, and other safety, liability. Church music directors - who also teach privately - have also told us that they are no longer able to use the facilities, in the churches where they serve, for student recitals. 

For those lucky enough to find a space for a studio recital, the expenses can include: rental, cleaning fee, insurance costs, key holder fee, security fee, video-photographer, parking lot fee, recital programs, certificates, and gifts for the participants. If there is an afterglow reception those costs also must be considered. After this preparation, teachers may experience last minute surprises from students who have to cancel the day of the event due to sports, family outings, or other last minute conflicts.

I recently heard from an elderly colleague who told me she has held her last recital and isn't even going to try for options in the future. For decades she held an end-of-the-year holiday recital at her local methodist church. But her church no longer allowed use of the space because of the pandemic. The instructor put together a large recital event for her studio last year. She and her husband invested in reserving a pizzeria in their town for the recital. Cheese, and cheese and pepperoni, pizzas along with all beverages, were complementary for students and attendees and were purchased in advance along with the space. The date was scheduled four(4) months ahead of the recital and families were notified of the recital date and location as soon as it was scheduled. The students had all prepared their musical selections, the restaurant had been paid, gift bags were prepared, and programs were printed. This teacher has a large student base and when the recital date came, only nine of her students and their families attended. She said the families who didn't show did not notify her that they decided not to come - even having confirmed the week before.  She  had purchased food, as part of the rental contract, for over 30 students and their families. Can you imagine? Fortunately her husband was able to contact a person from the local Salvation Army who arranged for distribution of the surplus pizzas that were already purchased.  This is not an isolated "Recitals Gone Wrong"  story in our current day. Families are simply over-scheduled. Even teachers who charge a "pay-to-perform" fee tell me students often don't attend when the family has purchased tickets, or paid, to be in an event. So, with the cost of event space, and over extended families, what other options are there to provide for important performance opportunities?

A number of my colleagues have opted out of any type of student events and gatherings. However, there are still those of us who are focused on finding a way to offer opportunities for students to get performance practice, and believe, like me, that even if a few families are interested, it is well worth the effort and investment. 

Here are some ideas teachers are coming up with:

• One teacher I spoke with over social media was able to use her community HOA room by offering any other music teacher's students or piano players, within that HOA community, the opportunity to perform on the recital. 
• A Florida teacher is nervously preparing for a backyard recital, and praying for no rain and a happy septic tank, for next Saturday.  
• I have one colleague who has been able to purchase a large home this year, with her family's help, that will accommodate the recital space she needs; This is the ideal, but quite a financial leap. 
• A Michigan teacher has persuaded her husband to clean out the garage and purchase portable heaters so they can use their garage and driveway for a true winter recital.
• Some private teachers, like me, are experimenting with virtual gatherings, and others are still searching to find an answer to keep the recital tradition alive. 

Inflation in rentals and recital costs, along with families that are over-extended in commitments, are all challenges for teachers who need new performance platform ideas. I am curious to see what the future holds for small studio recitals, especially in tourist areas and towns that are seeing large increases in event space rentals. 

QUESTION

As a private music teacher, how has your outlook on recitals changed over the years? Do you think they are still important for music students? If you schedule recitals for your students, what platform are you using now to provide studio recital opportunities? I would love to read your responses. Please feel free to email your thoughts, or respond on this blog. Musically, Miss Dolly.

12 Days in the Studio for Christmas

As I write this we are entering the second day of Christmas, the end of this year's Hanukkah celebrations, Boxing Day for my Canadian friends, and Kwanza. The first day of Christmas has passed and now is the time to relax a bit with leftovers, continued gatherings, and a look to the New Year. 

The last quarter of this year was quite an upheaval in this studio with flooding from Ian, home repair delays which included my piano being in storage, vehicle concerns, health concerns, and other bumps in the road that all reared their ugly heads at the same time. But bless God, we came through. So now I can start focusing on what will help me and my students as we come to the end of the year. 

In 2022 I joined a number of music organizations and supported other music businesses online to gain more tools for my studio. As the year has been coming to an end I have noticed that there simply isn't enough time to read all their emails. And honestly, many of the organizations looked like good fits for my studio, but after the initial membership was satisfied, I didn't receive any information that was new to me, or tools that were helpful to my studio and students. I am finding that many of these organizations offer information that is helpful to teachers who are not formally trained, or new to the field and feeling overwhelmed. But for seasoned and degreed teachers, the material is too basic. 

Trimming back music organization memberships for my studio has started. My personal big three connections will continue because there are State connections that my students can benefit from. But I have already disconnected from receiving and renewing memberships to, at least, eight organizations. Will each organization start the year with a new platform to regain my interest or find new followers? Yes, I expect that, but I have seen what they had to offer through 2022 and I know that they are not a fit with my studio. 

What changes are you starting to think about for your studio in the coming year? What changes have you made this year that helped you succeed? 

Practice Makes....Progress

The legendary cellist, Pablo Casals, was asked why he still practiced when he was 90 years old. His response was, Because I believe I am making progress.

Growing up I always heard "Practice Makes Perfect" from adults. But I never knew how to get to perfect. When it was time to perform my music for others I was a nervous wreck. I was told that only perfect was acceptable, and I knew I wasn't there. I'm so happy that I haven't reached perfect because there is no opportunity for growth and new discoveries there.  

As musicians we want to express ourselves more clearly. Whether we are comforting our own soul, using our music as meditation, praising our personal God, or sharing music with others. Every time we practice our music, and even while performing for others, improvement and progress is made in our skill set. This gives us the ability to communicate more expressively.

One single music tone can be approached, played, and released in so many different ways. Therefore, there is no perfect, static, goal because music moves and breathes. I think that is what captures our hearts and minds when we rehearse or hear music. Each note is a momentary sound that can be expressed with many subtle variations within that movement of time. 

Communicating is our work. Making progress with your music means you are becoming a better communicator by gaining the skills to add more inflections to your personal sound. The beauty is that you can confidently communicate at the skill level where you are. A simple five finger position on the piano, with one hand, can create a musical line that moves others. 

We use the word practice for many professions: She practices dentistry, he practices medicine. These are also fields that are alive, growing and improving. Like music, when you spend time practicing, progress happens.

I will be the first to admit that I have overused the word perfect as a teacher and I am removing it from my teaching vocabulary. 

Progress is a direction forward. Perfect is a dead end with no more growth. As a musician we are working in a space that is alive and breathing and progressing forward. A musician's age is of no significance, and years of advanced skills on a musical instrument are only a reminder that there is so much more for us to discover in our practice and sharing sessions.    

Going forward, this studio will be saying, Practice Makes Progress. 

A Closer Look at Major and Minor Scale Finger Patterns for Piano

A Closer Look at Major and Minor Scale Finger Patterns for the Piano by Dolly L Paul _MA

 

Piano finger patterns used in major and minor scales are patterns that have been chosen because of their contribution to optimal playing. While playing scales, the hand needs to flow as smoothly and effortlessly as possible. 

 

The ideal pattern for any scale is, what I call, standard fingering. This pattern allows the player to use adjacent fingers, one through five, in a continuous flow with only one turn after the third finger of each hand in the span of an octave. We know this pattern as the 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 finger pattern ascending in the right hand, and the 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1 pattern ascending in the left hand. However, when black keys need to be accessed, the flow of this pattern may not be optimal. Therefore, we must use alternate finger patterns for some piano scales. 

 

One of the rules we want to consider, when playing a scale, is to avoid playing a black key with the thumb. Using the thumb on a black key alters the weight and balance as the hand plays through adjacent keys. This does not support fluid scale passage playing.

 

A second rule we want to consider is using the same finger pattern in the minor key scales (natural, harmonic, and melodic) as we have used in that key’s relative major key. However, again we must keep in mind that a thumb does play on a black key, and this is the area where many novice players struggle with patterns.

 

The last, or third, finger pattern consideration comes into play when we have scales that contain many black keys. When the area of the keyboard where two black keys are positioned between C-D-E, the flow of the pattern favors fingers two and three for the black keys on both hands. And the area of the keyboard where three black keys are grouped together between notes F-G-A-B, favors fingers two, three, and four on the black keys. 

 

Scales that use standard fingering in both hands are:

 

            C major and its relative a minor forms 

            G major and its relative e minor forms

            D major

            A major

            E major

            c minor forms

            g minor forms

            d minor forms

 

b minor, D major’s relative minor key, uses standard fingering in the right hand, but must shift the left-hand fingering to the pattern 4-3-2-1-4-3-2-1 in all forms (harmonic, melodic, and natural.)

 

f# minor, A major’s relative minor key, offers a confusing finger pattern. Logically the left hand would follow the same finger pattern as the A major scale. This would allow us to use the same pattern for all three forms of the minor scale in the left hand 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3. Instead, the third rule is used: L.H. 4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4 all f# minor forms.

 

In the right hand of the f# minor scales, the fingering that would follow the A major pattern looks logical for the natural and harmonic forms and that fingering is used in those forms. However, in the f# melodic pattern ascending in the right hand, we would end up with a thumb on D#. To remedy this the fingering is altered from traditional patterns and the fourth finger is substituted to play the D# on the ascension of the scale with the thumb playing the E#. Then the third finger plays the top F# and the original pattern used in the natural and harmonic forms (which aligns with A major) returns on the descending scale pattern.

R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3 harmonic and natural R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-4-1-3 melodic ascending 

 

c# minor, E major’s relative key, follows the same trail as F# minor. 

L.H. 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3 for all C# minor forms (this follows the E major finger pattern)

R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3 harmonic and natural R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-4-1-3 melodic ascending

 

B major uses standard fingering for the right hand. The left-hand pattern for B major must shift to 4-3-2-1-4-3-2-1 to avoid a thumb on a black key. (You may notice that B major and b minor keys use the same finger patterns in both hands. These keys are not relative to one another, they are parallel to one another.)

 

The g# minor right-hand pattern follows B major fingering for all forms starting on G#, 3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3. The left-hand pattern for the harmonic form and the ascending melodic form is 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3 which differs from B major’s pattern. The natural pattern aligns with the B major finger pattern. Melodic ascending, natural descending:   L.H. 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3  

 

Gb major follows the third rule for both hands (the key of F# is enharmonic to Gb)

R.H. 2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2    L.H. 4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4

 

eb minor, Gb major’s relative key, follows Gb major’s pattern in the right and the left hands:

R.H. 3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3   L.H. 2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2  

 

Db major also follows the third rule in its scale finger pattern.

R.H. 2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2    L.H. 4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4

 

bb minor, Db major’s relative key, follow Db major’s finger pattern in all its minor forms starting on the Bb note:

R.H. 4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4    L.H.  2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2

 

Ab Major follows the third rule in the fingering pattern of the right hand. However, in the left hand the fingering pattern is shifted which offers more flow to the left-hand pattern. 

R.H.  3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3    L.H. 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3

 

f minor, Ab major’s relative key, uses the right-hand Ab scale pattern for all three minor forms: R.H. 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4. The left hand of f minor uses the standard finger pattern for all three forms.

 

Eb major uses an unfamiliar pattern in the right 3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3 and the left 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3. The bright spot with this scale pattern is when played in contrary motion (hands together) the finger patterns are symmetrical.

 

Bb major is another unfamiliar finger pattern in both hands. The right-hand finger pattern is 4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4. The left-hand finger pattern 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3. For some students it helps to remember that when the hands play in parallel motion, the R.H. finger 3 is on the note Bb, your left-hand finger 4 will be on Bb as well. Likewise, when your L.H. finger 4 is on Eb your R.H. finger 3 will be on Eb. Focusing on the finger 3-4 combinations can help you remember the finger patterns for this scale.

 

F major uses the standard finger pattern in the left hand. In the right hand the pattern shifts to 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 to avoid using a thumb on the scale tone Bb. (Although unrelated, some like to compare F major’s finger patterns to the B major patterns because they are opposites. In B major the right hand has standard fingering, and the left hand uses the 4-3-2-1-4-3-2-1.) 

 

All Rights Reserved by Dolly Paul and Low Country Studios, Ltd. Co. (c) June 2022

 

 

 

 

Incorporating Theory at All Levels Provides for Lifelong Playing

As a child I remember a classroom music teacher telling us that the musician's work was studying, practicing, performing, and sharing music. I heard that statement again in my undergraduate and graduate music education. The first part of that statement, studying, is the reason I have always made written music theory assignments a part of my students' lessons. Reading about music, thinking about what you just read, and understanding that element of music enough to be able to write it down, takes the application of music (playing on the instrument) to a higher level. 

I love the "aha moments" when students make the connection between what they have learned in a theory assignment to what they are playing on their instrument. It always leads to them being a better and more confident player.

I was surprised when I met private music instructors who did not include music theory, technic, and/or scales in their students' music lessons. And they were just as surprised that I chose to include these elements. 

The oddest parent to teacher experience I have ever had was with a child who came to me from a teacher who had moved on to another field. The parent was very upset that I gave homework to her daughter. She did not understand why the daughter had to do written work and practice on an instrument between lessons. The woman was well educated - but could not comprehend the need to do anything outside of the private music lesson time. She withdrew from my studio and found another teacher that would serve her request. The daughter was not challenged in any way, mentally or emotionally, and was a teenager who had been with the previous private music teacher for a number of years. Sadly, I found that students who had worked with this teacher played everything through rote learning: they could not read music at any level. Many had no knowledge of the key names on the instrument. It really blew my mind that parents had accepted this.

The revelation for me was the fact that there are teachers who charge more than the average fee for private lessons, yet don't provide a full music education...and people accept that. I discovered later on that this approach has actually become a standard method of teaching commercially. Because this method never gives the student reading skills, in order to play even the simplest music score on their instrument would require complete dependence on that teacher showing them how to play by rote. Then, unless the student had an above average memory, they would never be able to play this song again after moving on to a new piece. I see this as a cruel marketing angle - it is not giving a person a music education - and I was shocked to learn it is very common.

When we are young we learn how to spell words, the function of words in a sentence, and how to begin a sentence with a capitalized word and end a sentence with a period, etc. If we did not learn how to read and write, would our conversations be as rich? If we did not know how to put thoughts down on paper, what would life be like? Music is a language, and learning how to use that language from a written function in addition to a kinetic and applied function makes it a full rich skill and language that any private student should be able to access beyond their years of education and training.

An education in music theory needs to start at the first lesson. It can be approached simply and in small bites for the young or challenged learner. And it will allow the student to play independently years after ending their lessons, which is the hope for every student that comes to this studio.

Blackwater Ukulele Festival #7

I had a great time teaching a beginner class for ukulele at the Blackwater Ukulele Festival this past Saturday in Cypress Gardens. Jim Ravoira did a fantastic job, as always, getting the volunteers together and providing a welcoming festival for performers, vendors, ukulele enthusiasts, and players. This was the seventh festival and benefitted the Berkley Animal Shelter and the Magdalene House of Charleston. Festival performers included the Charleston Hot Shots, Lil' Uke Band, and Nathan Gabriel Miller. An open mic segment provided an opportunity for amateur ukulele players to get their feet wet in performing on a live stage. Participants came down from Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Georgetown, and up from Georgia. Vendors included a music instrument shop, live plant shop on wheels, stickers, jewelry, art, food, and more. 

A fun event I hope to see continue. For those in the Charleston area who are interested in learning more about the ukulele and ukulele gatherings, follow Low Country Studios on Facebook, and the Charleston Ukulele Society on Facebook.