Baylor University

MUS 4317 PIANO PEDAGOGY III COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING POLICY

Fall 2006 Dr. Lesley Sisterhen, Instructor

[email protected] RG111 Ext. 6516 Office hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11 a.m.­12 noon

I. Course Objectives 1. Examine and evaluate intermediate­ and early advanced­level literature available to the piano teacher. 2. Develop skill in leveling and selecting appropriate intermediate­level and early advanced­level literature. 3. Develop teaching strategies to use with the intermediate student. 4. Become familiar with books and resources for the independent piano teacher. 5. Develop an understanding of technical approaches and music wellness issues that pertain to the intermediate and advanced student. 6. Conduct research in the field of piano pedagogy.

II. Required Materials 1. Method book that will be used for teaching your PLP student: a. Music Tree: Time to Begin, Frances Clark, Louise Goss, and Sam Holland: Summy­Birchard b. Additional sheet music as necessary 2. 3­ring binder for Pedagogy Notebook (you may add on to the pedagogy notebook from Pedagogy I and/or II) 3. Videocassette tape: VHS format, 120 minutes 4. The Well­Tempered Keyboard Teacher, 2 nd edition. Marienne Uszler, Stewart Gordon, and Scott McBride Smith. Schirmer Books, 2000. 5. Magrath, Jane, ed. The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature. Alfred Publications, 2000. Recommended: Kropff, Kris, ed. A Symposium for Pianists and Teachers: Strategies to Develop the Mind and Body for Optimal Performance. Heritage, 2002.

III. Required Professional Activities 1. Student membership in MTNA/TMTA and the Baylor MTNA collegiate chapter 2. Subscription to Keyboard Companion

IV. Professional Teaching Experience Student teaching: Piano Lab Program—1 st year class Monday 4:00­5:00 p.m. Private teaching reports are due after class on Monday. When teaching, assisting, or observing lessons, dress in a professional manner (no jeans, cut­offs, midriffs, etc.) PLP pupils should address you as Mr., Mrs., or Ms., and you should address other pedagogy students in this manner when around PLP pupils.

V. Class Assignments and Projects

I. Group project: Technique Presentation (Due Tuesday, October 3) With the other 2 or 3 members of your group, choose a technique secret from the first four pages of the Faber Piano Adventures “Technique and Artistry” Book 3B. Then choose an intermediate­level piece in which this technique secret will be used. With the group, create a warm­up exercise that may be taught by rote before learning the intermediate piece. When presenting to the class, choose one person to do each of the following: 1. Give a demonstration of the technique and the warm­up exercise created by the class; 2. Play the piece; and 3. Describe how the technique secret would be introduced or taught in the lesson. The class presentation should last approximately ten minutes.

II. Book Report (Due Thursday, October 12) Choose a book for pianists and piano teachers on a topic which is of particular interest to you. It may be related, for example, to technique, general musicianship, piano literature, music wellness, learning or personality theories, or a music education topic. You may want to choose a book that will relate to the topic of your research paper. Write a 2­3 page paper (approximately 500­700 words) in which you describe the main ideas covered in the book. Summarize the author’s main points and describe the contents of the book. Include a personal critique of the book. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s writing style? Was there evidence to back up the author’s ideas? If you pick a book that is not specifically tailored to the field of piano pedagogy, describe how the ideas might be related to piano teaching.

III. Presentation on Composer of Intermediate and Early Advanced Literature (Due October 19, 24, 26, or 31) Give a 10­ to 15­minute presentation to the class on your assigned composer of intermediate and early advanced literature. Include the following information: 1. Brief biographical information including dates, nationality, and interesting facts 2. List of representative literature that can be used for the intermediate/early advanced student (genres, collections, or individual pieces, including opus numbers and keys) 3. Play one piece by the composer and name the approximate level, what it teaches, previewing strategies to use when introducing it to a student, and practice strategies. Make a one­page handout for the class in which you include the above information and an incipit of the piece. IV. Research Paper (Due Thursday, November 30) Complete a research paper on a topic that is related to piano pedagogy. Choose a topic that is of special interest to you. The final paper should be typewritten and should be approximately 1200­1500 words, or 5­6 pages, double spaced. Include a bibliography with at least five resources listed (not including Internet websites). For proper formatting of the paper, consult Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers. Due dates: Preliminary topic: Thursday, September 7. Preliminary outline and bibliography: Thursday, September 18. (Include at least three sources in the bibliography). Optional rough draft: Thursday, November 16. Note: It would be to your advantage to turn in a rough draft of your paper. The rough draft will not be given a grade. Final copy of research paper: Thursday, November 30.

If you are interested in substituting another type of project for the research paper (such as writing a teaching composition, compiling an annotated bibliography, or completing a set of interviews), please discuss your ideas with the instructor before Thursday, September 7. Substitutions are possible but are only admissible with the instructor’s permission.

VI. Observation of Teaching Experience I. Teacher Observation Pedagogy students are required to observe 4 hours of teaching during the semester. These must include at least one class piano class and one independent teacher in the community. You may also choose to observe the Kindermusik class at Baylor or an applied lesson by a university instructor other than a graduate assistant. Please schedule the observation ahead of time. Before observing Kindermusik, please e­mail Pam Woods at [email protected]. Please use the appropriate observations forms. All four observations will be due on Tuesday, November 21. It will be to your advantage to get these observations finished early in the semester!!

II. Student Teacher Evaluations Private lessons will be videotaped at least once over the course of the semester. All group teaching segments will be videotaped. Students are required to view videotapes of private teaching and write a Videotape Self­Evaluation in essay form, which will be due on Thursday of the following week. Use the form titled “Self­Evaluation Questions for Videotape Review.” The self­evaluation will be given a letter grade. The instructor will also evaluate the teaching and give a letter grade. Individual video conferences will be scheduled with the instructor. Portions of videotapes will occasionally be watched in class on Thursday.

VII. Notebook Continue compiling a pedagogy notebook by adding to your notebook assignments, notes, and activities covered this semester. While this notebook must include specific items (see list below), you may also wish to include related material that might be useful in your teaching. You may organize the notebook in any format, but the contents should be easy to locate. Use a 3­ring binder with dividers that show the different sections of the notebook. Notebooks will be graded on completeness of content (including all class notes, reading notes, and projects), organization, and neatness. Due at the time of the final exam.

Items to include in the notebook: I. Class notes II. Professional teaching experience (Include all lesson plans, PLP observation forms, the PLP curriculum, and assignments for PLP classes.) III. Observation of Teaching Experience (Include all observation of teaching reports, teaching evaluations received from the instructor, and self­evaluations of videotapes) IV. Projects a. Group project: Technique Presentation b. Book report c. Composer presentation d. Research project V. Handouts from class presentations on composers of intermediate and early advanced literature VI. Additional materials (Include class and workshop handouts.)

VIII. Grading and Attendance Policy Letter grades will be given to each assignment and project. Grades will be lowered for each assignment turned in late. The final grade is based on a compilation of grades from all assignments based on the following grade scale: A 92­100 B+ 88­91 B 82­87 C+ 78­81 C 72­77 D 62­71 F 61 and below Professional Teaching Experience 15% (5% each) A grade will be given for each of the following: ­Teaching segments in PLP ­Videotape observations and self­evaluations of videotaped teaching ­Teaching and improvement throughout the semester Class Assignments ­Group project 10% ­Book report 10% ­Composer presentation 10% ­Research paper 20% Notebook 10% Observation Reports 10% Final Exam 15% Attendance is expected at all classes and Piano Lab Program teaching assignments. Documentation is required for an excused absence. University policy requires attendance of at least 75% of all class meetings to pass a course. More than three unexcused absences for the combined MUS 3313 and PLP classes will result in the drop of one letter grade; 4 in a drop of two letter grades; 5 absences will result in automatic failure. Due to the nature of the course and PLP classes, if you are unable to attend class, please notify the instructor prior to the absence. Students are responsible for assignments missed when not in class.

Course Calendar Unit One: Pedagogy Research, Music Wellness, and Technique Week One: August 22 and 24 Syllabus Introduction to PLP First­Year Class and Student Assignments Tuesday Assignment: Choose your favorite teaching tip from the MTNA website at http://www.mtna.org/ttarchive.htm (under “Quick Links” at the mtna.org site) to share with the class.

Thursday assignment: Look over the bibliography of books related to piano teaching. Next Tuesday (the 29 th) , come in with a list of at least three ideas for both your book report. You may want to choose a book that will be related to your research project (it does not necessarily have to be included on the bibliography).

Week Two: August 29 and 31 Pedagogy Research Tuesday assignment: Come up with a list of five piano pedagogy topics by searching the piano pedagogy resources on the BearCat website.

Thursday assignment: Find and sort through the 2005 music wellness bibliography located on MTNA’s website at www.mtna.org, under the “Resources and Services” drop­ down menu. In writing, answer the following questions: 1. What is meant by the term “music wellness”? 2. What kinds of topics are found under that umbrella term? 3. Name a book that seems especially interesting to you and describe why. 4. Lastly, find and describe a website that is listed on the bibliography.

Week Three: September 5 and 7 Music Wellness: Injury Prevention Tuesday reading assignment: Read about the three types of injuries (tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and dystonia) from Thomas mark’s website at http://www.pianomap.com. Thursday reading assignment: “Overuse, Pain, Rest, and the Pianist,” p. 156 of A Symposium for Pianists and Teachers (on reserve in the Crouch Fine Arts Library). MT220.S9 2002

Preliminary research paper topic is due on Thursday, September 7.

Week Four: September 12 and 14 September 11: PLP I Begins Music Wellness: Alexander Technique and Performance Anxiety Tuesday reading assignment: Read the article “Pianist’s Injuries: Movement Retraining is the Key to Recovery” located on Thomas Mark’s website at http://www.pianomap.com/injuries/html.

Thursday reading assignment: Look at the Alexander Technique website ( http://www.alexandertechnique.com). Under the link “What is the AT—and who can benefit from it?”, go to “click here to read a more in­depth introduction” and read the article.

Week Five: September 19 and 21 Tuesday: Guest speakers: Mr. Dirk Rombaut and Ms. Mieke Van Haute: “Teaching Techniques for Intermediate Students” Tuesday assignment: “The Role of the Teacher if an Injury Should Occur,” p. 184 of A Symposium for Pianists and Teachers (on reserve). MT220.S9 2002 Thursday: Technique

Week Six: September 26 and 28 Technique Tuesday: Work on group technique project. Thursday: Teaching Software Preliminary outline and bibliography for research paper is due Thursday.

Week Seven: October 3 and 5 Tuesday: Group technique projects due (presentations).

Unit Two: Intermediate and Early Advanced Students Thursday: Introduction to Intermediate Students and Intermediate Leveling Thursday reading assignment: Read the introduction to Magrath’s “Pianist’s Guide,” pages vii­xi. Play the Level 5 and 6 examples: the Bach Prelude in C major and the Chopin Prelude in E minor Op. 24, No. 4.

Week Eight: October 10 and 12 Thursday: Book report due (presentations)

Week Nine: October 17 and 19 Tuesday reading assignment: Chapter 8, “Teaching the Advanced Student,” p. 145­150 of WTKT Thursday: Baroque Literature presentations: Bach, Scarlatti, Handel

Week Ten: October 24 and 26 Tuesday: Classical Literature presentations: Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven Thursday: Romantic Literature presentations: Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn

Thursday reading assignment: Chapter 9, “Repertoire,” p. 151­154 of WTKT

Week Eleven: October 31 and November 2 Tuesday: Twentieth­Century Literature presentations: Kabalevsky, Prokofiev

Week Twelve: November 7 and 9 Adjudication Critiques and Master Classes

Week Thirteen: November 14 and 16 Other topics: Memorization, Pedaling, Ornamentation Optional rough draft of research paper due.

Week Fourteen: November 21 Tuesday, November 21: Observations due Thursday, November 23: Thanksgiving Break

Week Fifteen: November 28 and 30 Thursday: Final copy of research paper due. Research project presentations and review for final exam

Monday, December 4: Final PLP Recital

Final exam time: Thursday, December 7 4:30­6:30 p.m. Notebooks are due at the time of the final exam.