News

News and Announcements of Bluebonnet Music Teachers Association, Williamson County Texas, USA

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Minutes of October meeting



Minutes of Meeting.

The monthly meeting of Bluebonnet MTA was held on October 11, 2011 at Austin
School of Music in Cedar Park.


EVENTS

Theory Test
Fall Theory tests will be held 8:30-10:30 am and will be repeated again at
4:00-6:00. Students can choose the most convenient time for them.
The Fall Theory chairman announced that she has received registrations from
two teachers, Lillian and Karen.
There will be no Fall theory makeup test.

Festivals
Lauren will schedule the judges.
Lauren will schedule two judges in each room for the Fall festival.
Tentatively, the Masters Composers festival will be held from 1:00 am to
4:00
pm.
There will be no Fall Festival make-up auditions.
Tentatively, the Spring Festival will be held at Steinway Piano Gallery.


ASSOCIATION MATTERS

Fall events
The Fall reservation at Concordia is from 8:00 to 8:00. Four rooms have been
reserved.

Membership
All members should personally ask other teachers to join Bluebonnet MTA. And
they may follow up by asking Lauren to send them an email invitation.
Two members have dropped out, Lisa Maher and Patti Irwin. Please cross them
out from your yearbook.
It was decided that musicianship requirements be added to the yearbook. We
will use the guidelines set up by ADMTA.
Price of yearbook was set at $10 for nonmembers. The yearbook may also be
downloaded for $10.

Refreshments
Strait Music will donate refreshments next meeting. Martha will bring juice.
Refreshments are considered a donation expense, and can be deducted in tax
returns.

Announcements
Lauren will announce Clavier magazine group membership next month.
The speaker Courtney Crappell announced that there is a collegiate chapter
of
NCKP at UT SA.


Lillian Simmons
Secretary
Bluebonnet MTA
http://bluebonnetmta.org/

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Hiring Educational Sales Representative



From: Strait Music <clint@straitmusic.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 6, 2011 2:26 PM
Subject: Hiring: Educational Sales Representative
 
Strait Music is looking to hire an Educational Sales Representative for band and orchestral outside sales.  Applicants should be educated at the college level in band or orchestra, sales and/or retail experience preferred, must have a clean driving record, and must be able to easily lift/handle 40-50 lbs.  Please send cover letter and resume if you're interested to
Strait Music <clint@straitmusic.com> 
Thanks!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

October Program: Accessible Audio Recording Techniques

You won't want to miss our next Bluebonnet MTA meeting on Tuesday, October 11, when the University of Texas-San Antonio's Dr. Courtney Crappell joins us to share about accessible audio recording.  His presentation incorporates lessons learned from research on the use of practice recordings with modern recording and audio editing techniques to offer a comprehensive guide to creating effective practice recordings.  We'll start promptly at 9:30AM at the Austin School of Music North, 13945 N. Hwy 183.


Read more about Courtney's presentation--
As audio recording and playback technology grew popular in the mid-twentieth century, researchers in music education began exploring the effectiveness of its use in music study. One of the pedagogical applications of this technology was to create recordings to which students listened and played along. Decades of research showed that practicing with recordings increased performance accuracy more than “traditional” practice and that they improved students’ listening abilities. Reflecting their popularity today, modern teaching materials frequently include recordings that function as practice and performance models outside of formal lessons. The common format includes a performance tempo and practice tempo of the entire notated work. However, playing along with the entire piece at a fast or slow tempo can be an inefficient practice strategy when learning new and challenging material. Our beginning students need more varied and intermediate steps. Fortunately, we now have access to inexpensive recording hardware and editing software and can edit recordings we own and create in countless ways. We can easily change the tempo, splice in repetitions, and even add verbal cues.  Incorporating lessons learned from research on the use of practice recordings between 1950-2010, this presentation examines how we can produce recordings that will help our students learn music faster and make them better listeners. Attendees will leave with a brief introduction to audio hardware and software along with a comprehensive technical and pedagogical guide to creating effective practice recordings for their students.


Dr. Courtney Crappell serves as Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy at UT San
Antonio where he coordinates the class piano program and teaches piano and piano
pedagogy.