Author Archives: Reno

Two Robert Pace Curriculum Piano Teacher Trainings | Summer 2019

Session 1  – Music for Moppets & Kinder-Keyboard
Tues-Thurs. July 16-18, 2019  9:30 a.m. -3:30 p.m.

Session 2 – Group Piano Level 2   
Sat. – Mon. July 20-22, 2019  9:30 a.m. -3:30 p.m.

Presenter: Julie Lovison

The Lake Shore Music Studio  1460 N. Sandburg Terrace  Chicago, IL  60610

For information call: 312-335-8426 or email:  LSMSPiano@aol.com

Tuition: $295 (per session)

DETAILS:

Music for Moppets

This course creates a relaxed, comfortable environment for children 4 and 5 years old to discover music concepts using the piano, singing, rhythm instruments, play acting, movement, and art, all natural elements of a child’s learning world.

Interacting with classmates and a nurturing teacher make it especially fun.

Short songs and activities help students discover high, low, loud and soft, fast and slow, orientation to the twin and triplet black keys and the ABCs of the keyboard, beginning finger orientation and development.

Exploring the patterns of songs students learn that melodies may go up down or repeat, by steps, skips or leaps, to create repeating patterns.

Rhythm patterns may have short and long sounds that combine into patterns; songs can be harmonized with a steady beat;  songs can be improvised upon  in questions and answers in  major, minor, whole tone and pentatonic scales, in 4/4 as well as 6/8 time and the piano can be used to create songs to illustrate stories.

Ear training, sight reading, playing, improvisation and theory combine to create young students who think musically and are eager for further piano study.

Includes ideas for parental reinforcement at home.

Kinder-Keyboard

Introduces the 5 -1/2, 6 and 7 year old to music through the piano.

Orientation to the twin and triplet black key groupings and the ABC’s, reading and recognizing melodic patterns (repetition, sequence and inversion) , reading intervals of 2nds, 3rds, 4ths and 5ths, recognizing rhythm patterns, 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8 time, upbeats and dotted quarters, question and answer, major and minor, pentatonic, dorian, phrygian, tone clusters, key signatures, grand staff, 5-finger patterns, transposition, improvisation, ensemble, and sight reading.

How to use games, movement,  manipulative materials and rhythm instruments appropriate to the likes and needs of this age group and how to promote peer teaching and cooperative music making.

Upon completion of the Kinder-Keyboard Program, students have a solid basis to feed easily into the Level I Pace books, or to continue into any method with a broader understanding and a readiness for rapid progress.

This special 3-day session provides a unique opportunity to survey both Moppets and Kinder-Keyboard levels in one course.

Level II

Includes application of the IV chord (expanding on the thorough use of the I and V chords in all keys presented in Level I), fingering concepts expanded beyond the pentachord range, neighboring and passing tones, waltz, broken chord, alberti, march-style basses, linear harmony with parallel 6ths and 10ths, short short long phrase construction, parallel and contrasting question and answer phrases, bitonal, bichordal, dorian, phrygian, 12-tone, roving triads, blues, canons, pentatonic, major, minor, diminished chords, intervals (2nds through octaves), major and minor scale fingering, Hanon exercises, portato touch, pedaling, and how to achieve musical playing in all styles.

Teachers who have taken Level I training will be familiar with the conceptual learning process and will discover how the concepts learned in Level I are expanded upon in an increasingly upward spiral development of understanding. However teachers may take this course without prior Level I familiarity, and will see how it adds a fuller dimension and robustness to the understanding of any late elementary, early intermediate repertoire in terms of the complete integration of theory analysis, transposition, keyboard harmony, sight reading, improvisation, ensemble, and technique and interpretation skills.

Materials needed (additional cost):

Music for Moppets Children’s Book, Music for Moppets Teachers Manual

Kinder-Keyboard Children’s Book

Kinder-Keyboard Teachers Manual

Robert Pace Music for Piano 2, Creative Music 2, Theory Papers 2 and Finger Builders 2

Teachers completing the course receive a certificate of completion from the International Piano Teaching Foundation (IPTF) and listing on LeeRobertsMusic .com

BONUS: Using The Lake Shore Music Studio as an example we will address good business guidelines for independent piano teachers, including how to market and expand your student clientele, establish studio policies, and the importance of maintaining personal professional growth.

DOWNLOAD PDF INFORMATION FLYER
Julie shows Finger Builders book at MTNA 2019

MTNA 2019 Spokane

Reno and Julie at Lee Roberts Music Publications booth MTNA 2019
Julie Lovison and (husband) Reno represent the Robert Pace Piano Series at the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Conference in Spokane March 15-19, 2019.
Composer Jim Lyke stops by for a visit.
Julie Lovison poses with booth neighbor Luca Fazioli.

Location of LSMS in Relation to Great Chicago Fire

This map shows the current location of The Lake Shore Music Studio at Sandburg Village in relation to The Great Chicago Fire of October 8, 1871.

The pink area on this edited map indicates the area that was burned north of the river.

You can click on this link to see more of the map and read more about the Great Chicago Fire.

It’s fun to put yourself in history. Look around and imagine how much has changed.

The people escaping the flames on that early fall day could hardly imagine what the city would ultimately become.

Study the map and note that Clark Street north of North Avenue was called Green Bay Road. Where it intersects with Lincoln was called Little Fort Road.

Much of the “Gold Coast” area to the east including the Cardinal’s Residence was part of the Catholic Cemetery.

Did you know that Mary Todd Lincoln, widow of the slain President Abraham Lincoln was living in Chicago and escaped the fire with her son Robert by going to the lake?

Photo of destruction after the Chicago Fire

Madison and Wells Street after the Great Chicago Fire

Take a minute to listen to these two songs written shortly afterwards “Passing Through the Fire” and “Pity the Homeless.”

The song that might be the most popular is “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the old Town Tonight.”

This song was already well known but was adapted to commemorate the disaster.

Unfortunately its popularity was helpful in continuing the myth that the fire was caused by Mrs. O’Leary and her cow.  Mrs O’Leary was ultimately exonerated by the City Council in 1997.

Here are the lyrics from the popular Chicago version of the song.

“Late one night,
When we were all in bed,
Old Mother Leary
Left a lantern in the shed;
And when the cow kicked it over,
She winked her eye and said,
‘There’ll be a hot time
In the old town, tonight.’”

For you sports fans you might recognize this as one of the favorite songs used to rally on the soccer team.

Here’s a very funky honky tonk piano version on an out of tune piano.

Finally check out this cartoon from the 1940’s and see how the music is used to augment the action of the animation.

Listen closely to hear the “Carnival of Venice” theme.

It ends with a sing-along version of “The Hot Time..”  song.

Sing-A-Longs before and after the main movie feature were very popular in the movie theaters at the time.

 

 

Piano Tuner Plays Important Role in “Five Guys Named Moe.”

It takes more than actors, musicians and dancers to put on a great theatrical musical performance. There are also a number of technicians handling audio, lights and more.

I was delighted to see, that when crediting all of those who contributed to the production of “Five Guys Named Moe” at the Court Theatre in Hyde Park, the producers included the production’s piano tuner Kent Busse in the program.

I am sure the appreciation extends to the outstanding six piece jazz band that accompanied the “Moes.” J.P Floyd (trombone), Sam Hankins (trumpet), Jarrard Harris (reeds), Ben Johnson (drums), Chuck Webb (bass), led by Abdul Hamid Royal (music director/pianist).

When you sit down to play it’s nice to have the confidence of knowing that your instrument is in tune. In a combo of this size the musicians usually tune-up to the piano, so it all starts there.

It is a similar experience for the singers. They have a certain pitch in mind that they expect to hear as the first note is sung.  Singing in tune starts with an in-tune piano. In this production the Five Moes sing five part harmony. Typically each singer’s harmonic interval is derived from the first note. If that note is “off” everyone is off.

The harmonies of this doo-wop quintet comprised of Big Moe (Lorenzo Rush, Jr.), Little Moe (Darrin Ford), Eat Moe (James Earl Jones II), Four Eyed-Moe (Kelvin Rosten, Jr.) and No Moe (Eric A. Lewis) are spot on.

I think I’ll make Kent Busse the sixth Moe, “Hear Moe,” because what he hears will determine what the audience will hear.

3 pianos at Lakes Shore Music Studio

Kent has been the “official” piano tuner for The Lake Shore Music Studio for several years and recently tuned our piano at home. That is why I was particularly pleased to see him get some of the recognition he deserves and also give him a bit of recognition here as well.

According to Julie, Kent does a great job of keeping the LSMS pianos in shape as well as in tune. As you can imagine they get quite a workout from 50+ students per week aged 4 through 74+.

You can enjoy the fruits of Mr. Busse’s work by playing one of the many LSMS acoustic pianos or coming in to hear your kids play during their lesson.

Additionally you might check out “Five Guys Named Moe” which is a tribute to band leader and saxophonist Louis Jordan, one of the fathers of rock & roll, who popularized several blues/jazz standards like Caldonia and Choo Choo Ch’boogie.

Listen for the boogie piano accompaniment in the beginning of this video.

To read my entire review of “Five Guys Named Moe”.

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Guest Blogger : Reno Lovison is Julie’s husband and reviewer for Chicago Theater and Arts.