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July 2019 Newsletter | The Lake Shore Music Studio

Newsletter for Parents, Students, and Friends of The Lake Shore Music Studio, Piano Lessons for All Ages, Chicago.

View from outside the entrance to The Lake Shore Music Studio.

Summer is in full bloom at LSMS!
It is such a joy to look out on the beautiful plaza and step out between piano lessons for a bit of summer air or a casual chat with a Sandburg Village neighbor or an occasional surprise visit from an old friend.

Thanks Becky K. and other friends of LSMS for donations of music. Your contributions included some of our favorite collections including those Star Wars themes that keep surfacing!

SUMMER B TERM CONTINUES THIS WEEK

Summer C Term begins July 22.

Remember, we have piano lessons available through August 17, 2019. Set up your own personal schedule around your vacation needs. This is a good time to pass the word to interested friends to schedule a visit to the studio to get included into the fall schedule.

TEACHER TRAINING

One of my favorite things about summer is teaching other piano teachers about the Robert Pace Piano Method.

I am offering Music for Moppets/Kinder-Keyboard training July 16-18, 2019 and Level Two Pace Piano July 20-22. Please pass the word to any piano teachers who might like to know about these.

Using the ducks to illustrate steps and skips in music notation and drawing melody patterns on the Moppets Book Back.

LAST CALL FOR MUSICALS CAMP

Please let me know if you are interested in our Exploring Musicals Camp (August 12-16, 2019). We will close registration soon.

GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL

There is a wonderful line-up of classical offerings by the Chicago Grant Park Symphony Wed. and Fri. 6:30 and Sat. 7:30 through August 17 at the Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park.

You can choose to sit in the seats for an up-close music experience or pack a picnic and blanket and enjoy lawn seating.

The expectation is that people will refrain from talking during the concert but if you are bothered by a little friendly chatter in the picnic section go for the seats up front.

Learn more at www.grantparkmusicfestival.com/the-music/2019-season

WIZARD OF OZ MANY WAYS

Do you love the Wizard of Oz as I do? Here are some great ways to experience it this summer.

Shakespeare Theatre’s “Wizard of Oz” children’s production runs through August 25, 2019.

Attending the play will be included as a field trip as part of our Musicals Camp. If you don’t attend camp make plans to see it anyway.

This Wed. July 10, at 8:00 pm in Pritzker Pavillion, see the original movie with the Grant Park Symphony performing the score live.

Notice: They check bags upon entry, so try to go a little early to make sure you get through the security and settle in.

I always enjoy when my route takes me by our city’s own tribute to the Wizard of Oz – the endearing statues of the Tin Man, Lion, Scarecrow, and Dorothy, in Oz Park at Lincoln and Webster.

Did you know author L. Frank Baum lived in Chicago when he wrote the “Wizard of Oz” books?

Here is a video of a few of our adult piano students performing the Carol Matz arrangement of “If I Only Had a Brain” at our recent recital party.

Enjoy LSMS Director, Julie Lovison playing “Over the Rainbow” on one of the Pianos in the Park at Make Music Chicago Day in Washington Square Park.

Music Man is playing through August 11 at Goodman Theatre.

I hope you can make time to see this wonderful classic musical, that is one of my favorites, full of cute kids, beautiful singing, fun dialog, funny scenes, and great dancing.

BEACH FUN and Brush Up on your Note Names

Draw a staff in the wet sand, put stones or shells on individual notes. Then play a game like “Who can name the note the fastest?”

Draw the EGBDF lines and FACE spaces (or GBDFA and ACEG for Bass Clef). Practice making steps and skips on the staff with stones or shells.

Take a picture and send it to me.

Enjoy your summer.
Best Wishes,
Julie

Julie Lovison, Director, The Lake Shore Music Studio, 1460 N. Sandburg Terrace, Chicago, IL 60610 Phone: 312-335-8426

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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

Group Piano Teacher Training – Level 1- Chicago 2018

Robert Pace Curriculum Piano Teacher Training

Fri.-Mon. Aug. 3-5, 2018

9:30 a.m. -3:30 p.m.

Group Piano Level 1

This course focuses on the concepts presented in the Robert Pace Level I books. Learn how to integrate theory right from the beginning, as well as how to develop all music skills simultaneously (ear training, sight reading, technique, improvisation, transposition, and theory) through the repertoire studies. Learn how to create a buoyant, creative atmosphere in each lesson. Learn how to facilitate good peer teaching and cooperative learning. Discover what it means to teach music concepts and how doing so will create an upward pattern of spiral learning, and develop independent learners who will become lifelong music participants. Level I curriculum concepts include: steps and skips, up, down, same, patterns, repetitions, sequences, parallel and contrasting question and answer phrases, 5 finger patterns, I and V7 chords, waltz style, alberti bass, broken chords, march, dorian, pentatonic, roving triads, passing tones, upper and lower neighbors, tetrachord scales, major and minor key signatures, parallel and contrary motion, down up phrasing, staccato vs. legato, and many more.

We will address good business guidelines including how to market and expand your student clientele, establish studio policies, and the importance of maintaining personal professional growth.

Presenter: Julie Lovison

The Lake Shore Music Studio

1460 N. Sandburg Terrace

Chicago, IL 60610

312-335-8426

LSMSPiano@aol.com

Tuition: $295

Plus cost of materials:

Robert Pace Music For Piano, Creative Music, Theory Papers and Finger Builders

Teachers completing the course receive IPTF certificate and listing on LeeRobertsMusic website.

Registration Form

Ear Tunes

by Julie Lovison

Why is a big ear hanging on our wall in the studio? This reproduction of Michaelangelo’s David’s Ear sculpture is a fun way to bring focus to a favorite activity at LSMS – finding “ear tunes.” Ear Tunes is a term coined by us to represent a song that one has found strictly by ear – in other words trying various notes until your ear finds the right keys for a tune. Often students will bring in an ear tune of a song from the radio, a song from music class at school, or choir or church, or the ever popular Ode to Joy or Happy Birthday. We write them down on our Ear Tunes of the Week chart to give other students ideas for songs to try to find.

We actively encourage students to use their ears to find songs – Music is experienced and enjoyed with the ears. Therefore, the better your ears can discriminate the sounds the more rich your experience of music will be and the easier time you will have playing piano.

In the words of our mentor, Dr. Robert Pace, we want to develop “The ear that sees and the eye that hears.” That means, when you hear music, you form a mental image of the notes going up or down, and when you see printed music, you can hear the music playing in your head..

Some people naturally begin with an ability to play by ear well. Others may have a good relative sense of some notes’ relation to others. We find our students can improve this skill to a large extent through practice.

How do we develop this? We begin on a simple concept. Beginning with a 3 note range (we use 3 triplet black keys) –we develop the ability to hear whether the notes go up, down or repeat. Once this is secure, we add discriminating between a step (an adjacent key) or a skip (skipping over one key, making a larger interval between the first and second.) Once success within a 3 note range is achieved, this can be expanded to 5 finger positions (a range of five notes, and then to an 8 note scale.)

Some songs are easier because the intervals are smaller, and they stay within the 8 notes of the scale.

Others meander more and are more difficult.

Here are some “ear tunes” to try, to begin developing your ear.

3 note range (use three triplet notes or CDE)

Mary Had a little lamb on CDE *Hint – it starts by going down , not up (so play EDC or High Middle Low first)

Hot Cross Buns (also begins going down)

5 note range (CDEFG)

Ode to Joy (begin on E)

Alouette

6 note range

Twinkle Twinkle

Frere Jacques

Pentatonic (black keys only)

Amazing grace

Old MacDonald

Those Were the Days (from All in the Family, by Charles Strouse)

The Farmer in the Dell

Other popular starter ear tunes

Lean on Me

Happy Birthday

If you insist on beginning with Take Me out to the Ballgame or Star Spangled Banner

remember, you were warned, some songs are more complicated.

Intro to Pace Piano Method for Teachers