1. Recreational Music Making in EVERY Lesson
National Conference on Piano Pedagogy
Oak Brook • 2007

2. Susan Flinn Owner & Instructor
The Music Studio
Stafford, Virginia

3. Owner • Program Director • TEACHER! • Curriculum Development
Serena Mackey
Owner • Program Director • TEACHER! • Curriculum Development
Education Consultant,

4. Recreational Music Making... as an Attitude of Instruction
For many of us, the majority of our students are not seeking competitive performance opportunities or looking forward to a professional music career. Most students are seeking music purely for enjoyment, as a hobby, or as an opportunity to socialize. They seek a fun, relaxed approach as well as a creative, engaging teacher who can offer a variety of repertoire and musical medial to keep them stimulated.

5. Recreational Music Making Defined
Formal Music Instruction RMM
Proficiency, Mastery, Discipline
Individual Lessons
Performance
Exclusive
Teacher
Wellness, Enjoyment, Communication, Support, Creative, Non-musical Outcomes
Group Lessons
Performance Alternatives
Inclusive
Coach

6. Recreational Music Making
Recreational Music Making ...as a cultural response to the Millennial Generation
Child based choices
Satisfaction component
Alternatives to performance

8. Traditional v. Recreational
Theory Workbook Homework Assignment
Use Alfred’s EMT or Music Ace during lesson/lab
Chord/Cadence exercises for I, IV, V, and inversions,
Identifying Major/minor chords
Play chords along with Piano/Vocal/Guitar Pop Songs (ex: sneak preview of Alison Kraus piece available on SheetMusicPlus.com)
Ear Training Requirement for National Guild
singing with Auralia interval drills
Constructing Scales, Composition, understanding time signature/rhythm
Music Ace Doodle Pad (teacher sets parameters)Rhythm Dictation (Auralia/Musition)
Sight reading
Home Concert from Timewarp Technologies
Although students can always use these software programs in a traditional sense, a slightly different spin on each can effectively relate what they need to learn in a practical, recreational way.

11. Recreational Music Making ...and implementation of technology
Make authentic music
Digital Instruments
Use of CDs
ensemble playing
Computers
composition
iPod Access
YouTube
MIDI Playback
Recreational music students need to progress as well as have fun
we are doing our students a disservice by allowing them to pass on theory, ear training and sight reading skills (these are the elements that will allow them to eventually be independent musicians)
Technology to help introduce recreational students to new musical experiences they would not otherwise have – let them go beyond method books pieces, theory workbooks and recitals to experience what your advanced students might experience:
ensemble playing (using digital instruments, midi playback along with music written for multiple pianos or orchestra)
composition (using Music Ace doodle pad, finale, or even by hand after working with Musition/Auralia programs)
accompanying (playing along with CDs, or creating chord progressions for Ipod tunes)
experimenting with other instruments (using digital piano set to different instruments, score reading)
Such opportunities are typically reserved for the advanced students in their final years of study after they have developed their skills, yet exposing beginning and intermediate students to more advanced recreational music opportunities (assisted by technology) is going to have tremendous influence on their current studies and development as recreational musicians (use example from personal observation of swim team)
Use video examples of students making RM:
Student composed CD with multiple tracks, incorporating scales, chords, repetitive patterns
Recital clip of student playing with midi accompaniment (created by the student)
Demonstration of use of Music Ace Doodle Pad during lessons (individual and group composition)

12. Use of MIDI Playback

13. Recreational Music Making ...and use of group
No one recreates alone
Stereotype: solitude to social
Group as motivator
Video clip of adult quartet at recital (as an example of a recreational group)
Partner Lessons

14. Recreational Music Making …and benefits to students
Pride in taking music lessons
Music appreciation
Realistic Goals for a Musical Future
Adult Lessons
Musical choices for the next generation

15. Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation by Neil Howe and William Strauss
Only 3 in 10 hang out with 1 or 2 close friends
66% prefer larger groups of friends
8th and 10th graders would rather be active with friends than creative alone

16. Recreational Music Making ...as a marketing tool
Match need to Market
The Cool Factor
The Sandwich Board Student
Replace the Recital
Peer Support and Low turnover
We are less in competition with our fellow music teachers and retail stores than with the many activities of the over-scheduled child….sports, dance, martial arts, school activities. To get ourselves included on their lists, we need to consider the social aspect.

17. Music is an artistry of time.
Being able to give a superb performance in real time requires extreme discipline and practice....only a handful of musicians are able to attain both the technique and the musical sensitivity needed at this level.
--Ikutaro Kakehashi, I Believe In Music