Jake Shimabukuro is an amazing performer to listen to. https://jakeshimabukuro.com/

Israel (Iz) Kamakawiwoʻole has been honoured with this Google Doodle video. His version of Over the Rainbow is so uplifting, it’s no surprise that some people call Israel the “Voice of Hawai’i” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMSezPwq2js

I also recommend watching some of Cynthia Lin’s ukulele tutorial videos, as well as her friend Ukulenny (Lendl San Jose). Both Ukulenny and Cynthia Lin are passionate promoters of the ukulele!

Also, I can’t forget to mention Aldrine Guerrero and his Ukulele Underground online community.

Here is some information from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Music Therapy program about a fabulous arts camp.  It’s called Arts Express, and runs every summer in Waterloo.

“Since 1993, Wilfrid Laurier University’s Music Therapy program has partnered with KidsAbility, Conestoga College’s Early Childhood Education program, the University of Waterloo and Carousel Dance Centre to provide an inclusive arts camp for children with special needs and their siblings and friends.

The camp is held at KidsAbility’s Waterloo site with a final recital performance taking place in Laurier’s Maureen Forrester Recital Hall.”

https://wlu.ca/information-for/community-members/camps-and-youth-programs/arts-express.html

Watch at 25:30 for an interview with Linday Kenney, CEO of Kids Ability Centre for Child Development. She tells how the Arts Express camp has impacted parents as well as students in such a powerful way.

https://www.kidsability.ca/

University of Ottawa School of Music has a Piano Pedagogy Research Laboratory run by Gilles Comeau.  They are doing some interesting Piano Pedagogy research studies.  One is called From Music to Medicine, that looks at the transfer of motor skills from music to medicine.  Another one involves playing piano repertoire at their Brain Lab so you can take home pictures of your brain from an MRI scan.

https://piano.uottawa.ca/home/  Piano Pedagogy Research Laboratory Home website.

https://piano.uottawa.ca/resources/web-links/  Here are some helpful music links such as music magazines, musicians’ health, technology, music associations

Click to access Piano%20lab%20celebrates%2010%20years.pdf

It’s that time of year to enjoy the summer sun!  What better time to start or continue Saxophone, Piano or Music Theory lessons?  If you’re a child, teen or a child at heart, I teach students of all ages.  All you need is a willing attitude, and we can together work towards making you a better musician!

I have found some fascinating slideshows and studies done by researchers at the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University, Illinois.  The lab is led by Nina Kraus, PhD.  She grew up as a child exposed to her mother’s professional piano playing, and has spent her life studying how humans process sound.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the work that Kraus does.  “In her lab, Kraus and her colleagues study numerous aspects of the auditory system, including its underlying brain mechanisms, the way musical input influences our ability to read and learn language and how conditions such as autism, aging, and HIV affect sound processing.”  Please read the entire article below from Monitor on Psychology:

http://brainvolts.northwestern.edu/documents/Kraus_article_Monitor.pdf

The following excellent slideshow explains “how multiple brain systems such as thinking, feeling and hearing work together to support listening and language and are strengthened by musical experience.”  http://brainvolts.northwestern.edu/slideshows/music/index.php

Musicians who engaged in musical activity for at least 20 minutes twice a week have enhanced neural encoding of music and speech.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2000431/

Musicians are better at hearing speech in noise across the lifespan, and have better auditory attention and memory across the lifespan.  And even adults who no longer play music, but took lessons as a child still can have positive neural benefits!

Please have a look at the slideshow link mentioned above for more amazing facts about the relationship between music and the brain systems.

The following article, titled “Saxophone Embouchure Made Simple,” is written by a phenomenal saxophone educator named Doron Oronstein.  He recommends watching the following videos by Rick Hirsch on proper saxophone embouchure.

“For those of you who’ve been keeping up with the blog (and shame on you if you’re not one of those people), I’ve recently been putting out articles that have to do with the art of saxophone tone creation, including articles on overtones, practicing on the mouthpiece, and proper positioning of the lower lip.

Since a video is worth a thousand pictures (yes, I just came up with that on the spot), I figured I’d feature some great instructional videos by ace saxophone chief, composer, and educator Rick Hirsch. These videos make it crystal clear what needs to be done to get the most out of your saxophone’s tone-producing capabilities while instilling in you the proper method of embouchure formation.

It’s an awesome three-part series of brief and non-boring videos – so enjoy!”

Click on the link below to read the original article at Doron Oronstein’s website.

Saxophone embouchure

Music education professor and dean at the University of London’s Insitute of Education discusses how important music is. Studying music can improve listening skills, which improves the way that people process language.

Please visit the following website link where I retrieved this article:

http://www.scienceadvice.ca/en/feature.aspx?id=96

October 15, 2013
Children may benefit from making music

Clap, dance, and sing! A recent study from the University of West London in the United Kingdom supports the idea that getting children involved in making music has the ability to improve their behaviour and problem solving skills.

Carried out by a team of researchers at the University of West London’s school of Psychology, the study randomly assigned 24 girls and 24 boys, all aged four, into two different groups, one featuring the use of music and one without any music. In the music group, children sang and played percussion, while their counter parts in the non-music group listened to a story. After these activities, both groups played two different games that emphasized the use of cooperation and the need to provide help to their group- mates. The results of this experiment showed that the children in the music group were 30 times more likely to help each other, and six times more likely to co-operate than the non-music group.[1] Additionally, researchers found that in the music group alone, girls were much more likely than boys to provide help or be more cooperative after making music.[2]

These findings echo an earlier 2010 German study that featured 96 four-year-old children from 16 different daycares. In this study, children were again divided into two different groups – one which featured a music-making activity and another which did not. After the groups finished their activity, two games were played that required the children to be helpful or cooperative with their peers. As seen in the UK study, children who had been in the music group were far more likely to help each other. Furthermore, children from the music group who did not display help were far more likely to provide an excuse as to why they were unable to help, showing greater empathy than their non-music peers. [3]

Some educators have also been enthusiastic about using music in the classroom. In Atlanta, kindergarten teacher Shelvia Ivey found that both shy, reserved students and active students are able to express themselves through making music and dance. [4] Outside of a school environment, music programs designed for toddlers and young children are available across North America through The Music Class, which advocates for early childhood music involvement.

Although these are only two studies that show the beneficial effects of making music, it demonstrates how influential music may be on human development. From making children more social, to helping adults relax after a long day at work, music may have more effects on us than we fully know.

[1] British Psychological Society (BPS) (2013, September 5). ‘Making music may improve young children’s behavior’. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 19, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130905202851.htm

[2] ibid

[3] Kirschner, S., & Tomasello, M. (2010). Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children. Volution and Human Behaviour, 31, 354-364. Retrieved September 19, 2013, from http://www.eva.mpg.de/psycho/pdf/Publications_2010_PDF/Kirschner_Tomasello_2010.pdf

[4] Castro, C. (2012, February 7). Can music improve behavior?. Schools of Thought – CNN.com blogs. Retrieved September 19, 2013, from http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/07/can-music-improve-behavior

In the following article, Noa Kageyama explains the results of a study that looked at the most effective practice behaviours of university level piano major students.  Be sure to check the very end of the article, for the paragraph titled “And one to rule them all.”  The most beneficial practice habit is likely something you have heard before, but since it is shown to be so effective, music students will want to try this!

By Noa Kageyama, PH.D.

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/8-things-top-practicers-do-differently/

As my kids were (begrudgingly) practicing their Tae Kwon Do patterns the other night, I caught myself telling my oldest that he had to do his pattern five times before returning to his video game.

My goal, of course, was not for him to go through the motions of his pattern five times like a pouty zombie, but to do it one time with good form and authority. But the parent in me finds it very reassuring to know that a certain number of repetitions or time has gone into something. Beyond the (erroneous) assumption that this will automagically solidify his skills somehow, it feels like a path to greater discipline, and a way to instill within my kids some sort of work ethic that will serve them well in the future.

Some degree of time and repetition is necessary to develop and hone our skills, of course. But we also know on some intuitive level that to maximize gains, we ought to practice “smarter, not harder.”

But what the heck does that really mean anyway? What exactly do top practicers do differently?

Pianists learning Shostakovich

A group of researchers led by Robert Duke of The University of Texas at Austin conducted a study several years ago to see if they could tease out the specific practice behaviors that distinguish the best players and most effective learners.

Seventeen piano and piano pedagogy majors agreed to learn a 3-measure passage fromShostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The passage had some tricky elements, making it too difficult to sight read well, but not so challenging that it couldn’t be learned in a single practice session.

The setup

The students were given two minutes to warm up, and then provided with the 3-measure excerpt, a metronome, and a pencil.

Participants were allowed to practice as long as they wanted, and were free to leave whenever they felt they were finished. Practice time varied quite a bit, ranging from 8 1/2 minutes to just under 57 minutes.

To ensure that the next day’s test would be fair, they were specifically told that they may NOT practice this passage, even from memory, in the next 24 hours.

24 hours later…

When participants returned the following day for their test, they were given 2 minutes to warm up, and then asked to perform the complete 3-measure passage in its entirety without stopping, 15 times (with pauses between attempts, of course).

Each of the pianists’ performances were then evaluated on two levels. Getting the right notes with the right rhythm was the primary criteria, but the researchers also ranked each of the pianists’ performances from best to worst, based on tone, character, and expressiveness.

That led to a few interesting findings:

1. Practicing longer didn’t lead to higher rankings.
2. Getting in more repetitions had no impact on their ranking either.
3. The number of times they played it correctly in practice also had no bearing on their ranking.

What did matter was:

1. How many times they played it incorrectly. The more times they played it incorrectly, the worse their ranking tended to be.
2. The percentage of correct practice trials did seem to matter. The greater the proportion of correct trials in their practice session, the higher their ranking tended to be.

The top 8 strategies

Three pianists’ performances stood out from the rest, and were described as having “more consistently even tone, greater rhythmic precision, greater musical character (purposeful dynamic and rhythmic inflection), and a more fluid execution.”

Upon taking a closer look at the practice session videos, the researchers identified 8 distinct practice strategies that were common to the top pianists, but occurred less frequently in the practice sessions of the others:

1. Playing was hands-together early in practice.
2. Practice was with inflection early on; the initial conceptualization of the music was with inflection.
3. Practice was thoughtful, as evidenced by silent pauses while looking at the music, singing/humming, making notes on the page, or expressing verbal “ah-ha”s.
4. Errors were preempted by stopping in anticipation of mistakes.
5. Errors were addressed immediately when they appeared.
6. The precise location and source of each error was identified accurately, rehearsed, and corrected.
7. Tempo of individual performance trials was varied systematically; logically understandable changes in tempo occurred between trials (e.g. slowed things down to get tricky sections correct).
8. Target passages were repeated until the error was corrected and the passage was stabilized, as evidenced by the error’s absence in subsequent trials.

The top 3 strategies

Of the eight strategies above, there were three that were used by all three top pianists, but rarely utilized by the others. In fact, only two other pianists (ranked #4 and #6) used more than one:

6. The precise location and source of each error was identified accurately, rehearsed, and corrected.

7. Tempo of individual performance trials was varied systematically; logically understandable changes in tempo occurred between trials (e.g. slowed things down to get tricky sections correct; or speeded things up to test themselves, but not too much).

8. Target passages were repeated until the error was corrected and the passage was stabilized, as evidenced by the error’s absence in subsequent trials.

What’s the common thread that ties these together?

The researchers note that the most striking difference between the top three pianists and the rest, was how they handled mistakes. It’s not that the top pianists made fewer mistakes in the beginning and simply had an easier time learning the passage.

The top pianists made mistakes too, but they managed to correct their errors in such a way that helped them avoid making the same mistakes over and over, leading to a higher proportion of correct trials overall.

And one to rule them all

The top performers utilized a variety of error-correction methods, such as playing with one hand alone, or playing just part of the excerpt, but there was one strategy that seemed to be the most impactful.

Slowing things down.

After making a mistake, the top performers would play the passage again, but slow down or hesitate – without stopping – right before the place where they made a mistake the previous time.

This seemed to allow them to play the challenging section more accurately, and presumably coordinate the correct motor movements at a tempo they could handle, rather than continuing to make mistakes and failing to identify the precise nature of the mistake, the underlying technical problem, and what they ought to do differently in the next trial.

And if this sounds vaguely familiar, you might recall that a basketball study found something very similar in the practice habits of top free throw shooters…

Take action

What is your number one takeaway? How might you integrate these findings not just in your own practicing, but in the practice habits of your students?

 About Noa Kageyama, Ph.D.

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-playing-an-instrument-benefits-your-brain-anita-collins

http://elissamilne.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/10-things-you-should-do-before-your-child-begins-piano-lessons/

PHILOSOPHY ”You’re never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”   ~C.S. Lewis

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”  ~Jesse Owens

My philosophy is to create an environment in which students are free to express their emotions through their playing. I value each student as an individual, and work patiently to guide each student to fulfill his/her potential. I expect students to work hard, but find that encouragement goes a long way to help students realize their dreams.

PROGRAM DETAILS

I teach in the Aurora and Newmarket area from beginning up to Grade 8 Royal Conservatory level. For young beginning students (ages 4 and up) I use a variety of methods, such as Alfred, Music for Little Mozarts, Piano Adventures and Celebrate Piano. Then I encourage students to learn the Royal Conservatory Method when they are prepared for this next step in their progress. I prepare students for Royal Conservatory examinations when the student and parent are ready to commit to this program.  This is an internationally recognized program of music study, which is quite highly regarded around the world.

I also encourage students of all ages to learn popular songs at an appropriate level of difficulty.

My saxophone program is geared for all ages as well. I recommend students start saxophone at age 10 and higher, but it depends on several physical factors, including whether the student can reach all the keys. I teach jazz, classical and popular saxophone, depending on the student’s interests. I also prepare saxophone students for University auditions and Royal Conservatory examinations. I teach improvisation in jazz and blues as well.

LESSON DETAILS:

Lesson structure depends greatly on the student’s age and interest, but a sample lesson might start with sight reading (sight rhythm and sight melody), ear training (clapback rhythm and playback melody) and identifying intervals. Then I would review the student’s homework from last week. I will ask the student how their practicing went, and if there are any questions. I will ask which piece they want to begin with, especially if there’s a piece they can’t wait to play! Then I will teach part of another song or songs, depending on the level. Scales and technique would either be at the beginning or end of the lesson, depending on how long we spend on sight and ear at the beginning of the lesson. I enjoy playing duets with students, especially if we can record a student and teacher duet in the lesson!

from University of Toronto Faculty of Music Website

Robert Carli Saxophone email: rob@robcarli.com website: www.robcarli.com/(opens in new window) Robert Carli leads a diverse career as a performer, composer and producer.  He performs regularly with a variety of ensembles, including the Toronto Symphony, The National Ballet Orchestra and The Art of Time Ensemble.  He is active in the studio, playing on jingles and film scores, and has worked with such artists as the Barenaked Ladies, Meesha Brueggergosman, Mary Lou Fallis, and has served as a music co-ordinator for such artists as Julie Andrews and Bob Newhart. Robert is highly in demand as a film composer and arranger.  He has composed music for over 30 films, movies of the week, and documentaries.  His work has garnered 11 Gemini nominations and 5 Gemini wins.  He is the recipient of the 2009 and 2010 SOCAN Award for domestic television.  http://www.music.utoronto.ca/faculty/faculty_members/instructors_a_to_e/Robert_Carli.htm Tim Snyder says, “I was privileged to study saxophone with Rob Carli at Wilfrid Laurier University.”

http://www.mta.ca/music/faculty/jkalyn.html

Article from Mount Allison University Department of Music

Tim Snyder says:  “I was privileged to study saxophone at Wilfrid Laurier University with Dr. James Kalyn.”

James Kalyn was appointed Assistant Professor of single reeds and conducting at the Mount Allison University Music Department in 2011. Lauded by his colleagues and students as a “world-class doubler,” Dr. Kalyn has built a career over the past twenty-five years as a soloist and orchestral musician of the highest calibre on both saxophone and clarinet.  Grand prize winner of the prestigious Canadian Music Competitions’ International Stepping Stone division, as well as one of the USA’s highest honours, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, James Kalyn has built an international career as a performer, conductor, and pedagogue.

As a concert saxophonist James Kalyn has performed throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Argentina, China, and Japan.  As a clarinetist Kalyn won his first professional orchestra position while still an undergraduate student, and has played in orchestras continuously since that time, including the orchestras of Greensboro and Winston-Salem North Carolina, London and Windsor Ontario as well as RED in Cleveland and the Carolina Chamber Symphony.  He plays saxophone in the Cleveland Orchestra – one of the “big five” American orchestras and one of the finest symphony orchestras in the world – and has also played bass clarinet with them. Proficient also on flute and bassoon, Kalyn has played for over 30 theatrical productions including the Toronto productions of Phantom of the Opera and Crazy for You, and touring Broadway productions such as Cabaret, Grand Hotel, and Guys and Dolls. About his musicianship, Napoleón Cabrera of Argentina’s CLARIN wrote: “James Kalyn deserves plenty of recognition for his pure technique, for his intelligence in displaying meaning, and for introducing that inner shade of abandon…without disturbing his execution” and Mark Carrington of THE WASHINGTON POST described his playing as “Carefully cultivated shades of haunting beauty and singing simplicity…”

Graduating with a DMA from the Eastman School of Music, James Kalyn studied classical and jazz saxophone and has played as a professional jazz musician on both clarinet and saxophone throughout his career with such luminaries as Ray Charles and The Manhattan Transfer.  He teaches both classical and jazz styles and many of his students have gone on to careers as jazz musicians.

In addition to his performing career, James Kalyn brings to Mount Allison extensive experience as a conductor. During his tenure as Director of the Wind Ensemble and Professor of Saxophone at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Kalyn conducted hundreds of works from the wind repertoire, and promoted new works as well.  He conducted a summer festival orchestra in North Carolina for many years, has guest conducted professional orchestras in China as well as the Oberlin Wind Ensemble, and is the conductor for the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra.  As a teacher and conductor, he has taught at the University of Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ithaca College, Youngstown State University, and two of the most prestigious conservatories in North America, the Eastman School of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory. He has taught everything from applied music and musicianship to theory, jazz improvisation and conducting. Consistent with Mount Allison’s liberal arts philosophy, James Kalyn enjoys working with all ranges of musicians, from elite performers through beginning students. Kalyn was a founding faculty member of the New Horizons music program, a pioneering project to teach music to older adults. He directed his own group for years and helped to found three others.

As a scholar and pedagogue, Dr. Kalyn has published over a dozen articles and reviews, including three peer-reviewed pieces for Saxophone Journal, the saxophone world’s scholarly publication, and MLA Notes.  Recently Kalyn has developed connections with China and has travelled to China over a dozen times to conduct, perform, teach, or, in his capacity as Program Director of the Oberlin Conservatory’s relationships in China, to administer programs and manage orchestra tours. Kalyn studies Mandarin and is working on projects to develop woodwind pedagogy and performance practices in China. He hopes to develop international exchange opportunities in China for Mount Allison students. He has made eight recordings as soloist, orchestral player and conductor and has been heard on CBC’s Disc Drive, Morningside, Gilmour’s albums, Gaberau, and NPR’s Performance Today.

In the winter of 2011 Kalyn was in residence in Miami with the Cleveland Orchestra. He also recorded Clear Sky for soprano saxophone and ensemble by American Joshua Levine, having performed the North American Premiere of the work in 2010 with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble. In the spring of 2011 he recorded one of the greatest works in the repertoire, Alexander Glazounov’s Concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra. Kalyn’s 2011 season also includes debut performances at Mount Allison on both clarinet and saxophone, and another extensive European Tour as a member of the Cleveland Orchestra.