Teoria Musical

MAkinG and Music
lives
Bonnie Blanchard
A G u i d e f o r A l l Music Te Achers

enrichinG
with

cynthia Blanchard Acree

MAKING MUSIC AND ENRICHING LIVES

Making Music
and

Enriching Lives
A Guide for All Music Teachers

BONNIE BLANCHARD WITH CYNTHIA BLANCHARD ACREE

Indiana University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis

This book is a publication of Indiana UniversityPress 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders Fax orders Orders by e-mail 800-842-6796 812-855-7931 iuporder@indiana.edu

© 2007 by Bonnie Blanchard All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any informationstorage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Blanchard, Bonnie. Making music and enriching lives : a guide for all music teachers / Bonnie Blanchard ; with Cynthia Blanchard Acree. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN: 978-0-253-34915-6 (cloth : alk. paper)— ISBN: 978-0-253-21917-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Music—Instruction and study.2. Music—Economic aspects. I. Acree, Cynthia Blanchard. II. Title. MT1.B652 2007 780.71—dc22 2006038225 1 2 3 4 5 12 11 10 09 08 07

Music is the bridge from one heart to another. —Unknown

CONTENTS
acknowledgments ⁄ Part 1. Enriching Lives 1. Transform Your Teaching Style: The Music for Life Method 2. Focus on Relationships First 3. Instill Pride and Respect 16 26 36 48 57 3

ix

4.Show Students Your Commitment to Excellence 5. Promote a Love of Learning and Independence 6. Create an Atmosphere of Achievement 7. Attitude Is Everything 8. Make Practice a Priority 10. Energize Students with Goals 12. Foster Happy, Confident Students 13. Host Fun Musical Events Part 2. Making Music 14. Use Practice Tricks for Fast Results 15. Musicality Makes the Difference 16. Multiply the Fun inChamber Music 17. Take the Fear Out of Memorization 123 137 157 170 111 65 70

9. Increase Success with the Music for Life Notebook System 86 96 104 11. Recognize and Reward Results and Effort

78

18. Help Students Become Confident Sight Readers

175

Part 3. Tackling Your Toughest Teaching Challenges 19. In the Beginning 185 192 200 20. Make Learning Fun (and Less Painful) for Adults21. Troubleshoot Problems and Turn around Complaints

viii |

Contents

22. Prepare Students for Performance 23. Conquer Stage Fright 24. Ace the Audition 26. Ask the Teacher 25. When It’s Time to Say Goodbye 248 217 231

211

241

Part 4. Running Your Private Music Studio 27. Establish Your Private Studio and Develop a Business Plan 28. Get Paid What You’re Worth 29. A Life in theArts: Is It for You? 30. Make the Teacher’s Life Easier for further reading ⁄ 307 index ⁄ 311 283 295 300 271

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Making Music and Enriching Lives was born of a one-hour speech to the National Flute Association. Over the years, teachers had often approached me saying, “Please write a book so we can share your techniques.” I had envisioned writing a mentoring book for teachers. Itwasn’t until Karen Iglitzin, a fine violinist and youth chamber music program director suggested, “With handouts, your speech could be a book,” that I turned my vision into action. Several years and challenges later, I’m grateful for the impetus she gave me to undertake such a demanding yet rewarding project. Once I started writing, the natural person to turn to was my sister, Cynthia Acree, a...