Category: NFMC

Starting Piano Lessons or Any Type of Lessons in January

Posted on by Heather Brunner

So you or your child or your spouse received a keyboard or piano during the holiday season.  Now what?  It’s time to find a piano teacher. 

Is it ok to start lessons in January?  The answer to that is yes.  New Year’s resolutions aside there is no reason not to start lessons now. 

Your schedule is established.  The kids have the hang of the school year and all of those sports schedules are pretty much known for the time being. 

Go ahead and call around.  Teachers should be willing to have a free trial lesson or meeting with a prospective student. 

Find the teacher that is right for you and get started.  There is no time like the present. 

 

Here at Brunner Studios in Charlotte, NC, I am looking for a few new piano, voice and oboe students.  Most teachers will have a few mid-year opening in there schedule.  There is still time to get started with lessons and participate in spring recitals and festivals. 

Festival Deadlines

Posted on by Heather Brunner

This is just a reminder to all the local teachers that there are several registration deadlines this month:

 

NCMTA District is due on Jan. 21, 2012.

NFMC Non-Scholarship and Scholarship are both due on Jan. 14, 2012.

 

The paper work for these festivals states there are NO EXCEPTIONS on the deadlines.  Please plan accordingly.

2012 Festival Dates and Locations for Charlotte, NC and Surrounding Areas

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Festival season is upon us and registrations deadlines are coming up fast.  Here are a few of the dates you need to remember:

 

National Federation of Music Clubs

Deadline for all applications is January, 14, 2012

Dates and Locations:

Hymn Playing:  Feb. 4, 2012- Carmel Baptist Church

Piano Scholarship:  Feb. 18, 2012- Queens University

Piano Make Up Date:  Feb. 18, 2012- Queens University

Instruments:  February 18, 2012- Queens University

Voice- February 18, 2012- Queens University

Piano Non- Scholarship- Feb. 25- Queens University, Central Piedmont Community College, First Baptist Church

NCMTA Piano Contest-Festival

Deadline for all District Applications:  January, 21, 2012

Deadline for all State Applications: March, 16, 2012

Dates and Locations:

Charlotte, NC (District 2)- March 3, 2012- Queens University

West State Contest- March 31, 2012– Queens University

 

Planning the Academic Year for Piano

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Here in the south the school supply lists are already putting in an appearance.  Last week I was at a Target store here in Charlotte, NC and they were already putting out school supplies.  (On a side note, I did purchase some new markers and folders.)  This is the time of year that students feel like they get to start over with their goals and you might get an influx of new and transfer students.  Many of these students will want to participate in festivals and competitions during the coming academic year.  How do you make sure they are prepared and stay on schedule? 

 

If I am getting to see my students during the summer, then I take part of a summer lesson and we evaluate our goals.  If the student is not taking summer lessons then I try to use the second lesson back to evaluate the situation.  What are we evaluating?  I give the student their options for festival and competitions and we talk about how much music they would need to learn and what could overlap for these events.  For example, if a student wants to participate in NFMC and NCMTA the choice piece for the NFMC festival could be drawn from the NCMTA list.  This bring the required pieces down from 5 to 4.  All 4 pieces could be used for Guild Auditions. 

 

Guild Auditions and the National Achievement Program both have technical requirements.  I use my checklist and have every student go through all of the technical exercises that they should have learned up to this point.  One sheet that I use is found on the Resources page.  This lets me know what we need to review and when compared to the festival levels what we need to accomplish in a set time frame. 

 

I try to give a theory evaluation if there is time.  Otherwise we do this in the next few weeks.  If a student is participating in the National Achievement Program I use a practice test to see how prepared they are for this level of examination.  These exams are quite difficult and it seems that half the battle is reading and following the instructions. 

 

With all of this information, we can plan when to choose the literature and what schedule we need to keep to be prepared with the technical skills.  Students sometime practice a little aimlessly when there isn’t a clear deadline.  This can give them a mini-deadline for every week.  For those high school students who are so busy, it is pretty easy to divide their pieces into sections and set a measures goal for each week.  For example, we need to learn and memorize 10 measures of the Prokofiev this week and 5 measures of the Bach.  It’s amazing how well they will practice when not overwhelmed.

What is the Cost for Piano Lessons

Posted on by Heather Brunner

One of the first questions I get asked is, “How much do the lessons cost?”  Prospective students tend to shop lessons by cost.  Realistically, this isn’t a good way to try and find the best teacher.  There are several factors that go into how much a teacher charges for lessons.

 

1.  What is the teacher’s level of education and experience?  If the teacher has at least a Bachelors of Music then the lessons are going to cost more than the teacher with just experience.  If you are lucky enough to find a teacher with Masters of Music or a Doctorate, be prepared to pay for these qualifications.  Usually it isn’t a huge difference, possibly $5 per month. 

 

2.  Does the teacher offer students opportunities outside of lessons?  Recitals, competitions and festivals are all popular events for students to participate in.  While you pay a fee to participate, your teacher usually has to volunteer or pay an annual membership fee.  As an example, NMTA, NMCTA and CMTA cost a total of $107 this year for me to be a member.  That is just for one festival for students to participate in.  As teachers we try to take our expenses into account so that we can offer the best opportunities to our students.

 

3.  Advertising.  Where did you hear about your teacher?  If it was on a website, in a newspaper or on a school flyer, then your teacher probably paid for that space.  While this is just a cost of business it does factor into the total cost of lessons. 

 

4.  Is it a deterrent?  Now this one is a little strange but I’ve found that it does hold true and it works.  Is the cost of lessons high enough to make the student think twice about having excessive absences?   Students should value their lesson time just as they would a visit to a doctor or a commitment to a team.  If a teacher is undervaluing their time, they don’t get taken as seriously by their students. 

 

So after a little research, I have found that the average rate for a piano teacher in the greater Charlotte, NC area is around $24 per lesson or $96 a month.  When breaking this down further the teachers in the outer areas of the city are charging significantly less.  Balancing this out are the teachers will a BM or MM in the city of Charlotte proper.  These teachers are charging on average $25-27 dollars a lesson or $100-$110 per month.  Schools of music tend to give a more mixed picture.  Most charge a flat fee for lessons whether the teacher is degreed or not.  This can be a great deal or a not so great deal depending on who you select or are assigned for an instructor. 

 

So do some research about your potential teachers and what they have to offer you before crossing someone off the list because of a $5 cost difference. 

Festivals and Evaluations for the 2011-2012 Academic Year

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Charlotte, NC is a great place to run a music studio.  There are so many different opportunities for students of all ages.  Here are a few of the festivals and programs that students of all ages will be able to participate in during the coming year.

 

National Federation of Music Clubs- www.nfmc-music.org

North Carolina Music Teacher’s Association- www.ncmta.org

American College of Musicians- www.pianoguild.com

Carnegie Hall Royal Conservatory- The Achievement Program- www.theachivementprogram.org

Charlotte Music Club Auditions

MTNA Music Achievement Award Program-

What Qualifications Should a Piano Teacher Have?

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Last week we talked about how to find a piano teacher.  Another part of finding the right teacher is making sure they have good qualifications.  So what qualifications should you look for in a piano teacher.

 

1.  Does the teacher have a degree in piano or music?  This could be a Bachelors, Masters or  DMA of Music in Performance, Pedagogy or Education.  While a degree in music doesn’t always make a good teacher, it does ensure that the teacher has gone through a rigorous course of study in their field.

 

2.  Does the teacher belong to professional organizations?  This could be NCMTA/NMTA , NFMC, or the National Piano Guild.  For more local examples, the teacher might belong to their area piano teachers forum or guild.  Most of these organizations have membership requirements and teachers must meet them to have different levels of membership. 

 

3.  Can the teacher supply you with examples of musical achievement for themselves or their students?  Have the students placed well at local festivals and competitions?  If it is a younger teacher, did the teacher place well in the same competitions? 

 

4.  Can the teacher supply references?

 

5.  Is the teacher active in the local music community?  Teachers need good contacts.  If they are participating in the musical community, then they are more likely to hear of opportunities for their students.  

 

So for an example, let’s look at my qualifications:

 

Heather N Brunner

Charlotte, NC- Piano Teacher

Educational Background:  BM and MM in Piano Pedagogy from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Number of Years Teaching:  10

Professional Memberships: 

1.  NMTA, NCMTA and Charlotte, NC chapter of NCMTA.

2.  NFMC

Student Participation:

NCMTA Charlotte Area Festival-

NCMTA Western State Festival

NFMC Festival

NFMC Scholarship Festival

Current Community Participation:

NCMTA  Festival Charlotte Area Chair 2012

NFMC Scholarship Festival Charlotte  Chair 2012

Accompanist for local high school choirs

Congrats! You Did Great!

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Well, I think we officially survived the large part of festival season.  On Feb. 26 my students participated in the National Federation of Music Clubs festival.  There were 19 students from my studio participating in the Solo Piano division.  Are you ready for the big news?  We had 100 % Superior ratings!  Everyone did a wonderful job.

 

Many of these students also participated in the Theory Testing that took place on the same day.  A special recognition to Taegan, Justin and Michael for getting 100 % on their theory tests.

 

On March 5, some of my more advanced students participated in the North Carolina Music Teacher’s Association Festival.  These students were required to play 3 pieces from different musical eras.  This is not a contest for the faint of heart.  The judging is fair but critical.  Yet again my students knocked it out of the park.  Congrats to Tori  who will be advancing to the state competition.  She scored a Superior in the Jr. B division.  Luna scored a Superior in the Jr. A division.  All my other entrants were rated Excellent.

 

Thank you so much for all your hard work.

 

I don’t suppose now would be the time to tell you that the NCMTA repertoire list for 2012 has already been released?  No?  In that case we can all live in denial for a few months and take a well earned vacation from festival music.  New repertoire here we come!

NFMC Scholarship Festival 2011

Posted on by Heather Brunner

Congrats to my students who participated in the NFMC Scholarship Festival on 2/12/2011.  Everyone performed admirably and received high marks.  To be more specific all of my students scored Superior or Excellent.

The scholarship festival is judged much more strictly than the non-scholarship festival.  A Superior is a marking from 95-100 and an Excellent is marked from 90-94.  Each student receives a score from each of the 2 judges and those scores are averaged.  No rounding is allowed.  So if a student has a 95/94 split then the score is an Excellent.  The competition this year was tough.  There were some extremely talented high school students participating.

I would like to call special attention to 3 of my students.  Minali is a senior this year and participated in the Musically Advanced I category where she received a Superior rating.  Hannah and Lauren both added the Concerto division in addition to their solo playing.  Hannah and Lauren both received Superiors for their efforts.

Thank you to all my students for all your hard work.  Now back to practicing for NCMTA on March 5.