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A Workshop for Music Teachers in Brooklyn - May 29th

Nurturing Motivation to Love and Create Music - A New Method

Michael Stegner has created a new teaching method that focuses on motivating students over the long term so that they can become self-sufficient and self-aware music makers. Michael slowly developed this method based on common threads shared by many great musicians he performed with, students he taught and advancements in brain science and learning research. This workshop will introduce the culmination of this work so you can immediately see the benefits and apply them in your teaching studio.

Details

Who: Michael Stegner (Presenter)
What: Nurturing Motivation to Love and Create Music - A New Method
Where: iBeam Studios located at 168 7th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 - click here for directions.
When: Friday, May 29th from 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Cost: $45 per person - pay/register below through the "Add to Cart" buttons.

Register By Filling in the Fields Below and click "Add to Cart"...

Name (First and Last)

Email Address

 

The Story Behind the Session (in Michael’s words)

After years of bouncing from method to method (or piece to piece) in both group and private lessons, I tried a little experiment one summer several years ago at my school - we combined all of our students into piano ensembles. I wrote several 4-part ensembles with different points of emphasis and for various playing abilities. After a few weeks it became obvious that the energy level of nearly every student had grown exponentially and I needed to make some serious changes in how I taught music.

By leveraging the new-found motivation the students displayed, we spent the next five years working together refining a program where they developed the ability to CREATE music they imagined, read or heard - instead of RECREATE music they read from a method book or were instructed to play by a teacher. I wanted a quarter note (or do,re, mi) to be something they felt and internalized rather than something they just identified on a sheet of paper.

After several years of tracking students in our school who are in this new method, it has become clear that they are consistently far beyond students who use more traditional approaches. I believe this is simply because they are more motivated from within to play music and play it well.

We use a series of games and activities to introduce nearly every concept they will need to practice correctly at home. This makes the lessons have a very lively feel and positively challenges the students to go home and continue the momentum established in the lessons.

Logistics and space restrictions eventually left us with a few students each semester who couldn't continue in the group lesson format. They switched to private lessons with the new method as an “experiment” and we found that it worked great with very little adjustment for teachers or students. There are even some area band directors using the method for their beginning band classes on several different instruments.

Over the next few months, I will be releasing all of the music I have written in this method along with the games, activities and support materials. This workshop will be an overview of the four- to five-year method, it’s benefits, it’s challenges, economic advantages and turnkey ways to transition your approach from traditional approaches.

Michael Stegner Teaching & Speaking Bio

Michael Stegner is the owner of Creative Music Adventures in Seattle - a music school in the Wallingford neighborhood. Several of his students have been awarded full scholarships at the preeminent music colleges in the US. In the last five years, four different students have won Downbeat magazine student awards for composition, audio engineering and performances (in piano and voice). Students and alumni have performed with or opened for Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Julian Lage, Larry Grenadier, Sheryl Crow, Wynton Marsalis, Ingrid Jensen, Geoffrey Keezer and many more.

As a speaker, Michael has presented at four MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) national conventions. He has presented at the Washington State Music Teachers Association and the Texas Music Teachers Association state conventions as well as several local and regional conferences in Washington state. He was a clinician for Roland US - helping teachers use Roland technology between 2003 and 2007.

Register and Pay By Filling in the Fields Below and click "Add to Cart"... Name (First and Last)

Email Address

Email michael@creativemusicadventures.com if you have questions.

When I Was in Heaven - Live Performance

Here's a conversation between myself and some angels before I was born... Based on a true story.

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When I Was in Heaven (Michael Stegner)
Originally Released on the album Fascination Nation
Lyrics:
When I was in heaven
before I was born
I would sing, I would play
in the clouds with the angels and their harps.

They gathered me around
and said my time had come.
Then the angels sang this song for me
to prepare me for the world...

"Sometimes your brains will hurt.
Sometimes your food won't taste quite right.
And sometimes you won't get what you want -
That's more often than not."

I don't want to hear any more.
I just want to stay where I am.
I can't wait to be big and strong.
I'll just run around and do whatever I want.

What do I need to do
to stay up here with you?
I don't want to live down there
in that crazy people stew.

"It's not as bad as it seems.
Some people are really nice down there.
Time will go by so fast...
You'll be back here in a flash."

I don't want to listen any more.
I can see with my own two eyes.
People down there - they can't get along.
Whose to say I won't play along?

When I was in heaven,
before I was born.
The angels sang this song for me
to prepare me for the world.

by Michael Stegner

Copyright © 2009

Elliot Smith Cover - "Between the Bars"

Some friends have been really getting into Elliot Smith lately. This led me to practicing along with his recordings. I finally decided to give "Between the Bars" a try. It's such a beautiful song and I can't wait to get to know it better. Here it is after working through it for a couple of days.

"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" Piano Lesson Series - Part 3

Here is the third lesson on "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" - the classic song made famous by Willie Nelson. This one goes over chords and patterns we can use to back up a singer or melody instrument.

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How to play piano on "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" part 2 - Chords and scales in E Major

Here is part two of the video series on how to play "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." This one gets into the E Major scale and the common chords in that key.

How to Play Piano on "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" as played by Willie Nelson.

Here is a new video on how to play "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" as played by Willie Nelson (sort of). There will be several more videos to follow in the series. You can always use these tricks on any popular song you may be interested in playing. Subscribe to the series by clicking here.