Working together to build a musicial future for our community.

During the past year, we opened the Gist Piano Academy (GPA) in Lexington and  we have had the pleasure of seeing many students come in every day for piano lessons. It’s been great to see so many kids and adults learning about piano and music!

While summer is the time to start to kick back and relax, it’s also the time to experience and learn all sorts of new things that you maybe don’t have the opportunity to do during the school year!

At GPA, we will be offering four different classes for both beginning and experienced piano students at the beginning of this summer. Taught by GPA instructor, Dr. Victoria Tsangari, students will have the opportunity to learn everything from playing their first notes on the piano to composing and premiering their first composition.

Before joining the faculty at Gist Piano Academy, Dr. Tsangari taught at the University of Iowa

Dr. Tsangari teaches this student to play his first song on the piano!

and served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Piano and Theory at Kentucky State University, where she taught studio and group piano, music theory and aural skills. In addition, she has 14 years of experience teaching private piano lessons to children and adults in the US and in Europe. Dr. Tsangari’s goals are to help students develop their technique and musicianship to their full potential, to help them grow as independent musicians and to fuel their love for music so they continue to play and to support music throughout their lives.

Piano Camp is for students who have studied piano for at least one year with an instructor. Piano Camp will strengthen students’ musical skills and renew their excitement for music making through fun activities and games. Activities will include duet and ensemble performance using a Roland keyboard lab, music theory, improvisation, ear training, sight-reading, and music history. The class will culminate in a recital at Gist Piano Center.

Piano Camp for Beginners is for anyone interested in learning the piano. Now’s your chance! This two-week class provides students who have not studied music previously with an introduction to making music at the piano. Students get their first taste of solo and ensemble playing using our Roland keyboard lab, and learn about music notation, music theory, ear training, and improvisation through fun activities and games. At the end of the beginning piano camp, students will make their piano debut during a performance at Gist!

Composition and Improvisation for Piano is another opportunity for those who have already studied piano for a year to enhance their musical skills by composing and learning to improvise! The first week in this two-week course will unlock students’ creativity with improvisation games, the introduction of various compositional tools, and guided composition sketches. The second week will be devoted to developing one or more compositions from start to finish, from inspiration to publication and premiere!

Sight Reading for piano students who want to improve their sight-reading ability and have fun doing it! Sight-reading is one of the most important skills for developing musicians to acquire. Not only it can help them learn their music faster, it can eventually lead to musical independence and improved overall musicianship.

Sound like fun to you? Download the  Summer Piano Camps information form here.  Contact Gist at (859) 854-2492 or email me at hmcgriff@gistpianocenter.com for more details. Hurry! Space is limited and the deadline to register is May 18th!

We at Gist Piano Center and Gist Piano Academy of Lexington would like to express our sincere appreciation and congratulations to our friends at The Music Institute of Lexington.  In keeping with their mission to provide high quality music instruction to students all across Central Kentucky, The Music Institute of Lexington has brought countless families into the Lexington Music Community.  Through their tireless efforts, The Music Institute has enriched every family in the Blue Grass Community and, though we are saddened to hear of their upcoming closure, we look forward to supporting their faculty and students for many years to come.

As schools all across the United States cut funding for music education, it’s more critical than ever that local music stores work closely with the music teachers and students in their communities to ensure that the next generation of music makers has the education and resources they need to flourish.

Through our Partners In Education program, we have had the privilege of supporting faculty and students from The Music Institute of Lexington and, as this new chapter in the Lexington Music Community unfolds, we look forward to growing those vital relationships.

We encourage you to join us in congratulating the faculty, the staff, the administration and the folks who supported The Music Institute of Lexington over these past several years.  Your efforts have made a difference in our home town and in the lives of hundreds of students.  Thank you for your hard work.  Our best wishes go with you.

When thinking about beginning piano lessons you may envision an elementary aged child plunking out Hot Cross Buns. In all actuality, however, more adults are beginning – and returning to – piano lessons than ever before!

Gist Piano Academy, located at Gist Piano Center at Harrodsburg Rd and Man O’War in Lexington, is offering two new group piano classes for adult students in Gist’s new Roland digital piano lab:

• Piano Fun for Adult Beginners (no prerequisite required!)
  • Tuesdays, 10:15-11:15am, first class Tuesday, March 5, 2013
• I Used to Play Piano (for those who regret quitting!)
  • Thursdays, 2:30-3:30pm, first class Thursday, March 7, 2013

Piano Fun for Adult Beginners is a group piano class that serves as an introduction to the piano. By the end of the course, students will be able to read music from the grand staff, identify and interpret basic rhythmic notation, demonstrate beginning piano technique, and play simple pieces hands separately and together.

I Used to Play Piano is a course designed for adults who have had piano instruction at some point in their lives, can read music (even if they are a bit rusty) and who wish to brush away the cobwebs and further advance the skills they developed in the past.

I Used To Play Piano

Classes take place in a group piano lab, which provides a relaxed learning environment. The group piano conferencing system enables students to hear only their individual piano and the instructor’s piano (and not the other students in the class). So if there is concern about others hearing a wrong note or two, then worry no more!

If you are interested in experiencing the way a group piano lab works with a conferencing system, visit Gist Piano Academy’s Open House on Tuesday, February 26^th, from 2:30-3:30pm or call (859) 254-8492 to schedule an individual appointment for a tour of the piano lab.

Bringing a wealth of music teaching experience to Gist Piano Academy, Dr. Richerson teaches group piano and individual piano lessons at Gist Piano Academy.  In addition to teaching courses at Louisiana State University, Florida State University, and the University of South Carolina, Dr. Richerson also has over twelve years of experience teaching private piano and group classes to students of all ages and levels.   To learn more about Dr. Richerson and her teaching philosophy, visit http://www.gistpianocenter.com/pianoteachers/pianoteacher_Richerson.php.

Gist Piano Academy instructor, Dr. Nan Richerson

Students at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky are beginning their Spring, 2013 semester with a brand new Roland Digital Piano Lab – thanks to a partnership between Roland Corporation, US and the local piano experts at Gist Piano Center.

One of only two private schools in Kentucky with a nationally-accredited music program, Asbury University requires all of its music students to take keyboard proficiency classes. In addition to replacing old and failing lab equipment, the new Roland pianos will provide Asbury students and surrounding community members an opportunity to incorporate new technologies into their piano lessons.

Each of the nine new Roland pianos is compatible with a number of FREE iPad apps that give students the ability to practice with digital flashcards, record and mix their own music, and play with music background files at whatever speed is comfortable for them. The included lab conferencing system gives the instructor the ability to listen and coach each student individually, assign students to practice groups, or even create custom finger exercises that can be displayed on a SMART Board or printed as student handouts.

“Our new Roland digital keyboard lab is outstanding, and a definite improvement compared to the equipment of our former keyboard lab,” says Don Zent, Professor of Piano and Keyboard Studies Coordinator at Asbury University. “We are excited about the good sound, responsive touch, and solid workmanship of our new Roland pianos. We’re also excited about the opportunity to incorporate new learning tools like iPads, music training apps and SMART Boards into our curriculum.”

Take a look at Asbury University’s new Roland Learning Lab! Read more

Probably the most common question I get online is “What the heck is so SuperNATURAL about Roland’s piano sound?” …and it’s a fair question! Since Roland invented the first digital piano in 1975, they have been known throughout the World as a leader in digital music technology. If they’re excited about a technology, then it must be something big!

Well, I decided that SuperNATURAL Piano was too intricate to describe in a text blog. Who’d want to read that anyway?! …so for all of you who’ve wondered but never asked – and, of course, for all of you who asked, here’s my latest video: “What is SuperNATURAL Piano by Roland?”

Enjoy!

Today’s digital technology is giving classical instruments unparalleled exposure to increasingly younger generations of musicians.  In fact, with modern sampling technology, some instruments (like the Roland C-30 Digitall Harpsichord) can so closely replicate the authentic sound of a traditional harpsichord that the human ear can’t tell the difference.  As a result, music educators all over the world are delighting their students with authenticity – many for the very first time.

1765 Blanchet French double harpsichord 1765 Blanchet French double harpsichord on display in the Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments

Imagine.  What would “The Well Tempered Clavier” have sounded like when Bach wrote it?  How different would Mozart’s early works sound if performed on harpsichord instead of piano?  How did the piano’s development change the way Western Music was written?  These topics and more – traditionally very difficult to teach without a 7’ harpsichord in your studio – are now returning to private piano lessons…thanks to Roland.

Read more

This month’s guest blogger is an icon in the music education community.  Coming to us via our friends at Roland, here’s some excellent resource information on Recreational Music Making from Brenda Dillon:

Many teachers who are vaguely familiar with RMM (Recreational Music Making) want to know more about it before they include this kind of teaching in their schedules.  Music Teachers National Association is offering an excellent opportunity for this kind of information by having an RMM Track during Pedagogy Saturday at the MTNA convention in Anaheim, CA, on March 9, 2013.

A committee composed of Brenda Dillon (TX RMM author and teacher trainer), Emily Book McGree (Director of Education at Parlando School for the Arts in Boulder, CO) and Dr. Nan Baker Richerson (piano faculty at Gist Piano Academy in Lexington, KY) determined the topics and selected the clinicians. After a keynote address by Brian Chung (Senior Vice President of Kawai America), the following topics will be addressed:

Read more

Fifteen teachers, all at the top of their craft, all leaders in the district and their schools, cast their eyes down at the Department Chair meeting this week. They wrote notes and nodded lightly as the Content Area Coordinator outlined our lack of funds and increased standards in our departments. Once in a while, from my seat in the back, I noticed a teacher look to the left or right, no doubt wondering if we were all feeling as defeated.

If I took a barometer reading of the room, it would no doubt register “change.” But the change wasn’t exciting; it was debilitating. Even though we aren’t used to getting more funds, it’s disheartening to work so hard for so little. Even though we know about the new standards, there is no money for professional development and very little time in our large classes to immerse in studying strategies to meet them.

I’m known as a bit of a rebel out west, so maybe I have it all wrong, but I couldn’t help being frustrated at our meeting’s mood. Why do teachers expect a pay raise, enough training, and small classes? Since the beginning of our careers, these issues have incited riot, strike and career change, yet the same issues have cycled through every generation. If we love teaching, why do we not face change with the resources we DO have?

Here’s what I have:

1. I have a curiosity that killed a schoolhouse of cats. I’m constantly looking for a new way, a better way. I don’t need additional funds to be creative.
2. I have a sense of humor that suits the most sarcastic middle school student. I didn’t have to pay for it. Some wish I would.
3. I have at least one teacher colleague who shares my dreams, my frustrations, and who is always willing to share, vent, or unpack the new standards.
4. I have students who walk in every day, aching to be blessed with information, a new perspective, and a smile.
5. I have a coffee pot and chocolate in my room.

If I gave a “state of the classroom” address it would sound a little like this:

Things aren’t much different; find a different way.

Take what you can from the stores of goodness that are deeper than the paycheck, the class size, the technology. Sit in your teaching space and look around. Breathe it in, then close your eyes. It’s likely you have a lot.

Can it be fall already? It’s one of our favorite times of year at Gist Piano Center because we are getting ready for the most frightening event of the year – Halloweekend!  Every year we welcome ghosts, goblins, and more to perform at the spookiest recital of the year and one cannot play spooky songs without spooky music!

We are stocked full of the ghoulish and frightening pieces that will make your little witch or monster a very happy performer.

Don’t fear!  Here is some of the terrifying music that you can find at Gist!

Halloween Favorites – This is a compilation of “Seventeen Mysteriously Spooky and Fantastically Haunting Arrangements,” that include such songs as the Monster Mash, This is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Thriller, and other spooktacular pieces.

The Halloween Songbook – Containing “16 spooky songs of the season,” you are bound to find one of your favorite fearsome songs in this book.  Favorites include the Theme from “Jaws,” the Funeral March of a Marionette, and The Munsters Theme!

Halloween Spooktacular – For the more experienced player, you can find 37 of the “Gravest Hits” in this collection.  Find arrangements of anything and everything terrifying,  from  Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach to…..Who you gonna call??? Ghostbusters!

We also have a wide variety of pieces for those worrisome ghouls, such as The Witch Who Lost Her Broom by Carol Klose, Watch Out for the Witch’s Cat! by Timothy Brown, Greedy Goblins by Elizabeth Greenleaf, Things That Go Bump in the Night by Melody Bober, and others too scary to mention!

Grab your broom, get your candy ready, and find your most terrifying music in time for Halloween, before it disappears!

For more information on Halloweekend at Gist, look here….if you dare!