MTNA Orlando
Heading to the world of Disney!
The big national conferences are a huge deal for me in so many ways. They evoke feelings of excitement, fear, awe, inspiration, exhaustion, renewal, humility, pride, and the occasional headache and nostalgia for delicious food. This is my third conference. I also attended MTNA San Antonio and NCKP Chicago (National Conference for Keyboard Pedagogy).
If you’ve never considered one of these conferences, I HIGHLY recommend them. There are endless presentations all day long that you can pick and choose from, depending on your interests. The nightly recitals are world class. It’s so fun to meet and network with colleagues in person that you may or may not have already met online. Dinners with colleagues may revolve around talking about teaching, or simply getting to know one another or catching up, as this is often the only time teachers around the globe get together. There are masterclass and performances by students that have won composition and performance competitions. I often don’t have time for these, unfortunately, as I am busy at my Little Gems for Piano booth, talking with returning customers and meeting new ones.
A Piano Teacher’s Favorite One Stop Shop
The exhibit hall is full of vendors selling everything from the newest inspiring compositions, to pianos, to benches, to teaching supplies, apps, and anything and everything in between. I am not a natural sales person, but somehow I pull through for the Little Gems. I think it’s because I feel so passionately about them, therefore it is easy for me to explain what they are and to encourage teachers to take a listen to the music. Of course, there is always the fear in the back of my mind “What if no one buys any? What if no one stops by to take a look?” Thankfully, sales have gone well at all three conferences. I always love talking with teachers about the Little Gems.
I found this quote by Disney in my hotel room to be so fitting:
“When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do. And one thing it takes to accomplish something is courage.”- Walt Disney
My favorite customer this time around was a lovely woman from ICELAND! She was very excited about all three books and said she would spread the good word to all of the piano teachers in Iceland. When else can you have such an experience!? Okay, maybe on Facebook, but it’s so much more rewarding in person.
Lifelong Learner
As I had three helpers at the booth, I was able to get away for some lectures. I always loved school and I greatly look forward to attending the presentations. It feels like such a gift to me, to just sit and soak in the knowledge and expertise of the presenter and walk away with new insights. My favorites included a talk relating sports to music. I didn’t think the topic would pertain to me so much (I was so wrong), but I went because of the presenter, Alan Huckleberry. He talked about how coaches use technology to record the motions and then they review them in slow motion and piano teachers can easily do the same on an iPad. He spoke about the attributes that sports instill in the kids and that music can help students attain these same traits and that it’s important to spell this out to parents. My favorite part was all of the demonstrations showing that for any motion, there is a motion in the opposite direction first in order to put everything in motion. For example, when you kick a ball, your foot goes back first and then it goes forward to make contact with the ball. The same thing happens with piano. In order to play a key, we first have a slight breathing motion up before we descend and sink into the key. I have often explained this to students, but now I make a point of having them stand up and I tell them to pretend to kick a ball and have them analyze what happens first. Then, we do the same thing pretending to throw a ball, etc. When I relate it to the piano the concept seems to stick much more than if I just explain it without having them get up and physically try it. He highly recommended the book “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle. I have it on my list of books to read, but have not read it…yet. Read more about the comparison of sports to music from Alan Huckleberry’s blog.
This was my second experience to hear Jim Brickman play and speak. For those who don’t know, he is a highly successful “new age” (would he call himself that!?) pianist who has sold 8 million records. He is very charming and charismatic and is a great story teller. I first heard of him through my grandmother who liked playing his music and then my cousins had me play his piece “Rocket to the Moon” at their wedding. This lecture was supposed to teach how to compose and write songs. A friend had said she was not going because she found him to be too anecdotal without enough practical applications to walk away with. I suspected she might be right, but decided to give it a try. Sure enough, 30 minutes in and he was still telling fun stories and playing away. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable and I probably soaked in a few tidbits here and there. One of my favorite presenters is Tim Topham. He always knocks his talks out of the park and everyone leaves with loads of wonderful and practical information.
Truly Inspired
A real highlight of the trip was the opening concert by the group Time for Three. If you haven’t heard them, you are missing out. They are such a treat to be around. They also performed at MTNA San Antonio and whenever I hear them, I think “These three people are doing exactly what they were born to do. Their spirits are clearly shining through right now.” Time for Three is a group of three young men (two violins and double bass) who were trained at top schools such as Juilliard and Curtis and then took their unbelievable technique and artistry to the next level and they sing, play their own arrangements of tunes in countless styles from pop, to classical to rock, and play original compositions. They are fully invested in their music and they are pure joy to watch and listen to. If they ever come to the Bay Area, I will certainly go to their show and tell all of my friends about it. They really are a group that is not to be missed. They are a prime example of the power of music and its’ potential to inspire and replenish the creative spirit.
Truly Uninspired
Ok, now for the food at the resort… This really was the worst food I may have ever experienced. Some food was unbearably salty, or extremely dry and overcooked. The worst meal was a chef’s salad, where the hard boiled egg tasted like it had been cooked for one hour minimum and if you tried to throw it, it would bounce freely around the room without breaking. And well, the cherry tomatoes that I was excited for in order to absorb a few nutrients- they were frozen!!! I couldn’t believe it. I was very relieved to get off campus one night and have a proper meal at Disney Springs.
Reunions
Perhaps the best part about the conference is seeing old friends and meeting new ones! One of my helpers included an old friend from college and we had such a blast catching up and going to meals together. Another helper is a customer who ended up becoming a wonderful friend. Another booth worker is a local teacher who has a great new app called “Note Quest“. Take a look for drilling note names and helping with intervals! She was a delight to get to know as well and luckily she lives in the Bay Area so we hope to reconnect sooner rather than later. I also had been in touch with the wonderful blogger and teacher Leila Viss and it felt so great to meet and chat in person. Finally, I got to meet my translator who came all the way from China and he is translating the Little Gems for Piano book into Chinese. We hope to have it published in the fall!
Little Gems Helpers
Leila Viss and Grace Lee
Hashtag Girlboss
And one final benefit of conferences: creative business ideas just appear out of nowhere! As I was sitting at the booth, I had an inspiration to create a new product that I absolutely cannot wait to start developing in the fall. I think it will be a wonderful way for students to know what will happen in the lesson and to promote independence, stability, motivation and self confidence. Stay tuned for more details about this.
I have been working hard on the products and will be in touch as soon as they are ready! I think about them all of the time and it is really all I want to work on right now. Somehow, these projects such as my Little Gems, truly consume me. I absolutely adore working on them and there is nothing I would rather be doing in my creative work life. In a way, it reminds me of how Time for Three might feel- as if everything is aligned and they are doing exactly what they were intended to be doing- playing music.
Star Sighting
One last thing- I was star struck to get to talk with legendary pedagogical composer Martha Mier! She told me in her southern drawl, “It’s a lot of work being in the business.” What a sweet woman.
