JANUARY PROGRAM - DR. SUSAN OSBORN: USING PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARCHITECTURAL IMAGERY TO ENHANCE OUR TEACHING | |
January 15, 9:45 AM
Rolling Meadows Library/Zoom
Dr. Susan Osborn of the Northwestern Music Academy will be presenting our January program on “Using Photography and Architectural Imagery to Enhance our Teaching”. Although she presented this program to our group about ten years ago, a number of our teachers have not seen it and are interested in a repeat presentation. To put a new twist on her program, Dr. Osborn said she will explain how she uses the techniques with her work at the Interlochen Arts Camp.
“In an artistic world that places increasing value on interdisciplinary study, we as teachers can enhance our teaching by the use of other creative genres. As a musician, photographer and architectural docent in Chicago, I encounter many opportunities to see how these genres overlap. As a result, I have started to think about how the use of visual images can enhance our teaching of music. Using photographic images and architectural references in a lesson can enlighten the learning process of students in many ways. In this presentation, I will demonstrate the similarities of music with the visual arts - areas including composition, storyline, style, and form. I will give practical examples as to how to incorporate visual images into the lesson, and to incorporate photos and architectural images in order to
1) communicate the emotion behind a piece
2) teach the form of a piece
3) teach the style of a piece
4) engage the student in the process of creating images to express a piece”
Dr. Susan Osborn is the Director of the Northwestern Music Academy, the community music division of Northwestern University. She has taught private and group piano to students of all ages and levels for over 30 years. Dr. Osborn is also on the college Keyboard Skills faculty of Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. During the summer, she teaches piano at Interlochen Arts Camp. Dr. Osborn is an active performer, adjudicator and clinician, both locally and nationally. She received her D.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northwestern University and holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith College, and The New School for Music Study. Her pedagogy teachers included Frances Clark, Louise Goss, Same Holland, Frances Larimer, and Elvina Pearce. Additionally, she studied at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France, and Ecole Normale de Musique, Paris, as a recipient of the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship. Dr. Osborn studied performance with Robert Miller, Serge Petitgirard, Michael Zenge, Phyllis Rappeport, Fritz Whang, and David Kaiserman. As a photographer and Chicago architectural tour guide, she specializes in interdisciplinary topics that combine these passions with music. Among these topics are “Teaching: What We Can Learn from the Actor,” and “Imagery and Artistry: Using Photography and Architecture to Enhance Your Piano Teaching.”
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRESENTATION HANDOUT.
| |
|
Dear NWSMTA members,
I hope 2024 brings us laughter. Hoping for peace seems too remote. I am making no resolutions. They have not worked that well in the past. And as my memory slips, I cannot remember my resolutions of the past.
That is a good thing. I am afraid they would come back to haunt me.
I do have a recommendation for you for 2024. I told you about my student who wanted to play “The Titanic” in his first recital after a few months of lessons. I bargained with him to play a piece he actually knew and hold “The Titanic” for his next recital. I needed to create a very, very easy version of the song. I used to use Sibelius for writing music. The manual for it was a paperback book two inches thick, that was nothing more than an index. I checked into
MuseScore and found it easier to use than my old Sibelius program. And best of all, it was free.
I decided to help my grandson, Seth, write out his arrangement for Jingle Bells. This led to more investigation and interest. Seth was amazed that he could hear his arrangement played by the computer. He begins every practice session with exploration of sound at the piano. It is easy to teach a child who is curious. We can talk about theory in a practical way. Because his score is always available to him on his iPad, he can continue to make changes or grow his compositions. I noticed he now reads music with expanded insight. Students could use this as a tool to learn how to transcribe music.
I recommend that you view the following video to check out MuseScore and see if it might add a new dimension to your studio. It is a practical introduction into using MuseScore. In just over twenty-two minutes you will be ready to start your journey.
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=594619744&sxsrf=AM9HkKkyswKLZI2izPIgQF_u2Tg0Mk_4wg:1703958266987&q=musescore+4+note+input+modes&tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi81tyZ27eDAxVSlIkEHZfPDqsQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1494&bih=688&dpr=2.5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f77970d8,vid:dIMFQ7s31DM,st:0
If you come across something you think would be helpful or of interest to your colleagues, please take a moment to share it with the membership.
And thank you, Distinguished Volunteer Jerry Dolins, for the humor and puzzles you often add to your notes. I am counting on you to get us through 2024.
Deborah Lynch
Newsletter Editor
| | | |
Northwest Suburban Music Teachers Association | https://www.nwsmta.org | | | | |
