Thomas J. West Music

Yesterday, I presented and attended sessions at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 12 In-Service Conference at Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, PA. District 12 encompasses public and private schools in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Chester Counties. In this article, I will include bullet point items that are take-aways from the sessions I attended yesterday.

Keynote Address - Sr. Kathleen Doutt, Immaculata University

• The next frontier in our profession is preparing our young music education majors to become leaders in the profession through mentorship.
• Today's blogging and Twitter generation may think that they are communicating effectively, but fall short.
• PCMEA is a vital link between pre-service teachers and current practicing professionals

21st Century Technology Resources for Music Educators

This was my presentation. You can get the full Prezi presentation with all resource videos and handouts HERE

String Instrument Maintenance and Adjustments - Taylor's Music

• Avoid exposing any instrument to sudden extremes in temperature and humidity.
• Setting a cello sound post = patience and knowledge.
• Whitner tailpieces are highly recommended for all players novice to professional.
• Winter pegs - check with the string off to see if the string hole in the peg is close to the side of the peg box. Drilling a new hole may be necessary.Using "drops" or rosin to help it stick is not recommended because hot weather later in the year will make it like cement.
• Using dominant strings with fine tuners: use a screwdriver to gently open the prongs on the fine tuner to get the string to sit.
• Cracks: saddle down by tailpiece - ebony doesn't move, spruce is flexible. You can live with that crack. Any crack that is not on a block should be dealt with away because it will worsen.
• Use a hose clamp (from the hardware store) to help keep cello end pins in place.
• There are a lot of maintenance jobs you can do with just basic tools, time, and patience.
• If bridges slide around, use rosin on the bridge feet, or use light sand paper to remove some varnish.
• If the wings of your F-holes flare upwards, you sound post needs to be adjusted.
• Bridge fronts need to be slightly angled. Bridge backs should be 90 degrees.
• Buzzy strings usually are making contact with the fingerboard at the nut. The fingerboard could also be warped or have a bump. Check fingerboards by sighting down the right side from the scroll. It should have a gradual bowing.
• Varnish in the F-holes can cause buzzing.
• Sound post is structural as well as acoustic. The bass bar is glued to the body of the instrument, and the sound post supports the top face from the bass bar.

String Teaching for Those More Comfortable with Keys, Valves, and Sticks - Susan Basalik, Methacton School District

CLICK HERE to see an image of the handout for this session.

• Colored instruments are made of polyurethane and are not a vibrating surface.
• If students are not buying locally, use Shar Music or Southwest Strings
• When buying an instrument, select shop adjusted in the US as close to your location as possible.
• Fiberglass or composite bows. Real horse hair.
• Upgrade strings when you upgrade instruments.
• Adjustable string bass bridges!
• Marked un-notched end pins with a marker or nail polish for the right height.
• Old rubber xylophone mallet heads work well as rubber stops for end pins.
• Very small cello students may need to use a piano bench with "X" legs rather than a normal chair.
• A "full-sized bass" is actually a 3/4 bass.
• Sizing instruments - violin: bend in the elbow, can reach. cello - sizes vary by manufacturer (buyer beware)
• Cello and bass players should take the bow out of the case first.
• Carry celli and basses by the body, not the neck
• Old clean socks or tees work well as cleaning cloths.
• Two sets of replacement strings for each size instrument (not one).
• If strings are breaking at the nut, use pencil graphite to smooth out the nut.
• To tighten pegs, loosen first, then tighten.Avoids breakage.
• Have extra tail gut for both violin and viola (wire that goes from the tail piece around the end pin).
• If it requires gluing, send it in for repairs.
• Re-corking the chin rest is something you can do yourself.
• Don't mess with bow repairs - send it in.
• Hand positions on the flute are very similar to the bow grip and left hand of the violin.
• Start as many students with bow hold at the frog as possible.
• Shoulder rests are a must. Tell students "use shoulder as a shelf"
• If a student struggles with reading or bowing, it could be an eye dominance problem.Ask a music dealer for a center-set chin rest.
• Nose-elbow-knee-toe alignment to get the instrument correctly off the shoulder.
• Cello height - collar bone, not tip of chin. C peg opposite left ear. Set the cello in place, but then don't look at the fingerboard anymore.
• Bass nut level with the left eyebrow. Left leg supports the bass (left lunge). Bass fingers have to go all the way down to feel the fingerboard (takes strength).
• Ringing fingerings - play a low A on the violin, rings the A and E strings, etc.
• Vibrato - practice motion with shakers.
• Shifting - move matchbox cars up and down the finger board
• Kendor string publications are very good. Alfred:  Richard Meyer, Bob Phillips
• FJH Brian Balmages, Susan Neubold
• Carl Fischer Larry Clark
• Deborah Baker Monday
• Elliott Del Borgo
• Burt Ligon - symphonic jazz
• Martin Lorberg - symphonic jazz

PA Standards Aligned System - O. David Deitz

This was an interesting look into the upcoming Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards Aligned System website. Pennsylvania teachers can create a free account and look around. Music teachers, be sure to go to "My Communities" in the "Teacher Toolbox" and sign up for the Arts and Humanities Forum. This is part of the reason why Act 48 has been suspended. For the new Race to the Top - slash - No Child Left Behind changes, all states will be using these online portals to standardize assessments of both students and teachers. Stay tuned!

PMEA District 12 did a fine job, Valley Forge Christian Academy served as great hosts, and the weather was magnificent for a walk at lunchtime!

This article (c) 2011 Thomas J. West. All content on ThomasJWestMusic dot com is licensed under a Creative Contributions Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Please contact the author before publishing on or off-line.

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