April 2018

Hello DAMTA!

I’m back from the 2018 MTNA National Convention.  I want to thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to go.  It was at the Coronado Springs Resort in Disney World.  So warm weather and a fantasy-land environment.  Lots of fun!

I want to share with you some of the interesting things I ran across at the convention, along with links so you can check them out yourself.  These are in no particular order.

Beginners are often frustrated by the simple (read; boring) nature of the pieces that are usually found in lesson books.  I met Paula Dreyer who has a series called “Little Gems for Piano”.  These are “rote” pieces meant to be taught by playing them for the student and having them mimic you.  This allows for more complex rhythms then a student at that level is able to read.  Link: http://littlegemsforpiano.com

I played a wonderful digital piano from a new company called Dexibell.  I was very impressed by the sound and playability.  It was much higher quality than one would expect from a new company’s first offering.  The only problem is that they are not yet widely distributed.  I found out that this company was founded by ex-Roland employees in Europe who found themselves unemployed when Roland pulled the plug on their European operation.  With some design help from Ferrari, I think they have a real winner.  Link:  http://dexibell.com

I men a young man, James L. King III, who is creating his own online music catalog.  Very prolific.  Check him out at http://alijammusic.com

Here is a source for online music games;  http://musiclearningcommunity.com

A German company was there promoting their very serious urtext editions. http://www.baerenreiter.com

Roland had some impressive digital pianos there as well; http://rolandus.com/pianos

Online theory system:  http://sproutbeat.com

A new piano method; the Hoffman Method – http://hoffmanacademy.com

Piano Maestro was there again.  I still use them all the time since I met them 2 years ago.  For iPad only. https://itunes.apple.com/il/app/piano-maestro-by-joytunes/id604699751?mt=8

I was intrigued by a new method for teaching improvisation.  Jazz piano basics by Eric Baumgartner – https://www.halleonard.com/product/viewproduct.action?itemid=234476&lid=2&whatsnew=30&searchcategory=00&subsiteid=1&

A piano method that balances reading, rote and creativity; Piano Safari- https://pianosafari.com/

Finally, an interesting app for staying in communication with your students and tracking practice time between lessons. Practice Presto – http://www.practicepresto.com/

Enjoy!

Vince Madison

DAMTA President