Psalm 150: Where Is The Balance?

To read the first post in this discussion, click here.

We've established the fact that we as Christians are commanded to praise the Lord with music. As "professional musicians" (and I use that term loosely) I believe we have an even greater responsibility. The Bible says "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the LORD, and not unto men." (Colossians 3:23) So not only are we commanded to praise the LORD with our music, but we are to do it heartily, to the best of our ability. Depending on our area of expertise, that may mean playing an instrument, singing, teaching music, etc. We must give the Lord our absolute best

But how do we balance this as piano teachers? (or violin teachers, or trumpet teachers...you get the picture.) How do we teach a piano lesson for the Lord without it turning into a church service? How do we focus on doing what we're supposed to do...teach piano....while doing the other thing we're supposed to do...praise the Lord? (Phew, this sounds complicated!)

1. Give God the Glory

Whenever you have the opportunity, give God the credit for what happens in your studio. The positive things and the seemingly difficult things! "Isn't it amazing that the Lord created our minds so we could process all this information at the same time?" "Isn't the Lord awesome for creating music all around us."

You students don't all have to be "religious" or church-goers for you to do this. Even "non-churched" students can hear these words! You most likely are not teaching in a public school...you can mention God or you can pray and not get in trouble for it! If you know that the religious views of a particular family might be offended by this, then use discretion. There is no need to offend. There is no need to embarrass your student or make them feel uncomfortable. Give God the glory where you can, and then move on with your lesson.

2. Live it

Realize that whether you are in or out of your teaching studio, you are teaching by your example. When your student or their parent sees you in the grocery store, their eyes don't see you any differently than when they see you in your studio. You are a living advertisement for your studio. So if you are going to "bring God into things" by giving Him glory in a lesson, then the rest of your life must fall into line. In all areas of your life, you must give Him glory and live a life that points others to Him.

3. Apply it

Find small ways to praise the Lord collectively in your studio. As I mentioned in my last post, several of my students and I memorized Psalm 150 this last year. Did all my students participate? No. Again, I tried to use discretion and not cause offense. But many of my students did and now several have a new favorite passage of scripture. :) Another thing that many of my students did was to find the first musician mentioned in the Bible. They had to tell me his name and one thing about him. Believe me, this isn't as easy as you might think! (Hint: its not David!) For some, I gave them the book or even the chapter so they wouldn't be overwhelmed. This was a fun assignment! (Especially when I heard my siblings asking their pastor-dad...even he didn't know!)

On the surface, having my students find the first musician doesn't seem like an activity that praise the Lord. After all, they are just finding the verse in the Bible...thats it. But it does cause them to not only search the scriptures, but also to realize that music and God are connected. They can see first hand that God does care about music...after all, He mentions it many times in His Word!

You don't have to be a Bible teacher or graduate from seminary to bring praise into your studio. Just find simple ways to praise God while teaching your students about the music He created.

What things do you do in your studio to bring glory to God? Are you wondering who the first musician in the Bible is?? :) How about a little challenge!? Lets see who can find him first. If you think you know, leave a comment with his name and the passage. If no one can find him, I'll start giving clues. :) Ready, set, go!

Psalm 150: A Biblical Perspective of Music

The subtitle of my blog says this:

"A peek into my life as a piano teacher and my efforts to live out Psalm 150:6, "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD."

(See, right up there. Thats what it says.)

Why do I try to live out this verse in my music endeavors? This is why: it is a command. Simple as that. A command not just for piano teachers and their students, and not just for anyone pursuing any type of musical training. It is a command to everyone that is breathing to praise the LORD. (I'm really hoping that if you are reading this right now, you fall into that category. Breathe in, breathe out. Everyone good? Ok, moving on..)

Last fall, my students and I made it our goal to memorize Psalm 150 in its entirety. Well actually, I made it our goal, but my students were quick to latch on to this challenge. The encouraging thing is that this Psalm only has 6 verses, so it did not seem like a daunting task at all. I wanted my students to really embrace this Psalm and see that our piano playing and practicing is ultimately to bring honor and glory to Him, not for ourselves.

They did a great job. Several learned it even quicker than I had hoped. We talked about the different instruments mentioned in this Psalm, and often went over the correct pronunciations. :) But most of all, I pray that they grasped the concept, that what we are doing is all for God's glory.

I hope that it is important to you. I hope that you teach with this principle in mind. I do. I hope to take the next few blog posts to discuss (notice I said discuss...that means I don't want to do all the talking :) how we can have a Biblical perspective of the music we teach. If you are not a piano teacher, don't stop reading. You need a Biblical perspective of music, too, whether it be the music you listen to, sing, play, or whatever your case may be. I hope to present a balance between teaching our students music for education's sake, and teaching our students music for the Glory of God.

Because it is important to Him. If it wasn't, we wouldn't be commanded to do it.

Psalm 150:1-6

Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Hymn History - O Sacred Head Now Wounded

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

The words of this song have gone through many revisions and changed hands many times before coming to us in our English form as we know it today. It is thought to have its roots in twelfth-century monastic life.

The original poem was called “Rhythmica Oratio” by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. His father was a knight and his mother has been said to have been a person of radiant goodness. Bernard chose monastery life while in his early twenties. Martin Luther said of him, “He was the best monk that ever lived, whom I admire beyond all the rest put together.”

The original poem had seven parts, with each part discussing various parts of Christ’s body as He suffered on the cross, His feet, knees, hands, side, breast, heart, and face. Our hymn text is only the seventh portion of the poem, and was originally entitled, “Salve Caput Cruentatum”.

The German translation was done by Paul Gerhardt, a German man who suffered much heartache in his life. He went through the Thirty Years’ War, and while still a young man lost his wife and four baby girls. He is credited with writing 132 hymn texts during his life, which are said to be a reflection of inner spiritual wealth. One person has said, “Many were written under circumstances that would make most men cry rather than sing.”

James Waddell Alexander translated the English version of this song. He was a history teacher, but always had more of an interest in hymnology. He translated many German and Latin texts that were published in a book titled, “The Breaking Crucible and Other Translations.”

Although not much else is known about the history of this song, it has certainly been used of the Lord throughout the years, not only in the lives of these three men, but also in the lives of many more of God’s people. Philip Schaff said, “This classic hymn has shown in three tongues – Latin, German and English – and in three confessions – Roman, Lutheran and Reformed – with equal effect, the dying love of our Savior and our boundless indebtedness to Him.”

~Kenneth W. Osbeck, 101 More Hymn Stories

Lyrics (J.W. Alexander's version, 1830)

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish that once was bright as morn!

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished the splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.

My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.

Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish in death’s cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms I’ll clasp.

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

For further reading:

Wikipedia

UMPortal

Hymnary.org

Large Staff Fun - And A Printable!

I mentioned before how I made my large staff. Seriously, we use this thing all the time! It is great for working on space/line notes, note names, intervals, just about anything!

Today I'd like to show you how I use it to work on scale degrees and chords. I made these circles to fit on the lines and spaces so that we could "label" our "notes." Here we have a scale all written out (minues the accidentals, I know...we weren't too worried about that at the moment!) with the scale degrees, and we worked on building the primary chords for that scale.

As you can see in that first picture, I have more circles made out to cover every Roman Numeral that we might need. Or at least, all the ones I could think of! This way we can always use them to review major/minor chords, intervals, etc.

Now, to make mine, I just used card stock and some colored markers and did it all by hand. It was simple. Sometimes I like to do things by hand rather than print everything off the computer. But some of you may prefer to have these handy to print out, so I also made them into a printable for you. Aren't I nice? And I even have one in black and white, to be printed on colored card stock, and one in color, to be printed on white card stock. Aren't I even nicer?

Black and White Circles:

And Color Circles:

Each file is two pages, one with Roman Numerals and one with numbers. The circles are 4.45 cm. in diameter, to give you an idea of the size.

I'd be delighted to hear how you use these circles!

Long Or Short Nails?

I do not regularly post questions for discussion, like some do. I really enjoy those discussions and fresh ideas to think about. I decided to post a random question for discussion, however. Because I'm a random kind of person. :)

My question is about fingernails and the piano. I know that some teachers insist on very short fingernails on all their students.

While others do not view it as such a serious detail.

I do think that the length of the fingernails affects playing. Long fingernails get in the way of playing with our fingertips. So how short is "short?"

I always have trouble finding the right balance with my own fingernails. They grow faster than weeds, and the nail bed is long, so it is hard to keep them "short." As a child I bit my nails, so they are misshapen as well, to add to the mess. Fun. If I had a camera right now I would take a picture of them for you, but thankfully for you, I don't. :)

So what about you? Do you ask for your students to keep their nails short? How do you enforce that aspect of your policies? How long does a nail have to be to interfere with proper playing?

*Note: none of the above pictures are my own. I just googled "fingernails" and that is what good 'ol google gave me. Boom.*

Guest Post: Enjoyable Piano Lessons???

♬ Guest Post ♬

Enjoyable Piano Lessons???

Discovering a Relative and Fun Method to Piano Teaching

By Emily Matthew

I believe a tragedy has occurred in both piano studios and student’s homes across the country. Piano students dread going to lessons because their teacher is “boring” or “strict”; teachers are unoriginal and rigid in their teaching styles; and parents are tired of the constant battle to practice. The result? More students discontinue piano lessons. This is a problem that I believe could be corrected by parents and piano teachers, both of which who will in turn influence the students.

This article is not intended for parents; however, I will quickly say this: I believe it is the parents’ responsibility to give their child the opportunity of music lessons. I believe that learning to play an instrument is a necessary discipline in the life of a child, both musically and otherwise. Learning an instrument instills in a child invaluable qualities that will benefit him throughout all his life. I believe it is the parents’ job to support piano lessons just as they do math, history, and science classes in school. If your child did not enjoy math homework, would you allow him to drop out of math class? Of course not! I’ve had parents tell me that they wish their child had a desire to take music lessons, but since their child isn’t interested in music or committed to practicing, they will not be required to take lessons. I really believe that is sad! While a career in music isn’t for everyone, I do believe that several years of musical discipline are necessary for a child’s education. However...that is another subject for another time!

Now for the teachers: I believe it is your responsibility to foster in your students a love for music. Let’s face it: many a student will end up in our studios who really doesn’t want to be there. He, in fact, is determined to hate the piano. Bravo to the parents who make him come! It is now the teacher’s job to convince him that music can be rewarding and even fun. James Bastien said, “The teacher, not a set of books, is the determining factor in quality results.” The teacher should demonstrate to him the great fulfillment and enjoyment that can be had from music lessons.

Private piano teachers today are competing with a multitude of other activities that are vying for their students’ attention. Sports, movies, video games, and other modern entertainment are FUN! Why would your student want to sit 1/2 hour with someone who is twice his age explaining to him how to interpret little black dots on a page full of lines? If you were in his place would that be fun to you? I believe it is time for teachers to step back and re-evaluate their teaching methods. I am NOT advocating reducing a high quality of a musical education. I am definitely not suggesting that you throw out theory, scales, and classical study or that you lessen your high standards for performance. My students spend plenty of time investing in these areas, and they also know that doing less than their best is simply not an option. What I am suggesting is that you adapt your presentation of these musical areas to make them appealing. Ignite your student’s curiosity about theory. Make him want to master the last scale in his book before anyone else has ever done. Fascinate him with the classical masterpieces and the men who wrote them. Make music come alive!!!

I believe piano lessons can come alive by the teacher being real, relevant, and enthusiastic about what he is teaching to his student. Get to know your students. Discover their learning style and use that knowledge as a stepping stone to bring them to the realization that music can be enjoyable. Do crazy things during your lessons to make your students laugh and relax. My students and I have come up with the strangest and craziest stories that express the mood of a song they are learning; but you know what? After coming up with those “silly” stories, they play the song better and they enjoy doing so! It’s amazing! Hold studio competitions for titles in the “Piano Hall of Fame.” Use colored pencils and highlighters in the child’s favorite color. Play musical games, with the challenge that you’re pretty hard to beat. I appreciate what a Chinese Proverb states, “Tell me and I will forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I will understand.” Make each minute of lesson time count by actively involving students and doing your best to make lessons enjoyable. Be relative to your students, and please don’t lose another student simply because he was bored with you.

In my piano studio, I strive to give my students a quality musical education. We do all the “boring” stuff such as theory books, scales, arpeggios, Hanon, classical music, but *read* it is not boring to the majority of my students. Why? Because I have strived to make it enjoyable for them. I hold studio competitions year round (with fun names, of course). Last June and July, I hosted “Sizzlin’ Summer Studies”, where students could become “Piano Superstars” by completing some tricky assignments. During the majority of the year, I hold a much more in- depth competition. Last year, we embarked on “Treasures from the Past: the Lives of Great Composers.” We spent the year with an emphasis on classical music. My students had the options of listening to classical music, completing extra credit worksheets, playing additional songs at the foremost level of excellence, working extra hard on their given assignments, practicing extra time, etc. all for the purpose of earning “Treasure Chest Coins” which could be traded in for some awesome prizes. I hardly heard any complaints about practice time or scales. Two of my students were so competitive about the contest that they called each other during the week to see how many “Treasure Chest Coins” they were going to earn that week to see if they in turn needed to practice more or do some extra work. Those two students tied as winners of the contest. They surpassed my musical expectations for them! They learned so much more than I required of them and enjoyed doing so! Why? I suggest that it was at least partially because piano learning was made fun.

I believe another huge motivator is simply your praise. I can’t remember where I once heard this suggestion, but it has been a huge help to me! “Never let a lesson go by without praising your student about something they did well.” Now, I will admit, this can be very difficult at times! Maybe your student didn’t practice at all, missed most of the notes in his song, and completely ruined the rhythm...well, use your imagination to find something good that he did do! :) Time for some out-of-the-box thinking! What about his dynamics (on those few notes that were correct that is)...praise him for it. Try this, “Billy, you have some incredible dynamics while you’re playing! I especially like that forte at the very end! It sounded just like a lion roaring!” Of course we need to address the problems too, so then try this: “You know Billy, we really need to get these notes and rhythm right. I can’t wait to hear it next week! I know once you get those things right, it will sound amazing with those incredible dynamics I already heard today!” What do you think? I think that it helps your student see that you’re not “against” him. Find something he did right and tell him how much you like it!

You may be reading this and thinking, “This is all great, but I don’t think it will solve all my ‘bored student’ problems.” You’re right. It won’t. But, you’ve done your part; now, just keep trying! Keep getting to know your students as individuals, and find one thing that they enjoy doing that motivates them. Once you’ve found it, use your imagination and work with that knowledge! On my beginning student/parent questionnaires, I ask the parents their child’s learning style, temperament, and motivators. I have found those answers to be so helpful to me as I teach! If you have a majority of “bored students” in your studio, why not try a few new and innovative ideas? Those bored students just might change their minds!

Are your students having fun during their lessons, or do they dread them? I suggest that you re-evaluate your approach to teaching. Become a relevant teacher and motivator rather than a strict and strenuous instructor. It is our responsibility as music teachers to do our best to instill in our students a love and a passion for the instrument we teach.

Emily Matthews and her husband Jared currently live in Minnesota, where Emily enjoys being a homemaker and piano teacher. You can visit her piano studio website to see what she's all about. Emily is also an avid couponer and blogs about her homemaking and couponing adventures on their blog, Day by Day.

Why I Have Been Eating Skittles All Week

As a fun activity this week, my students and I played Susan Paradis Skittles game at the end of their lessons. It is a good thing that I don't have many students, or I would be fat! As it was, by the end of the week I felt "skittled out." :) But it is such a fun game that I don't mind.

All my students eyes light up when they see the skittles, and most say, "Are we going to eat those??" No, we're just going to look at them...

I was a little unsure about what I was going to do with my youngest student, who doesn't yet know the notes on the staff. I thought I would make cards for him that said "line note" and "space note" but that seemed a little boring and not too much of a review. Then, I read the great idea Sarah had about using a tabletop keyboard instead. Perfect! It worked like a charm. We just disregarded the "Treble" and "Bass" directions and went by the letter names. Here are some pictures:

You can get these tabletop keyboards here.

This is just one example of those fun games I talk about from time to time. It reviews and reinforces the notes in such a fun (and yummy!) way. I find it to be "the game that never ends," so we usually just have a set time to play it or play through the deck of cards a certain number of times. It is a great learning incentive!

Anyone else been playing any learning games lately?

Hymn History - Jesus Calls Us

Jesus Calls Us

Miss Cecil Humphreys was just 21 years old when her first book was published. Entitled "Verses for Holy Seasons," it contained a hymn or poem for each Sunday of the year, with special verses on holidays and special occasions. Written as a result of Miss Humphreys reading of "The Christian Year" by Rev. John Keble, it has been called "A Christian Year for Children."

In one of her Sunday School classes, her students were puzzled about the meaning of some of the words in the Apostles Creed. Unable to adequately explain to them in their terminology, she resorted to making her teaching in poetic form. For the first phrase, "I believe in God the Father Almighty," she wrote, "All Things Bright and Beautiful." For "Born of the Virgin Mary" she wrote, "Once in Royal David's City." And to explain the meaning of the death of Jesus who was crucified and buried, she wrote, "There is a Green Hill far Away." In 1848, the year she was married, she published her second book, "Hymns for Little Children," which included the songs inspired by the Creed.

One afternoon in 1852, her husband, Rev. William Alexander, found her writing a poem as a result of the sermon he had preached the Sunday before. He had preached on the burial of Moses, and she had been so inspired by the message that she wrote these words:

By Nebo's lonely mountain, On this side Jordan's wave,

In a vale in the land of Moab, There lies a lonely grave.

But no man built that sepulcher, And no man saw it e're;

For the angels of God upturned the sod, And laid he dead man there.

Her husband was so moved by these gripping words, that he asked her to write a poem for his sermon coming that Sunday. He was going to speak on the calling of Andrew by Jesus in Mark 1:16-18. After reading the passage through, Mrs. Alexander wrote these words:

Jesus calls us o'er the tumult, Of our life's wild, restless sea;

Day by day His sweet voice soundeth, Saying Christian follow me!

By her death in 1895 Mrs. Alexander had written over four hundred hymns and poems. Over a quarter million copies of “Hymns for Little Children" was sold, but nothing ever received the attention that her song, "Jesus Calls Us," has received.

~Ernest K. Emurian, "Living Stories of Famous Hymns"

Jesus calls us o’er the tumult
Of our life’s wild, restless, sea;
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, “Christian, follow Me!”
Jesus calls us from the worship
Of the vain world’s golden store,
From each idol that would keep us,
Saying, “Christian, love Me more!”
In our joys and in our sorrows,
Days of toil and hours of ease,
Still He calls, in cares and pleasures,
“Christian, love Me more than these!”
Jesus calls us! By Thy mercies,
Savior, may we hear Thy call,
Give our hearts to Thine obedience,
Serve and love Thee best of all.

Source: Lyrics

Let's Play the Piano With Hammers!

A few weeks ago, I showed you how I take my piano apart and asked what you thought about including this in lessons. I decided to go ahead and give it a try! Last week, I took the front of the piano off before each student came to his lesson. It was fun to watch their eyes get big when they walked around the piano!

I would explain simply how the piano has strings and hammers to make a sound. Most are familiar with stringed instruments like guitars, so they quickly noticed that the piano was "the same." And they were all excited to find out that their piano has hammers inside! (Hence the title of this post...no, I did not let them use real hammers on my piano!! Yikes!)

I let them plunk some keys and watch the hammers, and then I would also show them the dampers on the strings and how those work when you strike a key and when you press the damper pedal. Lights came on at this point with a lot of students. Which is a good thing. :)

When I was done explaining everything and they were done exploring, I had them play a song that they know from memory and just watch the hammers strike. They seemed to enjoy it! Here are a couple doing it:

Then I had to put the front back on so that they would have a place to rest their books for the rest of the lesson. One student was sure she could just lay her book down, but I didn't know how well that would work. :)

It was a fun experiment!! And now I have all kinds of ideas for a group lesson along these lines...a piano tuner could come and show how he tunes the piano and some of the ins and outs of tuning. What student wouldn't like to see his tuning fork?? Whenever anybody learns any other instrument....guitar, violin, etc....they learn how to tune it. Why is the piano any different? Obviously they can't tune their own piano, but I think they should know how it works, anyway. What do you think?