'Beauty and the Beast' - a CYGNETS Production

You might recall back in Easter that I MD'd a short course of 'Annie' with one of Macclesfield's youth theatre societies - CYGNETS.

The week that that production went ahead was to have been the week of their full production that we were all working towards, however - it had to be pushed back a few months.

And - as of Sunday just gone - it's all over.

CYGNETS performed 'Beauty and the Beast' at the Kings School in Macclesfield across three performances from Friday 12th - Sunday 14th July.

Despite the short course earlier this year, this was actually my first production with CYGNETS and, in fact, my first ever youth production. However, on the understanding that the cast had shown enormous potential in previous shows, it was opted that their production of 'Beauty and the Beast' would not be the youth cut and would, in fact, be the full show!

I have to say they carried it and pulled it off remarkably well. All principal roles were exceptional and the chorus / ensemble were extremely tight. This goes for everything - singing, dancing and general acting. And what I particularly love about kids is just how fearless they are! Nothing but excitement throughout the whole process - even with minutes to go until showtime!

It is also worth reiterating that CYGNETS is a non-profit group that relies so heavily on the work put in by volunteers who are mainly made up of parents of the cast! This means that stage crew, set design and props and - arguably most impressively in this production - wardrobe, were all carried by them!

Musical Directing

Having worked with backing tracks (of a fashion) for only one show prior ('Footloose' - CMT 2022), I was reluctant to do so again. Previously I had used Sinfonia which gave absolute control of the tracks regarding tempo, cues etc., but for 'Beauty and the Beast' we used MTI (Music Theatre International) which is infinitely a higher standard of sound but has very little control.

We got a hold of the rehearsal tracks very early on in the process so we did get used to them, but because 'Beauty and the Beast' is a show with lots of rises and falls in the music (i.e. demands a lot of conducting) it required a lot of conscious effort to get used to and remember how the tracks played out.

It was, however, fine! And the tracks did sound excellent nonetheless.

Parade - 29th June 2024

As part of Macclesfield's 1261 weekend festival, a parade set course down the streets of Macclesfield town centre. And guess who had a float?

CYGNETS!

The cast absolute relished in handing out flyers to unsuspecting passers by, and I was parading with them. Although, I dare say, photographic evidence probably doesn't look too good as I often appeared less than impressed at the obligatory outfit I had to wear (disclaimer: not actually obligatory and not really an outfit - just beast ear headband). Fortuitously, the photo that came from Cheshire Live / Macclesfield Express and was shared came after the parade, so...no harm done!:

Cheshire Live / Macclesfield Express Photo

Wrapping Up CYGNETS "Beauty and the Beast"

I don't know if I'll ever work with any of these young people again, but they truly were a delight. As already obsered, the principal roles were excellent and they all thrived in putting on the best performance they possibly could. If they so choose, I have no doubt that any of them will excel in whichever area of performing arts they choose, whether that be all round theatre or they decide to focus on dancing or singing.

Including myself, the production team for this show was identical to 'Annie', so I will once again thank Hannah Davies for the amazing choreography and congratulate Kalini Kent for organising the show and putting it all together.

Taken directly from the website, CYGNETS "are a vibrant not-for-profit group developing skills in the performing arts, providing performance opportunities, as well as building confidence, self-esteem, self-belief and improved communication skills in our young people and adults."

If you know of anybody who would like to take part then click here to visit the website and learn more, or click here to be directed straight to the contact form.

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#musical #musicaltheatre #musicaldirector #macclesfield #amateurdramatics #youthproduction

One Year of Teaching Piano - A Retrospect

It's been just over a year since I started teaching piano. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone, but I suppose more so I can't believe how far I've come as not only a teacher, but as a pianist and musician myself.

When most people begin to learn piano, those with any ambition about progressing to a career in music tend to look at those high profile, name in lights type of jobs: professional concert pianist, session musician, events pianist, composer, musical director or supervisor etc. - I think it would be safe to say that most people who begin learning piano don't have the thought: 'I reeeeeeally want to teach this one day'.

This was the case with me, however - over the past four years it has become clear that it was perhaps the most logical extension to what I did want from piano. The name in lights dream has never been something I've yearned for. If I play piano I tend to be happy to do so for my own entertainment. However, music was too much of a passion to not progress towards being a career hence why the first push was to try and develop a creative, behind-the-scenes service such as composition. My theory: I write the music, somebody else brings it to life every night! My job is done and I reap the reward in hearing the final thing without all the stress of rehearsal, conducting and - for piano based compositions - performing them myself!

Needless to say, the average demand for bespoke composition is...limited! Certainly if I offered something along the lines of more traditional art - sketches, paintings etc. - it would be wonderful as people love to commission these as keepsakes, gifts and more. However, the idea of a bespoke piece of music or song seldom crosses people's minds. Those who are musically passionate would probably do it themselves anyway, and if not then it wouldn't really be something that they consider.

So the next logical step for me has led to a successful first year of piano teaching and gives me one year's worth of experience to advise those who are considering this career move or have just begun. Read on to learn more and be inspired in taking the steps yourself...

Preparation For Piano / Instrumental Teaching

Seek Out Advice On Teaching

Are you still in touch with your old piano teacher?

I was (am).

In fact, it was her who planted the seed about a year or so prior at a recital of some of her pupils - she asked me if I was considering teaching myself. This was a resounding 'no' at the time because I didn't know how to start!

Back then I thought that I'd only like to get pupils who had some experience playing.

But then I started to consider that they might be too advanced for me to teach! Panic!

So I thought maybe I'd start with beginners - but how?

It was immaterial thinking anyway...until I decided I did want to teach.

Then these questions emerged...

• how do you teach a beginner?

• how do you teach a child?

• which books are best?

• are books even the way to go?

and many, many more.

So I went round to her house, she made me a cup of tea (teacher's prerogative - ask one of my pupils the last time I made them a cup of tea!) and we had a good long chat where she talked me through everything she could according to the leading questions I asked (see above)*.

Ultimately we reached an interesting conclusion - put my name out there, see who - if anyone - bites, and go for it!

*NB teachers are usually delighted to help other teachers and prospective teachers, but don't forget that you are still taking their time and expertise. It wouldn't be unreasonable to be asked to book a lesson / discuss as part of a paid lesson, and also be respectful that if you are fairly local to each other you may be encroaching on their potential business. All sole traders are aware of competition, but a teacher absolutely has the right to say no to advising you purely on this principle! Consider your relationship before asking, and - if you are respectfully declined - do not push the matter.

Start Out Small

You'll likely not get enough of an influx to overbook anyway, but aim for a maximum number of lessons per week. For me, this was 16 half hours across two days (effectively four hours a day).

You will benefit far more from familiarising yourself with texts, workbooks and scores in your 'free time' at the beginning than working through it for the first time with your pupil and being equally as surprised!

Never Stop Learning

This isn't just in accordance with teaching. This is piano full stop.

I don't think anybody has ever reached a point in their piano learning and thought...'I'm good enough now!'.

So why should you?

Because you don't have time? Too many lessons you're teaching?

Teaching is an absolute joy, yes, but so is music itself. In fact, that was the fundamental joy that got you into this position of teaching it in the first place and so you have two responsibilities:

• always keep enjoying music yourself

• always strive to be better than your pupils

The last one sounds partly obvious and partly petty. But actually, it is so important for our Imposter Syndromes that we do feel we have a better than average grasp of the instrument.

You'll likely not get anybody super advanced coming to you straight away, so it's unlikely you'll be at their level, but it's equally important to know - at all times - when to say no to a pupil as well as when to tell a pupil that it's time for them to progress to somebody more able to teach them than yourself. This speaks nothing of you and your own abilities as either teacher or pianist, and your honesty will be met with much respect.

Advice on Running a Business and Teaching

It can be super hard to know where to begin when it comes to running your business and progressing lessons, so here are some pointers than will help you!

Be Definite!

If there's one thing that I have learnt, it is that humans don't like choice. We like yes and no options.

Before I decided which days I would offer as my regular teaching days (Tuesdays and Fridays), I left it as a free for all. Yes, we got somewhere eventually, but conversations would often go along the lines of:

"When would you like to come?"

"When have you got?"

"Any time to suit you"

"I can come any time"

"I could do Tuesday. Would you prefer morning or afternoon?"

"I don't mind - I'm retired"

"How about morning at 10:30?"

"That's great, thank you"

Mix in to that that most of my first contact with a pupil is via e-mail, so this is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.

Compare this:

"Would you be free on Tuesday at 10:30 am"

"That'd be great thank you. See you then".

OR

"Would you be free on Tuesday at 10:30 am. I can also offer afternoon if your prefer to come later"

"Afternoon would be better - have you get 3:00 or around then?"

"Yes, no problem. I'll book it for 3:00 on Tuesday"

So. Much. Quicker.

And it's a completely reasonable assumption to think that if they're asking about piano lessons, they already want one!

I used to answer their question(s) and then say "please let me know if you'd like to go ahead and book". These types of responses from my end were either met with tumbleweed OR a response to say no thank you.

Strike while the iron's hot!

"Yes I do offer piano lessons. They're priced at this much and I'd be delighted to help. I do actually have a spare slot on Tuesday at 10:30 if you'd like to come down for that? This could become a regular slot if you decide to continue"

100% of pupils who I've offered a lesson to straight away have come for it!

You Know So Much!

This is partly to satisfy your Imposter Syndrome as it creeps back in over the weeks - you will realise as you talk and as you listen to your pupils perform how good you are!

But be warned!

You don't want to blind them with science, as it were.

Music has more exceptions to the rule than rules, it would appear, and it is so important that you help your pupils to understand the rules of music first.

My initial theory was that if I didn't tackle it upfront, it would confuse them at a later date.

Wrong.

It confuses them right now! I can assure you that if you bring up exceptions to the rule, you will spend longer trying to explain the exception than the rule itself, meaning the whole thing is futile! Focus on what needs to be taught and only when they are:

• confident on the rule and

• actually needing to know the exception

...is it time to cross that bridge.

Log Student's Progress

This will be a shock for my pupils who I know are continually impressed by my outstanding memory of everything I've done with them previously.

I have a spreadsheet on my iPad with every single lesson logged, what we plan to cover in the lesson, what we did cover, notes about how they are doing (what needs improvement), homework set and when their next lesson is.

Your memory will serve you better with these little prompts. I also schedule my pupil's times so that there is 10 minutes between lessons. This is partly for my benefit in case I need a quick pause or bathroom break, but really it's so I can log these things when it's super fresh in my mind!

Children Learn VERY Differently

I naively thought that a child would learn the same way as an adult, but just through a different tone of voice.

That couldn't be farther from the truth!

Children learn in the most fabulously interactive ways to the point that - as a piano teacher - you will start to feel a guilt complex as to what you are even achieving. To some point you may have to spend a good chunk of time bringing them out of themselves anyway - particularly if they are very shy - but to assist with their shorter attention span we have to get creative in how we teach them:

• Games

• Drawing

A parent would be forgiven for thinking that the teacher has, indeed, lost the plot here, but the simple truth is that children's minds need constant stimulation in order to be successful in learning something.

Casual Learning Doesn't Exist

Perhaps a controversial take, but I have a fair few casual learners. To define, they wish to learn for their own personal gain, free from the pressures of exams and public performances.

It sounds delightful, but the brutal truth that I already knew about the piano that became even clearer with some of my casual learners is that learning piano is hard work regardless.

Learning casually is absolutely fine by the definition given above, but I am very clear with everybody upfront now who wishes to learn in such a way that this does not and should not exempt them from a practice / homework / revision schedule.

The expectancy of many pupils is that the lessons alone will carry them - if they come regularly, such as once a week, then that's the bulk of it and they can enjoy the rest of the time.

Unfortunately that isn't how it works!

Setting even small goals can be a fantastic way of bringing each individual pupil to their fullest potential regardless of what their ambition might have been at the beginning of their piano adventure.

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Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.

Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!

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#pianoteacher #pianist #macclesfield #cheshire #congleton

Strengthening Your Pulse On Piano - Basic Exercises to Help You Improve

Perhaps the most fundamental thing that we need to master before we progress too far down on our musical adventure is that of pulse.

Pulse is the thing that keeps a piece of music together and keeps it moving through thick and thin. It is the driving force behind it whether or not the tempo (the speed) stays the same, increases or decreases throughout.

Keeping your pulse together, however, is one of the challenges that many beginners can face. This isn't to say that they don't have rhythm to begin with of course, but just that initially bringing it out onto a new instrument can be so daunting that it can make the whole process seem a lot harder than normal. Remember that as a beginner - especially if piano is your first instrument - you have to learn fingerings, melody, notation, rhythm and be expected to keep it all together with a strong, steady pulse.

Luckily, there are exercises to help you improve your pulse on piano!

And these ones are entirely tailor-made by me, so read and play on and get working on strengthening your rhythm now...

Question - How Is Your Sense of Pulse Already?

Before we move on, let's identify how well you already understand pulse with a couple of listening exercises.

Have a listen to my two performances of a couple of pieces below and, as soon as you can, clap along:

• Try and listen for the first beat of each measure and emphasise these with a stronger clap.

• Try counting along as you clap along. For example; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 etc. if you feel there are 4 beats in a bar.

• How many beats do you think were in a bar? 2, 3 or 4? Answers at the very end of this blog to deter wandering eyes!

If you are correct with your answers, you actually have a good understanding of pulse and can move on. If not, I recommend you actively listen to a lot more music. It doesn't have to be piano music. It doesn't even have to be what you'd consider 'music' in the conventional sense. Clap along evenly with the ticking of a clock. A car indicator. A metronome. I even find myself finding rhythms and counting pulses during MRI scans (although, regrettably, I am not allowed to move during such times so this is an entirely mental exercise).

Speaking of metronomes, dig yours out for the following exercises and set it to 60 BPM. If you don't have a metronome, you can download apps onto your phone for free! Otherwise, note I've set the BPM to 60 so you can use a ticking clock. Just make sure you can hear it well over your piano!

First Exercises - Clap Along

Before you even sit down at the piano (or, at least, touch the keys), you can develop your sense of pulse by clapping along to your newly set metronome.

Let's assume a common time signature - 4/4 - as our standard and simply clap out the following rhythms.

However, the trick is that your clapping needs to be bang on the beats.

60 BPM is a nice, steady tempo for getting used to this. You can take it a little faster if it feels detrimentally slow as it is fair to say that going slow is surprisingly harder than fast a lot of the time, but if you feel you need a little more thinking time, just slow it down a touch (not too much - as I say, too slow and you'd be surprised at how hard it gets!):

Exercise One:

For this exercise, we are clapping on every tick of the metronome. Treat the repeat mark on bar two as ongoing until you are ready to stop, finishing with the single clap on beat 1, bar 3 when you are ready to do so.

When you feel that you are clapping along fairly steadily, strengthen your inner metronome by applying the following ideas:

• Count the beats out loud: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 etc.

• Emphasise in turn the individual beats. For example, start by clapping beat 1 louder than the rest, then beat 2 louder than the rest. If you need to keep counting out loud to assist then that's fine, but if you can do it without then so much the better!

Exercise Two:

For this exercise, we are clapping on and between every tick of the metronome. Treat the repeat mark on bar two as ongoing until you are ready to stop, finishing with the single clap on beat 1, bar 3 when you are ready to do so.

When you feel that you are clapping along fairly steadily, strengthen your inner metronome by applying the following ideas:

• Count only the main beats out loud: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 etc.

• Emphasise in turn the individual main beats. For example, start by clapping beat 1 louder than the rest, then beat 2 louder than the rest. If you need to keep counting out loud to assist then that's fine, but if you can do it without then so much the better!

• Experiment by emphasising the beats between the main beats. For example, clap the second quaver (the clap between beats 1 and 2) louder than the rest. If you need to keep counting out loud to assist then that's fine, but if you can do it without then so much the better!

Exercise Three:

For this exercise, we are clapping on every tick of the metronome as well as between beats 2 and 3, and also 4 and 1 of the following bar.. Treat the repeat mark on bar two as ongoing until you are ready to stop, finishing with the single clap on beat 1, bar 3 when you are ready to do so.

When you feel that you are clapping along fairly steadily, strengthen your inner metronome by applying the following ideas:

• Count the beats out loud: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 etc.

• Emphasise in turn the individual beats. For example, start by clapping beat 1 louder than the rest, then beat 2 louder than the rest. If you need to keep counting out loud to assist then that's fine, but if you can do it without then so much the better!

How do you feel that went?

Go over these ideas a few times and when you feel a bit more confident, try speeding up the metronome to develop even more strength in your overall pulse before moving on.

Second Exercises - Play Along

Congratulations - you've overcome a major obstacle in music: getting a good pulse!

Now what we need to do is to apply it to the very instrument that we are playing - the piano.

There is no hard and fast rule as to what each hand should play for the sake of these exercises as we are focussing purely on strengthening your pulse, but I've chosen a standard C major triad from Middle C in the right hand and one octave lower in the left.

(Re)set your metronome to 60 BPM and using this C major triad in both hands and the nice steady ticking of the metronome we will start firstly with semibreves.

Why?

We've now added the obstacle of playing something and - even though our hands are doing the same thing each time, it would be of huge benefit to us to hear beats 2 - 3 and 4 counting us in to alleviate some of the pressure we may initially feel with this added burden.

(for each of the exercises following, treat the repeat mark on bar 2 as being applicable as many times as you require before finishing on the chord on bar 3 and - similarly to above - count out loud on the main beats and alternate emphases on different beats to get a good feel for pulse with slightly varying rhythm and emphasis).

Exercise One

Once you feel comfortable with semibreves, move on to minims:

Exercise Two

Exercise Three

...then to crotchets:

Exercise Four

...and finally quavers:

When you feel comfortable with these exercises and their variations, try taking up the metronome value and increasing the speed to really put your pulse to the test!

Third Exercises - Syncing Up The Hands

Well done on making it here!

Now is the time to try syncing up your hands if they are doing different rhythms whilst keeping that pulse nice and strong!

(Re)set the metronome to 60 BPM and work through the following exercises. As previous, when you feel you have them, try counting out loud on the main beats and then emphasising different notes throughout the bars:

Exercise One

Exercise Two

Exercise Three

In each of the above exercises, we have the same basic idea but we're just applying a double speed effect each time. Feel free to speed these ones up too when you have the basic exercises mastered!

Fourth Exercises - Applying Fingers and Melody

Now we have used chords to demonstrate a steady pulse and synchronisation - as well as an improved internalised rhythm - we just need to ensure that we can apply this to a melodic situation. After all, melody on piano accounts for at least 50% of the music we play!

There are countless exercises already out there, of course: scales, arpeggios, broken chords, chromatics, those as written by Hanon or Schmitt et al, but these exercises - whilst good at instilling a basic pulse (as my earlier ones on this post did) don't really develop on that specifically.

We're going to strip a basic C major scale right back to a pentascale (its first five notes i.e. C - D - E - F - G) and use this as a basis for our following exercises.

(Re)set your metronome to 60 BPM and play on, using the above rules of repeat marks, counting the beats and emphasising different beats to ensure you get a good all round practice of pulse:

Exercise One

No doubt this scale will be very familiar. Ensure you use each finger of both hands, so start with your thumb in the right hand playing middle C and your little finger on the left hand playing the C underneath, then use each finger following in turn to play the next note up or down.

Exercise Two

To avoid getting too complicated, we will momentarily strip the scale away from the left hand and focus instead on just its root note - C. Your right hand will play exactly as it was, but your left hand will now play C in minims (every two beats).

When you feel comfortable with this exercise, try these variations:

• swap the hands so that the left hand takes the scale and the right hand takes the C. Keep in the same octave, so middle C in the right hand and the scale starting on the C below in the left.

• alternate the fingers in the left hand (or right, if you have swapped!). Try playing all measures with the same finger, or alternate between fingers for every individual note. Tell yourself first what fingering you would like and try to stick to it, as this will help your fingers get used to moving on demand whilst maintaining pulse.

Exercise Three

All that we are doing now is double speed of the above!

Exercise Four

Now we have introduced the scale back into the left hand, however we have kept it at half tempo to whatever the right hand is doing! In this instance, the right hand is going to play a pentascale in quavers whereas the left hand is going to take crotchets.

Exercise Five

And to conclude, we do the same as above but we swap hands!

Conclusion: Improve Your Pulse on Piano

One of the strongest arguments for practising with a metronome is simply due to its forcing of a pulse into us, and once we have a strong pulse we can comfortably deviate away from it with little consequence to the musicality of our performance.

Whenever you listen to music, count along to yourself and try to spot rhythms and measures and try to apply some of the above exercises to pieces of music you hear (ones in 4/4 time, of course!). It will all go towards strengthening your internal rhythm.

ANSWERS

In my video above, there were three beats in a bar in piece 1 and 4 beats in a bar in piece 2 (three time and four time respectively).

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Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.

Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!

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#pulse #musiclesson #rhythm #learnmusic #pianolesson #pianist #musictheory