Bill Cowher's Piano Lessons

A colleague of mine forwarded me an article by Frank Fitzpatrick, a Philadelphia Inquire Staff Writer, about former Pittsburgh Steelers coach and current CBS - NFL analyst Bill Cowher.

The article is attached to the sports page as you might imagine, but the title was intriguing, 'Bill Cowher's Piano Lessons'. Most of the article talks about Bill's life after football, his gruff exterior, 'defiant under-bite' and jutting jaw; a sharp contrast to someone playing chord progressions at the piano (in most cases!).

But Cowher says 'It's something I really enjoy' admitting... 'One of my daughters played the piano...and I'd be thinking, 'How neat. Wouldn't it be great to be able to do something like that?'

I wish all adults had this kind of attitude about studying music and I wish music educators would work more on promoting our craft to this market rather than dumping all of their eggs into the El-Hi world of academia. At DSM, we find adult students to be an amazingly rewarding group with which to work. And the profession as a whole would do well to address this largely untapped resource of new and willing learners.

So we congratulate Bill on his decision to learn piano and encourage him to keep at it until he reaches his goal 'to get good enough where I can put out a tip jar'.

Don't forget to enjoy the journey too Bill!

Click here to read the full story. And special thanks to Frank Fitzpatrick for allowing me to post this article.

Teacher of the Future

I've read a number of postings lately that tout programs like Skype and EJamming as having music education related applications. It's easy to see that there will be a day in the not too distant future when playing a live real-time duet with a student half a world away is as easy as a making a cell call. The technology, if not already available, is coming fast and the teacher of the future needs to adopt these applications and let only their imagination dictate the possibilities!

Here in our own neck of the woods, we have always had a penchant for technology. The offices at DSM and MusickEd.com are well equipped with up to date computers, a state of the art client database management system called GoldMine, high speed internet connections and a slew of other software... both business and music related. On any given day you might see our staff using programs like Band in a Box, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Flash, Ableton Live or WebQuiz to name just a few. And of course, all of our staff members use MusickEd software as the core curriculum in their teaching.

This willingness to adopt new technology has served us well over the years. Just about every component of our software has been designed and produced 'in-house' and it's imperative that each new staff member be willing to step out of their 'comfort zone' and learn new skills.

With that we introduce Carolyn Keyes. Carolyn joined our team in 2008 while attending the University of North Texas as a grad student. Aside from being a great educator (her students loved her!) and an accomplished flutist, Carolyn showed a willingness to get out of her comfort zone and tackle the arduous task of overseeing the conversion of our software from the Discovery Series to the new (and improved!) Kore Series.

Carolyn continues to work on this project remotely from her new location in Colorado (another part of the MusickEd.com vision coming to pass!). I asked her where she set up shop, how she's managing the work and what's new in her life since leaving the Texas heat for the cool mountains of Boulder:

Where did you finally set up shop?

Right now I'm living in Westminster, Colorado and commuting up to Boulder for classes. I work from a laptop so I can work any time and any place I need to. I will work on the couch while the fiance is watching football or out on my porch. My favorite spots are in the back corner of the music library and in the campus cafe where no one I know can distract me. Sometimes I work in the school of music lounge known as the 'vortex"' - but that doesn't usually go very well.

What else have you been up to out there?

I just got engaged and we are both starting our Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMAs) at the University of Colorado Boulder. I am playing in the orchestra, teaching freshman for my assistant-ship, and taking classes. It's a lot of work, but it's very rewarding. I guess you could say I'm a musician who moonlights in computers!

How is the software conversion coming along?

We're just finishing up the first lesson in the conversion to the Kore Series. I was feeling pretty good about how quickly we were working until I did the math for 20 Lessons and realized how long it would be until we finished all of the them. There are a lot of people working on this project back at DSM (not to mention those developing the Jazz series).

Who is helping you with this project?

Some of the new adjunct staff at DSM are editing my work to catch any mistakes as well as working on other components needed to launch the new look. I am in charge of actually completing the conversion with the help and guidance of the boss, Bob Lawrence.

Any snags?

We found out that when Bob and I have the same file open, it will 'lock' me out by beeping and denying me access until he closes it. Otherwise the process has been fairly smooth and that's a testament to the fantastic infrastructure already in place back at DSM and MusickEd.

I think Carolyn deserves our posterus magister award (that translates to 'teacher of the future') for her ability to utilize her skills, adapt to new ideas and think outside the box. Keep up the good work and congratulations!

What Music Means to Me

One of the neat things about The Dallas School of Music, Inc. is the ever changing landscape that emerges seemingly out of nowhere and on a daily basis. This includes changes to both the workload (after all, we are a market driven endeavor!) and our actual physical space. You never know who or what will appear on any given day.

Over the years DSM has hosted events including; a performance by Jim Brickman (sponsored by Alfred Publishing), a show by the St. Ambrose a cappella vocal ensemble, and even the crew of Barney that filmed video segments about music and children. Our faculty have performed countless concerts and our students have played even more recitals, Holiday Showcases and senior center programs.

Of the non-musical events held at DSM, some of the coolest by far are visual art related. We've hosted solo shows and large Art Festivals that featured works of all kinds by as many as 20 local and regional artists and artisans at a time. And it turns out that our main lobby, recital hall and studio hallways are nicely lit and provide ample wall space for these gallery-like events.


Our latest installment features photographs by Richard Rejino. Some of you who are local to the DFW area may know Richard from his affiliation with Pender's Music . Others may know him as a former president of RPMDA (Retail Print Music Dealers Association). Richard has combined his passions for music and photography into a project called What Music Means to Me which 'celebrates the value of music in education and in the quality of life'.

Richard's subjects range from high school aged musicians to senior enthusiasts. They were asked to relate how music or the arts has changed or positively affected their lives. As part of the project, candidates composed a personal statement that describes what music (or their art form) means to them.

We are fortunate to have six of these photographs and their accompanying essays showcased in our lobby at DSM. You can see all of the photos and learn more about Richard's projects at his website or contact him directly at rrejinophotography@me.com.

The 911 on 9/11

musicteachers911
Music Education Services

I just completed a really cool interview with Larry Marra of musicteachers911 coincidentally on 9/11. I am located in Carrollton,TX and Larry is in Dayton, OH. Not only was I able to hear Larry, I was able to see him on web-cam. We used a program called Skype which allows you to make calls to others on Skype - from your computer - and it's free!

I know Larry was interviewing me but it was fun to learn a bit about him in the process as well. He said he had heard about Skype from one of his 14 year old students (reason # 947 why packaging and delivering music education in a new tech-savvy way is a smart idea). He thought the kid was either kidding or a bit 'off' when he said he could make calls anywhere in the world with video capability for free online. It didn't take long for Larry to check out and embrace the technology and the rest as they say is history... a pod-caster was born.

Larry also told me that his podcasts rank #2 at i-tunes for Music Education. So if you're reading this - let's go bump him up to #1! Yesterday my colleague Mike Finkel and I listened to a few minutes of one of Larry's episodes to which Mike commented 'He gets a great sound on these!'... and coming from Mike (our resident composer and recording guru), that is high praise indeed.

Larry ran a great interview. He showed a genuine interest in hearing about DSM and MusickEd.com. After learning that our software includes built-in ear training samples he quipped, 'If I had this when I was a band director, I might have offered some kids the $10 myself!'.

Larry was also keen to mention that music teachers need to keep an open mind to new ways of thinking about teaching and in particular, adopting new approaches and technologies. He, like myself and many others I've encountered in the blogosphere, have spent some serious time thinking about music, teaching and the profession as a whole. (I have been working on a phrase that attempts to identify and explain 'us' as a group. After several failed attempts I decided to try a Latin translation site and came up with 'posterus magister ' which roughly means 'teacher of the future'.... but I digress).

Kudos to Larry for his work and thanks again for allowing us to participate. I will try to include the actual podcast on this blog after it has been edited and posted.

Best Buy = Students

We recently learned that Best Buy the International retailer of consumer electronics and entertainment software is announcing a massive new initiative that sets aside store space for an array of musical instruments and gear in dozens of its stores nationwide. The Billboard Magazine story (dated June 2008) goes on to say that their selection will include 'everything from accessories — picks, sheet music and cases — to high-end basses, guitars, keyboards and DJ equipment. Instruments will be housed in separate rooms and the company also plans to offer group music lessons'.

I know this may come as a shock, but I say 'bring it on'! It's just one more testament to the fact that music and music retailing is a multi-billion dollar industry. It's no wonder why a major player who provides other forms of 'entertainment' like video game software, TV's and computers is willing to gamble on the appeal and power of music. The success of Guitar Hero has made this industry stand up and take notice of this potential (even though one may have little to do with the other). So this idea is not surprising to me at all, in fact, the trend had already begun at Costco and Wal-Mart some years ago.

What struck me most about this article was Best Buy's 'Oh, by the way... we're giving music lessons in stores too' attitude, added pretty much as an afterthought. This is where they will fall short or completely miss the boat. Not because it cannot be done well, but because it cannot be done well to any successful degree in a setting such as a Best Buy with decisions being made by people who have little if any experience in music or music education. They underestimate the talent and skill needed to teach (let alone teach music). It is not the same skill set as say, assembling a flat-screen tv or troubleshooting a cell phone.

And, likewise, this is where music educators and the profession as a whole all too often fall short. We have for far too long hung our hat on academia despite years if not decades of dwindling support. At the same time, large corporations have begun to notice the popularity and massive revenue potential that music holds. Why is there such a disconnect for music educators in this area? Why have we not tapped in to the same huge market that Best Buy sees?

I wish Best Buy great success in selling millions of instruments to young adults, mid-lifers and seniors the world over. I hope they plan to add band and orchestra instruments to the mix as well. Then they can turn all of those people loose to seek professional music education online or in their own communities. And if music educators are smart, they will work together to take advantage of this situation and begin the process of adding a major component to their profession. One that is financially robust, is in touch with the corporate world, and resides outside of academia in the private sector. Bring it on!