SEMINAR 2010 is a 3-hour DVD that focuses on positive solutions to Rhythm & Technic, two areas of study too often neglected by music students. Mary Gae George and her students demonstrate time-proven solutions that work with students who are just beginning their study through to upper Intermediate level. The section on rhythm includes phrasing, meter, Directed Motion, syncopation -- all the way through to polyrhythms. The Technic section begins with posture at the piano, building the hand, achieving legato, a no-tension playing mechanism, mastering Keyboard Systems such as Major and minor Pentachords as a basis for mastering Major and minor scales. These demonstrations are supported by two PDF booklets included in the DVD.
"Teachers at all levels will welcome the topics covered in EXPLORING ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF RHYTHM AND TECHNIC. Starting from the rhythmic basics and advancing to the often neglected complexities of teaching syncopation, sixteenth and thirty-second note patterns, and polyrhythms, Mary Gae George introduces innovative ways of presenting, securing, and giving vitality to these rhythmic concepts. The subject of technic also starts with earliest basics of posture at the instrument and hand position and advances to a thorough presentation of steps to secure fluency in, and the musical playing of, scales. Technic is built up from the earliest levels affording the student the technical equipment needed to realize the musical image the music being studied."
Greta Hansen-Carballo
"Thanks to Mary Gae's principles, I have come to understand the centrality of rhythm in music. I now begin the study of every piece with the study of its rhythm. Only after the rhythm is perfect do we "add" the notes. The difference in the success of my students is simply amazing. The principles explained on these videos simply cannot be missed."
Kevin Coan
"Designed for teachers of all methodologies, this DVD provides useful and proven ideas for teaching rhythm and technic. Sometimes these concepts are so obvious to teachers, or are treated in such a cursory manner in method books, they can be hard to convey to students. Mary Gae George draws on her many years of teaching and research to provide pedagogy that works."
Suzanne Lichtenstein
