How Taubman Technique Essay Example for Free

How Taubman Technique Essay How Taubman Technique can be applied to young beginners piano learning- using traditional materials Background information With hundreds of years of evolution in the study of elementary piano, nowadays materials of this sort have been widely available, perhaps even gone rampant. This article argues the effectiveness of solely relying on certain elementary piano methods to teach, without the incorporation of a more holistic approach to piano playing. The beneficiaries of the renowned Taubman approach to piano technique are mostly injured concert pianists, conservatory students, and piano teachers, people who lready have more or less a certain degree of piano proficiency. Since Taubman approach is so effective in helping intermediate and advance pianists, I would like to experiment the application of it to young beginning childrens piano lesson. Seeing that systematic materials for young beginner based on Taubmans approach are extremely limited, my goal is not only to incorporate part of Taubmans ideas to the standard beginning teaching, but to suggest a way to make it an essential part of teaching, using existing beginning materials. This article will discuss how the Taubman Technique can be systematically taught, learned in young beginners lessons with traditional materials, using the Alfreds Basic Piano Library lesson series as a model. The need to incorporate a more holistic approach to beginning piano teaching There is a huge array of beginning piano materials- Hal Leonard, the Music Tree, Alfreds Basic Piano Library, Piano Adventure and so on. The methodology each publishing company varies slightly. Hal Leonard Piano Student Piano Library starts with off- staff notation recognition, and the Music Tree starts with recognition of roups of two and three black notes. Most of the companies sell books introducing theory, lessons, and other activities at a sequence. For example, Hal Lenard has lesson books, technique books, theory books, ear training books, game books tc. , and in the first page of lesson book, a chart is used to explain the sequence. None of the piano methods is perfect or complete; each has its own unique combination of strengths and weaknesses. Contrary to popular belief, a child doesnt become great by going through the designated steps in a beginning lesson book. To know simple heory, history of mus ic, and enjoy some fun piano games may be important for a 6- year-old beginner, but its not the most important thing to make a good pianist. A young beginner becomes great when his coordination with the instrument is properly developed. We make motions to produce music, therefore, music and technique are inseparable, and technique is coordination. (Lister-Sink) The and young beginning students, its not so much as to pound the concepts on paper into their brains- the head knowledge, rather, its the connection between their body and the instrument they feel that sticks- the body knowledge. Without a deliberate emphasis on teaching in the physical aspect of playing, the teachers found the most popular piano method books insufficient to help the student reach his full potential. Thats why there are so many people who quit after learning the piano for couple years, and so many advanced students, even those in the conservatories, suffer piano related injury. That makes me wonder, what can supplement my teaching with the Alfreds Basic Piano Library materials, or more precisely, what makes the material stay with the students, how to ingrain the sense of playing to the students. I suppose its not about the methods, its about the truth in the mechanisms of piano playing. Since its the people, human beings, who invented piano and developed its technique, the piano technique must be something thats inherently natural, and there must be a set of principles that can solve any pianistic problems. Through couple lessons with Certified Taubman teachers and research, I found out there are governing principles thats beyond the scope of existing materials in piano teaching. These principles need to be included in the very first lessons, regardless of what material used. Why using the Taubman concept to teach Started in 1976 by Dorothy Taubman, a New York piano teacher, Taubman approach is a ground breaking analysis of the invisible motions that function underneath a virtuoso technique. Ms. Taubman and her analysis helped pianists overcome technical limitations as well as cure playing-related injuries. Before meeting Tauman, American pianist Leon Fleisher and professor of Peabody Institute of Music was forced to play with only one hand for many years due to playing related hand injuries.

Religious Roles in The Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano Essay

Religious Roles in The Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano The narrative of Olaudah Equiano is truly a magnificent one. Not only does the reader get to see the world through Equiano's own personal experiences, we get to read a major autobiography that combined the form of a slave narrative with that of a spiritual conversion autobiography. Religion may be viewed as at the heart of the matter in Equiano's long, remarkable journey. Through Equiano's own experiences, the reader uncovers just how massive a role religion played in the part of his Narrative and in that of his own life. More specifically, we learn of how his religious conversion meant a type of freedom as momentous as his own independence from slavery. As one reads his tale, one learns just how dedicated he his to that of his Christian faith; from his constant narration of the scriptures to the way that Equiano feels a growing sense of empowerment from the biblical texts for the oppressed community. However, at the same time, one may question Equiano's own Christian piety. D id Equiano really seek to tell the tale of his soul's spiritual journey, did he really believe God would set him free or was he simply using religion as a ways of manipulating British and American readers to accept him as a credible narrator. Regardless of which of these facts is true, religion is quite possibly the defining feature of his life story. Equiano's own exposure of Christianity first began when he was no older than 12 years old and was first arriving in England, where he experienced the sight of snow for the first time. Curious to what it was, he asked a mate and soon found out that "…a great man in the heavens, Called God…" [Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrati... ...he bruised, which our Savior speaks of, who are they?" (Equiano, 124) Undeniably there is no doubt that religion played a major role in Equiano's own life and in his Narrative. No matter what you believe about Equiano's own Christian piety, there is no question that his religious conversion (at the very least) gave him a type of freedom of tranquility that was as vital to his heart, as his own manumission from slavery brought him. Just as Equiano himself mentions about his life and all the events that occurred in it; "…what makes any event important, unless by its observation we become better and wiser, and learn ‘to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God?'" (Equiano, 253) Bibliography Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Edited by Angelo Costanzo. Orchard Park, NY: Broadway Literary Texts, 2004.

McGerr

Progressive reformers attempted to reshape American society in the late Nineteenth into the Twentieth Centuries. Three distinct areas, the Temperance movement, the Food and Drug Laws and the Child Labor Laws are contrasting but characteristic examples of the struggles, successes and failures that Progressives faced during this period. As with all complex movements consisting of disparate groups with at times contrasting points of view, it is difficult to generalize regarding this attempt at reconstruction. But the Progressives, for better or worse, did have a profound effect upon American society that is still being felt today. McGerr mainly considers the actions of the middle class as no other group â€Å"advocated the full range of progressive positions as much as the middle class did† (McGerr, 2005). This was none more the case than within the Temperance movement. The temperance movement had quite a simple aim in mind. It sought to greatly reduce the amount of alcohol consumed, or, as was increasingly its aim, to ban alcohol entirely. The Movement started, at least during this period, with the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, which established the Department of Scientific Temperance Instruction in many schools and colleges throughout the country. There was a purely rational and calculating method behind this attempt to convince young people of the evils of alcohol. Mary Hunt (the National Superintendent)   stated that people â€Å"must first be convinced that alcohol and kindred narcotics are by nature outlaws, before they will outlaw them†. The temperance movement was linked to the overall progressive movement through the fact that many drunken husbands beat their wives and families. Domestic violence was an example of the abuse of women’s rights, and so it was sensible for the progressive movement to support the temperance movement, even if some of the more religious and purely moralistic reasoning behind some temperance advocates were alien to them. The temperance movement was, at least temporarily highly successful. It is linked closely to the eventual passage of the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, which banned alcohol within America. The advocacy of â€Å"temperance† regarding alcohol had led to the â€Å"prohibition† of alcohol just as Hunt had forecast. The temperance movement is an excellent example of how idealism combined with a good degree of shrewd political pragmatism could bring about change. The fact that the 18th Amendment was short-lived and that alcohol consumption was merely drive underground rather than being stopped somewhat dampens any claim for long-lasting success for the movement however. Prohibition also led to the rise of organized crime in many cities, again not exactly on the Progressive agenda. Most of all, the United States consisted of people who mostly did not want to ban alcohol consumption, however they had been temporarily persuaded otherwise. In contrast to the temperance movement, one cause of the progressive movement, that of introducing stricter food and drug laws to the United States, has survived and even expanded into the modern day. As McGerr suggests, a single books such as Upton Sinclair’s exposure of the disgusting, unsanitary practices at Chicago meat-packing plants   led at least in part to the enactment of the â€Å"Pure Food and Drug Act† and the â€Å"meat Inspection Act† in 1906. These Acts were an example of how the progressive movement could call a purely capitalist system to task and show that at least some degree of government intervention, oversight and even control was needed. A similar situation was seen within the child labor laws, that were brought about after progressives exposed the terrible conditions that even very young children worked in. Exposing these conditions through written descriptions by excellent writers and, most powerfully, through telling photographs of children at work, galvanized public support for changes in the law.   Lewis Hines produced unforgettable pictures of children at work. They were unforgettable because they were so sad, and brought guilt to nearly all Americans who saw them. This element within the Progressive Movement unapologetically used emotion to achieve what McGerr states they were looking for, namely â€Å"to change other people; to end class conflict; to control big business†.   The Child Labor laws that were introduced were in part an attempt to alleviate the terrible conditions experienced by many children and also, in the long run, to give them a chance at gaining the education that would allow them to rise above their low origins. Child Labor laws were thus part of the attempt bridge social gaps between the rich and the poor through enabling the poor to rise and by punishing the rich for their more exploitative practices. Essentially, they may be seen as part of the progressive agenda to make everyone middle class. Yet once again there was a very practical element to the method that these groups used. The National Consumers’ League was formed in 1899 and the National Child Labor Committee in 1904, both stemming from the work of the Working Women’s Societies. As with many progressive causes, movement towards actual change was at first slow and met with many failures before it finally succeeded. Federal regulations were declared unconstitutional in 1916, failed to become law in 1924 and initially in 1937. Finally, in 1938 the federal regulation of child labor was gained through the Fair Labor Standards Act. This set a minimum age for employment and set maximum hours that children were to work within federal law. It took more than thirty years since the first societies were initially set up for the movement to succeed. However, child labor laws have been strengthened ever since this time and have now become an unchallenged part of the American landscape. In this sense the Progressive movement was ahead of its time, pushing American to live out its promises to its most vulnerable citizens: children. Once again, pragmatism mixed with idealism succeeded, and unlike the temperance movement, its results were permanent rather than temporary. To conclude, McGerr ends his book by saying that the â€Å"basic lesson† is that â€Å"reformers should not try too much†. Perhaps this can be adapted to say that reformers should pick their causes carefully and then try as much as possible. Having too broad a range of objectives may be self-defeating. But picking a cause, such as child labor, that most rational human beings would consider the progressives possess the correct ethical stance on, is a way of advancing the agenda successfully.   At times, as is evidenced by the First World War and the defeat for the idea of government regulation that came from it, the progressive movement (as are all political movements) is influenced by matters beyond its control. The best laid plans may well come awry because of unforeseen or unpredictable circumstances. Works Cited McGerr, Michael. A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920. Oxford University Press, London: 2005.   

Henry IV - King Henry IV of England

Henry IV was also known as: Henry Bolingbroke, Henry of Lancaster, the Earl of Derbey (or Derby) and the Duke of Hereford. Henry IV was noted for: Usurping the English crown from Richard II, beginning the Lancastrian dynasty and planting the seeds of the Wars of the Roses. Henry also took part in a notable conspiracy against Richards closest associates earlier in his reign. Places of Residence and Influence: England Important Dates: Born: April, 1366 Succeeded to the throne: Sept. 30, 1399Died: Mar. 20, 1413 About Henry IV: King Edward III had fathered many sons; the oldest, Edward, the Black Prince, predeceased the old king, but not before he himself had a son: Richard. When Edward III died, the crown passed to Richard when he was only 10 years old. Another of the late kings sons, John of Gaunt, served as regent to young Richard. Henry was John of Gaunts son. When Gaunt left for an extended expedition to Spain in 1386, Henry, now about 20, became one of five leading opponents to the crown known as the lords appellant. Together they successfully made an appeal of treason to outlaw those closest to Richard. A political struggle ensued for about three years, at which point Richard began to regain some of his autonomy; but the return of John of Gaunt triggered a reconciliation. Henry then went crusading in Lithuania and Prussia, during which time his father died and Richard, still resentful of the appellants, seized the Lancastrian estates that were rightfully Henrys. Henry returned to England to take his lands through force of arms. Richard was in Ireland at the time, and as Henry proceeded from Yorkshire to London he attracted to his cause many powerful magnates, who were concerned that their rights of inheritance might be endangered as Henrys had. By the time Richard returned to London he had no support left, and he abdicated; Henry was subsequently declared king by Parliament. But although Henry had conducted himself fairly honorably, he was considered a usurper, and his reign was plagued with conflict and rebellion. Many of the magnates who had supported him in defeating Richard were more interested in building their own power bases than in helping the crown. In January of 1400, when Richard was still alive, Henry quashed a conspiracy of the deposed kings supporters. Later that year, Owen Glendower started a rebellion against English rule in Wales, which Henry was unable to quell with any real success (although his son Henry V had better luck). Glendower allied with the powerful Percy family, encouraging more English resistance to Henrys rule. The Welsh problem persisted even after Henrys forces killed Sir Henry Percy in battle in 1403; the French aided Welsh rebels in 1405 and 1406. And Henry also had to contend with intermittent conflict at home and border troubles with the Scots. Henrys health began to deteriorate, and he was accused of mismanaging the funds he received in the form of parliamentary grants in order to finance his military expeditions. He negotiated an alliance with the French who were waging war against the Burgundians, and it was at this tense stage in his difficult reign that he became incapacitated in late 1412, dying several months later. Henry IV Resources Henry IV on the WebMedieval Renaissance Monarchs of EnglandHundred Years War