Fantastic Article on “Imagine: How Creativity Works”
I rarely pre-order a book, but the new book by Jonah Lehrer Imagine: How Creativity Works intrigues me enough that I pre-ordered today. It’s set to be released in just days, March 19th. I read the very interesting essay How to Be Creative by the author in the Wall Street Journal and wanted to share a few of the highlights, though I hope you’ll take time to read it too.
We already know that the idea of some people being “creative types” and others not is a myth. But Jonah does more than merely dispel the myth, he talks about the new science of creativity. He suggests that there are practical things we can do to get the creative juices flowing depending on whether we need sudden insight or stick-to-it late nights at the office. One of my favorites, mostly because I know it to be true from experience, is his suggestion for prompting creativity:
For prompting creativity, few things are as important as time devoted to cross-pollination with fields outside our areas of expertise.
He tells the familiar story of Arthur Fry, the engineer at 3M that came up with the idea of post-it notes. I’ve heard a short version of the story many times, but never all the details that Lehrer shares, about him being a member
Read MoreNew Site for Highlighter Tape
Remember the highlighter tape that I’ve raved about and recommended before? Well, Art from the Avid Aviator site has let me know that he now has an entire site devoted to highlighter tape now called HighlighterTapes.com. The tape we love so much comes in many different colors and sizes on his site and it’s easy to find exactly what you need. For reference, 1/2 in tape is what I typically use.
The tape is easily removable and can be written on with pencil (something that I love). I use it to highlight areas which need work in student’s music.
Read MoreMTNA February 2012 eJournal Available
The February MTNA eJournal is now available and includes these articles:
- “New Music and the American Pianist”
- “Chopin’s Pianism and the Reconstruction of the ineffable:”
Are Extrinsic Rewards Motivating?
The subject of motivation always interests me. Here’s a great post by Tim Topham summarizing the book on motivation called Drive. He mentions a few of the studies conducted on motivation including one on preschoolers and one on adults. The “if-then” approach to motivation (i.e. “if you do this, then I’ll give you this…”) is certainly problematic and Tim’s summary helps us see where those problems lie and how we teachers can tweak our own reward systems to be less problematic.
You can also get Drive in the Kindle edition for $9.99.
Read MoreHL Winter Catalogue – 40% off
Now through March 31st, you can get 40% off books on technique from Hal Leonard. See all of the books included in this special offer here. Here are a few books in which I am especially interested:
Piano Teacher’s Guide to Creative Composition by Carol Klose
Piano Aerobics
Piano Teachers Resource Kit by Karen Harrington (see her interview on the book here.)
Smash Hit Games with the Eggspert
About a month ago, I purchased the Eggspert Quizzing System and began using it in my studio. Since then, I have not stopped raving about how my students and I love it! Many of you have also purchased the inexpensive system and wanted more details on how I use it in my studio, so I thought I’d post about it.
First, a bit about how the quizzing system works. There are 2 settings: one where 1 of 2-6 players can press their “egg” which lights up the corresponding egg color on the master quizzing set. This is the setting I am using most. The other setting flashes the eggs (as many as you have turned on) and then randomly randomly chooses an egg to light up at the end. You can use this setting to make the students who answer more random. The white egg, which the teacher controls, clears the lit eggs before you ask the next question.
Here are some of the things you can do with the Eggspert quizzing system:
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