What do you do to encourage your students to compose or explore more creativity? Have you thought about incorporating more composition in your teaching? And what about yourself: have you tried composing, but struggled with ideas or execution? Today’s guest is Evan Hunter, a composer and piano teacher who loves storytelling! We talk about how stories can stimulate compositional ideas for you and your students. He gives advice on how to get started with composition so it’s not so scary for students. Like doodling on paper or playing with legos, curiosity is an important factor. Once you know you’re allowed to just play around, it’s much easier to let go and see what you create! During the episode Evan shares one of his pieces, “Light Showers.” He reads the story and we listen to the gorgeous music!
Episodes about: creativity
14 The Way to Make Studio Music Videos (Mikey Ashmore)
I was so impressed when I watched Mikey Ashmore’s students in a studio music video he posted on Facebook this past Halloween. I reached out to him to get him on the show to talk about how he came up with this idea and how he pulled it off! You’ve got to see this video and listen to my interview with him, it’s so fun! He walks us through the steps of writing custom parts for the ensemble, rehearsing, having a piano camp, and then recording and shooting the video. We discuss the benefits which include social interaction, increased student practicing in order to not let down their teammates, more performance confidence, younger students being inspired by older ones, and just plain old fun!
08 The Way Creativity Cultivates Connection (Christopher Oill)
Christopher Oill joins the show to talk about creativity, composition, connecting to students, and how to balance structure with freedom. Chris is such a fun person to talk to because he’s smart, innovative, personable, and funny! Even if there’s no set topic of discussion, he is always engaging and I guarantee he will inspire you to think outside the box and make you laugh!