RMM Sessions

RMM SESSIONS AT THE 2010 MTNA CONFERENCE IN ALBUQUERQUE

Monday, March 22

9:15am–10:15am
Creative Ideas For Teaching Recreational Music Making

RMM students want to learn how to read music and play their favorite pieces so they appreciate creative teaching that hastens the process.  They also welcome a learning environment that’s non-intimidating and motivating.  Creative teaching is the foundation for both.

Brenda Dillon

10:30am–11:30am
Building A Successful Recreational Music Making Program

Come learn real-world strategies for building a robust RMM program from the ground up: promotion, recruitment, retention and partnering with retailers. Avoid pitfalls and roadblocks to ensure success for you and your students!

Deborah Story

2:15pm–3:15pm
Now That I Know What RMM Is, How Do I Teach It?

Recreational Music Making is a rapidly growing and exciting phenomenon. This hands-on session will demonstrate RMM teaching techniques for bringing out the inner musician and achieving musical satisfaction in a short period.

Lori Frazer

NAMM SPONSORS TEST OF DALLAS-AREA RMM PIANO CLASSES

The Summer, 2006, issue of PianoNotes reported that NAMM, the trade association of the international music products industry, would sponsor a test in the fall for an experimental RMM piano teaching program. At the conclusion of the test, nine of the 10 selected teachers indicated a desire to continue teaching RMM-type classes. The response from students was equally promising:

• 69 percent of the students said they definitely wanted to continue lessons.
• 19 percent indicated they would consider continuing their lessons.
• 75 percent of the students would not have taken piano lessons if Recreational Music Making classes had not been offered.
• 47 percent of the students were familiar with research about the proven benefits of music making for children and/or adults.
• 47 percent of the students had previously taken piano lessons, and even when they considered those lessons non-successful, they still wanted to try again.

The test was coordinated by Brenda Dillon, a local RMM piano teacher who has been teaching adult beginners at the Plano Senior Center. “The 58 students of the ten teachers were overwhelmingly enthusiastic about learning in a group,” said Dillon. “And the teachers enjoyed the new method of teaching and observed that teaching this way was not ‘dumbing down’ piano lessons.” The test included eight-week classes, one hour per week, six students seated in a semi-circle facing two pianos. Solo playing was voluntary and the primary emphasis was on enjoyment. These teachers and their students, as well as the Plano Senior Center students, were the focus of a new documentary film of RMM piano classes in the Dallas area.