Dear Friend of Music

Welcome

Welcome to the December and last edition of Musicnotes for 2006. We hope you have had a fantastic year filled with music and joy! We have been busy presenting ‘playshops’ for teachers in Melton, RedCliffs and Hampton in Vic, and Adelaide. Also we have been working with students in Adelaide and Mitcham (in Melbourne) and finishing off our new album, as well as preparing our first compilation series (see below for details). We enjoyed attending and presenting at the ‘Music Therapy conference’ in Sydney and more recently the ‘Singing as Essential Learning conference’ here in Melbourne – two very different but stimulating and inspiring conferences.

Phil and Susie with Alan and Caroline Watson from Optimum Percussion at the Music Therapy conference in Sydney Oct 06

In September, our vocal group ‘Life’s a Pitch’ performed with a wonderful Brazilian vocal group ‘Borboleta’ at Bonkers Music Café. We look forward to seeing you at another concert in 07.

‘Life’s a Pitch’ - Harry Mullany, Debbie Sherr, Phil and Susie performing at Bonkers Music Café Sept 06

Susie has recently been involved with more VOSA (Vic Orff Schulwerk Assoc.) activities in Victoria including being one of the presenters at the regional workshop in Castlemaine and at the Orff  levels courses. Do consider participating in an ‘Orff’ level course in 2007 go to www.vosa.org OR www.ancos.org.au

Orff Level courses 1 & 2 – Movement and dance class Participants with their certificates

Orff Level courses 1 & 2 – Movement and dance class - Susie leads the way

Below, you can read about the ISME (International Society of Music Education) Conference in KL and the setting up of the first ‘Orff’ strand and discussion panel.

We have also been busy planning for 2007 and already have lots of activities booked but we would still love to come to your area and share our music with you so please let us know as soon as you can as we would hate to see you miss out.

Would you like to

• Overcome the fear of improvisation
• Develop simple strategies for effective improvisation
• Feel confident and experience the joy of jammin’ in any situation
• Feel confident to help others create and express themselves through improvisation in your work place……

Then read below about the NEW ‘Joy of Jammin’ – our Orff-based Improvisation course being offered in Melbourne in July, 2007.

May we take this opportunity to wish you well over the festive season (Yes, it’s that close) and we look forward to being in touch with you early in the new year.

Susie and Phil

NEW ALBUM from Susie and Phil –

'Sing, Jam & Jive'

An Orff Schulwerk based approach for teaching improvisation to all ages
available Term 1, 2007

Our long awaited album is almost here. This will be a collection of musical games, songs, dances and instrumental activities to encourage children to be creative and express themselves through musical improvisation.

Triple CD
The teacher’s kit consists of a CD with vocal tracks , a baktraks CD (no vocals), and a Gaptraks/Harmony tracks CD, together with the teacher’s manual that includes music, guitar chords, words, percussion arrangements, suggestions for improvisation and ideas on how to best use the material.

Online orders will be available shortly at our website shop.  

NEW SERIES from Susie and Phil –

‘Take ORFF with Jazz’ - Volumes 1, 2 & 3

available Term 1, 2007 

Classroom jazz arrangements based on the Orff Schulwerk approach. A collection of Susie and Phil’s popular pieces and arrangements in various jazz styles including swing, blues, latin and African. Each volume includes Teacher’s Book and vocal CD.

Online orders will be available shortly at our website shop.

Music ‘PLAYshops’ (Professional development)

Susie and Phil’s Music ‘PLAYshops’ (Professional development) for teachers Term 1, 2007 

LOTS OF BRAND NEW REPERTOIRE FOR 2007

Victoria
Early Childhood Music Workshops
For all preschool and primary school teachers, caregivers, family day care workers, specialist music teachers, therapists and parents
Discover a new and exciting repertoire of songs, rhymes, games, dances, musical stories, and instrumental activities. Learn about the benefits of music for all children and take away new ideas that can be implemented immediately

Sat 10th Feb – Hampton Primary School, Hampton, Melb -  click here for flier

Primary Music Workshops –
‘Sing, Jam and Jive’ – NEW ALBUM 07 with a focus on improvisation -
5-12 year focus
for teachers, music specialists and choral directors
Combining ‘Orff Schulwerk’ principles that inspire, excite and motivate children to remember, understand and love music, discover lots of NEW material through speech, song, body percussion, dance, movement and instruments with a focus on improvisation and creative input for 5-12 year olds.

Wed 7th Feb – Hampton Primary School, Hampton, Melb - click here for flier

Fri 23rd Feb – Sale, Vic -  click here for flier

Fabulous Vocal Concert in Melbourne

‘Life’s a Pitch’ IN CONCERT Sat 3rd March, 7.30-11.00pm
Music Café @ Bonkers, 497 Nepean Hwy, Brighton East, Melbourne

Enjoy an evening of entertainment with this fabulous vocal group.

'Life's a Pitch' a new vocal quartet featuring Susie and Phil, and two great local talents -  Debbie Sherr and Harry Mullany. With an eclectic mix of original and classic tunes from pop to folk to jazz, with movement, acappella  actions.and antics. this will be a night to remember as you sing, laugh, dance, join in and have loads of fun!

Dinner from 7.30 pm or showtime from 8.30 – 11.00 pm   Show Only - $10   
Show & Dinner - $29 Two Course Dinner includes delicious home-made platter with dip and antipasto, Traditional European Mail Meal and a Coffee.
(Vegetarian Food Available)

Places for Dinner are Very Limited BOOK NOW! Bookings: 9530 6601
For more information visit: <http://www.bonkersplaycentre.com.au/music/>

‘The Joy of Jammin’ –
an ORFF based Improvisation Course

Sun 1st – Thurs 5th July, 2007     Venue in Melbourne – TBC
presented by Susie Davies-Splitter         
9.30 – 4pm – 25 hrs

Would you like to;

• Overcome the fear of improvisation
• Develop simple strategies for effective improvisation using pentatonic scales, modes, the blues scale and pieces with simple harmonic progressions
• Make sense of simple lead sheets and chord symbols
• Understand the role and function of the rhythm section
• Learn about bass vamps and the 12 bar blues
• Learn how to arrange in an Orff style
• Take your aural skills to a new level
• Feel confident and experience the joy of jammin’ in any situation
• Feel confident to help others create and express themselves through improvisation in your work place

Anyone can do it –all you need is a basic music background.

Who can do the course?
Teachers and student teachers from a range of teaching settings – studio or classroom at preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary level. Also, Music Therapists, caregivers, parents, community workers, health and performing arts practitioners and anyone who has some basic music background and has the desire to improve their improvisational skills, knowledge and musical confidence.

Assessment will include written, practical tasks and peer teaching.

Course Content
The course will provide an Orff Schulwerk based approach for teaching improvisation through speech, singing, movement, games, playing percussion instruments and the participants’ instruments of choice.

It will cover activities from a range of music styles such as - jazz, blues, gospel, Latin, Klezmer, African and folk music. The repertoire will be applicable to early childhood, primary, secondary, therepeutic and community settings.

The sequence of scales and chord progressions will be followed from the Margaret Murray ‘Music for Children’ Series (brown books) and then extended beyond this. Practice of repertoire and improvisation will be expected throughout the course. Demonstrations by experts in various styles of improvisation will be offered with opportunity for participants to jam.

For more information contact Susie at susie@welcometomusic.net

Susie and Phil on tour - 2007

As you can see from the list of areas below, we are planning lots of workshops for next year. There are some gaps in our schedule in various areas so if you would like to book us – please enquire NOW so you don’t miss out!
We are booking in Professional Development workshops for teachers, Artist in School programs, children’s shows, workshops and classes for preschools and schools, performances for festivals and Musikeynotes for conferences – see below for more info.

We can send you detailed information and a costing tailor made for your individual situation. If you would like to make a booking for 2007 please contact us at info@welcometomusic.net 

Notes:
Venue details to be confirmed prior to each event.
Workshops marked * are offered by 3rd parties - enquiries and/or bookings should be directed to the email addresses shown.
All details are subject to change and will be confirmed at time of booking.

Article

27th International Society of Music Education (ISME)
World Conference 16th-21st July, 2006 
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Report by Susie Davies-Splitter

The theme of the 27th ISME World Conference 06 was ‘Sentuhan’. This Malay term means ‘touch’, alluding to the ability of music to touch individuals from different  walks of life – hence its important role in human life and education. It also reflects how Malaysia as a multi- racial country can reach out and touch the world in her unique Malaysian way with care, colour and artistic expression.
Once again, many hundreds of participants came from all corners of the globe with many countries represented including Malaysia and its neighbours, USA, South America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.
The conference was held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre – a huge centre in the heart of the city which more than adequately catered for the diverse needs of such a large event. It was wonderful to have all the workshops, papers, performances, poster sessions and exhibition under the same roof.

To read the entire article click here

Testimonials - What people are saying

13 Sep 2006

Dear Susie,

Thankyou so much for your wonderful music. Recently my choir sang
‘The Green and Gold’ and ‘Everyone Sing’. This was the first attempt for the choir to sing in parts. ( we sang 2-parts only). They were great The children
loved learning your songs and ‘The Green and Gold’ words brought tears to many of the audience. Your music gave me the confidence to teach the children.
Also, thankyou for the workshops, as this makes us enthusiatic in teaching our children to sing.

Thank you again       Vicki Bywater

24 Oct 2006

Hi Susie,

Just a note to say thanks to you and Phil for all the wonderful innovative music you give us. I have most of your packs of music/cd's for choir and classroom. It's all so useful and 'user friendly'.
The children love your songs and I appreciate the resources as a classroom teacher in South Australia.

Cheers, Suzanne Minards  Orff Member SA

12 Nov 2006

Hi Susie and Phil,              

I just wanted to say a huge thank-you for the PD last Friday at Hampton. It was so fantastic and really did exceed my expectations. Not only did you motivate me to want to teach music but you gave me answers to all the questions I had like how do you teach choirs and harmonies. I found it quite an overwhelming and emotional experience. I also loved the whole approach to teaching music and hope I can remember all your invaluable information next year.

Thank-you so much for a brilliant day. Sandy Robertson, Vic

17 Sept 2006

Hi Phil

On a personal note, I'd like to express my absolute delight with your entire presentation on the day. The introduction of the ECTA theme song before morning tea set the tone for a relaxed, light-hearted atmosphere; which continued throughout the day. I was thrilled to be able to participate with you in the many familiar action songs from your recordings. I smile as my preschoolers and I do the Funky Monkey, as I recall Funkey Phil, and am now an expert at doing the actions. I looked around the group during your presentation and noticed the high level of participation and energy in the auditorium, and the rapport and interaction amongst the participants, and it occurred to me yet again how important music is in our lives and in the development of young children. I thoroughly enjoyed your masterclass which I thought was well-planned, sequenced and presented with warmth and integrity.

Thank You for coming and sharing your passion for music with us!

Robbie Leikvold, ECTA Conference Co-Convener. Qld

12 Sept 2006                 

Dear Susie and Phil,

I have just received your recent newsletter. Thank you very much, they are
always filled with so much valuable information and it really helps to keep
in touch with what is happening in music education within Australia.

Karen Wandel, Preparatory Music Specialist, SA

Sept 2006

We approached Susie and Phil for the choir to present some of their new songs for the Gorgeous Voices Festival in Bendigo. “Imagine If” and “Just Being Me” off their new album, ‘Sing, Jam and Jive’ were two songs which we shared with Anni Coyne’s choir from Castlemaine. 

 “Just Being Me” was easily taught because of its short verse/chorus melodies and its appealing words.  The tune of the chorus lingers in your mind, along with the positive self-image lyrics. “Imagine If” is a beautiful simple song and together with its chorus works as partner melodies.  The third part’s long sustained notes hauntingly emphasis its message of peace. The songs were pleasantly embellished by ostinato, and for those musically literate there was a counter melody to sing over both verse and chorus.

Glenys Ferguson, Vic for The Majallen Singers

"Ask Susie" - question and comments forum

If you would like to ask Susie about anything relating to music education, send an email to susie@welcometomusic.net  and we will attempt to answer it for you.

15/9/06
Hi Susie,
What is the name of the company you use to repair your classroom
xylophones??
Kathy

Dear Kathy,
Presuming you are in Vic, get in touch with John Rechter jrechter@alphalink.com.au and Bill Vryens billv@melbpc.org.au who will come to your school if you have a few instruments that need attending to.
Best,
Susie

14/9/06  
Hi Susie
I am wondering if you have done or know of any courses etc. which benefit people doing such as what you do - presenting professional development seminars to people involved in music education and/or providing consultation to people on an individual basis.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Cathy

Dear Cathy,
Good to hear from you.
If you would like to run PD in music education for teachers then I would suggest  a range of things.
1.There are Orff courses that you can do – in Aus you can complete 4 level courses – all 36 hours each. This entitles you to apply to become a level course instructor. There are also a number of other events and conferences you can attend. See www.vosa.org and www.ancos.org.au
2.There are a number of Kodaly training courses and conferences you can attend See the kodaly website www.kodaly.org.au
Basically the more events and accredited courses you complete the more credibility you have. Teachers also like to know that you have an undergraduate degree in music such as a Bachelor of Education.
Let me know if you have any more questions,
Best,
Susie

On-line shopping now available!

On our website you will also find sample songs and pages from our teacher's  manuals, PLUS we now have on line shopping for your convenience – It's quick and easy and school orders and credit cards are welcome – check it out  here!

Yours in harmony,

Susie and Phil

PS: If you know another teacher, caregiver or parent who might enjoy reading this newsletter, please pass it on to and suggest that they subscribe as well.

What is MusicNotes?

MusicNotes is our eNewsletter for preschool and primary teachers, caregivers, parents, therapists, community members and anyone who loves music and is passionate about music for children and all people - regardless of age or background!

MusicNotes is filled with useful information, music resources updates, workshop and event information, articles on music education and even an Ask Susie question and comments forum.

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Susie and Phil's 'Welcome to Music'  
Susie Davies-Splitter and Phil Splitter
PO Box 268 East Bentleigh  Victoria, 3165, Australia
Ph: 1300 769 803   Fax: 1300 769 805
info@welcometomusic.net
www.welcometomusic.net