Pedagogy Seminar for MTAC Santa Clara Co. Branch 2023!

There will be five exciting sessions for this year's Pedagogy Seminars that encompass all levels from beginner to advanced that target techniques-practice-motivation!! 

Date 9/28-10/26

Time: Thursday at 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Fees:  Registration link

• MTAC Santa Clara County Branch members $150 
• non-members $200.

Session 1: Teaching Scales with only four fingerings groups!! 

No more memorizing or reading boring finger numbers but understanding them from keyboard topography and theory. 

Sessions 2 and 3 feature eight tension-free fundamental techniques  

• Establish a solid foundation and fix stiff hands, awkward hand positions, and weak fingers for beginner and elementary students. 
• It also enables intermediate/early advanced students to achieve sound and musical expression without tension. It addresses advanced techniques such as ornamentation, octaves, repeating notes, and more. 

Session 4: Motivation through practicing habits, learning style, and selecting study goals such as festivals and exams!! 

Session 5: Q and A. I will collect your questions in advance and discuss them in this session. This is a beneficial session since there are no limits to the questions you like to submit. Great opportunities to exchange ideas! 

Upcoming Webinars and pedagogy seminar with Santa Clara County Branch

 Sept-Oct: dates TBA

"Scales and Arpeggios": in this session, we will explore 

• the thumb rotation techniques that allow students to play evenly without twisting and turning! 
• Fingering groups will help students to learn the fingerings from the understanding of "when to cross over and under without the need to read the fingerings printed on the page!

"Pedagogy Seminar for the Intermediate Students": teachers can review the seminar on Youtube.

• Fundamental Techniques for Tension-Free Playing: This topic is in high demand and the most popular among the workshops I presented. It provides a systematic approach that enhances your teaching and students' playing! It has been featured in both the MTAC convention and the CSUEB piano pedagogy symposium. I will discuss challenging techniques such as ornamentations, balance, pedals, and coordination that target intermediate-level techniques.  
• Musicality
• Standard repertoire literature survey
• Practice skills and habits
• Performance preparation and anxiety issues
• Group discussion: great for deep diving into individual concerns
• Online lessons and studio management

My presentation on the intermediate techniques for the MTAC 2023 Convention

 It is a great honor to present for the MTAC convention this year on 7/1, Sat 3:30 pm. This presentation, "A Systematic Approach of Teaching Tension Free Techniques for Intermediate Students," will help teachers to instruct these techniques to the students in an organized and effective way. 

This is a continuous session from the one I presented four years ago, entitled "Eight Elementary Techniques that Help Students Build a Solid Foundation for the Future." in 2019, before the Covid!!

Since then, I have developed and presented workshops and seminars to promote this systematic Fundamental Techniques Teaching Method in both workshops, pedagogy seminars, and webinars.  This session will surely bring you a deep insight into how to teach intermediate students these quintessential techniques that will allow them to fulfill the musical expression they dreamed of!

Winter updates for students' achievements 2022

We have had a good season so far, and I am proud to see many of our students accomplish so much in the mid-academic year! Dr. Chang Piano Studio: Studio

Many students have been studying with me for years, and I have enjoyed seeing them grow. Most of them are now pre-teens or teenagers!! Here is a little tribute to each one of them. 

FEB 2021: US Open Music Competition 

Sanyi Yao: 1st Place Winner, Outstanding Gold Medalist and special scholarship. This was the third time that Sanyi won the Gold medal in the Sat Winner Concert, in which all the first-place winners will compete again for the best performance and the gold medal. Previously, she also received Grand Prize Showcase Award in the Pelican international music competitions. 

Cindy Liang: 2nd Place Winner. Showcase Piano Solo Category 12, Junior Division; Cindy has previously won first and 2nd places in other categories. This is her first time competing in the Showcase category, a 7 min free program with age limitation. This category is intended for "exceptionally talented" students, according to USOMC. 

Evan Qiu: 2nd Place Winners the Treasury of Romantic and Contemporary Composers Category 4 and 5, Junior Divisions. This is Evan's first time participating in the USOMC! 

Rishi Ranganathan: 3rd Place Winner the Treasury of Contemporary Composers Category 5. Rishi has previously won 2nd place in various categories in the USOMC.

Maggie Sun: 4th Place winner Showcase Piano Solo Category 12, Junior Division. Maggie has previously won first and 2nd place in the USOMC. She was also a 1st place winner in the 2021 CAPMT Honors competition and Pelican international music competitions.

Nov-Jan 2022 RCM EXAMS

First Class Honors with Distinction 90-100

Veronica Zhu Level 2, this is Verionia's first RCM Exam!

First Class Honors 80-89

Shari Walczak, Level 6, has previously achieved First class honors with Distinction and the Royal Conservatory of Music State and Center Certificate of Excellence twice!

Judy Liang Level 2, Judy has also completed level 1 with first-class honors. 

Congratulations to these students, and I will keep updating other students' achievements in the next quarter!  

Students winning competitions 2023

In Feb, my students won top prizes in the 2023 United States Open Music Competitions. It is an annual competition in a recital format and offers multiple categories for elementary to advanced-level students. Although the competition will only award one Gold medalist, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places are given to more than one student depending on the judges' discretion.

USOMC also gives special scholarship prizes to the Outstanding Gold medalists who competed against all other gold medalists in the Sat winners concert. My student Sanyi won this particular award four years in a row!! 

Congratulations to:

Sanyi Yao: view her video (Ginastera Danza Argentinas III)
1st Place Winner, Outstanding Gold Medalist and the Special scholarship in Showcase Piano Solo Junior Division

Reina Lin: 
Gold Medal in the Treasury of Contemporary composers Junior
Third Place in the Treasury of Romantic composers Junior

Larry Pham:
3rd place in the Open Solo 4B
4th Place in the Treasury of Contemporary composers Intermediate

MTAC Santa Clara County Branch Piano Pedagogy Seminar 2022

It is exciting to resume the Piano Pedagogy Seminar for our branch this coming fall 2022. This seminar will be both online and in-person and focus on the INTERMEDIATE level, approximate CM levels 3-7!! Topics explored include:

• Techniques for Tension-Free Playing: This topic is in high demand and the most popular one among the workshops I presented. It provides a systematic approach that enhances your teaching and your students' playing! It has been featured in both the MTAC convention and the CSUEB piano pedagogy symposium. I will discuss challenging techniques such as ornamentations, balance, pedals, and coordination that target the intermediate level of playing. 
• Musicality
• Standard repertoire literature survey
• Teaching demonstration: explore and share teaching approaches on specific challenging pieces or sections.
• Practice skills and habits
• Performance preparation and anxiety issues
• Group discussion: great for deep diving into individual concerns
• Online lessons and studio management

Date: Sept 20 - Oct 25, every Tuesday, six sessions

Time: 10:30-12 am

Location: Lincoln Glen Church San Jose, 2700 Booksin Avenue, San Jose,  CA 95125

The zoom link and recordings will be available to the participants.  

The registration form will be distributed to our members via email or you can contact me directly. 

Celebrating Students' Achievements

We had such a fruitful year that worth celebrating. Although the online lessons were not as ideal as in-person, it was amazing how students progressed and became more independent throughout this test of time! Not only they have speeded up through their RCM exam levels, but they also had quite a victory in the competitions, both video submission, and in-person. For those students who are not yet ready to take the exam or enter a competition, they have worked hard and performed well in the virtual recital. 

Here is the summary of their achievements for the recent US Open Music Competition and Pelican International Music Competition for Young Musicians. Everyone scored a winner place!! Some of the students have advanced to the open category for the exceptionally gifted students, and hard-working :) For a complete list, please check out our studio page.

Sanyi Yao: 

Grand Prize Winner Pelican International Music Competition Grand Prize Showcase Award

1st Place Winner, and Outstanding Gold Medalist and the special scholarship: Showcase Piano Solo Category 12, Junior Division, USOMC

Jeffery Wang: 1st Place Winner Open Solo Category 1, Classical, level 4; 4th Place Winner Treasury of Classical Composers Category 3, Intermediate, USOMC

Cindy Liang: 2nd Place Winner Open Solo Category 1, Romantic,  level 4, USOMC

Erin Tiangnaka: 2nd Place Winner Treasury of Classical Composers Category 3, Intermediate, USOMC

Claire Tiangnaka: 2nd Place Winner Open Solo Category 1, Romantic, level 2, USOMC

Maggie Sun: 3rd Place winner Showcase Piano Solo Category 12, Elementary Division, and Open Solo Category 1, Romantic, level 5, USOMC