Dr. Maurice Hinson

hinson

 

I have always respected Dr. Hinson’s work and his music.  So much so that I went to Connecticut to take a class on Piano Pedagogy with him several years ago.  I have also attended several local piano teacher workshops with him.  At one of them, he claimed to remember me from that Connecticut class.  Whether true or not, I treasure that comment and the signature on a piano book he gave me.

We have several of his books at the O’Connor Music Studio and many are available for loan.  If you are interested in buying any for yourself, amazon.com has a great selection.  In addition to those books he has authored, he has edited the works of many composers.  Amazon lists 270 works edited and annotated by Dr. Hinson.

 

From his page on alfred.com:

One of America’s most respected authorities on piano literature, Dr. Maurice Hinson received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Music Teachers National Association at its Washington, D.C. convention in the spring of 1994, the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Florida in 1990, and the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Michigan in the fall of 1995. Hailed as a specialist in American piano music, some of his articles appear in the New Grove Dictionary of American Music in the United States.

Dr. Hinson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Michigan. He also studied at The Juilliard School and the Conservatoire National in Nancy, France.

While a Senior Professor of Piano in the School of Church Music at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Hinson’s curriculum included teaching piano, piano literature, and piano chamber music. He performed, lectured, and gave masterclasses worldwide. His books and editions have become classic standards in the studios of serious piano teachers and students the world over.


From his obituary at legacy.com:

Hinson, Dr. G. Maurice, age 84 died November 11, 2015 in the company of his family. Dr. Hinson was Professor and Senior Professor of Piano at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1957 to 2015, and a member of Broadway Baptist Church. He was also organist-choirmaster of churches in Florida, Michigan and Kentucky from 1943 to 1980. Dr. Hinson received his BA degree from the University of Florida and his MM and DMA degrees from the University of Michigan, and also studied at The Julliard School and the University of Nancy, France (Conservatoire National).

He was the first president of the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association, and president of the Kentucky Music Teachers Association as well as the Southern Division of the MTNA. He also taught “The Dorsey Class,” a group of selected piano teachers from 1963 to 2015.

Dr. Hinson is the author of 14 books mostly published by Indiana University Press, plus over 100 articles for music publications. He was a senior editor for The Alfred Publishing Company of California. He edited more than 300 editions of classical piano music and recorded five DVDs of piano music.

As Professor of Piano at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for 58 years, he taught and nurtured many pianists who now hold distinguished positions in churches and universities throughout the world.

Dr. Hinson received many awards in piano pedagogy and performance. He was awarded the Liszt Commemorative Medal by the Hungarian Government and the Medal of Excellence by the American Liszt Society for his research on the music of Franz Liszt. He was hailed as a specialist in American Piano music and some of his most recent articles appeared in the NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN MUSIC. He gave recitals, lectures, and master classes in five continents and 50 states.

Hinson was the founding editor of the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN LISZT SOCIETY, past editor of THE AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER, and contributing editor of THE PIANO QUARTERLY and PIANO AND KEYBOARD.

Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice ~ Day Eight

We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano?

Day 8. The Timekeeper: Some of the O’Connor Music Studio students are using Andrea And Trevor Dow’s Timed Note Reading Tests For Piano, so their parents can be the timekeeper when it is time for their daily note reading practice.

Andrea And Trevor Dow’s Timed Note Reading Tests For Piano, Book 1: 90 Days Of Exercises In Middle C Position And C Position

and

Andrea And Trevor Dow’s Timed Note Reading Tests For Piano, Book 2: 95 Days Of Exercises In Treble C Position And G Position

5 Things Parents Should Do Before Driving To Piano Lessons

  1. Don’t Make Piano Lessons The Bad Guy: While not always possible, it is best if parents attempt to keep “Piano Lesson Day” as “Piano Lesson Day” only. They should avoid pulling their children away from another beloved activity, interrupting playdates, packing up from a picnic, leaving early from other extracurricular activities, and even abruptly turning off a favorite TV show. All of these situations cause children to feel as though they are missing out on something by attending piano lessons. If, however, piano lessons are the chosen activity for the day, they become the opportunity for fun and excitement.
  2. Don’t “Rush and Cram”: Parents should avoid having their children cram in a rushed practice session right before a piano lesson. Children won’t have adequate time for the practice session process, making their mistakes seem magnified under a ticking time-limit and causing stress. Children who haven’t already just spent 30 minutes at the piano at home are more focused students in lessons.
  3. Set Them Up For Success: Children who are well-rested and well-fed learn best. When possible, parents should allow after-school time for their children to decompress, eat a healthy, protein-filled snack and receive one-on-one parental attention. A physically, mentally and emotionally balanced child is a happy piano student.
  4. Keep Up With Current Events: Before leaving for piano lessons, parents should remind their children of all the fun things that will be happening in their lessons. To be able to accomplish this task, parents need to read their children’s lesson notes and weekly communications to gain insight into studio activities.
  5. Address Unrelated Anxieties: Unaddressed anxiety can be debilitating for a child and confusing for an uninformed teacher. If piano parents have children who experience separation anxiety, school-based stress, or family-related challenges, it is important that these issues are addressed prior to a piano lesson. Bringing calm and clear children to the studio is essential for musical development. And, if calm and clear children are not always a possibility, then piano parents should inform the teacher of problems and challenges so support and understanding is easier to provide.

Adapted from https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2018/03/19/5-things-piano-parents-should-do-before-driving-to-piano-lessons/

Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice ~ Day Seven

We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano?

Day 7. The Concert Promoter: As a parent myself, I know that showing off our kids comes naturally. For this reason, proactive parents can take on the role of home practice concert promoter. This job involves getting their children to perform when friends, grandparents, and aunts and uncles come over for a visit, or sending videos and initiating FaceTime performances.

Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice ~ Day Six

We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano?

Day 6. The Piano Studio Janitor: Parents are the ultimate, and original, janitors. While it is important that students learn to organize their own practice spaces, if parents are looking for a simple task to get involved in practice sessions, getting the home piano space in order before each practice session can be very helpful.

Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice ~ Day Five

We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano?

Day 5. The Youtube Liaison: As students get older, it can get harder for piano parents to be active in the home practice process. By transitioning from an authoritative role to an assistant role, parents can be supportive by performing simple tasks such as searching out quality Youtube performances of pieces their children are playing. It can be a really useful experience for teen piano players to see and hear performances of the pieces they are about to play.

Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice ~ Day Four

We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano?

Day 4. The Lead Vocalist: Most people are not too comfortable with breaking out into song in public, but they will happily sing in front of their own children. Parents of your littlest piano students should be encouraged to sing along with song lyrics. Just make sure that the sing-alongs happen with songs their children already know quite well. Sing-alongs do not work when a song is first being learned.

Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice ~ Day Three

We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano?

Day 3. The Piano Piece Request Line: The most accomplished piano students always revisit pieces from their past to brush up on skills and to simply revisit some old favorites. During practice sessions, parents can get involved by requesting their children to perform some pieces that they have enjoyed hearing from past recitals, playing classes or just for fun.

Parents! How to Help Your Students Practice ~ Day Two

We have established that regular practice routines will not happen without proactive piano parents. So, how can parents be proactive practice assistants even if they have never touched a piano?

Day 2. The Practice Videographer: Piano teachers love to know what’s happening at home. By being a videographer, proactive piano parents can provide teachers with valuable home practice recordings that can be used to improve technique, posture, rhythm, and more.