Bio
Elliot is a Louisville native who incorporates many styles into his music and curriculum, including classical piano, Appalachian folk, jazz, rock, pop, electronica, film and game soundtracks, and avant-garde. He has performed internationally with the UofL Cardinal Singers in Korea, China, Taiwan, and Italy, studied with acclaimed pianists and orchestral conductors, and performed his own minimalist compositions and experimental improvisations for piano.
His curriculum incorporates interdisciplinary learning, paying attention to language, history, technique, and culture. Students who wish to compose and arrange will learn music theory and music history. Students who form ensembles will practice social skills for organizing with peers and administrative skills to create performance opportunities. Students are encouraged to engage across disciplines to broaden their horizons and take in new ideas.
Whether a student has a passion for playing sports, playing outdoors, or playing an instrument, good technique will be a necessary foundation for lifelong health. Some of his hobbies outside of music which contribute to a rich social and musical life are yoga, folk dancing, hiking, board games, calligraphy, reading, theatre, and travel.
Elliot believes people of every identity should be welcomed in the arts, and that every community becomes more resilient for knowing and celebrating its artists.
Potential Residency Project
Learning Music by Heart
Keyboard fundamentals and methods for practicing well and playing confidently
What does it mean to learn music by heart?
Learning music and memorizing music are distinct from learning music by heart. This is a deeper commitment to studying each note, each phrase, and the story of the music. It allows artists to express something new, unique, and special with each performance. More than mere memorization, learning by heart includes developing healthy practice patterns, growing the inner ear, and continually digesting new ideas to broaden our horizons. Skill and talent should not be the goal of art; rather, artists should strive to play confidently. When an artist has the confidence to change themselves, they will have the capability to change the world.
Why should a student dedicate so much time to self-disciplined practice
Practicing well leads to performing well. With rigorous study, students will identify their own passions in the process of music making. Whether someone is loud and charismatic, or soft and enigmatic, they should practice and perform with confidence. Then, everything they do in life beyond art will be a richer experience too — this is why we should put in the hard work!
Confident musicians can make the impossible happen. Musicians who are confused, practice poorly, and waste their time will not manage to inspire anyone. This will not change until they are dedicated to loving music, loving other people, and loving themselves. If time is spent making something special, the process ought to be enjoyed as well. If the process is glum, then the art will be boring!
Music is essential. Musicians at every skill level deserves to love their art, to love themselves for making it, and to share it shamelessly. Empowered students have the opportunity to change their own lives, build communities, and to become a force of inspiration in music. Even when the world challenges us with disruption, fear, and disaster, we ought to remain strong, survive, and continue telling our stories.
How can I learn music by heart?
This methodology uses the Confidence Practice Techniques — a large toolbox of practice patterns and musical games which develop creative decision-making at every step. Stale, repetitive practice (called “woodshedding" or “hacking through it") gets in the way of learning by heart. Using the Confidence Practice Techniques with measured patience teaches us to listen, to react, and to create new sounds and new ideas.
Each student must identify for themselves how to give an inspired performance. This keyboard technique celebrates the multifaceted nature of our experiences and learning styles with highly customizable methods.
Students of all skill levels will use three primary Confidence Practice Techniques; Grouping, Ghost-playing, and Emphasizing. These lay the foundations for high quality musical technique. Healthy movement technique is designed uniquely for each person's body to protect them from harmful motions and microinjuries. It enables the creation of controlled, confident, and creative musical sounds at every practice session.
The Confidence Practice Techniques are customizable procedures which break down note-to-note and phrase-to-phrase moments in music. They should be used at greatly reduced tempos, or as slowly as is needed to play well! They are not meant to sound like good performance-ready sounds; rather they are for exploring the limits of sound in our body and in the instrument, and to practice identifying a good sound so that it may be intentionally recreated.
- Grouping is a way of practicing many scalar and arpeggiated passages, designing suitable fingering patterns, and ensuring practice is relaxed. Students will play scales and arpeggios in different groups, (2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-note patterns are all common) to explore evenness of tone and playing without tension.
- Ghost-playing, or pretending, is a way of placing the fingers over the correct keys in one hand, as if pretending to play them in-time while the other hand plays notes aloud. This develops the inner ear, and keeps students honest about whether they truly know which note to play without having to hear it. It prevents relying on muscle memory, and avoids stale practice patterns like “woodshedding" or “hacking through" the music. This is often a superior challenge after a student learns a passage “hands separately", and can significantly reinforce a non-dominant hand.
- Emphasizing in practice lets students explore the extremes of sound and the extremes of individual finger strength. Holding the hand on the keys, then lifting and holding one finger to its maximum height, students will play a note as forte as possible — or as piano as possible. This engages and strengthens individual fingers, and later enables us to connect the weight and strength in our hands, arms, and spine without wasting energy on unnecessary tension. To play soft and quick passages well often benefits from contrasting practice, using loud and slow sounds. Playing from above is a similar emphasis technique which uses the full weight and strength of the arm and fingers, and always calls for follow through motion.
The ultimate goal of the Confidence Practice Techniques is to teach musical independence, and to cultivate intentionality in decision making. With simple, repeatable procedures for breaking down phrases, and the creative challenge to develop new practice strategies, students will be able to apply their skills to any topic in music or to other instruments beyond the keyboard.
Weekly curriculum modules
Lessons 1 & 2
- Practicing to relax; with breath, and simple warm-up stretches.
- Making a quality sound at the keyboard using the natural weight of your body.
- Follow-through motion: the foundation for a quality sound and good phrasing.
- Articulation: Making a staccato and legato sounds
Lessons 3 & 4
- Practicing playfully: Making a new sounds without reading from a score
- Scales & Arpeggios: grouping and introduction to music theory
- Improvisation games and polyrhythms
- Balance: Practicing finger-independence in chords and melodies
Lessons 5 through 8
- Grouping - supplements playing with no tension in wrists/thumbs; making an even tone
- Ghost-playing - supplements ear training and thoughtful memorization, not muscle memory
- Emphasizing - Playing tricky passages slowly and forte. With consistency and control a pianist to play fast, difficult passages effortlessly at any dynamic.
Suggested Materials
Beginners:
– Technique books: Faber, Bastien, Bartók Mikrokosmos, etc.
Intermediate to Advanced:
– Classical Piano repertoire: Bach, Bartók, Czerny, Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, etc.
Accompanist and contemporary genres:
– Art song, jazz standards, pop songs, show tunes, film score orchestral reductions
How can students & teachers prepare for this residency?
Preparation to learn new methodology can be supplemented by creative movement and mindful breathing practices. Activities such as walking, sports, or playing in nature can improve daily health which will empower practice time. Creating stillness through stretching, yoga, or simply laying down in a quiet space can teach transitions between activities and thought regulation. Social skills are essential for music, so outdoor recreation or indoor activities such as board games augment the benefits of physical health, memory retention, and creativity. Students who do not play sports are encouraged to play with manipulatives, games of dexterity such as puzzles, building blocks, or enriching single-player action and strategy video games.
Creating planned time away from screens and devices is another way to benefit focus and healthy decision making. It's essential for everyone, artist or otherwise to become periodically bored, and to let thoughts wander. Cultivating stillness alongside activity by using planned time away from screens is one way to start investing in a positive musical practice routine.
How is a culture of inclusivity and diversity incorporated in lessons?
Everyone in the world has a unique experience and a special perspective on the world, and deserves to be known and celebrated for their individuality. These practice methods never set hard limits on how to engage in learning. If a student cannot, or decides not to read music, then plenty of other avenues towards music remain. People with atypical bodies may have widely differing ranges of motion from what their teachers or peers experience. But as long as good breathing, playing relaxed, and follow through motion are used at the keyboard, then we can all learn together how to cultivate good movement technique for any shape of body.
How are students assessed, and how can these methods continue in the classroom?
During lessons, the instructor will offer individual feedback identifying which practice techniques are a good fit for musical passages, and which techniques students use to good effect.
For weekly practice outside of lessons, students will learn how to use musical journaling to describe what steps they took during time and to develop self-accountability. Listing actionable goals as well as setting intentions for effective practice is integral to each artist's growth.
Additionally, students may give written responses or have dialogue with the instructor regarding the following questions about making sound:
- What Groupings and fingering patterns did use to practice scales and arpeggios?
- What does it feel like to listen to your inner ear when practicing with Ghost-playing?
- How did it feel in my hands and arms to make loud and soft Emphasized sounds?
- What are some sounds and articulations in my toolbox that are fun to play and hear?
For improvisation lessons, students will play twelve-bar blues changes as an ensemble, taking turns with direct imitation and improvisation. The teacher (I or another music instructor) can demonstrate riffs with varying articulations and attitudes to keep fresh ideas flowing for the classroom.
Essential questions for students:
Q: How do we make an inspired, and creative musical sound?
Q: If practicing helps to improve at music, how can I improve at practicing?
Q: How does music change over time, with new instruments, songs, and dances?
Q: How does music fit with other art, like dance, theater, film, games, and poetry?