A new approach to teaching music will be explored at Fresno Pacific University.
Rebecca Payne Shockley will describe her method, known as "mapping," during a seminar hosted by the FPU music department. The event begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, February 2, in room 108 of Marpeck Center on the university campus. Admission is free.
In "mapping," teachers use diagrams of the main features of a piece of music to help students learn and memorize the composition. "I have used the technique primarily in piano instruction," Shockley said, "but the principles can be applied to any instrument, including voice." More than a memory aid, "mapping" is a tool for developing functional skills such as reading, improvising, harmony and analysis as well as listening activities and pre-reading experiences.
Rebecca Payne Shockley is professor of piano pedagogy, coordinator of class piano and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota School of Music, where she has taught since 1986. A native of Cincinnati, she holds degrees from Indiana University and the University of Colorado and a performer's licentiate from the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Shockley has given presentations throughout the U. S. and in England, Canada, Taiwan, Korea and the People's Republic of China. Her articles and reviews have appeared in Clavier, American Music Teacher, Keyboard Companion, Piano Life, Piano Journal, Piano and Keyboard andCollege Music Symposium. She has served as piano chair for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Convention Program Committee and chaired the Committee on Learning Theory for the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy. Her book, Mapping Music: For Faster Learning and Secure Memory - A Guide for Piano Teachers and Students, was published in 1997 by A-R Editions and reprinted in 2001.
Fresno Pacific University is an accredited Christian university ranked fifth among best values among Western universities—master's category by U.S. News & World Report. Located on a 42-acre campus in southeast Fresno, FPU has an enrollment of 1,900 students—half in graduate and half in undergraduate programs. The university also enrolls 12,000 students annually in its professional development studies programs offered locally and throughout the world.