"Fake it" til you play it

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal Jan 21 09


Craig Coffman wants to give "faking it" a good name.

"Faking it" - or playing by ear - is the concept behind his popular seminars Instant Piano and the new Instant Guitar. It is Coffman's contention that you don't have to look at little black dots in order to harness and enjoy the power of making music.

"That term 'fake' isn't really a description of what is going on," Coffman said. "The guy in a piano bar may be using a fake book, but don't call him a fake musician."

Coffman has been traveling the country since 1993, leading over 200 seminars a year in which he teaches adults how to play piano in one day.

Many of his students took conventional piano lessons as kids, but gave up out of frustration, impatience, or being rapped on the knuckles by autocratic teachers. Those piano teachers are horrified by Coffman's more natural approach to music theory.

"If you are playing pop music, you must be more free about it," he explained. "Music is based on hearing and imitating the playing. Pop music has always been handed down that way. You can't write down everything that is going on in a pop song."

Coffman teaches Instant Piano as part of a national program. He has created his own workshop based on learning guitar "instantly." The Arizona resident plans to ramp it up across the country soon.

"This is a revolutionary concept to most people," he said. "When you talk to people and tell them they can play and don't have to read notes, that is shocking."

Coffman guarantees that his students will leave the workshop able to play simple songs with both hands. They can take home a book and CD to help guide them. It must work, because over five years no one has asked for a refund.

"People call back all the time with astonishing testimonials. One lady in Illinois had tried her whole life to learn piano. Three months after my class, she invited me over to listen to her play. She was 86 years old!"

Coffman is passionate about what he does, and tries not to disparage traditional piano instruction. But he has heard many piano teachers lament how many students drop out of lessons.

"If you can play piano by reading notes, you are in one of the most exclusive clubs in the world," he noted. "So I come along and make it easy for a broader group of people to learn to play. That makes me feel good; it makes me feel like I am doing something to enrich people's lives."

So the next time you overhear a "note reader" use "fake book" as a derogatory term, remember this: "Piano players use 'fake' as a badge of honor," Coffman said, then growls, "We don't need no stinkin' music!"

XXX

Craig Coffman will teach Instant Piano for Hopelessly Busy People, How to Play Piano by Ear, and Instant Guitar on Sunday, Feb 1. For information, visit www.clubed.net or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

The girl wants to dance

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal
Dec 17, 2008

"Phil, I want to learn how to dance."

A lovely lady named "Carolyn" started our phone conversation with that simple statement. She had called the right place. I had heard the same lament from quite a few of our hill country neighbors before.

That is because Club Ed has helped literally hundreds of couples learn to two-step, rumba and waltz across Texas. In fact dance classes are the most attended and first-filled in every community education program in the world.

"So you want to learn how to dance," I replied. "May I ask why?" I am always curious what motivates folks to finally step up and take a class.

Carolyn, who is now a grandmother, had several answers. She wanted to surprise her family. It was good exercise. But her most compelling reason was this: "It is just something I want to do."

I found it interesting that Carolyn had never learned to dance growing up in west Texas, home of Ernest Tubb, Buddy Holly, and Waylon Jennings. She explained how a strict upbringing precluded access to some of the baser pleasures of life on the plains.

"I never smoked; I never drank," she said. "And I know it is kind of late in life to learn to dance, but I am going to."

One advantage Carolyn carries in her tool box is her love for music, especially old country music. She mentioned Eddie Arnold and Marty Robbins. Perfect for the country two-step.

Carolyn has one handicap though: "I am kind of bashful about getting up in front of people," she said. "So anything I do, I want to do it right."

This spring she can choose from a smorgasbord of dance styles. Club Ed is offering rumba, tango, ballroom, waltz, cha cha, and belly dance. For someone with Carolyn's love for country music, she might start with country and western.

Whichever dance she chooses, here's hoping she gets off on the right foot. With luck, she will never have to relive a wistful memory that she shared before hanging up.

She remembered a night when a handsome gentleman asked her to dance. Carolyn panicked, because she didn't know the steps. She had to walk away, although she did so regretfully.

"I didn't waltz, because I didn't know how," she recalled. "I suppose he would have made me look good if I just hung on and picked up my feet. But I want to try this the right way, so I'm just going to do it!"

I know we'll see her in class.

XXX

Our Spring 2009 catalog is now online! Visit www.clubed.net to sign up, or call 830-895-4386. Catalogs will be mailed by January 1.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 local classes, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Community education: Keeping the lights on in our schools

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal, Nov 26, 2008

In October I got a phone call from a newspaper columnist. Not unusual in my role with the school district, but this reporter was calling from Pennsylvania.

He introduced himself as David Knepper, a columnist with the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. He had two questions for me: 1) What is this thing called Community Education, and 2) Why doesn't every school district in the country have it?

Whew! I hoped he had an unlimited long distance phone budget, because I could have talked for hours about the benefits of community education. Knepper is a retired superintendent who now writes on community and education issues. His premise for the column was that schools should open up their facilities for use by the local citizens for learning, recreation, and community involvement. He was singing my tune. But I'll let you read what he wrote for yourself:

"For the past decade, from the corner coffee shop to the kitchen table, Americans have not given high grades to public education nationwide. Perhaps the answer might lie outside the walls of education.

More than ever, successful schools have come to recognize the interdependency on strong community support to meet mandated state and national performance standards, develop innovative programs, and secure financial resources.

The process of building such partnerships is an ongoing, two-way communication process between a school and the community it serves. Education is viewed as a birth-to-death process, and everyone in the community – individuals, businesses and public and private agencies – shares in the responsibility of educating all members of the community and providing lifelong learning opportunities for learners of all ages, backgrounds and needs.

One of the most successful ways to achieve such a relationship is to develop a community education program.

The educational philosophy that underlies community schools advocates the creation of opportunities for community participants, namely individuals, businesses and both public and private organizations, to become partners in addressing community needs.

A community education program is established outside the traditional school day for the purpose of providing academic, recreation, health, social service and work-preparation programs for people of all ages.

Investing in our communities through educational outreach and intergenerational learning should be our priorities. Community education can be that gateway to improve student achievement when the “whole village comes together to help children learn.”

Let’s keep the lights on in our schools to facilitate the learning and participation of adults and children so they can improve their lives and their communities."

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc. by David Knepper, Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, October 31, 2008

To read the entire article, you can follow this link:

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/archivesearch/local_story_305110748.html

Be thankful that Kerrville ISD does something no school in Pennsylvania has yet done: offer community education.

See you in class.

XXX

To learn more about our lifelong learning classes, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Football for Femmes?

by Phil Houseal Published in the (Kerrville TX) Community Journal, Sept 3, 2008

Most football players might have quit after their coach told them they were not the fastest player on the field, nor the best player on the field. Brendan Wilson's coach said both those things to him back in his playing days. But his coach also told him something else that changed Wilson's life.

"He told me that in spite of those limitations, I always knew where I was supposed to be on the field," Wilson said. "He said I ought to get into coaching."

After 11 years in the Army, Wilson did just that. He coached more than 10 years at all levels from junior high to college. While an assistant high school coach in Georgia, he helped lead his team to three state championships.

Never a super-sized person, Wilson played at around 180 pounds. He mastered literally every position, from long snapper to returning punts to doing a stint at quarterback. This journeyman approach helped him understand the game at a deeper level.

A self-described "football freak," Wilson loves the game and loves to help other people love it. He will teach a class this fall called "Football for Femmes," helping "football widows" gain an appreciation for the game. He plans to teach the basic terms, identify the positions, and explain the rules. Using tapes from his coaching days, and doing what he calls his "Chalk Talk," Coach Wilson will even draw up some basic strategies and plays.

At the last session, he'll have the class watch a televised professional game, complete with Super Bowl-style snacks and refreshments.

Why would someone so schooled in the intricacies of the game want to try to teach X's and O's to novices?

"I just love football so much," he said. "It just comes natural to me." And despite his love for the game, teaching it is not always easy. "It took about 10 years for my wife to understand the game. During one state championship game I coached, she finally realized what a first down was!"

Wilson now works at the Kerrville VA hospital as Division Manager for Environmental Management Services. But he is still involved in the sport, working as the TV analyst for all Tivy High School football games. He invites anyone wanting to share this love to sign up for his class.

"Because it will be fun and interesting," he said. "I will be open to any type of questions about football."

And he promises not to tell you how slow you are.

XXX

Brendan Wilson will teach Football for Femmes starting Sunday, Sept 14. To learn more about this and hundreds of other lifelong learning classes, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

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