I hope you and your students are thinking of some questions to ask Mona for our composer interview! Please submit these in the comments section of this Composer Interview post. Here is a brief preliminary interview with Mona which discusses interesting things you may not know.
What are some things about yourself that teachers and students may not know?
I have been a lifelong pianist, and that is literally a true statement. Around age four I began to try to pick out tunes by ear on my grandmother’s piano. They were simple nursery rhyme tunes, folk songs, and Sunday school songs that I was familiar with. Luckily my parents noticed my musical interest and bought me an old upright from a farmer’s family who lived in our small hometown in west Texas. I can tell you even now that it was love at first sight for me and that clunker piano!
Neither of my parents were musicians. But my granddad played piano, guitar and “fiddle” by ear, as well as having a wonderful tenor singing voice. I spent many happy hours jamming with him on tunes as varied as “Way Down Yonder”, “Under the Double Eagle”, “I’ll Fly Away” and “What a Day That Will Be”. Our family and friends would often gather for what we called “sing-songs”. Anyone who could play a musical instrument of any sort or could carry a tune was invited to join in. My grandmother did neither, but she was a loyal supporter and always listened to us with a smile on her face. In hindsight I realize that this was great training for me as an accompanist, church musician, and even a jazz pianist, all musical pursuits I would encounter later on.
My parents were able to find a good teacher who taught me how to read music. I have always felt that being a competent sight-reader and playing by ear [See the great “Myths of Playing by Ear” by Bradley Sowash] has been a real blessing for me. The combination of the two has opened many doors, especially as a composer and arranger.
Tell us about your job as a piano teacher.
I have been a teacher ever since I graduated from college in 1983. Sharing my love and knowledge of music with others is one of the greatest joys of my professional life. Right now, I have students ranging in age from five years old to seventy, and each of them brings something special into my life. My husband and I have run the Rejino Piano Studio out of our home for twenty-seven years, and we still have eleven students who study with us here.
In 2000 I began teaching private lessons at the Hockaday School in Dallas. It is a very fine school for girls including Pre-K students through seniors. Most of my thirty-two Hockaday girls take lessons during school hours, so this gives me more time to spend with my family and to work on arranging and composing projects at home.
What is your favorite part of the composition process?
I love that “light bulb” moment when you get an idea that you know will work well. Honestly, these ideas often come to me when I’m in the shower or driving to school! I always keep a pencil and paper handy to jot down the basic melodic theme or harmonic structure that can be fleshed out later.
I’ll give you one example. Over ten years ago our family was hiking in Oregon on our summer vacation. It was a calm, quiet morning, and the vistas were breathtaking. As we climbed higher and higher, a melody and Aaron Copland style harmony flooded my brain. We stopped to take a rest and I asked my husband if he happened to have paper and pencil in his backpack. Since he tends to carry everything but the kitchen sink on hikes, he did indeed! From that bit of sketchy notation I was able to complete “Mountain Splendor” upon arriving at home, and have enjoyed teaching it to several students over the years.
Many years of experience in teaching helps me know how to make particular thematic material accessible to piano students, and taking that basic initial idea and molding it into a final shape that works well is rewarding. I think that being very familiar with the different levels from early elementary through late intermediate is a plus when writing and arranging. You know how to tailor a piece into something playable for students on that specific level.
When did you start composing music for students?
Let me start by saying it is never too late to learn something new. In fact, I’m convinced that “You can teach an old dog new tricks.” Outside of college assignments I never composed anything until age thirty-five! My colleagues and I were working on the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library method books, and there were a few holes to fill with very early level compositions. I remember having a day when two sisters who studied with me canceled their lessons at the last minute. Having some free time, I decided to compose a few little pieces to send in. I was amazed that they were accepted, and that gave me the confidence to continue composing more. A couple of years after that I sent in a few arrangements of popular songs, and that began my career as an arranger, an equally rewarding musical task.
Thank you, Mona for telling us so much about yourself and your composition process!
Don’t forget to submit your interview question for Mona on this blog post!
