When Books Fail Me . . .

from Emma's Studio

All throughout my time as a piano student, my teachers have seemed to know exactly what books to use with me. I never questioned their judgment, because everything they did worked. I comfort myself with the thought that my students think the same of me; however, after six months of teaching, one of the method books I chose for my middle school students has sputtered and died in its effectiveness. I saw it in the faces of my students as they slowly pulled out the book at the beginning of each lesson and struggled through each song. Nothing kills motivation faster than lack of progress! 

I’ve asked myself “how was I supposed to know when I started that this would not work? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think the more important question is “what am I doing about it now?” I have started using bits and pieces of another series with these students, along with other supplementary materials. I’ve also motivated one student by bringing in a simplified version of a song by his favorite band. Even if he practices nothing else, he will faithfully practice that song. 

In addition, I am more than willing to take advice from other teachers.  If any of you piano teachers have thoughts on this subject, I would love to hear them!

Musical Shout it Out

. . . from Sally's Studio

In 2010 I had posted a number of entries about our Summer Music Camp (check out our the blog archive links in the right-hand column to find the series).  Since then, I have had requests to share this particular game in more detail - Musical Shout it Out.  Here it is -- I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!  

You can check the Music Camp Ideas page on our website for even more summer camp ideas.

Musical Shout It Out

Our music camp students were divided into three different teams.   We chose a team to go first and gave them a category (topic).  They had three minutes to try to guess all the items in our list relating to the topic.  If they guessed the complete list, their team received one point.   If at the end of the time allotted, they didn’t guess everything, the other teams had the chance to steal the point for that topic.   They had to shout out their guesses.  If someone correctly identified one of the remaining things on the list, their team received the point.

Before you read these categories, just a note -- our summer camp had musicians of all types.  Some were piano students; others were in choirs or instrumentalists.  Camp was designed for basic music theory rather than piano students so our categories do not relate to just one instrument.  Some of the items in the lists could be improved upon.  Please feel free to share additional possibilities.

Things related to tempo

andante, moderato, allegro, vivace, largo, andantino, allegretto,
metronome, adagio, presto

Things related to Dynamics

pp, p, mp, f, mf, ff, crescendo, diminuendo, decrescendo, subito

Kinds of notes

quarter, half, whole, dotted half, eighth, dotted quarter, triplet,
sixteenth, thirty-second, sixty-fourth

Instruments in a band

flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, french horn,
tuba, baritone (euphonium), snare drum, bass drum

String Instruments

violin, viola, cello, double bass, bass guitar, electric guitar,
acoustic guitar, piano, harp, harpsichord, banjo

Things relating to articulation

staccato, marcato, tenuto, accent, slur, legato, portato,
staccatissimo, tie

Things related to rhythm

beat, notes, rests, triplet, syncopation, pulse, upbeat, tempo,
meter, down beat

Things you would find in a band room

music stands, chairs, music, instruments, flags, metronome,
tuner, white board (chalk board), director, students, sound equipment

Things you would find in your music

notes, dynamics, slurs, repeat signs, titles, key signature, measures,
clef signs, tempo marking

Things you would find in a percussion section

snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, marimba, xylophone, maracas, tambourine,
triangle, drum sticks, mallets

Types of Music

rock, country, pop, hip hop, jazz, ragtime, march, dance, classical, rap

Things you would find in a jazz band

trumpet, saxophone, drums, piano or electric keyboard, bass guitar,
electric guitar, clarinet, music stands, drum set, trombone

Things relating to a marching band

uniforms, music lyres, marches, hats, flip folders, drum major or majorette,
flag bearers, drums, director, half time show

Check out the Music Camp page on our website for more ideas!

Sharon's Picks - March!

Don't know about you, but when I was a kid (and my own children confirm that it is still this way), on St. Patrick's Day it was always wise to wear something green to school to avoid getting pinched.  It doesn't seem to matter how much or how little green it is, but there must be something green on your person to avoid getting a pinch.  

Curious about the significance of this particular tradition, I checked it out.  I found that wearing green, of course, is supposed to make one invisible to leprechauns -- if they can't see you, they can't pinch you! 

Some Protestants choose to wear orange on the traditionally green day. It is in honor of William of Orange (a Protestant), who was the victor in a battle against King James II (a Roman Catholic)  Read more here.  

In honor of this most-green (and a little orange) day.  I have searched and found a variety of music-themed St. Patrick's Day products on Zazzle.  It might be fun to be able to play a game with your students and give them a special St. Patrick's Day card, sticker, or button in honor of the month, or you might want to wear a special shirt in honor of the day!

There are some selections below, and more to be found on our website.  Check it out!

Lilt card 

Green Grand Piano Stickers

Green and Orange Irish Pianist

Green electric guitar with keyboard

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  More designs on our website!

Classical Music......something you hear every day

...from Sally's Studio

One particularly fun recital theme I have used was based on a book titled “Classical Music for People Who Hate Classical Music”.  Many people don’t even know that they have heard, and have loved, the classics.   

The term “Classical Music” is often used by untrained musicians to describe the more serious music or that of old masters such as Beethoven and Mozart.  In this book, “Classical music” is really a term that refers to music anywhere from the earliest music to that of the contemporary composers.  It helped to make the students more aware of what they are hearing in their daily lives.   

I live in a rural community that amazingly enough has many cultural opportunities.   Within a 35 mile radius, we have opportunity to attend and experience multiple cultural events and performances.  Even with that chance though, I find that much of the public is musically uneducated.  They may enjoy music but it is more the kind of music that we hear on the radio……….pops and country.  They are very surprised to hear that many songs used in cartoons, commercials, and the like, are really portions of famous classics.   When we did this recital, people were saying things like -- "That is the pizza commercial song," or "That one is from Bugs Bunny cartoons"………etc.  We can spark an interest in exploring the classics by doing a recital that uses famous themes.  

Theme and Variations by Haydn was included in one of my recitals. A beginner student played the theme followed by more advanced students doing the variations.   We had two pianos on stage.  When one student was performing the following student was getting ready on the other piano.  We kept the variations going without interruption.   It was a big hit!    I have also had younger students playing an arrangement of one of the classics followed by a more advanced student doing the original version.  It gave the opportunity to show how music can be arranged at different levels.  

I had the students each introduce their own pieces by telling about the composer and something that they really liked about the composition.  Some of the students were reluctant to speak in front of an audience but after doing so, they found that it wasn’t as hard as expected when they prepared in advance.   It was good to have the older students do research on their songs to find out about the selection as well as more about the composer.  

Contemporary Composer Recital Theme

.....from Sally's Studio

Often we concentrate on the “old masters” when it comes to performance-worthy songs.  I have recently begun to have recitals that instead highlight the music of current composers.

The first such recital featured the music of Kevin Olson.   He has written a wealth of music for pianists ranging from beginners through late intermediate and beyond.   My students love his pieces and were eager to learn more about him.   We discussed the things he did with his compositions to make them unique.  It gave me a chance to explain more about form and harmonic structure along with the aspects that made his music different from that of other composers.  For example, his Sonatina in Colors afforded the opportunity to make the sonata form a concept that they could easily understand but relate it to contemporary music.

My students were so surprised to find out that he lived in Illinois, right next to their home of Wisconsin (he has since moved to Utah)!  Our students have always performed music by composers from Europe or other “far away places” but to think that a real composer was that close and actually alive now, was very exciting to them.  In addition, I talked with Kevin and he had offered to come and speak to them.  We tried to arrange a time for that but since my schedule was so busy, we weren’t able to connect at that time.  He wrote a letter to my students that we read at the recitals. 

When our recital is featuring the music of one or two composers, I have contacted them.  They are always willing to send a message to the students which I include in the recital program.  This makes it very special and makes the composer more “real” to them.

Like many of you, we are in the process of choosing the theme for this year.  We are considering Robert Vandall music.  In addition, Bob has offered that I could send the music to him and he would autograph the students’ books and sheet music and send them back to me.  What a great memento for them!

Recital Management . . . for over 80 students!

.....from Sally's Studio
 
I hold 4 different recitals each year to keep them each to a manageable length.  The first (for the advanced students) is on a Friday evening.  Much to my distress, I have found that many people don’t appreciate the more serious pieces and what it takes to get them learned.  Often I have heard that the songs were too long and boring.   I have learned that if I identified the evening recital as being one with serious music and that it would potentially be a longer event, I had an audience that was appreciative of the higher level music.  The other three recitals are on Saturday.  The Saturday recitals are shorter and a little less formal; although all students are still expected to dress up and follow common performance practices.  The students and parents are always honored to “graduate” to the Friday night recital.

Theme and decorating and program, oh my!
Every year we try to find a recital theme.  My students enjoy decorating the recital venue and designing the programs.  Some years I have held a program cover design contest.  Anyone who wanted to submit a design had to do so a month before the recital.   Sometimes I chose the winner and sometimes have had a panel of judges do the choosing - to avoid any feelings of favoritism among my students.  They enjoyed competing for the honor of seeing their artwork on the cover.  Since the programs are often in black and white, I have at times let the students color them while they waited for their lessons.  It gave them some ownership of the programs.

Even though we generally have a theme, not all students play pieces that are connected to it.  The advanced recital rarely is associated with the current theme, but the other students love to choose music that matches the theme-of-the-year.   At times they even dress to match the theme or the feel of their song. 

Ensemble - yes!
Each student plays a solo and then performs with an ensemble.  Since my studio is in a public school I have access to them throughout the day, making ensemble work readily available.   I understand the limitations of teachers who work out of their homes, but I highly recommend trying to find a way to get ensembles to work.   It is worth the effort since much of piano playing is a solitary event.  My students really enjoy working on duets, trios, and quartets.   When we put our advanced or intermediate students together on pieces like Perpetual Commotion by Kevin Olson, they have tons of fun!

Stay Tuned!
More is coming on my recitals and themes.  I would love to have input from any of you who would also like to share your recital successes!

written by Sally Ritchie

Looking Back

With a few months of teaching experience under my belt, I think it’s time to do a little reflecting on my experiences so far. Not only have I been teaching piano lessons, I am also in charge of the musical education of a group of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students with wide ranging musical backgrounds. Teaching them has forced me to think about not only what I teach my students, but also HOW I teach them. As I learned from my undergraduate education classes, the instructional methods matter just as much as the lesson content. In my individual piano lessons, I can rely on method books to provide a reliable order for presenting material to beginning students. (I find myself appreciating more and more the piano teachers who design these method books.) However, even here, I end up making adjustments, and I am just working with one student at a time. When teaching in the classroom I also have a curriculum to work with, but it does not allow for differences in content knowledge and ability. So, what have I learned so far? Here are a few words of wisdom from the ever-growing knowledge base of Emma Veers, piano teacher:

Less is more, both in the classroom and in the piano studio. It is better to address one main point from a variety of angles than to try to address several points in one lesson. I still struggle with this when trying to work on a piece of music with a piano student, I want to fix all of the problems I see at once, but I often end up overwhelming the student. Not a good thing!
Too slow is better than too fast. While neither is great, it is better for a student to be confident and bored than totally lost. It is good to give students plenty of opportunity to practice a new concept, especially the idea of reading music. This works for individuals and group classes.
When working with a group class, introduce concepts in engaging ways. This way the students who already know the concepts will still enjoy the class, and they might even learn something new.
I am the teacher, and as such, I need to have confidence in my knowledge and my teaching abilities. If a student comes up to me and says, “I saw a boy playing piano on TV and he didn’t hold his hands the way you want me too,” this should NOT cause me to doubt my own methods. (True story, by the way.)

Slowly but surely, I am learning from my mistakes and gaining confidence in my abilities as a teacher. Just today I had a student come to her lesson full of enthusiasm because my practice technique of breaking the piece into small, two-measure pieces actually worked! It’s times like these that make me realize just how much I enjoy teaching . Stay tuned for more thoughts from this enthusiastic teacher over the next several months!