Month: October 2009

Printables, Teaching Piano

Just Added! Flashcards: Melodic Patterns 1 & 2

Joy Morin

Just added to the Printables > Other Resources page:

  • Flashcards: Melodic Patterns 1 & 2

These flashcards (pictured at right) are my absolute favorite.  They have a variety of uses, mainly for beginner piano students:

  1. For beginner students who understand quarter and half note rhythms: Ask the student to simply clap the rhythm they see.
  2. For beginner students who are learning to read pre-staff notation: Ask the student to play on the piano the pattern of notes they see on the flashcard.  You will need to show the beginner which note to start on, and which finger they should use.  (e.g., “Play this pattern, beginning on E with finger 3.” )  This activity helps beginners build the ability to read whether melodic steps are moving upwards or downwards.
  3. For students who are familiar with major 5-finger patterns: Ask the student to play on the piano the pattern of notes they see on the flashcard, but specify a particular key you’d like them to play in.  You may need to tell them what their first note will be.  (e.g., “Play this pattern in the key of A Major.  Your first note will be C#.” )   Then ask them to transpose the pattern to a number of other keys.  (e.g., “Now try playing the same pattern in the key of D minor.” )

Let us know if you find other creative ways to use the Melodic Patterns flashcards!   =]

Resources

Check out listenlearnmusic.com

Joy Morin

Picture 7I recently discovered Rachel Rambach’s site: listenlearnmusic.com.  Rachel is a board-certified music therapist, which means, she’s also a performer, educator, and composer, all wrapped into one.  Through her blog, she shares the music she composes for other music educators to incorporate in their own music lessons.

Recently, she’s been raising money for a cd project: to record and produce a cd of her original compositions to give to children with autism or other disabilities at no cost.  She has reached her $2000 goal, however, each dollar she raises could = another cd that can be given to children!  Be sure to check out her blog and her project by clicking here.

Printables, Sheet Music

Added: 4 New easy Christmas Arrangements

Joy Morin
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/gtmcknight/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I know, I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, and I’m already talking about Christmas!  But since I’ve been updating my Printables page recently anyway, I went ahead and put up some easy Christmas piano arrangments too:

(See Printables > Sheet Music)  These arrangements are suitable for beginner students who are comfortable reading on the staff and playing in the key of C.

Printing Christmas sheet music off the internet is a great alternative to asking students to buy Christmas books — after all, they only get used for about a month or two out of the whole year.  Be sure to visit Susan Paradis’ site as well, if you are looking for more Christmas arrangements (click here for a listing of Holiday Music.)  Hers are much more attractive than mine, I must admit.  I need to learn how to do more with graphics.  =]

Have you found other sites where you’ve found Christmas arrangements for students?  Please share!