This composing/rhythm game is appropriate for groups of about 8 or more students.  All you need are 4 pieces of paper with the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 written on them.  These sheets serve to mark the beats of the measure, spaced out on the floor.  One student is chosen as the Composer, who must select students and make them into quarter notes/half notes/whatever.  Once the measure is complete, everyone claps the rhythm and the teacher records the rhythm onto a whiteboard to save it.  A new Composer is chosen to compose the next measure.  In the end, everyone claps the entire rhythmic composition to see what it sounds like.

I haven’t tried out this game yet, but it sounds fun!  And it’s not always easy to find games that work for large groups of students.  I just might try out this game at my studio Christmas party coming up.  :)

Complete game instructions can be printed by downloading the pdf on the Printables > Games page.  I thought the game needed a more specific title, so I came up with “Make Me A Rhythm!”

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[Visit Make Me A Rhythm! game to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

I originally created this printable with my intermediate/advanced students in mind who are working on 2- and 4- octave scales/arpeggios and have trouble keeping all their fingerings straight in their head once they start getting them under their fingers. It’s nice to have a guide tucked inside the front cover of a book to refer to now and then!

The document contains three pages:

Page 1: Rules and tricks for remembering scale and arpeggio fingerings (as shown on the right).

Page 2: A listing of the fingerings for each Major and Harmonic Minor scale/arpeggio (2-octave) for piano.

Page 3: A continuation of page 2.

Of course, there are a few different ways to finger scales and arpeggios, so I’m sorry if the fingerings listed in this printable do not correspond with the ones you prefer to teach your students. These are the ones I like to use, and I thought I’d share it with anyone who might happen to find it useful.

If anyone else finds typos or inconsistencies, please let me know! I did my best to proof-read the fingerings, but it is certainly possible that I still may have missed something!

Related Posts:

• Just Added: Scale and Arpeggio Fingering (2 Octaves) Reference Sheet
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[Visit Just Updated: Scale & Arpeggio Fingering (2 Octaves) Reference Sheet to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

To further clarify exactly what I’ve getting after here, a distinction must be made: There is a difference between memorizing and playing/performing by memory.  I will use these two terms distinctly in this blog post: memorizing refers to the process of memorizing a piece of music during practice with the intent of later playing by memory, while playing/performing by memory refers to actually playing the piece of music from beginning to end without consultation of the score.  This distinction is important because a teacher might, for example, consider memorization to be a necessary skill to develop in his/her students, but might be flexible in actually requiring students to play by memory during performances.

Let’s begin by listing some reasons why pianist might choose to perform by memory or choose not to perform by memory.

PERFORMING BY MEMORY: THE TWO CAMPS

There are many reasons to perform by memory.  Below are what some of them might be:

1. For appearances.  It looks more impressive to play by memory because it (perhaps) requires more skill to do so.
2. To avoid the possible perils of turning your own pages or entrusting a page turner to do so.
3. To avoid the visual distraction of having a page turner on the stage with the performer.  This helps keep the audience member’s attention on the sound quality of the performance.
4. For the sake of a more musical performance (some pianists play better without the score in front of them).
5. Because it proves — or at least is an indicator — that the performer has internalized the music (whatever that means).

There are also various reasons NOT to perform by memory:

1. Because it requires too much time/work to memorize music.
2. To avoid the performance anxiety that playing by memory causes.
3. For the sake of a more musical performance (some pianist play better with the score in front of them).

It is interesting to not that both lists above include the reason: “for the sake of a more musical performance.”  Some pianists feel that they play better without the score, while others feel they play better with the score.

THE HISTORY OF MEMORIZED PERFORMANCES

First off, let’s start by considering concert pianists.  The majority of concert pianists today perform by memory.  It seems to be the general consensus for classical pianists.  Every now and then, however, I will stumble upon a YouTube video showing a famous pianist playing with the score (as this one of Richter, for example).  Usually, it is when the pianist is in his/her late career.  Perhaps because of their age they are fearful of memory slips.  Or perhaps they are too busy in their touring schedule to upkeep pieces by memory (it does require a lot of time to keep things memorized, after all) or to memorize new pieces.

Concert pianists did not always perform by memory.  Clara Schumann and Franz Liszt were the innovators who began the trend of performing by memory during the 19th century.  (Who was first, you ask?  It’s debatable: I’ve found credible sources crediting each of them.)  For the first time, the piano virtuoso / rockstar image was forming.  Before Clara and Liszt, it was actually considered disrespectful to the composer for a performer to play a composer’s work without the score during a performance.  A pianist’s own improvisations were often played by memory, however.

Knowing the above, one could make an argument that performing by memory is a novelty and completely unnecessary.  After all, there are many wonderful collaborative pianists who do not perform by memory (probably because of the time factor listed above), but give perfectly wonderful and very musical performances.  In addition, other instrumentalists (clarinet, trumpet, sometimes string players) perform with the score, and they usually have only a single-note line to learn.  Many people argue, why should solo pianists have to perform without music?  Why do competitions and music schools require memorization for performances?

We can look even further back in history, however, and also consider early music (I’m referring to the Renaissance and earlier) when music was not notated more often than not.  Before a system of notation was formed, music was an aural tradition, passed on by ear generation by generation.  There is no argument: music in any form is an aural art.  I think there is something pure and natural about both playing by ear and playing by memory.  Even non-musicians often consider it a weakness when a musician cannot play anything on the spot because they don’t have their sheet music and don’t have anything memorized.

THE VALUE OF MEMORIZING (VERSUS PLAYING BY MEMORY)

Playing by memory causes increased performance anxiety for many pianists.  However, even if playing by memory isn’t a requirement for an upcoming performance, it may still be worthwhile to take the time and effort to memorize the music.  Many pianists state that they generally play best when they basically have the music memorized, but are performing with the score.

Being able to play a piece by memory is a good indication that a piece has been “internalized”.  Of course, it is not foolproof, because musicians can certainly give groundbreaking, original musical performances even with the score in front of them.  But it hard to deny that memorizing a piece helps you know the music better.  Even when professional musicians perform with the score in front of them, I would argue that they often have sections of their music memorized.

Think about it — would you really take notice of the unique chord progressions that the composer uses if you didn’t have to memorize the piece?  Would you take as close of a look at the formal structure?  Would you still work out solid, consistant fingering?  Would you be able to feel the spontaneity of the piece as well?  Or form as original of a personal interpretation of the piece?  Maybe you could achieve a few of these things, but chances are you wouldn’t achieve all of these things without memorizing the piece to some degree.

The ability to memorize well does seem to indicate a well-rounded musician.  Sometimes teachers fear that if students learn to play by ear and memorize well, they will not learn to sightread well.  Ideally, a student should be able to read music well, be able to quickly translate it to the keys, and then quickly memorize it.  Memorization can be a huge help in getting a piece of music beyond the point of just being about to play the notes and on to the point where it is comfortable, enjoyable, and as musical as it can be.

Being able to memorize well is a different matter from being able to play well by memory in a performance setting.  Even if teachers choose not to require memorized performances during recitals, it may be worth consideration to require some playing by memory during lessons in order to develop this important skill and reinforce other vital skills.

LEARNING + MEMORIZING

Many composers and performers have remarkable musical memories.  Some people are able to play back a piece of music on the piano after hearing it only once or twice.  Not everyone is gifted with that kind of astounding internal ear and memory.  However, experts (musical or otherwise) always memorize as they learn.  While amateurs learn a piece of music first and then memorize it, experts memorize from day one and never differentiate between learning and memorizing.  To them, it’s one and the same process.

This should be the model for teaching students too.  Young beginner students frequently memorize their pieces automatically as they learn them over the course of the week (just like the experts!).  Memorization is difficult if you have not been doing it since you were young.  If this skill isn’t cultivated along with sightreading skills, the student will lose it.  If the student is encouraged to memorize from day one and is also asked to play by memory during the lesson, however, the student will develop his memorization skills along with his/her reading skills, and become more and more comfortable with playing by memory.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I do not consider myself to be an expert memorizer or performer by memory.  Because I was not required to memorize my pieces for recitals except when I was very young, when I reached college I found that I hadn’t the faintest idea how to go about memorizing my pieces.  Because it was so difficult for me, I found myself a member of the camp that questions the necessity of memorized performances for classical pianists.  I’ve since changed my views and landed somewhere in the middle — a result of my interest and extensive research in this topic for an essay during my senior year.

Once I became convinced of the value of memorization and playing by memory, I began working even harder at learning how to memorize.  (For some reason, teachers don’t seem to ever teach how to memorize! Why is that?!)  Over time, I’ve gradually been able to develop a kind of process to use to memorize my pieces (click here to view my post on memorizing piano music).  And although I still believe that I generally play better (i.e., more musically and generally more fluid) when I have the score in front of me, more and more I am experiencing the benefits of performing by memory and slowly getting better at it too.

Although I personally find great value in memorizing and performing by memory, I don’t strictly require both of these things with my students.  If an adult student struggles with playing by memory and I don’t believe it is within their goals to be skilled at doing so, I don’t push it.  Although I will certainly work on developing the skill of memorization with them privately in their lessons, I will not require performances by memory from them.

But in most cases, memorization and playing by memory are considered important skills to develop in my studio.  Being able to memorize is always the priority, and I make it a point to teach my students how to memorize.  Performing by memory is less of a priority, especially if the student experiences great performance anxiety as a direct result.  However, the goal is always to gradually get the student so comfortable with playing by memory during lessons that they eventually feel confident performing by memory for their school friends at opportune times, or for grandparents — and maybe even for recital settings too.

For further reading:

• Susan Tomes’ article from The Guardian regarding memorized performances for pianists.
• Anthony Tommasini’s article from the New York Times regarding the controversy with memorized performances for pianists.
• Steven Hughes’ excellent article from The Telegraph.

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Click here to leave a comment at the original Q&A Forum, or click here to leave a comment on this post.

Photo Credit: Rick Harris | CC 2.0

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• Forum Q&A | Memorization for Performances: Required or Optional?

[Visit Thoughts on Memorization: A Skill Integral to Piano Playing? to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Scale and Arpeggio Fingering (2 Octaves) Reference Sheet (3 pages long)

I created this printable with my intermediate/advanced students in mind who are working on 2- and 4- octave scales/arpeggios and have trouble keeping all their fingerings straight in their head once they start getting them under their fingers.  It’s nice to have a guide tucked inside the front cover of a book to refer to now and then!

The document contains three pages:

Page 1: Rules and tricks for remembering scale and arpeggio fingerings (as shown on the right).

Page 2: A listing of the fingerings for each Major and Harmonic Minor scale/arpeggio (2-octave) for piano.

Page 3: A continuation of page 2.

Of course, there are a few different ways to finger scales and arpeggios, so I’m sorry if the fingerings listed in this printable do not correspond with the ones you prefer to teach your students.  These are the ones I like to use, and I thought I’d share it with anyone who might happen to find it useful.

I did my best to proof-read the fingerings, but it is certainly possible that I may have missed something….so if you encounter something that seems sketchy, please let me know!

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[Visit Just Added: Scale and Arpeggio Fingering (2 Octaves) Reference Sheet to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

I am by no means a concert pianist, but I did take piano lessons for 14 years (1 year into college), but I have never encountered such a challenging melody as is presented by this piece.

Obviously, this piece will take a lot of time to master, but I am determined to learn it.  However, I was wondering if you could please  offer some practice tips such as how to bring out the melody, for instance, in measures 10 & 11?  I just don’t know the best method to train my 2nd and possibly 3rd fingers to bring out the melody while the other fingers play the counter melody.

Learning to bring out the melody properly is not easy!  However, the good news is that once you’ve developed this skill, you will likely be using it again for situations in other pieces.

Here are a few general practice tips for bringing out the melody:  

1. Play the RH part with two hands instead of one. This may seem strange and perhaps pointless, but dividing up the chord to play between two hands allows your ears to hear how you’d like the end product to sound.  Once it’s in your ear, somehow it helps your fingers know what to do!  I’m always amazed at how helpful this is when I’m practicing.
2. Sing/hum the melody while you play. Similar to what was mentioned above, this helps your ear/brain hear the melody and learn what the end product should sound like.
3. Practice playing just the melody line (using the fingering you would use if you were playing the harmony notes too). After you master that, try practicing just the harmony notes (again, using the same fingering as you would when playing everything).
4. Keep the non-melody fingers as close to the keys.  In fact, see if you can make them maintain contact with the surface of the keys at all times.  The fingers playing the melody line, however, should lift and drop (as usual) in order to make those notes sing out.
5. Break up the chords and take them out of their rhythmic context. Try playing the melody note first and hold it, and then play the rest of the chord staccato.  Find other ways to break up the chord and take it out of rhythm for the sake of practicing (try playing the chords in a long-short-long-short rhythm, then try short-long-short-long).  And don’t forget – practice slowly!

The tough thing about this Bach-Petri arrangement is that the melody is not always the top note of the chord!  You can view the first page of the sheet music here at SheetMusicPlus.com.  This is not an easy piece to learn.  I have not worked on this piece myself, but I imagine it requires a great deal of control to bring out the melodies/countermelodies in a musical way.

Have more practice tips about bringing out the melody?  Share them in the comments below.

Photo Credit: katinalynn | CC 2.0

Further thoughts?

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[Visit Practice Tips: Bringing out the Melody to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

Interestingly enough, it seems to be related to another issue which I’ve been aware of since my freshman year of college: I tend to raise my right shoulder when I play, especially in anticipation of difficult passages in a piece.  Raising my shoulder, however, actually hinders my arms/fingers in those difficult passages rather than helping.  I have to remind myself not to “freak out” in anticipation of those upcoming passages so that I keep my shoulder comfortably in place.

Now that I am focusing on releasing the newly-discovered tension in my back, however, I have found that the shoulder problem is occurring less.  It seems that I may have found the root of the issue!  My back feels better, which means my shoulders are feeling better, which in turn means my arms and wrists are feeling better.  And difficult passages are going much better than ever before, which is amazing to me!

Do you deal with tension when you play?  Have you been able to identify the root of the problem?  I am very interested in hearing more about how to prevent/deal with tension!

Photo Credit: Phineas H | CC 2.0

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[Visit Tension and Piano Playing to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

This conversation got me thinking about our responsibility as teachers.  A basic definition of music theory is the study of how music works. A student having little understanding of theory is missing a huge piece of the pie.  

Teaching Music Theory: A Responsibility

Teachers of any subject area have a responsibility to give their students a well-rounded education in the area in which they are qualified.  The students and parents do not always know what constitutes a good music education because they are often not trained in the area of music.  The teacher decides what should be taught, because they are qualified in that subject area.

Music theory is an integral part of music education, even if it is “just” private lessons.  It is our responsibility to teach how music works just as much as it is our responsibility to teach how to read and make music on an instrument.  To claim music theory is not necessary for learning a musical instrument is nearly as ludicrous as for a math teacher to claim that you don’t need to know how algebra works, you just have to learn to do it.  C’est bizarre.  Theory and performance go hand-in-hand, inseparable.  For example, knowing how to identify and name chords is important for being able to quickly recognize them when you are playing music.  It’s about understanding the music that you are playing.

The good musicians are those who understand how music works.  The good music teachers are those who teach how music works.

Incorporating Music Theory: What Does it Look Like?

Music theory includes studying the basic elements of music: rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, form, texture, etc.  At the most basic level, teaching theory might be simply teaching the names of the various rhythmic values (quarter note, half note, etc.) and learning how to draw them.  As the student becomes more advanced, they are taught about scales, key signatures, chords, modes (major, minor, and others).  Other concepts include identifying patterns and thematic motives, understanding differences in style and genre (Baroque vs. Romantic; jazz vs. classical), and understanding formal structures (binary form, ternary form, sonata-allegro form, fugue, etc.).

There are various ways to incorporate theory into the private lesson:

1. Assign worksheets from a theory book.  Give the students a theory book, and assign them to complete 1 to 3 pages each week.  Be sure to take the time to go over the worksheets together and correct any mistakes.  I would not recommend taking more than 5 minutes of the lesson time correcting theory sheets.  If it begins to take more than 5 minutes, assign less.  Or, don’t correct every problem on the page: just scan to see whether the student seems to understand the overall concept or not.
2. Teach theory through the student’s assigned pieces. This method requires great diligence on the part of the teacher.  You must always keep theory in the front of your mind, and consciously make an effort to make time for discussing theory.  For example, if you notice that the student’s piece this week introduces the V7 chord for the first time, do not neglect to take the time to make sure the student understands the difference between the I chord and the V7, and the harmonic function of the chords, and how to build them in various keys.
3. Incorporate games and other activities into the lesson. Learning theory can be lots of fun!  Create your own, or get ideas from books or other teachers.  To get started, check out my printable board game here, and also check out the Links page to find more websites where music teachers share their resources and ideas.
4. Focus on theory during group lessons. Having group lessons is the perfect opportunity to focus on theory, and teaching in groups can be very effective.  Complete worksheets together as a group, and then play some theory games to test their understanding.

Using a combination of the above methods will yield the best results.

Final Thoughts

• Students are never too young for theory. Even beginners who are learning to play short tunes on the black keys can practice writing quarter notes.  It’s a great way to reinforce basic concepts.  The importance of learning how to write notes, clefs, and chords should not be undermined.
• Make time for theory. The number one difficulty in incorporating theory is — you guessed it — not having enough time in the private lesson.  Music theory is important, however, so one must make time for it.  Besides, in the long run, teaching theory pays off because it helps students so much with their playing as they progress.  =)

Photo credit: S. Parker | CC 2.0

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[Visit Teaching Music Theory: Our Responsibility to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

>  Scales & Primary Chords Worksheet 1 (CGDF)

Ideally, this worksheet is designed for the intermediate+ student who is already familiar with the scales and primary chords for the keys of C, G, D, and F major, and perhaps could use some review in writing them out on the staff.  However, this worksheet could also be used during a group lesson while introducing these ideas for the first time.

Terms/concepts covered in the worksheet:

• An understanding of key signatures for C, G, D, and F major.
• Practice writing out scales.
• Practice writing out primary chords.

To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the S’s for “Scales & Primary Chords worksheet.”

Watch for the next worksheet coming soon, covering D, A, E, and Bb major!

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[Visit Just Added: Scales & Primary Chords Worksheet 1 (CGDF) to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

>  Performing at the Piano Worksheet

Just in time for the spring recital season, this fill-in-the-blank worksheet is intended to help prepare students for an upcoming recital or other performance by discussing stage presence and performance etiquette.

Terms/concepts covered in the worksheet:

• Memorizing
• Applause
• Bowing
• Checking the bench
• and more.

This worksheet can either be sent home with students, completed one-on-one with the student during the lesson, or — my favorite — done as a group as a studio class or group lesson.   It would be fun to complete this worksheet as a group just before a practice run-through of a recital.

To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the P’s for “Performing at the Piano worksheet.”

Your turn!  Share your ideas for preparing students for recitals in the comments!

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[Visit Just added: Performing at the Piano Worksheet to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omuZF6oaCnw

What a great video to show students!  Everything is so perfectly synchronized, and their playing is so beautifully expressive.  They are AMAZING musicians.

Here’s another fine duo team.  Perhaps the coolest thing about this video, however, is the piano they are playing on: a Pleyel Double Grand Piano!  I’ve never seen anything like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjYfdB0CvSg

There are some important benefits of playing four-handed repertoire.  Both players must be actively listening and communicating with each other — not only so that they are together beat-wise and so that the melody and accompaniment ideas are balanced, but also so that they are playing musically together: shaping phrases together, executing rubato together, and calling and responding to each other’s melodic motives.  Developing these skills while working on four-handed repertoire can give a whole new perspective to solo piano repertoire!  Besides — working on four-handed music can be a lot of fun!  =)

Watching these videos looks like so much fun, I think I’m going to dig through the duet music on my shelf and find some duet pieces to assign to some of my students to work on over the summer too!

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[Visit Listening and Communicating in 4-Handed Piano Music to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]