Now that we’ve finished it, we’ve been playing a fun little sorting/quizzing game using the deck of instrument cards that came with my MiniMusic kit.  This competitive game has been quite a hit!

Instructions for Gameplay:

On his/her turn, each student draws a card from the top of the deck and has the opportunity to earn three possible points:

1. By correctly naming the instrument.
2. By correctly categorizing the instrument into its instrument family.  We make piles for each family on the floor as we go.
3. By stating a fact about the instrument (e.g., how the instrument makes sound, what the instrument is made out of, how the instrument is played, etc.).

I keep track of each student’s points on a piece of paper.  My students having been playing this game with a great deal of enthusiasm, and I’ve been impressed with how much it has helped them review / memorize the instruments!  They love the satisfaction of being able to name facts about each instrument and being able to sort them correctly.

Note: If you don’t have any instrument flashcards, here is a website that has some beautiful (and free) ones to download.  (The link in the post to download the pdf isn’t working when you click on it, but I found that it worked to copy and paste the link into my browser.)  To play the game I described above using those cards, you will need to cut off the instrument names from the bottom of the card so the answer isn’t there for the students to read!  :)

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A few of my students in particular are really thriving on these Christmas pieces!  Once again, I am reminded of the value of learning familiar tunes.  I find that it gives students an extra boost in learning their pieces, since they can depend more on their ear for pitches/rhythms rather than their eyes.  This means they will learn the pieces quickly and more accurately.  I also find that playing familiar tunes is a huge motivator for students.  They love to be able to play tunes they know!

Hurrah for Christmas music!  :)

For a listing of free Christmas music arrangements on the internet, check out this post. 

Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks | CC 2.0

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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 > Resources page.  I thought the game needed a more specific title, so I came up with “Make Me A Rhythm!”

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Here’s how the game works: In advance, set up the circles into a chain around the room.  Students take turns spinning the spinner.  If they correctly identify the name of the note value they spin AND correctly state the number of beats that note value receives, they may move that many steps forward on the circles (I call it a “life-sized gameboard”).  If they answer the name or the number of beats incorrectly, they do not get to move forward that turn.  The first student to reach the end of the game board wins.  I call this game “Musical Hopscotch.”

My homeschool music class students LOVED playing this game, and it was a great way to drill the note values that they learned last week.  I’m always amazed at the effectiveness of any game that involve any kind of movement!!  I can’t think of a better way to drill note values with groups of young ages than with this game.

Since I had the circles set up in my living room already, I also used the “life-sized game board” with my other class, the Piano Readiness Class.  Students took turns identifying notes on the staff using flashcards (you don’t use the spinner for this), and we used the gameboard as a way determine the winner instead of keeping points.   I love that this game is so versitile!   (THANK YOU, SHERYL!)

If you are unable to find Twister Hopscotch in stores, you can order it on Amazon (click here).

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During last week’s Piano Readiness Class, I got to try them out for the first time!  I put out three squares for my students and myself to sit on while doing activities on the floor.

Here’s what I liked about them: 

• They are much softer to sit on than the hardwood floor that is in my studio.
• I could create a circle with the squares, and they instantly knew where to sit.
• It was easy to transition from an at-the-piano activity to the floor again, because they knew exactly where to sit and liked returning to “their square.”
• Each student has his/her own space and “personal zone.”  This might help prevent students from touching/distracting each other.
• I can make the circle tighter or looser as needed, for different games/activities.

I decided to buy all different colors of carpet squares, hoping I could come up with a game dealing with colors (I haven’t yet – let me know if you have one!).  It occurred to me that some students might fight over which color they wanted, but that hasn’t happened so far.  Hopefully, it won’t.  :)

Anyway, I just thought I’d share my photo and ask if anyone else has used carpet squares for group lessons before, and how well it has been working for them?

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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!

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1. I have finished all the requirements for my Master’s degree!  HOORAY!  =D
2. Today we have a new GIVEAWAY!  Here are the details:

Andrea & Trevor Dow from yesterday’s interview have kindly agreed to sponsor a giveaway of Episode 1 of The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo!  This pdf is a $19.95 value and contains Early Elementary, Elementary, and Intermediate Level versions of the pieces, accompanied by a three page comic.  Once you’ve purchased the pdf, you are free to print off as many copies as needed for use with your students!  Read more about The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo piano music for boys by clicking here.

To enter to win, leave a comment on this post!

• Ask Andrea & Trevor a question you still have after reading yesterday’s interview.
• Tell us about how you would use The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo in your studio!
• Or, share any tips you have about keeping boy students motivated in their piano studies.

You may earn one additional entry in the giveaway by sharing the link to this giveaway on your blog or on your facebook page.  Be sure to leave an additional comment on this post to let me know you’ve done this, so that you get your extra entry.

The winner will be chosen via random number generator.  Enter before Thursday, May 19, 2011 @ midnight for your chance to win!

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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.

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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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This week, we are going to talk about pedaling.  Pedaling is such an important part of learning the piano, but arguably one of the most challenging things to learn for some students. The timing for pedaling must be just right: it can’t be too early, else you’ll have a break in the sound; but it can’t be too late otherwise the previous harmonies with intermingle with the current ones.

So, here’s the question:

How do YOU teach pedaling?  Do you have any tips, analogies, or exercises you use with your students in order to teach proper legato pedaling (also sometimes called syncopated pedaling)?  How did your piano teacher you how to pedal when you were a first learning?

Share your thoughts below!  I am anxious to learn some new tips for better ways to teach pedaling!

Photo Credit: House of Sims | CC 2.0

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“Rhythm Value Posters”

(Click the above link and scroll down to the r’s.)

These posters are perfect for games.  They could also be hung up in your music studio as a reference if your walls need some life.

Below is a game that can be played using these posters.  I learned this game from a Dalcroze Eurhythmics instructor. 

The great thing about this game is that it helps students learn to associate the sound/experience of each rhythm value with it’s corresponding notation.  In Dalcroze and other methodologies (such as Orff), it’s important to experience the concept first and then put the notation and term to it.  This is the “sound before sight” principle.

The Rhythm Magnet Game

Background: This game is best intended for young children (preschool to beginner piano students).  Older students, however, may also find this game beneficial as an rhythm ear training experience and a lesson in keeping an internal pulse.  For this activity to be a success, students must have experience with the idea of quarter notes, half notes, dotted half notes, and/or whole notes (but not necessarily with the terms or written notation for each).  This game is perfect activity for teaching little ones to associate each rhythm value to its corresponding notation for the first time.

1. Prepare by placing the quarter note poster, the half note poster, and the whole note poster at a different corners of the room.  Make a show of it (without much talking) so students watch to see where you are putting each note value.
2. Instruct students: “Move towards what you hear.”
3. Help the students establish the beat by patting their hands against their thighs.  Improvise simple ditties/chords on the piano.  Students must listen to identify whether you are playing quarter notes, half notes, etc. to the beat you’ve established with them.
4. Once the students have moved to the correct corner of the room, change to another note value (with younger children, you may also call “Change!” to help alert them).  When/if students get confused or begin guessing, encourage them to “Find the beat!” so they can figure out the note value.  Continue this process until students get the hang of it.  If students run or get rowdy while moving towards each note value, instruct them to “step the beat” as they move around the room.
5. Make the game more difficult by adding gradually adding the other note value posters, and by making changes more frequently.  Also, to add a twist mid-way through the activity, try mixing up the posters to new corners/areas of the room.

Students playing this game will soon discover that without checking with the pulse, they cannot determine which note value they are hearing.  This game is a great movement game to get students up and moving during a group lesson!  Have fun!!

Tip: To print the instructions for this game, click the new green “Print Friendly” button at the bottom right of this post.

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