Color In My Piano » Subjects

Rallentando & Ritardando: What’s the Difference?

joy (admin) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:42:01 +0000

Ever wonder about the difference between rallentando and ritardando? Well, I did….so I decided to look into it and add my two cents to the debate. =)

According to the Music Dictionaries…

Many musical dictionaries simply state, “slowing down” as the definition for both rallentando and ritardando. Some state that the two words are synonyms. However, I would still like to think there is some slight difference in meaning or emphasis between the two words. After all, they are two different words in the Italian language. And composers have been making use of both words in their compositions for centuries. So I decided to do a little more digging.

According to the people on the web…

Some people (here too) state that rallentando is a more gradual slowing down than ritardando. However, it’s not clear whether they mean that the ritardando is to occur over a shorter period of time than the rallentando, or whether the ritardando is a greater slowing of the tempo than a rallentando over the same period of time. One person on this forum compared a rallentando to coasting to a stop in your car and a ritardando to braking to a stop. There is a lot of debate on various forums on the internet, but very little is conclusive.

According to the Italian-English Dictionaries…

Upon entering the words into an Italian-English Dictionary, I found these definitions:

Ritardare: “be late, wait, retard, lag, stay, lose, delay, set back, defer, put off.”
Rallentare: “slow down, reduce speed, slacken, slow, die down, decelerate, check, put back.”

Bingo! There is a difference. Ritardando seems to be a deliberate slowing or being late, while rallentando seems to be more of a letting go or dying away.

Well, so what?

The difference is a subtle but important one, methinks.

A couple of examples: The end of a Bach piece would probably require a ritardando in order to create a deliberate, final-sounding ending to the piece. I can think of some Debussy and Liszt pieces, however, where a rallentando might be more appropriate, to give the effect of dying away, drifting away, or perhaps falling asleep. The rallentando, I imagine, is often accompanied by a diminuendo, and should probably be more gradual than the ritardando in many cases. However, the crucial difference between the two seems to be one of musical intent and effect.

To get this all confirmed, I suppose we’d need a native Italian speaker. However, I like to think that we’re on the right track — or at least we’re closer to the real answer than if we’d assume they meant precisely the same thing! It’s something to think about.

Photo credit: dannysullivan | CC 2.0

Just Added: Scales & Primary Chords 4 (DbC#GbF#)

joy (admin) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:12:28 +0000

Just added to the Printables > Worksheets page:

Scales & Primary Chords 4 (DbC#GbF#) Worksheet

This worksheet is a continuation of set of worksheets that practice writing out scales and primary chords on the staff (click here to view the first one which is for the keys C, G, D, and F, click here to view the second one which is for D, A, E, and Bb, or click here to view the third one which is for Bb, Eb, Ab, and B).

Ideally, this worksheet is designed for the intermediate+ student who is already familiar with the scales and primary chords for the keys of Db, C#, Gb, 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 Db, C#, Gb, and F# major.
Practice writing out scales.
Practice writing out primary chords.

Just Added: Scales & Primary Chords 3 (BbEbAbB)

joy (admin) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:12:23 +0000

Just added to the Printables > Worksheets page:

Scales & Primary Chords 3 (BbEbAbB) Worksheet

This worksheet is a continuation of set of worksheets that practice writing out scales and primary chords on the staff (click here to view the first one, which is for the keys C, G, D, and F, or click here to view the second one, which is for D, A, E, and Bb).

Ideally, this worksheet is designed for the intermediate+ student who is already familiar with the scales and primary chords for the keys of Bb, Eb, Ab, and B 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 Bb, Eb, Ab, and B major.
Practice writing out scales.
Practice writing out primary chords.

One more worksheet in this set is on the way!

Music Theory at our Piano Mini-Camp (3/3)

joy (admin) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:49:23 +0000

In continuation of a description of the music theory activities at our Piano Mini-Camp a few weeks ago, here are more details concerning the activities we used:

Rhythm Dictation Game

This rhythm dictation game by Natalie was a real hit with the students! I printed off two sets of cards and put the students into groups of two so that they could work together. Here’s how the game works:

Instruct the students to sort/spread out the cards on the floor so they can see the different rhythmic value options.
Clap a rhythm for the students. Instruct them to listen and be able to clap it back to you before beginning to dictate the rhythm using the cards. This may take a few listens before they can clap it back accurately.
Tell students to work together within their team to dictate the rhythm using the cards.

I tried to clap rhythms according to the approximate level of the groups of students I was teaching, and increased the difficulty of each rhythm as they became accustomed to the process. I also tried to vary the time signatures between 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4. I kept the rhythms to just 2 measures long, unless we were in 2/4 time or unless the students were more advanced.

I think it’s important to have the students be able to clap the rhythm back in its entirety before beginning to dictate it using the cards, because it helps increase their musical memory. Otherwise, they will dictate only 1 or 2 beats at a time, and constantly be asking you to “do it again!” If they can remember it themselves, they can then re-clap it to themselves as needed as they work on dictating it.

On the last of day of camp, the students had just made their own egg shakers during the opening fifteen minutes of camp – so I had them “shake” their rhythm instead of clapping.

In retrospect, I recommend removing all the rhythm value cards that the students won’t be using. The beginner students were sometimes distracted and confused by the dotted quarter notes and single eighth notes (which they have not learned yet). Simpler is better when it comes to beginners!

The students absolutely LOVED playing this game, and I think it was very valuable for them because it not only builds their inner musical ear/musical memory, but also builds their understanding of how rhythms and time signatures work. (Thanks Natalie!)

With the older students on the last day of camp, I had them dictate rhythms on paper using Natalie’s Rhythm Dictation worksheet instead of using the cards from the game. It was a great way to build upon what they had been doing the past two days.

Listen & Sign Game

This game is one I created myself: a Listen & Sign game (for lack of a better title. Ideas, anyone?).

This game was a welcome relief from the previous activities because it was much quieter! The students tended to get excited and a little bit loud with the last game (which I didn’t mind very much because they were learning and having fun). However, it was also really nice (for me) to have a quiet game too!

Each student was given a two-sided sign that read, “Same” and “Different.” At the piano, I played two examples of a melody, rhythm, or succession of chords and the students were instructed to identify whether the two examples were the same or different.

This game was a great way to pull together the various activities we did over the three days and review them in a different format. I played 5FPs and scales, varying them by making one major and one minor, in order to pull from / build on the gem notes on staff & keyboard activity we did earlier in the day. And the rhythmic examples related to the rhythm dictation game we played. I also varied the examples using forte versus piano, high versus low register, legato versus staccato, etc. After holding up their signs to identify whether the examples were the same or different, I asked them to tell me how the examples were different.

I also created signs that read “Major” and “Minor” which we tried out after using the “Same” and “Different” ones. Again, I played 5FPs and scales, but mostly I played little melodies/ditties. The students loved it when I played the opening four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth. =)

This game moves pretty quickly – I wouldn’t recommend doing it for more than 5-7 minutes otherwise you may lose the students attention.

Coming soon: a new printable and a short tutorial with pictures explaining how to create your own set of signs for the Listen & Sign game!

Music Theory at our Piano Mini-Camp (2/3)

joy (admin) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:37:11 +0000

In continuation of the series about music theory at our piano mini-camp, here are the descriptions of a few more of the activities we did:

Music Adventures Board Game

In my music theory classes, one of my goals was to cover as many areas within the broad scope of “music theory” as I could. The gem stones activity covered 5FPs/scales/key signatures; the rhythm dictation game covered rhythm and ear training, and the Hear & Sign game covered more ear training. This game, called “Music Adventures,” focuses mostly on music terminology, but also on note reading and identifying intervals.

You may recognize this game from the picture on the right: I created this piano-bench-sized board game earlier this year, and it is available for download on the Printables > Other Resources page.

To prepare for this game, we first quickly reviewed some music terms on the chalkboard. Then I set the students loose in teams of 2 to play this music board game. You can vary the length of this game by using either one die or two dice. I had lots of things I wanted to do in my 30-minute classes, so I gave each team two dice. We played this game one time, on the second day of camp.

Susan Paradis’ Music Bingo

I used Susan’s Music Bingo game at a group lesson about a year ago and it was a huge hit, and I thought this was a good opportunity to use it again! I used this game on the last day of camp, and it was quite a fun way to end the day.

To cover the spaces on the Bingo sheet, instead of using the red markers picture on the right we used the same colored glass stones that we used for the gem notes on keyboard & staff activity. One less thing to haul along from home with me to camp. =)

Stay tuned – there is one more post about our music theory activities coming soon!

Music Theory at our Piano Mini-Camp (1/3)

joy (admin) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:27:04 +0000

As promised, here’s more about the Music Theory classes at our Piano Mini-Camp a few weeks ago. I didn’t create formal lesson plans per-se, but the next three posts will serve as a general outline of the activities we did over each of the three camp days.

Gem Notes on the Keyboard & Staff

Using Susan Paradis’ wonderful resources, I created an activity for teaching 5-finger patterns (5FPs) and scales. We used colorful glass stones (from the dollar store) to build 5FPS/scales on her table-top keyboard printable and one of her grand staff printables. After printing everything out on cardstock, I cut out the table-top keyboard so that the students each had one long keyboard and then put each grand staff in a sheet protector.

The students really enjoyed using the colorful “gems.” One little student kept asking me, “Are they REAL GEMS?!” =)

With the younger students, we learned just about 5FPs: how to build them (WWHW) in various keys, and how to make them minor (lower the 3rd). With the more advanced students, we learned about the entire scale (WWHWWWH) in various keys, and how to make them minor (lower the 3rd, 6th, and 7th for natural minor).

We first created the 5FP/scale first on the keyboard (pictured above), and then created it on the staff. The reason I had the student do both is because I think students sometimes fail to make the connection from the keyboard to the staff and vice versa. I intended this activity to be a way to build their understanding of the connection between their playing and what they see on the staff when it comes to 5FP/scales.

In order to notate a sharp or flat on the staff, we used different shaped gem stones (which I also found at the dollar store): an oblong shape. I’m sure you could also just use the different colors to represent the notes with accidentals.

We spent about 10-15 minutes each day on this activity. Each day, we reviewed what was covered the previous day and then added something new to the process (like learning about minor) or tried out other key signatures.

Make A Keyboard Activity

On the first day of camp, I started each theory class with another Susan Paradis activity: Make A Keyboard. I strongly recommend printing this printable onto cardstock paper so it will last longer.

I chose this activity mostly as a warmup activity to get their minds working before moving on to more complex activities. But it’s a good activity to see whether the students remember how the keyboard is laid out without looking. One student had all her black keys in groups of two at first, and couldn’t figure out why she had extra black keys!

I handed each student a small zipper bag with all the piano key pieces inside and told them to “make a keyboard.” This activity took less than 5 minutes to complete. It worked very well as an opening activity!

Stay tuned – more music theory activities from our mini-camp are coming soon! Meanwhile, check out the recent responses to the July Forum topic about piano method books and be sure to contribute your thoughts!

Teaching Music Theory: Our Responsibility

joy (admin) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:29:15 +0000

I was talking to a parent after teaching a lesson yesterday, and she told me that her older daughter (who plays a few different band instruments, but is not currently taking piano lessons) is attending a band camp for high schoolers this week. Upon arrival, the camp gave her daughter a theory placement test, and she scored a 2B (I’m not sure what leveling system they were using, but her mother had expected her to score higher). Her mother was a little perturbed because she has paid for many years of lessons for her daughter, but only a few of her daughter’s past teachers taught theory as component of taking private lessons. She wondered, shouldn’t my daughter have gotten more theory training than this? What have I been paying all this money and time for?

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:

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.
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.
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.
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

Just Added: Navigating at the Keyboard Worksheet

joy (admin) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:47:53 +0000

A new free worksheet has just been added to the Printables page: Navigating at the Keyboard.

This worksheet is for young beginners who have only just recently been exposed to piano. This worksheet is designed to help them become familiar with the layout of the keyboard so that they can locate and identify the keys by name.

This worksheet reinforces:

recognizing black-key groups of 2 versus 3
finding C on the keyboard
the musical alphabet (it only goes to G, and then repeats)
then finding D-G on the keyboard

This is an excellent worksheet to send home with a young student after their first piano lesson. Click here to view it now!

Just Added: Reference Sheet for Reading Music

joy (admin) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:43:45 +0000

This free printable is a handy reference sheet to give out to students who are just learning to read musical notation from the staff.

What it contains:

notes and their values, eighth through whole.
rests and their values, eighth through whole.
word mnemonics for figuring out the letter names of notes on the staff:

Treble staff lines: Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
Treble staff spaces: FACE
Bass staff lines: Great Big Dogs Fight Animals
Bass staff spaces: All Cows Eat Grass

There are many different word mnemonics for remembering the lines and spaces on the staff. Which ones do you use?

CLICK HERE to view the Reading Music | Reference Sheet printable now!

Just Added: Write In The Barlines #2

joy (admin) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:49:30 +0000

That’s right, a new free printable worksheet has just been added to the Printables >Worksheets page:

Write In the Barlines #2

This worksheet is for use after using the Write In the Barlines #1 worksheet. This time, students must draw the barlines through both staves of the grand staff instead of through just one staff. This worksheet has 4 examples in four different time signatures, including 6/8.

This worksheet is designed for the late elementary / early intermediate level student, to reinforce the following concepts:

measures
barlines
ties
meters (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8)

Click here to view and print it now!

Color In My Piano » Subjects

Rallentando & Ritardando: What’s the Difference?

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Just Added: Scales & Primary Chords 4 (DbC#GbF#)

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Just Added: Scales & Primary Chords 3 (BbEbAbB)

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Music Theory at our Piano Mini-Camp (3/3)

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Music Theory at our Piano Mini-Camp (2/3)

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Music Theory at our Piano Mini-Camp (1/3)

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Teaching Music Theory: Our Responsibility

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