Category Archives: improvisation

Easy Black Key Improvisation

By joy (admin) | Published: 10 October 2011

Today, I’m at the Ohio Music Teachers Association conference (affiliated with MTNA) all day!  Yes, in case you are wondering, I will be posting notes from the sessions I attend later this week.  :) But for now, I wanted to share a quick video of a black key improvisation from a recent piano lesson with [...]

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Flashcard Prompts for Improvisation & Composition

By joy (admin) | Published: 11 July 2011

Today I have a fun new printable to share! Students are sometimes at a loss for topics for improvising or composing, so I like to provide prompts — similar to the way Creative Writing classes often provide prompts.  :)  Remember those Story Cubes?  That’s one great way to provide prompts.  These flashcards are another. This 12-page [...]

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Improvisation Activity: Rory’s Story Cubes

By joy (admin) | Published: 22 April 2011

Before I begin, allow me to give credit where credit is due for this wonderful idea: I got this idea from Laura on her blog (click here).  I was so thrilled to see her idea of using these “story cubes” for improvisation with piano students! Meet “Rory’s Story Cubes.” Rory’s Story Cubes consist of a [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, composition, early childhood music, games, piano camps, private lessons, studio class / group lessons | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

2010 MMTA Conference (4): Functional Skills are Important by Martha Hilley

By joy (admin) | Published: 29 October 2010

What follows are the notes I took from a session with Martha Hilley at the 2010 Michigan Music Teachers Association conference. FUNCTIONAL SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE ~ by Martha Hilley “Functional skills” include skills such as harmonization, improvisation, transposition, rhythm, and theory.  There are many fun ways to incorporate functional skills into group/private settings.  Today [...]

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2010 MMTA Conference (3): Classical Improvisation by Brian Chung

By joy (admin) | Published: 28 October 2010

What follows are the notes I took from a session with Brian Chung at the 2010 Michigan Music Teachers Association conference. CLASSICAL IMPROVISATION ~ by Brian Chung Introduction Is improvisation really for jazz only?  Why can’t we classical pianists learn improvisation from our own tradition (as did Liszt, Clara Schumann, and others)? Two goals for [...]

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2010 MMTA Conference (2): Theory & Improv as the PB&J of Music, Part 2

By joy (admin) | Published: 22 October 2010

A continuation of the previous post……see Part 1 here. THEORY & IMPROVISATION: THE PB&J OF MUSIC ~ by Martha Hilley Activities Continued….. 5. Progression Based Improvisation 1) Show the student a progression such as: A  |  D  |  A  | Bmin |  E  |  A  |  E  |  A  || 2) Be sure the students [...]

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2010 MMTA Conference (1): Theory & Improv as the PB&J of Music, Part 1

By joy (admin) | Published: 21 October 2010

The first of a series of posts summarizing the 2010 Michigan Music Teachers Association conference. In this post: my notes from the “Theory & Improvisation as the PB&J of Music” session by Martha Hilley (Part 1).

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Improvisation Yields Creativity and Musical Understanding

By joy (admin) | Published: 9 July 2010

The benefits of including improvisation activities in piano lessons. The freedom to explore and be creative. Discovering musical concepts on your own. Developing your musical ear. Playing by ear. Composing an original composition.

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, by student's level, composition, improving as a teacher, my students, private lessons, settings: | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Group Piano Class Ideas

By joy (admin) | Published: 30 March 2010

I recently came across this great video/podcast on Mario Ajero’s YouTube channel: an interview with pianist and piano pedagogue Dr. Julie Knerr.  Both Maria Ajero and Julie Knerr are graduates from University of Oklahoma’s widely recognized piano pedagogy program.  In this video, Dr. Knerr shares some of her game ideas for her group piano classes [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, by student's level, games, group keyboard classes, intermediate level, motivation, music theory, piano camps, private lessons, resources / links, rhythm, settings:, studio class / group lessons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Music & Movement: Inseparable!

By joy (admin) | Published: 11 March 2010

One of the reasons I’ve been considering offering early childhood music classes is because I am a firm believer in the strong relationship between music and movement.  As an undergrad, I took two semester of Dalcroze Eurhythmics which I found incredibly useful.  We learned movements that fit different meters and learned to respond expressively to [...]

Also posted in beginners / elementary Level, early childhood music, improving as a teacher, resources / links, settings: | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
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