In the craft aisle at Dollar Tree right now, there are packages of foam cubes, as shown in the picture.  I’ve always wanted to make scale blocks like Natalie Wickham’s, but have never got around to buying the wood blocks and paint.  These foam cubes seem like a pretty good alternative, although they may not last as long I suppose.  On the upside, it doesn’t take long to write the alphabet letters on these little cubes with a marker!  I am going to go back to buy a couple more packages, so I can make a nice set of scale blocks using the orange colored cubes.  

With the rest of the colors, I am going to make rhythm dice, Major/minor/augmented/dimished dice, time signature dice, and whatever else I can come up with.  I’m sure they will be useful for games down the road!

Now, you may be wondering about the “technique monkey” mentioned in the title of this post.  Well, I can’t claim this idea as my own either.  Irina Gorin uses a similar monkey with her students, to teach them about arm weight.

This little friend (yes, also from the dollar store) has velcro on his paws, so you can wrap the monkey around the student’s wrist and have them swing the monkey for a ride with loose, weighty arms.  I always find teaching basic piano technique to young ages pretty challenging, so I’m happy to have any kind of prop that may help!  Once the student has experienced an awareness of arm weight away from the piano, they can hopefully begin to transfer the same feeling over to when they are at the piano.  :)

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[Visit Recent Purchases: Scale Blocks & A Technique Monkey 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!

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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.]

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.]

an excerpt from Kuhlau Sonatina Op.20 No.1

Why do we learn and practice scales?  Have you (or your students) ever asked this question?  Is it just for tradition’s sake that piano teachers assign scales to work on?  I think it’s important not only for we teachers to know the WHY behind scales, but also for our students to know!  

My top 5 reasons why we should practice scales:

1. Because they appear in music. It makes learning and memorizing scales passages a lot easier if one can identify the scale that the passage is based on.  Already in many intermediate-level sonatinas (by Clementi, Kuhlau, and others, for example), there are many instances of scale passages occurring in the piece.  If students already know their scales, learning these kinds of passages in their pieces will be much easier.
2. To develop coordination between the hands. It’s not easy to get those hands and fingers working together!  Practicing scales is a great time to focus on developing coordination which will then transfer over to repertoire pieces.
3. To develop a good sense of fingering. It is absolutely crucial to develop a good sense of pianistic fingering at a young age!  If students learn good fingering through their scale exercises, then when they encounter similar fingering in their pieces it will seem natural and logical.
4. To develop an aural sense of a key / tonal center. Practicing scales will develop the student’s ear so that they begin to hear how each note of the scale functions within a key — e.g., hearing that the leading tone’s pull to the tonic (ti-do).  They will also begin to be able to aurally recognize major versus minor pieces they might be learning.
5. To build a theoretical understanding of key / tonal center. Knowing about scales and key signatures is the basis of understanding how music works.  Once the student understands what it means to be “in a key”, the rest of music theory will eventually follow: they can begin to understand how chords are formed, which chords usually progress to other certain chords, how to transpose, how dissonances are properly resolved to consonances (voice leading), how modulations work, which keys are closely related, etc.  And, of course, understanding how music works allows for better interpretations of repertoire.  It also makes it easier for students to learn and memorize music if they can understand what is happening.

To summarize, scales are basically where technique and music theory meet.  Not only are we developing things like coordination and fingering but we are developing an understanding of keys, which is the foundation of music theory.  As an added bonus, learning scales helps with learning and understanding repertoire pieces better.

At first, scales might seem like quite a drag to students.  However, if we as teachers celebrate scales by referring to them in their repertoire pieces and their theory worksheets/games, students will begin to understand their importance and appreciate them.  Let’s hear it for scales!  Hip hip, hooray!  =)

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[Visit Top 5 Reasons to Learn Scales 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.]

• Review Test *GUIDE* — This chart provides the teacher an easy guide for what concepts must be introduced to the student in order for them to successfully complete each Review Test on their own.

Concepts covered in each worksheet:

• Review Test A — finding the keys A – G on the piano; finger numbers; quarter and half notes.
• Review Test B — naming notes on the staff (treble clef: middle C to G; bass clef: F to middle C); whole and dotted half notes;  terms & symbols: treble clef, bass clef, staff, barline, double barline, repeat sign, forte, piano.
• Review Test C — C, G major 5FPs (five-finger patterns);  terms: slur, staccato, accents;  drawing barlines in rhythms in 3/4 and 4/4 time;  intervals: unison, 2nd, and 3rd.  
• Review Test D — D, A, F major 5FPs;  intervals: unison, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th;  sharps, flats, and naturals;  identifying all notes on the staff (with accidentals);  terms: forte, mezzo forte, mezzo piano, piano, ritardando;  identifying rhythms in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time.
• Review Test E — E, B, Bb major 5FPs;  major triads and arpeggios: root, 3rd, and 5th;  Review: drawing barlines in 3/4 and 4/4 time rhythms;  identifying major versus minor 5FPs and arpeggios by ear.
• Review Test F — Eb, Ab, Db, C# major 5FPs;  terms: pianissimo, fortissimo, crescendo, descrescendo;  Review: piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte;  writing C & G 5FPs on the staff;  Review: drawing barlines in 3/4 and 4/4 time rhythms;  identifying question and answer phrases by ear.
• Review Test G — Gb, F#, Db, Cb major 5FPs (review B and C#);  enharmonic 5FPs;  writing the D major and D minor 5FPs on the staff;  pattern for minor 5FPs: WHWW;  which note changes in the 5FP when going from major to minor: the 3rd note goes down a half step;  naming major and minor triads;  Review: all major 5FPs;  identifying major versus minor triads by ear.
• Review Test H — C, G, D, A major scales;  pattern for major scales: WWHWWWH;  order of sharps;  fingering for white key major scales (besides F major);  intervals: unison, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th;  naming major and minor triads;  Review: naming major and minor 5FPs;  identifying major versus minor melodies by ear.
• Review Test I — E, B, F, Bb, Eb, Ab major scales;  order of flats;  writing E, B, F, Bb, Eb, and Ab major scales on the staff;  fingerings for the F and B major scales;  intervals: unison, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and octave;  Review: naming major and minor triads;  identifying intervals unison through fifth by ear.
• Review Test J – the circle of fifths;  all major scales and key signatures;  Review: order of flats and sharps;  Review: intervals unison through octave;  identifying the intervals unison through octave by ear;  6/8 time and 4/4 with sixteenth notes;  writing Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, F#, and C# major scales on the staff.

To download the set of worksheets along with the Teacher’s Guide, visit the Printables > Worksheets and scroll down to the M’s for “Music Theory Review Tests plus Teacher’s Guide.”  I hope you find these worksheets to be useful!

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[Visit Music Theory Review Tests A-J plus a Guide to view the original blog post at Color In My Piano.]