Tag: piano

Group Classes, Music Theory, Printables, Worksheets

Just Added: Sharps and Flats Worksheet

Joy Morin

Just added to the Printables > Worksheets page:

Sharps and Flats Worksheet

In this free worksheet, students will practice…

  • drawing sharps and flats in front of notes on the staff.
  • identifying sharped and flatted notes on the staff.
  • locate sharped and flatted notes on the keyboard.

This simple worksheet is a great way to check whether a student understands the concept behind sharps and flats.  I often send this sheet home with private students after introducing accidentals for the first time.  They are instructed to complete it on their own at home, and to bring it back the next week to earn a sticker.  =)

To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the S’s for “Sharps & Flats worksheet.”  Enjoy!

Announcements, improving as a teacher, Printables, Teaching Piano, Technology

Celebrating One Year!

Joy Morin

After browsing through the colorinmypiano.com archives and — alas! — it seems that we’ve missed our own anniversary!

Here’s a rundown of the history of the colorinmypiano.com blog:

  • It was on February 28, 2009 that I first conceived of this blog and wrote my first post: a welcome and brief statement of purpose.  I found my inspiration largely from Natalie Wickham’s Music Matters Blog and Susan Paradis’ Piano Teacher Resources.  My blog was initially a free wordpress blog, titled “Piano Teaching Blog” (or something similar).  At this point, I was running a successful piano studio of about 20 students out of my parent’s home, and finishing up my Bachelor’s degree in piano performance.
  • In May of 2009, I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree.  Over the summer, my husband and I moved so we could attend graduate school the next year.  Unfortunately, this meant I had to “give away” all my piano students and find new ones.  =)
  • On July 9, 2009, I decided that I was enjoying blogging enough to go full swing: I came up with the title “Color In My Piano,” bought my own domain name and a year’s worth of web hosting, and gave the site a whole new look. Continue reading “Celebrating One Year!” →
Resources

Collaborative Piano Humor

Joy Morin

In this delightfully humorous post, Billie Whittaker shares some collaborative piano humor.  She shares some humorous tendencies she has observed in collaborative pianists — such as having advanced photocopying skills, and possessing strong opinions on the ‘use of plastic music protectors’ debate.  She goes on to share some of her own quirks — such as keeping a metronome in her purse at all times (I’m not the only one!!).

I’m so glad to hear I’m not the only one who does these things!  =D

She also shares this joke:

A pianist and singer are rehearsing “Autumn Leaves” for a concert and the pianist says: “OK. We will start in g minor and then on the third bar, modulate to B major and go into 5/4. When you get to the bridge, modulate back down to f# minor and alternate a 4/4 bar with a 7/4 bar. On the last A section go into double time and slowly modulate back to g minor.”

Check out the whole post here.  Also a must-see: A Brief Guide To Page-Turners.

(via The Collaborative Piano Blog)

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/candelabrumdanse/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

improving as a teacher, Memorization, Performances, Practicing

12 Tips for Memorizing Piano Music

Joy Morin

I’ll be the first one to admit: memorizing music does not come easily to me.  I really have to work at it, and it takes a lot of time.  Over the past couple of years, I have been reading and trying out everything I could find about memorizing music, and I’ve come up with a number of tips that have been helpful for me.

Some people memorize effortlessly, without even trying.  These are practical tips for the rest of us.  🙂

12 Tips for Memorizing Piano Music:

  1. From Day 1, practice your music with the intent of internalizing and memorizing it. Don’t wait until you’d got the piece learned to begin memorizing it.
  2. Use good fingering and use it consistently. It will take a lot longer to learn the piece if you are using different fingerings every time.  Writing your fingerings in the score will help (especially if you decide to use fingering other than what is indicate in the score).
  3. Always memorize the dynamics, articulations, and other markings on the page along with the notes. Don’t wait until you have the notes mastered!  It’s difficult to go back and fix things later.  It’s better — although perhaps more tedious initially — to learn it right the first time.
  4. Continue reading “12 Tips for Memorizing Piano Music” →
repertoire / methods, Resources

Links page has been updated

Joy Morin

The Links page here at colorinmypiano.com has been updated!  I’ve created a new category devoted to sites with free sheet music, preferably for piano.

My personal favorite:

IMSLP / The Petruccit Library

This site contains TONS of sheet music pdfs of the great classical works!  Just this week, for example, I was looking to round out one of my student’s “musical diet” by giving her a piece from the Romantic Era.  After browsing around on the IMSLP site, I came across the Burgmüller Etudes Op. 100, which includes some lovely little pieces which were among my favorite pieces to play when I was a kid.  Examples: “Arabesque,” “Grace,” “Progress,” “Innocence,” and “Ballade.”

Do you have a favorite site where you print free sheet music?  Please let us know and I’ll add it to the list!

improving as a teacher, Memorization, Motivation

3 Benefits of Incorporating Improvisation | Part 6 of the series

Joy Morin

We’ve arrived at the end of the series on incorporating improvisation!  We’ve already discussed the obstacles, history, and value of improvisation.  And in the last few posts, we discussed at length a practical, 4-part method for incorporating improvisation into the piano lesson.  Today’s consideration is the last of the series: what are the major benefits of incorporating improvisation into the piano lesson?  Here are the big three:

  1. Students are more likely to remember and understand concepts when learned creatively through improvisation.  This is largely related to the strengthening of the connections between theory and practice.
  2. Students are more likely to be motivated to take lessons when they are doing creative tasks.  There is so much more to music than learning to follow directions on the page!
  3. Students are more likely to memorize securely, and more likely to easily recover from memory slips.  Students who understand what is going on in the music (i.e., can identify the key, the form of the piece, and even some of the harmonic progressions) they are more likely to have their pieces memorized securely.  And in the event of a memory slip, students accustomed to improvising can simply improvise until they get back on track!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on improvisation!

What benefits have you found in conducting improvisational activities with your students?

Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in the series:

Series: Incorporating Improvisation into the Piano Lesson

  1. Creativity in the Piano Lesson – Introductory musings.
  2. Top 3 Obstacles when Teaching Improvisation
  3. A Brief History of Improvisation
  4. The Value of Improvisation
  5. Incorporating Improvisation:
    1. part a
    2. part b
    3. part c
    4. part d
  6. 3 Benefits of Incorporating Improvisation (now viewing)
Announcements, improving as a teacher

Things I Learned from a Yeol Eum Son Masterclass

Joy Morin

Last week, my university held a master class by Yeol Eum Son, the silver winner of the 2009 Van Cliburn competition.  I played a Chopin Etude, op.10 no.6.  She gave me a number of specific suggestions which were very helpful, but there were two general concepts I took from the experience:

1. Posture: keep your chest open. I’ve been told to sit up straight of course, and I’ve even been told not to sit too straight (a common problem among slender pianists, especially female).  I’ve also been told to keep my shoulders down and relaxed, which is something I struggle with.  Tension in the shoulders, can affect the arms and wrists negatively.

I’ve also accompanied enough vocalists to know that keeping the chest open is extremely important to help with breath support and avoid causing the throat to do the work.  But I never realized that pianists should be doing this too.  Watching her play, I realized how free and open her chest seemed, and as a result, how relaxed her shoulders and arms were.  I can’t quite explain it in words — see it for yourself it the video here:

(Her playing is so beautiful in this video, I could listen to it over and over and never tire of it!) Continue reading “Things I Learned from a Yeol Eum Son Masterclass” →

improving as a teacher, Teaching Piano

Incorporating Improvisation | Part 5d in the series

Joy Morin

This is a continuation of the series on the topic: incorporating improvisation into private piano teaching.  I had originally planned to post all 4 steps into one post, but the post would be too lengthy.  So the topic “Incorporating Improvisation” is being divided into 4 separate posts:

  1. Develop Related Skills
  2. Create an atmosphere conducive to improvisation
  3. Use improvisation as a way to introduce new concepts
  4. Improvise using a combination of learned concepts

Today, we are discussing step 4: Improvise using a combination of learned concepts.

4. Improvise using a combination of learned concepts

As the student progresses in their piano study, the teacher can make the improvisational sessions more complex by encouraging the student to use a combination of previously-learned concepts.  The focus can then turn from simply utilizing something like dynamics and certain intervals to creating something more complex.  For example, an improvisation session goal might be:

  • Tell a story: climbing a mountain, going to school, riding a pony, etc.
  • Describe a thing or place: a thunderstorm, a clown, a desert, a detective
  • Communicate an emotion: anger, happiness, fear, curiosity

Once the goal has been set, the teacher and the student can discuss ways to create the sound they want.  For example, for an improvisation to sound like a thunderstorm, the student might suggest using staccato notes in the upper register of the piano to represent rain, and thick, loud chords in the lower register to represent thunder.

These improvisational activities may be especially helpful for a student who struggles to play expressively in their repertoire playing.  Always use descriptive language when describing the session’s goal to the student, so that it evokes imagery for the student and gets their creative juices flowing.

Coming up next, the conclustion of the series: The Benefits of Incorporating Improvisation into the piano lesson.

Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in the series:

Series: Incorporating Improvisation into the Piano Lesson

  1. Creativity in the Piano Lesson – Introductory musings.
  2. Top 3 Obstacles when Teaching Improvisation
  3. A Brief History of Improvisation
  4. The Value of Improvisation
  5. Incorporating Improvisation:
    1. part a
    2. part b
    3. part c
    4. part d (now viewing)
  6. NEXT: 3 Benefits of Incorporating Improvisation
improving as a teacher, Motivation, Music Camps, Performances

30 Theme Ideas for Music Studio Events

Joy Morin

Here’s a list of 30 theme ideas for music studio events!  Themes can be used as the studio theme for the school year, or for summer music camps, or for studio recitals. If used for the studio theme for the whole year, there are a number of ways the theme can be incorporated: the incentive program, group lesson activities, worksheets, games, food, decorations, dress, recital repertoire, etc., can all be coordinated to fit the theme.

  1. Medieval Times | castles, knights, princesses
  2. Fantasy | same as above, plus dragons, wizards, etc.
  3. Mystery |detective, private eye, clues, magnifying glass, footprints, fingerprints, evidence
  4. International / Around the World | choose a specific country, or give a survey of a few different countries  (Egypt, Africa, etc.) world music, cultures. For example……
  5. Fiesta | sombrero, maracas, dances
  6. Tropical | surfing, luau, grass skirts, steel drums, Caribbean/Hawaiian music, palm trees
  7. Winter | snow, icicles, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, cold, mittens, scarves, snowmen
  8. Carnival / Circus | ringmaster, tightrope walker, elephant, tickets
  9. Art | colors, brushes, make connections between art and music. Activity: compose songs named after colors.
  10. Roller coster park | use this theme to study musical forms (e.g., ABA), or musical styles.
  11. Animal Planet | animals galore!  Activity: try matching animal characteristics to how different music sounds.
  12. The Great Outdoors / camping | campfire, singing, woods, lantern
  13. Under the Sea | ocean, waves, fish, jellyfish, dolphins, sharks, seaweed, treasure, sunken ship, scuba diver
  14. Barnyard | farm, farmer, animals, fields, crops, harvest, tractors, seeds
  15. Construction | bulldozers, dump trucks, CAUTION tape, hard hats, orange cones, STOP, GO, workers
  16. Jungle Safari | lions, giraffes, jeep, binoculars
  17. Wild West | cowboys, saloon, ghost town, cowboy hats/boots, bandanas, sheriff, horses, saddles, lasso
  18. Pirates | pirate ship, pirates, buried treasure, treasure maps, scavenger hunt
  19. Desert Oasis | cockroaches, oasis, palm trees, sand
  20. Olympic Games | fitness, games, exercise, practice
  21. Going Green | recycle, be efficient (with practice time)
  22. Splish Splash | water bottles, droplets, river, brook, ocean, puddle, rain, hydration, summer, squirt guns, pool
  23. Outer Space | stars, moon, sun, rocket ships, astronauts, aliens, ufo’s.  Natalie is doing a space theme in her studio this year and it looks fabulous!
  24. Futuristic / Time Travel | contemporary music, technology in music
  25. Race cars | finish line, car, tires, gasoline, checkered flag, trophy.  Activity: do timed worksheets for naming note on the staff.
  26. USA / Patriotic / Stars & Stripes | USA history, fireworks, wear red, white, and blue, or wear stars/stripes! Activity: learn about American composers.
  27. The magic of music | magician, magic tricks, deck of cards, top hat, magic wand, rabbit, gloves. Activity: discuss how music has the power to affect your emotions, change your mood, influence you to do something, etc.
  28. Blast from the Past | choose an era of music history: Classical, Romantic, Baroque, etc.  Dress old-fashioned, eat popular treats from back then, etc.
  29. The Great Composers | choose a specific set of composers, and focus on one each day/week/month.
  30. Musical Instruments | learn about the parts of the piano, or the instruments of the orchestra.  Discuss timbre, register, range, tuning, etc.

Please share any additional ideas you have, or any resources you’ve found to be helpful for planning a themed event for your music studio!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peasap/ / CC BY 2.0
improving as a teacher, Printables, Teaching Piano

Incorporating Improvisation | Part 5c in the series

Joy Morin

This is a continuation of the series on the topic: incorporating improvisation into private piano teaching.  I had originally planned to post all 4 steps into one post, but the post would be too lengthy.  So the topic “Incorporating Improvisation” is being divided into 4 separate posts:

  1. Develop Related Skills
  2. Create an atmosphere conducive to improvisation
  3. Use improvisation as a way to introduce new concepts
  4. Improvise using a combination of learned concepts

Today, we are discussing step 3: Use improvisation as a way to introduce new concepts.

3. Use improvisation as a creative way to introduce new concepts.

The point is, improvisation is not a separate identify from repertoire learning, theory, ear training, or technique.   Connections should be made between what is being learned in the method books to what they are improvising.  Improvisation then becomes a useful tool in the lesson for learning and reinforcing concepts being taught, and thus building the connection between theory and practice.

For example, let’s say that I have a student in the Alfred method book, and we just finished learning about the difference between 2nds and 3rds.  We taught about the difference between the two, and even sight-read through a few pieces that utilize 2nds and 3rds.  Now it is time to improvise using 2nds and 3rds!  We could create two short improvisations based on only 2nds and only 3rds (this would be the goal of the session), and then we could try making an improvisation that uses both.  If the student is able to improvise using 2nds and 3rds as instructed, then I know that the student truly understands what 2nds and 3rds are and what the difference between them is.

With a more advanced student, we could improvise ABA form or even sonata-allegro form, if they are working on repertoire in those forms.  Other concepts for more advanced students could include ostinato, motive, sequence, sixteenth notes, etc.  For a listing of more ideas, see the Concepts to Introduce Using Improvisation pdf available on the Printables > Other Resources page.

  Concepts to Introduce Using Improvisation (53.5 KiB, 17,380 hits)

Coming up next: part 5d of Incorporating Improvisation into the piano lesson.

Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in the series:

Series: Incorporating Improvisation into the Piano Lesson

  1. Creativity in the Piano Lesson – Introductory musings.
  2. Top 3 Obstacles when Teaching Improvisation
  3. A Brief History of Improvisation
  4. The Value of Improvisation
  5. Incorporating Improvisation:
    1. part a
    2. part b
    3. part c (now viewing)
    4. NEXT: part d
  6. 3 Benefits of Incorporating Improvisation (coming soon)
improving as a teacher, Teaching Piano

Incorporating Improvisation | Part 5b in the series

Joy Morin

This is a continuation of the series on the topic: incorporating improvisation into private piano teaching.  I had originally planned to post all 4 steps into one post, but the post would be too lengthy.  So the topic “Incorporating Improvisation” is being divided into 4 separate posts:

  1. Develop Related Skills
  2. Create an atmosphere conducive to improvisation
  3. Use improvisation as a way to introduce new concepts
  4. Improvise using a combination of learned concepts

Today, we are discussing step 2: Create an atmosphere conducive to improvisation.

2. Create an atmosphere conducive to improvisation.

For some students, improvisation will be easy and fun.  For others, it may seem intimidating.   Creating an atmosphere conducive to improvisation will help reassure students and encourage them to be creative, especially if they are only accustomed to reproducing what is on the page.

  • No such thing as “wrong notes” — Be sure that the student understands that because they are the improviser,anything they play is correct!  Getting over the fear of playing wrong notes will allow them to more easily focus on expressing themselves through their music.
  • Share musical authority — The student should be encouraged to express themselves and create whatever sounds that are pleasing to his/her ears, instead of trying to figure out what they think the teacher might want to hear.  The teacher should praise whatever efforts they hear and never be critical of the student’s improvisation.  Even when improvisation is done together with the teacher or in group of students, musical authority should be shared.
  • Set goals — It is helpful for the teacher to give the student some specific goals to focus on during an improvisation session.  Some examples might be to utilize some new concepts introduced earlier in the lesson, or to tell a story with the music (to be discussed further in steps 3 and 4 below).  Example: “Let’s try using the new articulations of stacatto and legato that we learned about today,” or “Let’s tell a story about a hiker climbing up and down a mountain.”
  • Set parameters — Improvisation, no matter what kind, always has some parameters.  Example parameters include: key, mode (major or minor), meter, tempo, black keys only or all keys, one or both hands, or a time limit.  A teacher may give a number of parameters, for example: “Let’s improvise a slow piece together on the black keys.  Let’s use only quarter notes and half notes.  You can play in the upper register with just your RH, and I’ll play along with you in the lower register.”  Parameters serve as guidelines to give the student direction as to how to improvise for that session.

Creating a conducive atmosphere is essential to successful improvisation.

Coming up next: Part 5c of Incorporating Improvisation into the piano lesson.

Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in the series:

Series: Incorporating Improvisation into the Piano Lesson

  1. Creativity in the Piano Lesson – Introductory musings.
  2. Top 3 Obstacles when Teaching Improvisation
  3. A Brief History of Improvisation
  4. The Value of Improvisation
  5. Incorporating Improvisation:
    1. part a
    2. part b (now viewing)
    3. NEXT: part c
    4. part d (coming soon)
  6. 3 Benefits of Incorporating Improvisation (coming soon)
Resources, Technology

Free New Age Piano mp3s

Joy Morin

I recently came across an interesting site containing free mp3s of new age solo piano music.  What a great resource to pass on to my piano students!  It’s important for students to listen to a wide variety of music, but often they are only exposed to pop music.  New age piano music is bound to tickle the fancy of most students — especially since it’s free.

To download onto your computer so you can listen or upload to your mp3 player, right-click on the blue arrow beside the track you wish to download and select “Download linked file.”  Then open the file in iTunes (or whatever media player you use).  Enjoy!