Jumping Up and Down to Learn More

Jumping on a trampoline is just plain fun. Learning and fun go together when we jump to learn. 

I have been reviewing notes while jumping this week. The motion has been proven to enhance learning. I start with setting a steady jumping beat, 1-2-3-4- then move a black note disk around the staff. My students say the note on the beat. 

Along with note reading practice, the steady bouncing strengthens my students sense of beat. So who has a trampoline around? 

Here is an update on our Ice-Cream Challenge.

Look how the scoops are stacking up. I have seen better practicing this summer than ever before.Keep up the great playing,

Tips For Summer Piano Lessons

The Ice-Cream Contest is coming along. Some students do not like contests where they are compared against others but there is ice-cream for anyone who participates, I hope I was clear about that. 

H. gets her second scoop of ice-cream

Writing down the number of minutes you practice is a way of staying in touch with your assignment book and staying focused on the plan. If the assignment book is not making it to lessons you will likely see book marks on the pages assigned. It would be a good idea to page to those songs and see if you have heard them during the week. My blogging colleague Laura Lowe makes a great point in her recent post about piano teaching. 

"Reading the assignments helps you know whether your child is organizing his practice time to cover all of the assignments or spending all of his piano time on one piece, or maybe even playing things that weren't assigned. One of the most frequent things I hear from students is, "Oh, I forgot that I was supposed to work on that piece," or learn that scale or study those terms and symbols, even though I had written the assignment in the notebook. We end up repeating part of the lesson from the week before, and this is not a good use of your investment in piano study! "

Playing music other than assigned pieces is wonderful, but make sure the assignment for the week is accomplished so that progress is steady.

Remembering the Recital

Families pile out of their cars and head for the front door of the church. It's recital day and time to begin. I greet them at the door and look into their eyes to see if they are nervous or just hyped up. A few complain they feel sick, most are ready to get it over with. I always start on time and say a few words of thanks to parents and friends who render aid and support to the beginning pianist. Then they come up one at a time and I am always surprised by their poise under pressure. I appreciate all the wonderful families I serve and come to know. Please don't be offended if I did not get your picture. I just got sidetracked. I still remember you and include you here.

Support from best friends

Reminded us to turn cell phones off

Chopin was on the program

Sang and played her own composition

Beatles fan

On the pew waiting

The sisters warm-up

Sonatina with two movements

First Recital

The Dancing Queen

She played it just "The Way It" was

Tiger comes along to watch

She's a charmer of snakes

N. and I. are prepared and ready

A. remembers to share goodies

He is our jazz player

Three through the Door

Pink Panther Rocked

Alla Turca makes it's debut

Practice, Practice, Practice

For the longest time I misspelled practice. I used a "s" in stead of the "c". That is typical of practice, it is easy to do it all wrong.

All around my community I imagine pianos playing non-stop from morning till night. Next week is recital week.All my students are feeling the need to work out those mistakes and mental brain freezes for :"showtime".

I thought you might like to know what it is like for the teacher.

Relax, that is not my style. But my hair is standing on end a bit and I have a constant ear worm playing every one's music.We practice at the recital venue the week before. The grand piano there needs some getting used to. The room is big and when the young uns' pound it does sound overwhelming. so we talk about playing musically, sensitively, and with feeling. The piano there gives back beautiful sound to the student who listens and adjusts. For some students these recitals instill within them a desire for a new level of playing.

At the end of the week I start the creative process of choosing the order in which the students play. There are many considerations. Who should go first? It must be someone who is confident and will set the right tone. Tension is contagious and stumbling at the beginning can de-rail the whole evening.

I also consider the style of the pieces and how they will sound together. I do mix up students of different levels. Mostly because my teacher had us play according to ability. I knew if I ever was asked to play last that I had arrived at the position of "top dog" in her studio. This caused unnecessary comparisons which happens, but I wish it did not. Everyone playing started at a different time, at a different age, and everyone has different ability. We bring to the occasion the best we have to offer at that moment which includes me because I have always played something at the end. This is humbling for me and helps me remember the feeling associated with performing.

So here I am on that special night. What, you don't buy it? Okay, this is more likely what I will look like.

I'll be the lady in the corner, close to her students, sweating bullets and praying that all the practice will pay off and that on this day they will "rock"!

A Week of Group Piano Lessons

A couple of times a year I meet with my older piano students in small groups. I try to maximize the positive aspects of peer involvement (feelings of inclusiveness in the quest to make music) and minimize the negative (the fits of silliness peer groups exhibit).
I found a three part arrangement of Yankee Doodle for my boy group.

We did practice individually the week before. I found the music at pianomorning.com. They write nice pieces on many levels. The lesson was a great success. All three parts held together and all the benefits of ensemble playing were realized.

I did some drumming in all the groups. I had a chart with lines of different rhythms. We did them together and then each person was assigned their own line. As you can see in the video, my Four Queens, girls in PA3A and PA3B, were successful.

Another fun activity was Play a Story. I used the Spanish story of Don Gato the cat. As I told the story I stopped to ask for piano sounds to complement the story. Don Gato's sound was a minor broken chord followed by a block chord. The Lady Cat had fifiths in the treble clef. The joyful sounds were major arpeggios, the sounds of the sadness over his death, or supposed death were a minor arpeggio.

His broken body parts were half steps in different octaves. I enjoyed their scramble to get to the piano to play their sound trying to remember what the musical term meant.

We ended the lesson with some notation dictation. I asked them to notate 4 measures of Yankee Doodle. This was very instructive to me to see how observant they are about the components of written music. We did not get all 4 measures written before it was time to perform for each other. This always ends my groups lessons. They like showing what they are learning.
Music was enjoyed by all!!