Heidi's Piano Studio

Classical Themes Lab Assignment

2011-12-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

Using your "In Recital with Classical Themes-Volume 1" by Helen Marlais book, complete the following activities.

After listening to the first few minutes of the following video clips choose a Rating for each piece from the list.
1- I have no interest in learning to play this.
2- This piece is okay.
3- Nice but not one of my favorites.
4- I would like to play this piece.
5- I would love to learn to play this.

1. String Quartet - Haydn p. 7

Haydn uses a theme and variations form in this string quartet. In what ways does he vary (change) the theme when it repeats?

2. Royal March of the Lion - Camille Saint-Saens p. 9
from Carnival of the Animals
Music in Romantic style often includes expressive dynamics to add more emotion or feeling. Follow along in your music as you listen to this piece. With a colored pencil shade the crescendos on the chromatic scale passages (lion roaring) to match the dynamic level.

3. Eine Kleine Nachtmusick Movement Three - Mozart p. 20-21
Music in Classical style often has a "singing melody" above a soft harmony. As you listen to the first minute of this song "ghost tap" the left hand rhythm.

4. Sheep May Safely Graze - Bach p. 22
Music in the Baroque period often has a steady tempo with a slight ritard at the end. As you watch and listen to this whimsy video, tap a steady beat for the first few minutes.

5. Dance of the Hours from Giocondo- Ponchielli p. 29
Music during the Romantic period often have descriptive titles. This famous excerpt from the opera by Italian composer Amilcare Ponchielli is a short ballet representing the early morning hours.

6. Marche Slav - Tchaikovsky p. 31
Music composed during the Romantic period often has nationalistic or patriotic themes. This piece is a patriotic march by Russian composer Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He was asked to compose it for a benefit concert to honor wounded soldiers from Serbia after Turkey invaded their country.
What different moods or emotions do you hear conveyed in this piece?

7. Violin Concerto Opus 77 Movement Two - Brahms p. 32
Another common feature of Romantic music is rhythmic flexibility within a phrase or measure - also known as Rubato. Performers often vary the tempo slightly to add expression and emotion to the performance. What mood(s) does this piece convey?

8. _____________ music often has a singing melody above a soft harmony.
A. Baroque
B. Classical
C. Romantic
D. Contemporary

9. ______________ music often has descriptive titles or conveys patriotism or expressive emotion.
A. Baroque
B. Classical
C. Romantic
D. Contemporary

10. ____________ music typically has a strict & steady tempo sometimes with a slight ritard at the end.
A. Baroque
B. Classical
C. Romantic
D. Contemporary

Piano Lab 101: Scheduling, Structure, Assignments and Progress

2011-12-13T17:04:00.001-07:00

There are several different elements to consider when setting up a piano lab.

FEES AND SCHEDULING
When I incorporated piano lab into my private lessons, I had just relocated to a new area so I advertised the piano lab as one of the benefits of regular lessons and included lab fees with tuition. I charged a bit more than I would have without the lab to cover the additional expenses and planning time involved. Because of the lab feature in my piano instruction, I only accept students who are of age or maturity to be able to focus and work independently for 30 minutes (generally age 8 and above) unless the parents are willing to accompany them during the entire hour of lessons.

Initially I staggered lesson times (ex:4:00, 4:30, 5:00, etc.) so that each student first had private instruction with me and their piano lab activities reinforced the concepts introduced during their lesson.

But when I started having several students from the same family, I switched to having 2 students come on the hour (2 at 4:00, 2 at 5:00, etc.) They take turns either doing their lab first or having their private lesson first. I actually prefer this setup because I can do both preparatory listening/analysis assignments that apply directly to the music the student will be working on (when lab is first), or I can assign reinforcement activities to gauge how well the student grasped the concept introduced in private instruction.

LAB LOCATION
Ideally, I would love to have an enclosed piano lab room with a large window adjacent to my piano so I could occasionally glance at the screen to monitor the lab student's progress without hearing any noise interference. But for now, my computer is fairly close to my piano - but not in the same room. The piano is at the top of the stairs and the computer at the bottom, so my students in the lab can quickly access me if they have a question (and I can faintly hear the lessons they are doing). I considered putting them in the same room as the piano with headphones, but my daughter went to a teacher with this setup and it was very hard for her to hear and focus on the computer lab games even with the volume turned up while another student was playing the piano for the teacher in the same room.

LAB ASSIGNMENTS/TRACKING PROGRESS
Organizing lab content and progress can pose an enormous task initially. I hope to make a separate post detailing the specific resources I use for lab time including:

Software (Music Ace, Midisaurus, PBJ, Alfred Music Games, Ear Training Expedition, Happy Note)
Online Games/Sites (Staff Wars, Theta, Music Learning Community, Tonic Tutor, Theoria, Big Ears, Music Tech Teacher, Classics for Kids, Pedaplus, DSO & SFS Orchestra)
Leveled Binders with Online Printable worksheets in sheet protectors (Susan Paradis, Pianimation, ComposeCreate, Making Music Fun, ColorinMyPiano)
Theory Books (w/ movable contact paper page protectors and dry erase markers)
CD w/ Lesson Book Analysis/Rhythm Assignments (specific to each song in the book)
Misc. (YouTube Video assignments, composition, Doodle Pad, etc.)

Individualized Approach

Each student has a progress spreadsheet in their lab folder outlining all of the concepts & activities correlating with their lesson book level arranged in the order they are introduced in the lesson book. Following is a small sample from Level 1 (Hal Leonard) including columns for Concept, Activity, Date(s), Score(s), and Done

Concept	Activity	Date(s)	Score(s)	Done
LH/RH	Theory Book page 5
Finger Numbers	SP Colorful Fingers worksheet
	Honey Pot Listen and Tapworksheet
High/Low	Midisaurus Sounds Around Us
	Midisaurus High and Low
	Ear Training Exped.P1 Level 1-Unit 1
	Music Ace Lesson 2 Intro to Keyboard
	Music Ace Game 2
Same/Diff. Melodies	MLC Smiley & Friends play 2x

I mark student's weekly assignments with colored opaque post-it tabs and check them off when completed. With this approach I can cater the assignments to the pace of the learner. If a student masters a concept quickly, I have them skip some of the activities and move to the next concept. The spreadsheet also allows me the flexibility of using different method books and changing up the order of assignments to more closely match the order they are introduced for that particular method.
Occasionally I create listening, composition, music history or artistry assignments to correlate with seasonal or group lesson topics like the Playing with Feeling Lab Assignment, Festival Music Lab Assignment or Piano Theory Posters
I introduce concepts of form and analysis very early during private instruction and "Hand over the Pencil" often to have students color patterns, chords, intervals, etc. By the time they reach late elementary music, I incorporate analysis and listening prep activities during lab time that are specific to the upcoming songs in their lesson book with tasks that apply to that piece. A few sample tasks follow:

Listen to the CD and tap the rhythm while counting aloud.

Listen to the CD again while practicing the pedal motions with your foot. Be sure to change the pedal immediately after the first beat in each measure.

Which measure has a different rhythm then the rest?______________

Mark the Intervals of a 7th in your music (Hint: they should go from a line to a line or from a space to a space)

Define a tempo______________________

Define loco _________________________________

Listen to the Cd. Where does the melody switch to the left hand?_______________

Write the beats in the first line.

Draw rainbows where your right hand “glides” over your left hand

Listen to the CD and think of another name for this piece. ____________________
Identify the chord in each measure by letter name, tonality (Major or minor), and inversion (6/3=1^st inversion, 6/4= 2^nd inversion). Hint: The note above the gap’s the root, it just has rearranged. Example: In measure two, notes d-f-a = d minor 6/4 chord

When I discover or acquire new resources I just add them to the list under the appropriate concept so my lab activities are constantly evolving.

Pro: Students assignments are catered to their learning pace and style.

Con: Selecting specific lesson tasks each week can be a bit time consuming for teachers with large studios.

Leveled/Topical Approach
For teachers with a large number of students, making an individualized lab lesson plan each week can be a bit time consuming. One helpful suggestion I heard at a local music club mtg was to have all students focus on a different element each week of the month and make up a master plan for concepts covered in each level. For example:
Week 1: Theory/Analysis
Week 2: Ear Training
Week 3: Music History
Week 4: Composition/Artistry
Students who are near the same level all receive the same assignment outline. They work on the weekly assignment in their level and move on to the next assignment the following week regardless of their scores/completion/attendance at lessons. The master lesson plans include spiraling/repetition of concepts to avoid gaps in the learning process.
Pro: Less time planning involved, easier lab setup and transition between students
Con: Students typically work at different paces and may need more review on certain concepts than their peers.

I would love to hear any suggestions or comments from other teachers regarding piano lab.
How do you structure lab time?
What are some of your favorite activities or resources to use in piano lab?
How do you track your students progress?

Making Musical Memories

2011-12-12T15:08:00.002-07:00

Some of my favorite family traditions at Christmas time involve music.

This year our 4 oldest children are fluent enough readers that we can all gather around the piano and sing multiple verses of Christmas carols - so we'll actually be able to contribute some volume as we around the neighborhood in a trailer filled with hay bales:)
To start out each December we watch the annual Christmas Devotional including music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and messages centering on the true meaning of Christmas -the birth of Jesus Christ. My favorite message this year was "Of Curtains, Contentment and Christmas" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Our children were pretty intrigued by his story of a memorable Christmas as a boy when he was a little too fascinated with the combination of curtains and flickering candles on the tree. I appreciated his reminder to not allow our seeking of the picture perfect Christmas events to drown out our efforts to seek Christ at Christmas and throughout the year.

This year we watched some new free video clips depicting the events surrounding the Savior's birth. I love how most of them include beautiful soothing background music with a brief narration straight from the Bible (KJV). We'll definitely be adding this new tradition to our list!
And of course.... I love overhearing all of the piano practice of Christmas songs.

Free Resources for Simple Christmas piano arrangements

2011-12-06T11:18:00.004-07:00

Today while searching for an easy piano version of one of my favorite Christmas songs - "Still, Still, Still," I discovered this site - www.easybyte.org that contains numerous arrangements of Christmas songs and other music in the public domain arranged by William Wallace. The arrangements are in pdf format and many include electric keyboard midi samples.
A few other sites with elementary level Christmas music that I have found include:

http://www.gmajormusictheory.org/
makingmusicfun.net
susanparadis.com
laytonmusic.com - simplified primary songs

In my studio, I print these off, put them in sheet protectors in a folder arranged according to level of difficulty and allow my students to check them out from my music library during the holidays. Its been fun to see how the boost in confidence for students who check out the same songs the following year and can easily sightread the pieces that seemed like such a challenge for them the year before.
If you know of any other piano Christmas music sites please leave a comment and I'll add them to the list.

Christmas Canon Chords Improv Assignment

2011-11-30T13:20:00.006-07:00

I absolutely LOVE Pachebel's Canon in D; in fact its on the CD I listen to each night at bedtime. The soothing repetitive chord progression is so calming. It also happens to provide the harmonic framework for some of my favorite peaceful Christmas songs:
"The First Noel"
"Guard Him Joseph" by Sally Deford
"The Christmas Spirit" by Lindy Kerby
and of course the well known more jovial song
"Jolly Old St. Nicholas."

So this Christmas season I've given a few of my students the opportunity to sharpen their knowledge of chord symbols and experiment with some improv accompaniment using the following chord progression:

I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V

(Its a lot easier to follow if you draw the chord symbols in relation to their pitch direction with arrows connecting them - but since my technical skills are limited on blogger... you'll just have to imagine)

I (down to )V(up to) vi( down to)iii(up to)IV(down to)I(up to)IV (up to)V

After identifying the letter names that match the chord symbols in the key they are assigned, they begin with a few of the following basic bass patterns:

Low Bass Note (LH) + Blocked Chord (RH)

Low Bass Note (LH) + Broken Chord (RH)

1 8va arpeggio (LH only)

Open 5th + octave (ex: if I is C Major = Bass C, up to G, up to Middle C)

Rolling Open 5th + octave (in C Major + Bass C, up to G, up to Middle C, back to G)

For those up to the challenge, they then vary the rhythm, come up with their own patterns, try transposing it to another key add a familiar melody in the RH or compose their own melody to match the harmony.

For those inexperienced with this type of transposition it is helpful to point out the pattern of the interval changes between chord roots:

Tonic - Down a 4th - Up a 2nd - Down a 4th - Up a 2nd - Down a 4th - Up a 4th - Up a 2nd

No wonder I love this song.......my brain loves order!

It was so invigorating to watch a couple of my students who are sisters play a lively little Jolly Old St. Nicolas duet together after just a few minutes of practice at their last lesson.

The pre-reading and elementary versions of Jolly Old St. Nicholas on Susan Paradis's website work great for the upper duet part for this assignment.

How do you teach improvisation in your studio?

Introducing Cadences with a Country Twist :)

2011-11-29T13:25:00.001-07:00

Here's a fun little V7 chord song I stumbled upon while surfing YouTube

The V7 chord often "brings us home to I" and is heard a lot at the end of a song. Moving from a V7 chord to a I chord is known as an authentic cadence.
And just in case your curious....When a V chord does not resolve up by fourth to a I chord, but instead resolves up by second to a vi, it is called a deceptive cadence.

Musical Ornament Gift Idea

2011-11-17T13:41:00.003-07:00

Imagine this ornament..... with some old music paper instead of book paper. Isn't it lovely? It might just make the perfect gift this Christmas for some music lovers I know.
My sister Kara has posted a tutorial on how to make it on here crafty/cooking blog CreationsbyKara.com
My daughter and I put some together last night for the "recycling themed" Festival of Trees ornaments she's making for school. They are pretty simple to make for an "uncrafty" person like myself.
If you stop by her site, you may also want to check out her recipe index. Some of my favorite prepare ahead dishes for piano teaching days are Really Good Crock Pot Roast, Cafe Rio Pork, Bajio Style Chicken and Dutch Oven Chicken. But watch out... you'll have to scroll past all of the mouth-watering desserts first and might get stopped before you reach your destination:)!

I actually have my older sister Kara to thank for my obsession with piano. She started lessons first but was not very interested, so one day I eagerly volunteered to go in her place which sparked the fire for me. When we were younger she thought she was lacking in talent since music, art & dance were not her "thing" but its obvious when you see the # of followers on her blog - she was wrong, her talents just lie in other areas!

Benefits of Piano Lab with Private Lessons

2011-11-15T14:38:00.003-07:00

One of the best tips I received from a friend after relocating and starting up my piano studio was to incorporate a lab in conjunction with private instruction each week. I am so glad I followed her advice. Following are a few of the benefits I've seen from utilizing this approach.

Students receive extra reinforcement of theory, ear training, note reading, sight reading, music history and analysis to solidify concepts introduced by the teacher.

Learning music concepts in game format is more fun and engaging for children than the "study your flashcards at home" approach that I received as a child.

The teacher receives continuous feedback about how well the student has mastered concepts being taught during private instruction. Its easier to catch "gaps" in the students understanding quickly when you can assess them through multiple modalities.

Students have more time for technical and artistry instruction with the teacher. Often I find it a challenge to squeeze in all of the elements of piano playing (like ear training, theory and music history) in just a 30 minute weekly instruction setting. Having a lab provides students with the structured time to solidify their knowledge of previously covered material while freeing up more time during private instruction for elements best learned through imitation/feedback.

Overlapping instruction time provides opportunity for ensemble/collaborative work with students. Students scheduled during the same time block can practice duets or play interactive games during the first few minutes of lesson from time to time.

Including a lab is an extra benefit that sets my studio apart from many of the other teachers in the area. For now, I only take a very limited # of students so I can focus on raising my family so "filling" my studio has never been a problem - but for teachers seeking more students, this could be one more "selling" point for your studio.

My 30 minute lab/30 minute private instruction approach provides for flexibility in scheduling for me as a teacher when needed. Balancing my roles of mother of 5 (soon to be 6) children and piano instructor can be a bit tricky - especially with the unpredictable needs of infants. When a new baby comes to our family, rather than taking a long break from teaching for the adjustment(which could create some regression in student skills), I stagger my piano teaching schedule for a time. When necessary the student can do their lab activities first or last depending on the unexpected diaper blowouts/feeding needs of my newborn. I can still fulfill both of the roles that I love of mother and piano teacher without feeling like my children or students are being short-handed.

Look for more posts in the future on how to structure a lab, planning lab time lessons and links to my favorite online piano lab resources.

NFMC Festival Music Samples Lab Assignment

2011-11-15T10:00:00.003-07:00

Listen to each of the pieces in your festival level.
For each piece write the name of the piece and then answer the following questions:
1. Write 2 or more words to describe the mood of this piece.
2. What is the tempo (speed) of this piece (Adagio, Andante, Allegro, Presto, etc.)?
3. What articulation do you hear in this piece (staccato, legato, accents, pedaling etc.)?
4. Choose your personal rating for this piece from the following:

1- I have no interest in learning to play this.
2 - This piece is okay
3 - Nice, but not my favorite
4 - I would like to play this piece.
5. I would love to learn to play this.

PP (Blue/Black)
Taco Fiesta by Martha Mier
Big Black Bear by Carol Matz
The Leaf and the Bird by June C. Montgomery
Leapfrog by Robert Donahue
Brooklyn's Waltz by Philip Keveren
The Thing That is Under my Bed by Bernadine Johnson
Irish Celebration by Wendy Stevens (c)
One Scary Night by Kim Williams (c)
The Bunny with No Name by Nancy Faber (c)

P1 (Purple/Pink)
Feelin' Happy by Mona Rejino
New Orleans Jamboree by Bill Boyd
Pumpkin Patch by Rebecca Lewis
Splash, Splash by June C. Montgomery (c)
Race Car Rally by W. T. Skye Garcia (c)

P2 (Yellow/Orange)

Twister by Wendy Stevens
Mystery at Blackwater Creek by Martha Mier
Unicorn Ride by K. Polhamus
Medieval Pageant by Mary Hauber
The Acrobat by Carolyn Miller

P3 (Green/White)
Starry Night by Carol Matz
Tambourine Dance by Martha Mier
Fiesta de Seville by Catherine Rollin
Feelin' Good by Robert Vandall
Sunrise at San Miguel by Ronald Bennett
Wild Robot by Jennifer Linn
The Notorious Pirate by Nancy Faber (c)

P4 (Red/Burgundy)
Buffalo Stampede by W.T. Skye Garcia
The Knight's Tale by Catherine Rollin
Allegro Fantastico by Carol Matz
Summer Dream by Robert Vandall
The Grand Canyon by Ted Cooper
Pagoda Bells by Mona Rejino
Ghost Waltz by Edwin McClean

P.S. This post is a work in progress. Please make a comment if you know of any other sites w/ sound clips of NFMC festival pieces. The helpful links used to compile this list include:
Dollarhide's Music Center blog
Alfred Music Publishing

Staff Notes Game - "Don't Eat the Poison Pumpkin"

2011-10-03T10:44:00.004-06:00

For my piano group lesson today I'm adapting one of our family's favorite games "Don't Eat Pete" to review note names on the staff.

What you'll need:
Susan Paradis "Pumpkin Notes" Worksheet in a sheet protector
Bag of pumpkin candies (or candy corns, m&ms, skittles, pumpkin seeds, etc.)

How to play:
1. Put one piece of candy on each pumpkin note.
2. Send one person out of the room.
3. Pick a letter of the music alphabet to be “the poison pumpkins”
4. Call the person back in the room but don’t tell him/her where “the poison pumpkin” is.
5. The “it” person picks up candy one piece at a time and identifies the letter name of the note. If the candy is not “poison” the person is allowed to eat it. If the candy is “the poison pumpkin,” everyone yells “DON’T EAT THE POISON PUMPKIN!” and that person’s turn is over.

The whole point is to put off finding the poison pumpkin as long as possible so you get to eat more candy. You could even play this as a "lesson starter game" and write down the secret poison pumpkin letter on a hidden whiteboard instead of sending your student out the room.

For a shorter or "non-seasonal" variation, the Note Bingo(letter names on the staff) or Cover the Keys (letter names on the keys) Gameboards on Susan's site would also work fabulously.

Playing with Feeling Lab Assignment - Modern Examples

2011-09-30T13:41:00.006-06:00

1. Watch the following performers and observe & write down the different ways they move their body to express the mood of the piece. (Arms, wrist, head, torso, elbows, etc.)
2. Write down 1 or 2 words to describe the mood of each piece.
3. Draw a picture or describe how you feel when you hear each piece or what images come to your mind.

"Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables

This "Dumb Song" by Jon Schmidt is definitely not for wimpy fingers. Keep up your Hanon practice if you want to play like this someday:0)

"Waterfall" by Jon Schmidt

Emily Bear 5 1/2 yrs old playing her own composition

"Pirates of the Caribbean" Jarrod Radnich

Great Online Music Game Resource - Tonic Tutor

2011-09-12T12:17:00.003-06:00

Don't miss out on the opportunity this month to check out Tonic Tutor's September full free access. My students are loving the fun games on tonic tutor. For the month of September they are running a promotion where you can access all the features of the site for free. Some of the elements of this site that I really appreciate are:

The games are short... great for younger students with shorter attention spans who need a lot of variety during labtime.
The game rewards provide a lot of consistent positive reinforcement. Students earn "achievements" for things like time efficiency, 5 answers in a row correct, limiting listens, etc. Currently there is some friendly sibling rivalry going on at our house to get the most time in so they can win our Fall Fiesta Contest :) I never thought my kids would be fighting to play piano games! I appreciate that you can even customize the contests to motivate your students in different areas and give different students the chance to shine.
There is a short tutorial for each game so most students can figure out how to play them on their own.
Along with preset levels, teachers can change settings specific to their student's particular needs.
Students can access the site from home for extra practice in addition to games I assign them during studio labtime.
The games cover a variety of elements including auditory, visual, keyboard, notereading and rhythm skills.
The game difficulty ranges from early elementary skills to advanced skills.

Initially it took a while to set up all of my student's accounts and familiarize myself with all of the games to give appropriately leveled assignments, but I think the effort was well worth it.

Cool Songs for Cool Kids 2 Review

2011-08-15T12:52:00.003-06:00

The "cool" songs in this intermediate level book by Gerald Simon have a sort of "Jon Schmidt style", but are a little more accessible to earlier piano grade students for those students who want to impress their friends with "hard-sounding" songs and have some fun in the process.
The first few pages of the book include a helpful theory overview of intervals (including augmented and diminished), swing style 8ths, the blues pentascale & L.H. barrelhouse blues, polka and rocking 5th patterns. Although the explanations might be a bit wordy for younger students, I like the framework provided that could act as a great springboard for further improv and composition for creative students.
As a teacher one of the things I find appealing are the relatively short length of the songs. The songs are just 1 or 2 pages with repetitive themes in different octaves and many repeating rhythm patterns. Most songs could easily be mastered in just 1 week. They would make a great "energizer" for busy teens if interspersed between regular lesson assignments.
The rhythm patterns are easily understood and the counts are written in for the first few measures of each song. Most songs include syncopated eighth note rhythms.
The book includes a good variety of pop moods/styles, from energized boogie, pop rock and polka songs like"Gigabyte Guru" and "Chillaxing" to relaxing new age, dreamy songs like "Wishful Thinking" and "Sweet Serenity." The music motivation site includes a full recording of nearly every song which is useful for both previewing to determine students level of interest in the book or listening prep activities to enable more successful mastery of the songs.

I mainly use this as a supplementary book, because the songs are fun to play and and can make great motivators, especially for the teenage students and boys. The songs in Book 2 are just a bit more challenging than Book 1 and require a comfortable octave hand stretch. Several include bass 1 8va ostinato patterns, walking bass, key signatures up to 2 sharps and 4 flats, triplets, syncopated accents, grace notes and glissandos.

Free Resource for Teaching Skips and More

2011-07-09T17:51:00.005-06:00

One of my favorite pieces for reinforcing the concept of skips is a simplified version of “Scripture Power” (by Clive Romney) on the Layton Music.com Primary site. This energetic song is a familiar favorite for most of the children in our church congregation to sing during Primary singing time, so they get pretty excited when they get the chance to play this version fairly early on in their piano studies.

As a piano teacher I appreciate several elements of this piece.

-The first page is full of a catchy repetitive stepping pattern that gives students extra reinforcement reading “across the staff” (Bass, G, A,B – Treble CDE) and switching hands with fluency. I usually assign students just the first page for starters.

-The chorus on the second page which I assign them the following week has a great repeating theme including plenty of line to line skips.

- The rhythm is fairly simple, yet catchy and motivating to play.

- The lyrics are personally my favorite element of the song. As a piano teacher and parent my motivation for teaching is more than training great pianists. I’m hoping the skills and qualities involved in learning piano will be the means of character building for my own children and my other students. So I love the reminder of these words…

“Because I want to be like the Savior and I can,

I’m reading his instructions, I’m following his plan.

Because I want the power his words will give to me,

I’m changing how I live I’m changing what I’ll be.

Scripture power, Keeps me safe from sin.

Scripture power is the power is the power to win.

Scripture power, everyday I need the power that I get each time I read.”

Click here to hear a recording of this song.

The 2 most influential sources of inspiration in daily living for me have been inspirational music and daily scripture study/prayer. I feel indebted to both those who compose inspirational music and heroes like William Tyndale who paved the way for me to have daily access to God’s word. As I read about Tyndale in the following excerpt from an article by Boyd K. Packer my hope is that my children will come to appreciate both the power of inspiring music and inspiring scripture in daily living and pattern their lives after the heroes in the scriptures.

“It has been 400 years since the publication of the King James Bible, with significant contributions from William Tyndale, a great hero in my eyes.

The clergy did not want the Bible published in common English. They hounded Tyndale from place to place. He said to them, “If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture than thou.”

Tyndale was betrayed and confined to a dark, freezing prison in Brussels for over a year. His clothing was in rags. He begged his captors for his coat and cap and candle, saying, “It is indeed wearisome sitting alone in the dark.” These were denied him. Eventually he was taken from prison and before a large crowd was strangled and burned at the stake. But William Tyndale’s work and martyr’s death were not in vain.

I am thankful for the privilege to live in an era of freedom and knowledge where I have daily access to God's word and music inspired by those who strive to follow him.

Piano Teaching 101- Thirteen Tips on How to Begin

2011-05-30T19:03:00.008-06:00

In response to a recent query from a friend of mine who is interested in becoming a piano teacher, I compiled this quick "to do" list of elements that have proven valuable in my own piano teaching adventures.

1. Purchase some beginning method books and become familiar with them. My favorite "teacher friendly" beginner level piano books are Piano Adventures by Nancy & Randall Faber. The wealth of online support ideas make this a great book to start with for teachers who are just starting out, and their songs are appealing to students as well. I have my students purchase the Lesson and Technique books. I teach them theory with online activities and games during lesson and lab time and supplement with other books from my music library instead of using the Performance book.
Another favorite method of mine is the Hal Leonard Series. The accompaniment CD's are especially motivating and engaging for the beginning levels and provide a fun support system for home practice to spice up the "simple sounding songs" at the start of music lessons. The presentation of concepts in both of these methods follows a similar order so I often interchange them to suit the tastes and needs of my students.

Music Discoveries by Anne Crosby Gaudet is also a great (free!) online alternative for preparing beginners for staff notation. It includes a printable piano primer book with audio instructions for each page and recordings of all of the songs and printable theory book activities included in the book. My students love watching her Barnyard Friends Videos to help them learn the notes on the staff.
(Disclosure: I don't receive any monetary compensation for promoting any of the resources on this post-- they just happen to be some of my personal favorites:)! )

2. Watch the Faber Teaching videos for ideas on how to present concepts to your students. Their website includes step by step written directions and instructional videos for teachers for the entire Primer Level book to help students get off to a great start. I learn so much by just by observing the way Nancy Faber introduces concepts to her students in an experiential way. It's like attending a master class in the comfort of my home. Many of the printable duet activities are applicable even if you choose a different method book. They also have some excellent videos about the "My First Piano Adventures" books for younger (age 5-6) students.

3. Practice teaching piano concepts to someone you know to gain some experience. My first experience teaching was with my friend's daughters who couldn't afford lessons during a tough time of unemployment. I was excited and grateful for this experience to provide a service and practice my skills as a beginning teacher in a less pressured environment. The babysitting services they provided in exchange were an added bonus!

4. Practice regularly yourself and constantly set goals for self-improvement in the areas you are weak.

5. Attend local music teacher trainings/workshops often hosted by music stores or music teacher associations. I have met some great mentors at our local music club meeting and love coming home with fresh ideas after attending workshops.

6. Become familiar with online theory/ear training tools and utilize them with your students or to improve your own skills. A few sites to start with include:
Music Learning Community, Emusic Theory Drills, Pedaplus, Theta and Tonic Tutor
(Links to these (and more) are located on the right side of my blog.)

7. Check out books on piano teaching from the library and purchase your favorites for future reference.
One that I own and refer to often is
"How To Teach Piano Lessons" by James Bastien
Another great resource that I found very useful is Practical Piano Pedagogy. Click on the link for a helpful review from the Teaching Studio describing its contents.
Martha Beth Lewis's online site has some excellent ideas for prospective teachers covering a broad range of subjects including "What to Teach at the First Lesson," "Teaching Rhythm, Technique and Notereading", "Teaching How to Practice", etc..

8. Utilize online printable piano game ideas to make your teaching studio more appealing to kids (and fun for you too!). Following are a few blog sites with fun music games for almost every concept introduced at the beginner level - and a few intermediate level ideas too.
Jen's Piano Blog ,
Susan Paradis
Sing a New Song
Music Matters Blog
Notable Music Studio
Layton Music

8. Create a Studio Policy. The Teaching Studio is a very helpful piano teaching blog with a great post on this topic including a sample studio policy
This "policy" post on Color in My Piano gives an idea list of what to include.

9. Advertise and prepare a list of items to discuss when interviewing potential students. For me distributing a few flyers and word of mouth was all it took to fill my studio, but establishing a studio website can also be an excellent way to get the word out.

10. Have fun teaching! Continue to evaluate your teaching, expand your repertoire and fine tune your skills. Try video taping yourself teaching lessons and identify areas for improvement.

These next 3 excellent ideas were submitted in the comments by my readers. I didn't want these valuable ideas to be "lost" in the comments section, so I added them to the post. Thank you!

11. Kerri (my fabulous piano teacher in college) said, "Another option is to find a teacher you admire in your area and offer to pay to observe them teaching beginning students and to act as a mentor. Some teachers might accept studio help in group classes or as a substitute in lieu of payment for this kind of help. It's especially helpful to watch a teacher work with one student week after week for a semester. "
And Sarah added, " I agree with Kerri. The most valuable part of my teacher training was working under a student-teacher program with my then-current teacher. I taught each student for 3 weeks, and then they had a lesson with my teacher the 4th week of the month. I observed the lessons and then my teacher gave me feedback and helped mentor me as I learned how to teach. "

Finding a teacher in your area who is willing to be a mentor through letting you observe and maybe even watching you teach and giving you feedback is invaluable!

12. Wendy said, "I find I'm learning SO MUCH from the community of piano teacher bloggers. Might I add participation in piano teacher forums to discuss teaching topics, it's a good way of learning what others are doing and even seeking advice from fellow teachers on challenges we have to deal with. "

Of course, one of the obvious ways to prepare to teach piano lessons is to take lessons for many years from well-trained teachers and ideally earn a pedagogy degree or complete a music teacher certification program, but following these other tips can be a starting point to launch you towards your teaching goals.

13. LaDona said "I would add - join a piano or music teacher's organization in your area if there is one. If you're not qualified yet, this is something to work on. This gives you a lot more credibility, the opportunities for more professional development, a real-body community (as opposed to just online - which is also great, by the way!), more exposure, etc. "

What other tips do you have for beginning piano teachers?

Hearing Half Steps Lab Assignment

2011-05-24T13:21:00.008-06:00

1. Watch this video listening for the entrance of the "spooky sounding" character.
2. Create your own story composition that includes a "spooky" character and use half steps on the piano when he enters the story.

Composition as a Reinforcement Tool

2011-05-18T19:29:00.008-06:00

"Can I compose a Sonatina???"
That was the question posed to me by one of my students today after I introduced her to this simplified version of Clementi's Sonatina . She has demonstrated amazing composing/improv ability and "WOW's" my other students with the compositions that she performs at group lessons.

Last week I decided to capitalize on this interest of hers - She'd much rather compose her own songs than play the ones in the lesson book. She hadn't quite mastered the a harmonic minor scale from the week before, so I asked her to compose a song including an a harmonic scale rather than giving her the same assignment again. This ended up being the perfect solution and I was pleased to hear plenty of broken primary chords in her song as well.

So in my efforts to apply the ideas I've gleaned from recently reading "Play it Again, Sam - What Why and When to Repeat" (by Marienne Uszler), I decided to let her give it a try. Uszler mentions that effective teachers can present the same concept in a myriad of different ways and thus appeal to the various senses and learning styles of each student and aid in reinforcement of concepts.

Sometimes it takes a little courage for me to think outside the box of tools that my teachers passed on to me... composition was definitely not one of them. But based on last weeks lesson assignment results, I discarded my previous lesson plan ideas. My student seemed pretty intrigued with the Sonatina which I introduced to her go along with our focus this month on the Classical Era, so I taught a mini lesson on Sonatina form and briefly reviewed identifying relative keys. I asked her to come back next week with the beginnings of her composition including the following components:

Exposition (major),
Development (relative minor)
Recapitulation (reintroduce the major theme)
Contrasting Legato & Staccato elements
at least 1 scale

After she listened to Clementi's original composition on CD, I let her loose on the Doodle Pad for lab time. After hearing her "beginning stage of composition" on the Music Ace Doodle Pad that I had her create during lab time, I'm excited for next weeks lesson!

For more ideas about encouraging Composition check out Wendy's blog at Compose Create. Her posts have given me the inspiration and motivation to utilize composition as a tool in my studio more often.

Piano Pencil Storage Solution

2011-05-17T09:26:00.004-06:00

Inspired by this cute gift can tutorial on "Our Best Bites" blog, I decided to create my own unique decorative piano pencil storage can. Now that my little one has figured out how to open my piano cabinets drawer and doors.... I've had to become a little more clever at hiding my piano tools from her inquisitive fingers (and mouth).
I bought several small pop top fruit cans to fill with mother's day treats... but someone opened up one can the wrong way before I could transform it, so I enjoyed the chocolate that was supposed to fill it and came up with this new use for it instead. I use colored pencils a lot in my teaching when I "Hand over the Pencil", so now I can store them all beautifully within my reach....
and out of hers.

Piano Mom

2011-05-07T01:00:00.001-06:00

By the time I was 10 years old I was pretty certain about what I wanted to be when I grew up....
a piano teacher and a mom. I feel fortunate to now be "living my dream" although I never realized what a challenge it would be to balance the 2 roles. Thankfully I have an amazing husband who is totally supportive of my "piano dreams" and puts his Saturday morning chores aside to watch our children so I can have fun teaching my students.

"As we age, we begin to realize the value of a mother's love and the enormous depth of her commitment to us." (Anonymous)

I think the older I get, the more this truth is confirmed to me. As I try to balance my role as a mother of 5 and a piano teaching enthusiast, I reflect on the many sacrifices my mom made for me - driving across town to take me to piano lessons, putting off her own educational interests to help encourage me in mine. She continues to be mentor and an inspiration to me.

So sometimes when I think of my long list of "potential piano blog posts" and my motherly duties that I struggle to squeeze into my schedule, I think of the cross stitched quote that my mom had hanging on our wall growing up.

"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow
For babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my babies and babies don't keep"

Only for me I replace the "cleaning and scrubbing" part with "blogging and browsing"---- because that's way more tempting for me than housework! :)

So when my posts are bit sparse, its because my "other job" has taken precedence. But my favorite thing is doing both of my "jobs" at the same time!

So this mother's day I reflect on the great blessing it is for me to have an "angel mother" and to have learned so much from her. Last Mother's day she gave me a beautiful book full of quotes and artwork about Mothers entitled "Errand of Angels - In Honor and Praise of Mothers." Following is one of my favorite quotes from it that I find applicable to both piano teaching and motherhood.

"As I come to understand the many talents and characteristics of women, I realize how needed their strengths are in this dispensation. We must remember that we are daughters of God here to provide nurturing care for one another, family and friends- loving care to soften the changes of life felt by all.

What a great opportunity we have to fill our God-given role. He has given us the privilege to shape the lives of those entrusted to our care. Even those of us who have not been blessed to have children of our own can still be influential as trainers and nurturers. It does not matter where we live, whether we are rich or poor, whether our family is large or small. Each of us can share that Christ-like love in our "motherly ministry."
Barbara Winder, former General Relief Society President

I feel so thankful to have 2 fun jobs where I can hopefully influence others lives for good just as my life has been blessed by my mother and countless other teachers.

Happy Mothers Day!

Sweet Variation on an Edible Piano Theme

2011-05-05T12:18:00.004-06:00

After seeing this fun edible sandwich piano on For Love of Piano my creative juices started to flow and I came up with this simpler, sweeter version made of snack size Kit Kat's (cut in half) and wafer cookies for treats at my Baroque group lesson today. We'll be taking a little "field trip" to explore the organ at the church
And just for fun... I made this pink version for my little "think pink" preschooler.

How about a lesson on skips on the keys?
Maybe next time I'll add in a healthier version with celery sticks for the white keys and baby carrots or red pepper strips for black keys.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T06:00:00.001-06:00

I love the peaceful music in this video and hope all of you enjoy a peaceful Easter today. I have enjoyed singing in our church choir the past few months with my husband. It brightens my day to have the words and music we sing flow through my thoughts at random times (like while doing dishes). I feel so happy to get to share new music with my piano students each week and add the the repertoire of music in their minds which will hopefully bring them joyful moments for years to come.

Piano Theory Posters

2011-04-23T17:27:00.005-06:00

To help my students review have a little fun reviewing for their theory exams, I had them create a poster to present various musical concepts during their "lab time" and then they each had the opportunity to teach about their poster at group lessons. I love the different variations they came up with just a little clipart and markers.
(Jewel Notes worksheet from Susan Paradis - just a little "fancied up")

Rhythm Blocks Giveaway

2011-04-21T13:34:00.002-06:00

I just added another fun piano teaching blog to my list - For Love of Piano. Leah is hosting a giveaway of some fun rhythm block manipulatives that would be very helpful for introducing compound meters. And while your visiting there... check out the inspiring quote on the top of her blog by William Ward - I love it!

Easter Egg Rhythm Hunt Hop

2011-04-18T15:19:00.003-06:00

I find that "off the bench activities" are an essential ingredient for success in lessons for some of my younger students. To help some of my beginning students review basic note names and rhythms, I pulled out these cute "Easter Egg Find the Note Cards" available on Susan Paradis's website and added a new twist to the game.
1. Hide the rhythm cards in visible spots throughout the studio before the lesson.
2. Turn on your metronome to a walking speed.
2. Have the student glance around and call out a type of note to collect (quarter, half, whole, etc.).
3.Teacher and student hop (or step) around the studio to the rhythm of the note they are searching for.
4. When you spot a correct notecard, "race" back to set it on the bench - "hopping" the rhythm of the note to the beat of the metronome. The first one to the bench gets a point.
5. Have student choose a new type of note and repeat.
My students quickly learned that having the job of choosing the type of note is a definite advantage for them - they always picked the ones closest to them in the studio.

Let's Play Music

2011-04-11T13:07:00.007-06:00

Doesn't that title just sound fun???
I was introduced to the "Let's Play Music" program by another teacher at one of our local music club meetings and I recently attended one of their "Connections" seminars to learn a little bit more about the program.

Theory Songs
The element that piqued my interest the most was the frequent use of songs as teaching tools for basic elements of music theory. I liked the catchy melody of "Every chord has got to have a root..." on their online video. Listening to it makes the words "The Note above the Gap's the Root, it just has rearranged" start jiving around in my brain. The program includes several other clever songs for teaching the concepts of intervals, inversions, scales and rhythm patterns.

Bubblehand Technique
I've been introducing my younger students to finger numbers with a variation of "Where is Thumbkin" for a while, but I really like this additional verse they add in "Let's Play Music" because it adds one more reminder of correct hand position - a concept that seems to need constant reinforcement with young beginners.

"Where is Bubblehand... Here I am... Fingers Flat are Trouble, Try to Use a Bubble..."

Musical Form Puppetshows
Another aspect of "Let's Play Music" that I am impressed with is that the students experience most musical concepts through movement, auditory or physical motions before learning the "labels." I think this approach especially helps young learns to internalize concepts better. The video on their site demonstrates how this is done with the use of puppets to help students learn about form while listening to classical music.

I am always eager to pick up new tidbits of piano teaching tips and was happy to walk away with several after attending this seminar.

Kit Kat Black Key Groups
The chocoholic in me was tempted with the idea to use Kit Kat's broken in groups of 2's and 3's as an introduction to black keys on the piano with this fun little rhyme-
"Find a group of 2, Down 1 is C
Find a group of 3, it's F yippee!".
Maybe I'll incorporate that idea in making my piano-loving-daughter's next birthday cake, because a stash of Kit Kat's in my piano things wouldn't last very long at our house :)

"Paint Ball" Staccatos and Slurs
When teaching staccato vs. legato I like the analogy they used of a ball dipped in paint. When you roll it smoothly across a blank page it leaves a line (slur), but when you bounce it, it leaves a dot (staccato mark). I don't think I'll be teaching this "experientially" - although I'm sure children would love it if I did!

If any of you have had experiences with "Let's Play Music" either as a teacher or teacher of former students, feel free to share a comment, or to learn more straight from the source visit the Let's Play Music Site.

Review of "Cool Songs for Cool Kids"

2011-03-14T10:02:00.007-06:00

“PLAY IT AGAIN!” That was my daughter’s first reaction after hearing me play some of the songs from" Cool Songs for Cool Kids " by Jerald Simon. This fun spiral bound book contains 21 original piano solos that are very appealing because of their use of syncopation, engaging rhythms and repeating patterns. Many of the songs sound a lot more challenging than they are to play and would make nice showy recital selections. The book includes a nice variety of upbeat styles including jazzy, bluesy, rock, “New-ageish” with a few mellow songs added in as well.

What level is this book suitable for?

Although a motivated “beginner” may be able to play some of the songs after some dedicated practice I think this book is more suitable for early intermediate/ intermediate students. The syncopated rhythms and frequent hand shifts in many of the songs may pose a challenge for the typical beginner student.

Do the songs have kid appeal?

Go listen and you be the judge! (Cool Songs for Cool Kids) As a teacher I found it especially helpful that the music motivation website includes a full recording of all of the songs in this book on his website as well an excerpt of the sheet music from the first lines of each song. When I first listened to the song samples I knew this would be an especially great book for the boys and teens in my studio but the girls like it too.

What about pedagogical elements?

Theory

The beginning of the book includes a 5 page overview of theoretical concepts contained in the book including a basic introduction/ review of rhythm, pentascales, melodic and harmonic intervals, triads, swing 8ths, blues pentascale. I think the explanations are oriented more towards a teen or adult student as a child might find them a bit wordy and need extra clarification from their teacher.

Transposition

I like using the first song “Five, Four, Three, Two,One… BLAST OFF!” as a transposition exercise. It’s definitely more exciting to play than Hanon or scales and is a great aid to helping students get the “feel” all of the different 5 finger patterns in a fun way.

Feeling the Beat

Even my preschooler loves the way the songs sound in this book. When she heard me previewing the book, she was begging me to play some of them again so she could dance to the steady beat. I decided to have her join me on the bench for some steady beat “duets.” “Beat-cha to it” and “Deep Sea Diving” with repeating C’s in the bass throughout were the perfect avenue for her to practice playing a steady beat while I played the melody.

Improvisation

“Lefty” which is written entirely for the left hand, provides a nice springboard for a lesson on jazz improvisation where the student can add their own right hand part.

Rhythm Skills

Often I find that after my students have been introduced to a new rhythm concept they could benefit from more practice than just passing off the lesson/technique book songs. The songs in Cool Songs for Cool Kids are full of interesting and challenging rhythm patterns including dotted notes, eighth rests, accents to help students better refine their rhythm skills.

Free Scales and Drills pdfs
The free downloadable pdf files available on the music motivation site are an extra bonus. They include "Knee Slappers" (Rhythm Drills), Pentascales, Barrel House Blues Patterns, Chord Progressions, etc.

I definitely feel lucky to have been chosen as a winner of the giveaway for this book a few months ago. It's been a great addition in my studio!
Next on my wish list from the music motivation site is "Variations on Mary Had a Little Lamb." It sounds like an entertaining way to teach about music styles!

Jewelry Giveaway with the Music Lover in Mind

2011-02-25T10:23:00.002-07:00

My sister Kara is doing a great giveaway on her blog for some beautiful jewlery at Charmingly Chic Boutique. The music themed art on some of these pieces is just beautiful! Even if your not a big jewelry fan, some of these pieces would make great incentives for the girls in your studio.

New Tool for Teaching Wrist Movements

2011-02-22T21:10:00.004-07:00

Today my daughter was struggling to catch on to the concept of wrist rotation in her "Airplane Pilot" song which involves a lot of rotating back and forth from C to G w/ fingers 1 &5. But when we added some "wings" to her airplane with this simple tongue depressor the improvement was dramatic . The "wings" made her subtle movements much more obvious so she could easily visualize the rotation. I'm happy to be adding one more whimsy tool to my bag of piano tricks!
Next up might be a mini "wrist skirt" for her to wear while she dances her fingers on the keys...............anything "princess" is sure to win her heart!

Meaningful Musical Memories

2011-01-24T10:21:00.006-07:00

Music is such a powerful medium. It evokes emotion, aids in recall and often brings to mind significant memories from the past. I often feel inspired by the often musical "Sabbath Day Inspirations" that my sister Kara shares on her craft/cooking blog so I thought I'd share a few of my own from time to time.
This weekend I was asked to fill in for our children's chorister at church and help teach a beautiful new song by Sally Deford. Our church is a bit atypical because the services last 3 hours, which can be a bit of a challenge for the children. As I listened to the song on repeat throughout the week I enjoyed hearing my little girl sing along and pondered how I could teach the song in an intriguing way and make the words from the following verse meaningful for the children.

"I feel the Holy Spirit as he teaches truth and right
He comforts me in times of need, he testifies of Christ
He speaks to me in quiet ways that fill my soul with peace
And when I listen with my heart, I hear the Savior's voice."

The lyrics brought to my mind an experience I had several years ago when I was pregnant with our 3rd child. I went in for the routine ultrasound mid-pregnancy and was informed by the ultrasound tech that our son had several cysts on his brain which are sometimes link to a serious chromosomal disorder. The tech was unable to get a clear picture of his heart so we scheduled another ultrasound the following week at the hospital where they had more high-tech equipment.
Throughout the week I thought about the many implications of the situation and felt a bit unsettled. Would our son even make it full-term? Would he ever walk or talk? How would this alter the lives of our little family? I reflected on the families I had known who had children or siblings with special needs and realized that despite the challenges we could be facing... it could also be an amazing blessing to have this special child enter our home and help all of us learn to be a bit more sensitive, kind and patient as I had witnessed in these other families. I said many prayers and felt much comfort and peace knowing that no matter what the results of the ultrasound were, the Lord would help us through it all.
Much to our relief, when we went in for the follow-up ultrasound it ended up that the cysts were completely gone and his heart was developing normally. He's now my healthy, energetic, happy, (sometimes stubborn) 6 year old who...

emphatically declared to me this week that he is done practicing the piano for good !
I guess my challenges aren't over yet :)

I am thankful for the chance that learning this song gave me to remember one of the many "tender mercies of the Lord" in my life.

Time Signature Song

2011-01-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

Do your students ever have trouble remembering the meaning of the numbers in the time signature for state theory tests? I came up with this little song to help my students be better prepared this year.

The Time Signature Song
(sung to the tune of London Bridges)

The Time Signature has
2 Numbers, 2 Numbers, 2 Numbers
The Time Signature has 2 Numbers
Now let's learn what they mean.

The top # tells us
How many beats, how many beats, how many beats
The top # tells us how many beats
Are in a measure.

The bottom # tells us
What kind of note, what kind of note, what kind of note
The bottom # tells us what kind of note
Gets one beat.

This bit of inspiration was sparked by the catchy quarter note song on this video from the Faber Piano Adventures Teacher's guide . I've been hearing my son sing "It's got a head and a stem and its all colored in... " around the house all week after I introduced it to him at his lesson.

Anne Crosby Gaudet has some other fun songs for teaching about the bass and treble clef on her Piano Discoveries site .

Do you know any other songs you use to help teach theory concepts?

Another Clever Music Game

2011-01-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a tip from Jeana's blog I picked up this Jenga style game for $5 at the local Family Dollar over the holidays and transformed it into Music Jenga. My students (and family) have enjoyed playing this game to start out their lessons this week.
I chose different colors to represent the different levels of terms/rhythms, but since it was hard to tell the blue and purple apart I turned all of the purple dots on the ends into notes. I put terms or symbols on 2 of the sides and plan to write 2 measure rhythms on the other 2 sides to create a more versatile game that I can adapt depending on what the student needs to work on.
I tweek the rules a bit depending on the student. For students who have been taking lessons for a few years I require them to pick another block if they can't define the terms.

Organizing Piano Books in the Studio Library

2011-01-19T10:00:00.005-07:00

Organizing piano music can be a challenge since the majority of the book spines are so small that the title/color of the book isn't obvious when they are stacked on a bookshelf. I use these handy circle dots to color code all of my music by levels that correspond with the colors of the Hal Leonard method books I began teaching with (Level 1 Blue, Level 2 Purple, etc.). The colored dots "move up" the spine of the book as the level of difficulty of the music increases. For books with various levels of pieces I add multiple stickers. This has come in handy not only when I'm trying to locate a specific book, but also when I need a quick sightreading piece that is a level below a student's current playing abilities.
I also add a sticky name/address label on the back of all the music in my studio library to distinguish it from my students books and help them remember to return it to me.

"Unforgettable" Sharp Key Signatures/Scale Aid

2011-01-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of those "unforgettable" moments for me as a piano student was when my first teacher taught me this little trick for remembering the sharp key signatures. I can still visualize her writing out the goofy letters on my notepad as she sat in the chair beside me and it has stuck with me ever since.
The number of pencil strokes used to draw each of the letters (w/ a few clever adaptations like a rounded 1 stroke G and a pointy B) correlates with the number of sharps in each of the major key signatures).
This method would be especially effective with a kinesthetic learner if you have them write the letters along with you. I am primarily a visual learner... so just watching her draw this mnemonic device has stuck with me for life.

"Old MacDonald Had the Blues" Giveaway on Music Matters Blog

2011-01-11T09:39:00.004-07:00

Don't miss out on the chance to win this fun collection of songs by Rebekah Maxner. Natalie at Music Matters blog is hosting a giveaway this week for the "Old MacDonald had the blues." My kids had fun dancing to and guessing the songs for the fun jazzed up renditions of these familiar tunes. The teaching aids and games on the "NoteKidds" website look like great additions for any studio. I

Blessings from Blogging

2011-01-07T10:25:00.008-07:00

Being a part of the "blogging community" has been such an inspirational experience for me. I love gaining insight and tips from my fellow bloggers right in the comfort of my own home. A few months ago one of my favorite bloggers - Sheryl Welles at the Notable Music Studio awarded me (and several of my other favorite bloggers) with this award.

To accept this award, I must...
1-Link back to the person who gave me the award
2-Share 7 random things about my self
3-Pass the award along to other blogs I love
4-And make sure I tell the "awardees" about the award

So here goes...
7 Random Things About Me
1. I recieved my B.S. in Family Science at BYU but have since discovered that raising a family isn't much of a science... its more like an art. Raising children ... like piano teaching... can be so unpredictable and requires a lot of creativity, patience and adaptability. I am happy to be a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) to my 5 sweet children and to be married to my best friend and supportive husband, Jared. Taking care of my 5 little ones and trying to squeeze in piano lessons for them as well as my other students keeps me hopping... perhaps that is why it has taken me this long to find the time to accept this award.

2. I love saving money and living providently. I love to live by the saying "Use it up, wear it out, make it to or do without. The other day I realized that my "pajama shirt" was from a piano festival I helped out with in college about 15 years ago... still no holes in it after hundreds of washings. It's next stop is my rag bucket. (I'll spare you any pics on this one)
3. I am currently a teacher for the Relief Society -one of the largest women's organization in the world. Fortunately for me, I only teach the small group of ladies in our congregation.
4. I love to play games - board games, card games, party games, piano games. My favorite date night involves inviting over a bunch of couples to our home to play group games like Do You Love Your Neighbor, The Animal Game, Fruit Basket, Bing Bong Bounce, Dippity Dippity Dop, In the Manner of the Adverb etc.

5. I'd rather spend my time at the library then at the mall. I go there almost every week and check out my limit of 15 for the family. I especially love to read historical fiction, biographies and books on spiritual topics.

Looks like my daughter inherited the reading bug too!

6. I braved the frigid weather of Minnesota for a year and a half to serve as a missionary for my church - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka Mormon). Although I still live in a cold climate... I'm happy not to be walking around outside in it everyday.

7. I'm married to my best friend... who happens to be a "marriage therapist." Going on dates with my husband Jared is the highlight of my week. He is so supportive, introspective, compassionate, devoted and hard-working. I truly feel like I have a "marriage made in heaven." I've really enjoyed having him as my newest "piano student" since he set a New Year's Resolution to start up piano again after quitting years ago as a child. So far... he's my best practicer this year!

Many of my favorite bloggers were already awarded by Sheryl or Natalie... but here are a few more to add to the list:
Music Blogs:
Dianna at Denley Music
Sing A New Song

Cooking/Craft: (For a beautifully decorated studio and delicious dinners after lessons- Check out her recipe index. It is my favorite part of her blog!)
Kara at creations by Kara (one of my amazingly talented sisters)

Ear Training Pro Giveaway at Notable Music Studio

2010-12-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

Ear training seems to be one of the elements of piano study that is often overlooked or neglected during traditional lessons. Unfortunately it wasn't until my high school AP Music classes that I was really required to sharpen my "ear skills" but I wish I had been given an earlier start on this important skill. Don't miss out on the chance to win a great tool to help incorporate this aspect into your studio. Sheryl Welles at Notable Music Studio is offering a giveaway to 2 lucky winners of Ear Training Pro. It looks like a great program to incorporate during piano lab time to sharpen your student's listening skills.

Musical Inspirations at Christmas

2010-12-12T18:56:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite parts of Christmas time is listening to the inspiring music that reminds me of the true reason for the season - the Savior. I love the power that music adds to each of these messages. Several of my friends and family shared them on their blogs and it was like getting a little "Christmas Present" from them so I thought I'd pass that "present" along.

Encouraging Improv.. with Jingle Bells Variations

2010-12-08T11:58:00.004-07:00

Jerald Simon at Music Motivation.com is having a great cd/piano book giveaway every day until December 18th. I enjoyed checking out all of the recordings of his "giveaways" and was especially excited about the "Cool Songs for Cool Kids" (which I'll be posting a review of soon) and "Variations on Mary Had a Little Lamb."
After being inspired by Wendy Stevens post about Creativity at Christmas Time with a great video of her students in action, I decided to encourage my students to compose their own Jingle Bells variations this Christmas.
To help my students learn a little more about music styles and launch them off to a good start on their variations, I had them listen to these fun variations on the Music Motivation site while completing a little listening worksheet describing the elements of each style (dynamics, articulation, tempo, mode (major/minor), range (high or low), rhythm, texture/chord style (thick/thin, broken/blocked). I love the variety of styles Jerald Simon included in this book of variations.

Preparing a Child for Piano

2010-11-10T09:49:00.005-07:00

I could probably write a hundred pages on this topic:)...... but at my sister's recent request I'll just start with a few pointers. The task of playing the piano involves so many different elements it may seem a daunting task to know where to begin when teaching a young child. Yet there are so many things that a parent can do to prepare their child for success at the piano before beginning to pay for formal lessons.
I enjoyed Natalie Wickham's recent interview about fun music activities for children on Music Matters Blog on this subject. She includes some great ideas for instilling rhythm, music appreciation and understanding basic piano topography.
During the first few sessions of piano preschool I did several activities that could easily be done at home to help parents introduce their little ones to the piano. Following are just a few... but if you go to the oldest posts on my blog and read "backwards" you can find more ideas in the general order that I introduce them.

Feel the beat: Steady Beat Elephants or Head Shoulder's Knees & Toes (you can listen to and print this song here if you aren't familiar with it).
Right & Left Hands & High and Low on Piano: "Piano Pokey"
Finger #s : "Where is One"
Find and play the groups of 2 & 3 black keys on the piano.

If you have some basic piano training yourself including knowledge of proper piano technique, it might be fun to "jumpstart" your child's learning by actually purchasing a beginning method book and teaching your child their first piano lessons.
My FAVORITE piano book for young beginners is "My First Piano Adventures" by Nancy & Randall Faber. It costs about $10 and has a fun CD to go with it. It introduces the concepts very slowly for young beginners. I think I would pay $10 just for the CD because I like it so much :) There are also some really cute "pre-reading" songs you can print off from Susan Paradis's site that my children have enjoyed to help them to learn finger #s, left & right hand.
Try... What the Robin Said to the Worm, It's October & Wiggly Worm -
For the first week I also encourage them to "play around" on the black keys with fingers 2&3 or 23&4 and make up their songs for fun.

Free Resource for Christmas piano/choral music

2010-11-03T18:47:00.003-06:00

As I've been going through Christmas music for my students I remembered this excellent site with free printable songs arranged by Sally Deford.
She has a large amount of beautiful arrangements of traditional Christmas (and other sacred) songs as well as a few of her own compositions -including both church choral music and many piano solos. Just click on the "sheet music" tab on her site.
Following are a few of my favorites:
Guard Him Joseph - I think part of why I love this original Christmas composition of hers so much is that it is based on the harmonic progressions in Pachebel's Canon in D . I loved playing Canon in D in the middle school orchestra! This Christmas composition is so soothing that I like playing & singing it throughout the year. I also like how the lyrics focus on the role of the Savior's earthly father in his life.

Silent Night/Still Still Still - This piano solo combines 2 of my favorite soothing Christmas songs into one & I love how it makes me feel contemplative.

How Can I Keep From Singing I appreciate how Sally Deford has kept the accompaniment on this arrangement simple so it doesn't detract from the beautiful message in the words. I absolutely LOVE the moving lyrics to this song (attributed to Pauline T.)

"No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that Refuge clinging
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?"

Don't miss out on the recording of this song by James Loynes on her site. Just hearing it makes me think of Thanksgiving and how much I have to be grateful for in my life.
I'd love to highlight more of my favorites like:
My Heavenly Father Loves Me
I Stand All Amazed
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I Need Thee Every Hour............... and so much more...............
but Iguess this will have to do because my sweet little one is letting me know she's ready for her dinner :0) !

Learning Skips with "Skip Frog"

2010-10-22T08:39:00.004-06:00

While teaching my daughter this fun song from Susan Paradis's site I came up with a creative way of reviewing the concept of skips on the keys. We played "skip-frog" (a spin-off of leap frog) with our fingers on the keys. I had her place her finger on any key on the piano. Then I put my finger a step up or down from hers and she practiced "skipping" her frog (finger) over my frog (finger). Maybe I will add a little felt frog finger puppet to my bag of piano things for her to slip over her finger the next time we encounter skips.
Then she identified the skips in her song and colored a little "skip-frog" above them.
Isn't piano fun!

Clever Piano Music Storage Idea

2010-10-13T09:29:00.005-06:00

I stumbled upon this totally creative idea for piano music storage while perusing my sister's craft and cooking blog.
April at Home Hinges transformed an old TV into a functional and beautiful piano music storage shelf.
I love how it is both functional and beautiful- and best of all... it was free!
Click on her blog link above to see the step by step transformation. Isn't it amazing to see how some people have a knack at visualizing the potential in things that others may view as junk.

Don't Miss out on this Suzuki CD Giveaway

2010-10-12T09:33:00.002-06:00

Natalie at Music Matters Blog is hosting another great giveaway this week. By commenting on this link on her blog you can be entered into the drawing to receive a series of Suzuki violin CDs.
I enjoyed playing many of these tasteful pieces on my violin as a youth even though I didn't learn the "Suzuki way." They would make a great addition to any listening library!

Piano Lessons from a Pilot

2010-10-06T09:27:00.003-06:00

As I listened to this inspirational message this weekend by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a former pilot and current apostle in the church I belong to, I found some interesting analogies that related perfectly to piano practice.
Elder Uchtdorf explained that when inexperienced airplane pilots encounter turbulence, they often think that the best solution would be to increase their speed to quickly get past the storm. Sometimes I think my students are thinking the same thing when they run into a trouble spot in their pieces- despite my best efforts to explain the benefits of slow practice :)
Instead, experienced pilots understand that in order to make it through the turbulence with little problems, the pilot will, "Slow down a little, steady the course and focus on the essentials when facing adverse conditions."
I plan to explain this analogy to all of my students to help remind them of the benefits of SLOW Practice!
A few more quotes from his talk that I found very applicable to my life at this time...
"When stress levels rise... [we often think] the more rushed our pace, the better off we'll be."
"Focus on the things that matter most."
"We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best."
"You only become great by mastering the fundamentals."
"Diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world."
Sometimes I need little reminders like this to help me remember to take time to rejuvenate, ponder and relax so I can be the happy and encouraging piano teacher, mother and wife I want to be.
To hear this message in full, click on the link above.

Slalom Note Spelling Bee

2010-09-29T13:47:00.005-06:00

This week for our group lesson I tried a new game that was a big hit for my students. Inspired by Sheryl's fabulous idea of Slalom Terminology, I had the students race "slalom" style across my unfinished basement to retrieve note flashcards to spell words using the music alphabet (BEAD, BADGE, EGG, etc.). I divided the students into 2 teams, called out the word and watched team members take turns to race across the obstacles to retrieve the correct notes to spell the word. The first team to collect all the letters to spell the word won that round. It was fun to hear them cheering each other on and scanning the notes frantically to find the correct one.

I printed off a set of Note Flashcards for each team. I was planning to play the game outside w/ a setup like we had at my sons' birthday, so I attached them all to a whiteboard with magnets in case of wind.

But the high pollen count was just too much for my poor allergies :( ... so we settled for the almost finished basement as our playing field.

Teaching Pedaling Creatively

2010-09-24T11:07:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago one of my students was having a really tough time getting the feel of syncopated pedaling. She was so frustrated I had her "shelf" the pedaling for a week. To reintroduce the concept we did an off the bench "experiment" that she'll probably never forget.
1- We both laid on the floor flat on our backs .
2- Then I had her count a measure of 8th notes aloud (1&2&3&4&).
3- Next we added the "arm stretches" on beat one (Stretch &2&3&4&) and we stretched our arms towards our toes on beat one for a few measures. (The song she was trying to learn had pedal and chord changes on the first beat of each measure)
4-To finish it off, we added the "toe reaches" (Stretch - Up-Down &3&4&) by flexing and pointing our toes after the arm stretches.
I was hopeful that by allowing her to see and feel her foot movements isolated away from the keyboard she would be able to grasp the timing of pedaling.
When she came back after a week of practice I was amazed by the results. The pedaling problem was fixed, and she was so excited that she had memorized the song and asked if she could perform it at our upcoming group lesson. I love it when my crazy late night strokes of ideas yield results!

Sonatina and Little Sonatas CD Giveaway

2010-09-21T12:42:00.004-06:00

I love order - although you wouldn't be able to see that if you checked out the current condition of my piano cabinet :) As a young pianist my teacher encouraged me to participate in the local sonatina festival for several years. The Clementi & Kuhlau Sonatinas became some of my favorite pieces - perhaps because of their predictable form, harmonies and singable melodies. Unfortunately I don't find the time to play them as much as I would like to.
Natalie at Music Matters Blog is offering a chance to win a cd including a sampling of Sonatinas and Little Sonatas compiled by Allen Reiser. I would love to have this music playing in the background while I'm doing the dishes and laundry and getting my house in order - wouldn't you? Just click on the link above to leave a comment on her blog and enter this cool giveaway!

Feeling Rhythm

2010-09-11T15:21:00.004-06:00

I attended my local music club's mtg. today and I was inspired by this experience one of the teacher's shared.
She had a transfer student come to his first lesson and proclaim " I can't count." She could have said "We'll have to work on that" but instead she asked him "Who says you can't count rhythm? - You have it in you, feel your heart." Then she had him place his hand on his heart and count as his heart was beating. He left the lesson with new found confidence in his ability to feel rhythm & count.
I know this isn't earth shattering news, I just appreciated the role of a positive teacher in encouraging her student to discover his potential in a simple yet effective way.

Music Ace Maestro Giveaway & Review

2010-08-05T17:58:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite bloggers, Natalie at Music Matters Blog is doing a giveaway for the Music Ace Maestro software. The Music Ace Deluxe Program which I currently use in my studio has been such a great resource during studio lab time. I would love the Maestro version which includes additional lessons and allows you to track the progress of even more students then the I/II or Deluxe versions.
Tracking
One thing I have found very useful about the Music Ace software is that it doesn't just test students on their preexisting knowledge of musical skills, it includes lessons that introduce new concepts w/ games to reinforce their knowledge along the way. I also like how each unit is subdivided into smaller segments so that if a student doesn't complete the entire unit in one sitting, they can easily start where they left off on their next lesson. My 5 year old son is especially motivated by the thousands of points he sees displayed while playing the games and has found it very rewarding to try and beat his previous scores:)
Content
The lessons on Music Ace cover a broad spectrum of concepts including rhythm, notereading, ear training, melody/harmony, tempo, time signatures, scales and more. Sometimes I "prep" the students by having them complete the music ace lesson about a concept coming up in their lesson book. Other times I have "review" concepts by assigning them a lesson that corresponds with something I've recently taught them during their time with me.
The "Doodle Pad" feature provides a fun way for students to try their hand at composition. I generally allow them to 'play around' on the doodle pad once they've completed their assignments because they love it so much.
Age Level
Most of my students ages 8 and up have been able to complete most of the Music Ace lessons with very little assistance from me. Yet the content is not too "child-like" to make it unsuitable for teens and adults. My 3 & 5 year old have even enjoyed some of the beginning lessons on pitch, notation and feeling the beat with a little bit of coaching :)
Exposure to Music
I love how the lessons incorporate a variety of styles of familiar music as part of the instruction. Each lesson begins with a brief musical excerpt - folk songs, boogie-woogie, Chopin, Mozart, etc. and often include samples throughout that help students become familiar with the melodies of many great works. In fact today, while my daughter was perusing this site about Mozart's life she asked me to come and listen to this cool song she found (Rondo Alla Turca). She said, "It sounds familiar... oh yeah, I heard it on Music Ace!"

Using Songs To Teach

2010-07-31T18:21:00.004-06:00

I love the power of songs to aid in memorization. Lately around our house I've been singing a little song I made up to the cub scout law to help one of my sons who was having trouble learning it. I was thankful when earlier this year my daughter's school teacher sent home a book of songs to go with her multiplication facts. It so much easier to remember things when you put them in a song.
So I was delighted when I discovered a few new "piano" songs this week.
Thanks to Wendy at Compose Create for her post on some fantastic new games, my preschoolers are excited about piano practice this week because of the fun Piano Discoveries videos on You Tube that we watched together. I love how it teaches students how to identify & draw the clefs and landmark notes through song. For some reinforcement of the Landmark Notes, we used my magnetic dry erase board and magnet notes with this clever "Barnyard Board" staff from the Piano Discoveries site. Don't you love the cute drawing of the Middle C Cat that my son came up with spontaneously?
My students also enjoyed this catchy FACE song to help them learn the treble space notes. After watching this video my son was excited to beat his score on the Treble Clef Notes on Music Ace.

Another one of my favorite "teaching" songs is the GBDFA song from Susan Paradis's site.
Do you have any favorite songs for teaching piano concepts?

Teaching More Than Piano

2010-07-07T10:46:00.003-06:00

"A good teacher realizes that his most important purpose in teaching is-
First, to inspire the student to love study; awaken within him a desire to rise above himself.
Second, to teach the student how to study; train him to think. Or, in other words, inspire the student to love truth, and then teach him how to find it."

"The objective of education is to develop resources in the student that will contribute to his well-being as long as life endures; to develop power of self-mastery that he may never be a slave to indulgence or other weaknesses;"

I find these quotes from Secrets of a Happy Life by David O. McKay (p. 46-47) so applicable to the study of music. There are so many benefits of music study beyond the satisfaction of playing the piano well. Through the process of learning to play the piano, a student also learns to work persistently at difficult tasks, overcome challenges with patience, appreciate beauty and develop self-mastery. In the end I hope that through teaching piano I can teach help my students develop some of the character traits essential to living a happy life as well.

Future Piano Hands

2010-07-06T11:11:00.004-06:00

My hands have been a bit busy for piano practice, teaching and blogging lately since the newest addition to our family arrived. I love to watch her discovering her hands and hope that someday she'll discover the joy of playing the piano with them.

Monkey Says...On the Staff

2010-06-18T20:33:00.006-06:00

After reading Natalie's excellent summary of the Faber's presentation on Fostering a Love of Music, I decided to play some spontaneous staff games with my daughter who is beginning to learn note names on the staff.
First she chose some colored lines of curling ribbon to help build our staff and treble clef on the carpet.

Then we"skipped" our monkey and cow up and down the spaces on the staff.
Next we added magnet letters to the staff gradually to label the spaces the monkey and cow were playing on. This evolved into a game of "Monkey Says" (like Simon Says). I let my daughter take the lead and tell me which space to skip or leap to. I was surprised at how much fun she was having calling out commands for me to follow like "Monkey says - skip to the A-space....Monkey says leap to the E space." Once she was pretty familiar with the space names, I had her choose one letter to remove at a time until she could remember all the space names easily.
When she spotted my jingle bells and kazoo in the piano preschool bench she decided it was time for the animals to have a party. We ended up playing "house" with the magnet letters that live on the treble staff. The mommy and daddy letters (uppercase) lined up in their "space" houses joined by their baby letters (lowercase) and then their animal friends came to join the party. My daughter enjoys counting things so I had her add up the toys in each space and she figured out that the "A-space" had the biggest party:)

I'm convinced that engaging in this activity "in the spirit of play" will be much more memorable for her than if I had just identified the space names for her.

Studio Organization with Stickers

2010-06-04T12:53:00.004-06:00

I have grand ambitions of getting my piano studio totally organized over the summer. To start I purchased a few inexpensive tools to organize my piano studio - colored sticker circles and address labels.
Whenever I purchase music to add to my library, I stick one of my address labels on the back bottom corner.
I also use a color coding system based on the colors of the method books I use most often (Level 1 Blue, 2-Purple, 3-Yellow, 4-Green etc.). I fold a colored circle sticker over the spine of the books with the stickers placed lower on the spine for lower levels and higher on the spine for more advanced levels. This had made it so much easier for me to locate supplementary materials during lessons to check out to my students.
The next project I'd love to tackle is organizing my piles of flashcards and games. I plan to sew some clear vinyl pocketsto hang on the inside of my piano cabinet -that way I can easily access and see what is stored in each pouch but keep things out of sight when lessons are done. What are some methods you use to keep things organized in your studio?

Monster Candy Jar Practice Incentive

2010-05-25T10:20:00.003-06:00

I have my good friend Angela to thank for this great idea to help motivate students in a fun way.
I usually do a "monster candy jar" incentive around Halloween - but it could work easily during any time of the year. I fill up a couple of jars with candy. During the month (or 2) students get a chance to guess how many candies are in the jar at their lesson each time they complete an item on their task list (see the ice cream party checklist). For some years I've done the contest based on how much they practiced that week (4 days=1 guess, 5 days=2 guesses, 6 days = 3 guesses), so the more they practice the more likely they are to win because they get more guesses. At the group lesson, students dress up in costumes, play songs for each other and then I announce the winners of the candy jars. The hardest part for me is resisting the temptation to "snitch" candy from the jar when its hanging around my house for a few months. I just make sure not to fill it with Snickers!

Music Therapy

2010-05-24T08:25:00.003-06:00

The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.
-- Johann Sebastian Bach

Last night I felt so thankful for the "refreshment of the soul" I felt as I played the piano to wind down after a stressful day. For me, playing the piano is the best kind of therapy to help me feel peace, optimism and gratitude after a hard days work of meeting the constant needs of my 4 (soon to be 5) children. I find the "best medicine" for a hard day is to play joyful, energetic songs to lift my spirits... like an Ecossaise from Schubert's or Clementi Sonatina and then ease into some calming hymns like "How Firm a Foundation" and "How Great Thou Art."
As I played last night I felt a renewed sense of appreciation for my mom who taxied me to & from lessons, sewed my orchestra "concert dress" and provided calming hymns for me to listen to every night as I fell asleep. My dad filled our home growing up with the sounds of a variety of classical music from his record collection and helped me gain an appreciation for music from Baroque to Jazz. Although neither of them played an instrument, I am forever grateful for the opportunities they gave me to discover the power of music. I hope to pass on to my children and my students the "medicine of music" for it truly is healing to the soul.

Lego Rhythms Worked Fabulously

2010-05-20T17:18:00.003-06:00

Check out this great idea for using legos on Jen's Piano Studio Blog . I tried it today while introducing dotted quarter notes to one of my boy students who loves legos. He built the right hand rhythms for each of the measures in the "London Bridges" song in his lesson book. After counting and "running his fingers over the bumps" as Jen suggested he said, "This is fun! Can I do the left hand too?" I think I might incorporate this idea into a game at my next group lesson by having teams race to build the measures of a song. It could even make a fun rhythm dictation activity.

Piano Preschool Snackmats

2010-05-18T13:23:00.006-06:00

For piano preschool this year, my students favorite activities centered around working on their "snackmats." I used a variety of snacks including goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, cheerios, marshmallows, fruit loops, etc. to reinforce the concepts I introduced that day. My snackmats were simply white cardstock inside a sheet protector with a staff printed on one side and a piano keyboard on the other side. Next time I might jazz them up a bit more by mounting them on colored paper, letting the students decorate the border and covering them with clear contact paper. Following are a few ideas for using them:
On the Keyboard side-
Call out note names for students to place snacks on. If they place it correctly, they can eat it.

Cover the groups of 2 black keys (or 3 black keys)

"Hey Diddle Diddle the D's in the Middle"

Cover all the white keys stepping up the keyboard

Cover all the white keys skipping up the keyboard

Cover all of the keys that are in the C 5 finger scale

Cover all of the G's with a green fruit snack

Make fruit loop necklace "trains" by stringing fruit loops onto yarn. Then have students make tunnels with their hands on the keyboard while you drag their trains under their tunnels.

Set a snack on each white key. Practice picking up the snacks with different finger numbers. For example "Pick up a 'C' with fingers 1 and 3."

On the Grand Staff Side
Call out locations on the grand staff for students to place snacks on. If they place it correctly, they can eat it. You could make the "game" more competitive or challenging for older students by playing Simon Says. Here are a few ideas.

Cover all the of line notes (or space notes) with snacks.

Put a snack on middle C.
Put a snack on the Treble Clef (or bass clef)
Make a quarter note (w/ a chocolate chip and pretzel stick) and put it on the Bass Staff.
Make a half note (w/ a marshmallow and pretzel stick) and put it on the Treble Staff.
Cover the 2 dots on the bass clef (f clef), then put a "note" on the f line.
Make a Bar Line with Pretzels to divide your staff into 2 measures
Cover up the brace with snacks.
"Copy" one measure in your music by placing snack notes on the staff to match the rhythm and note names in your song.

Build Rhythm Patterns or measures on the staff w/ chocolate chips marshmallows and pretzels and practice clapping and then eating them.
Play "Snacks Between the Bar Lines" or "M&M's Stepping on the Staff".

Food for Major Triads

2010-05-18T12:50:00.004-06:00

When introducing the major triads I like to use some food analogies to help my students remember what they look like on the keys.
For example:
"The Vanillas" are C, G & F - all white keys, like a triple decker vanilla cone
"The Hamburgers" are D, A & E - white on the outside and black in the middle, like a hamburger
"The Oreos" are E-flat, A-flat & D-flat - black on the outside and white in the middle, like an oreo
"The Oddballs" B, B-flat & F# are just odd, they don't fit in with any of the other triads
For a group lesson I had my students cut & paste small pictures of ice cream cones, hamburgers, oreos and draw their own oddballs on a Circle of 5ths chart. They especially enjoyed designing their own oddballs:). I find this activity especially helpful for students who are visual learners. A few times I've even rewarded the students at the end of their lesson with an oreo when they can play all of their "oreo triads."

Tips on Practicing with a CD

2010-05-14T19:19:00.004-06:00

Today I indulged myself and found a babysitter for the little ones so I could attend a 3 hour workshop by Dennis Alexander who was visiting as the adjudicator for the Musician's West Competition.
I love how so many of the new method books coming out include CDs - including Alfred's Premier Piano Course, which Mr. Alexander highlighted for us. I agree with his point that hearing a piece first helps students play more expressively. He emphasized the importance of demonstrating how to practice with the CD rather than just sending the students home with the instruction to listen to it because it will help them learn the song more easily. For example students could:

Listen to the cd as they point to the score and follow along in their music
Listen and clap the rhythm of the right hand (or left hand)
Listen and sightread the right hand part(or left hand) silently on the keys
COUNT ALOUD as they listen to the music

I've found the CD's that come along with the Hal Leonard method books and Faber My First Piano Adventures very useful in my studio during lab time. The Faber Gold Star Performance Books also have some excellent CD's. Following are a few "CD activities" for students to do .

Allow student to listen to 2 pieces and choose which one they would like to learn the most. Students are more likely to practice a song that they've "chosen."
Tap the rhythm of a piece on various instruments as they listen to the CD. I like to have 2 different instruments - one for the L.H. and one for the R.H. (Maraccas, castanets, tambourine, drum, etc.)
Fill out a music listening worksheet as they listen to the CD and describe the tempo, dynamics, style, etc. of a new piece.
Have the student listen and draw a picture of what the song makes them think of.

I like how both the Alfred Premier Piano Course CD's and the Hal Leonard CD's include both a practice and performance tempo for each song. I especially like how the "performance" versions on the Hal Leonard CD's are more like an orchestral or piano duet part. This provides students with a "duet" experience at home on a consistent basis. For beginners, piano practice becomes much more motivating and enjoyable when they can "invite the orchestra" (or other instruments) into their home to play along with their otherwise simple sounding songs.
I also like to supplement with other books that don't include CD's and do plenty of notereading lab activities so that students don't just learn to play all of their songs by ear.

Piano Cranium

2010-05-08T11:24:00.005-06:00

A few years ago I made up my own version of piano cranium for my students to play at a group lesson using my Cranium Cadoo board. It has been a fun game to pull out for group lessons periodically. To keep everyone involved I made most of the cards "all-plays" so that both teams race to guess the answer. I included the following categories for the cards:
Music Meanie-Think of a word that means... (play short and separated, the speed of the music, gradually play louder, etc.).
SuperReader(AP)-Sightread a short familiar melody card while other players guess the tune you played.
Note Fast Find- choose a flashcard (note names, intervals or chords), correctly identify it, race to the piano and play it and return to your seat within 15 seconds
Music Cloodle(AP)-draw music symbols (staccato, grand staff, whole note)
Rhythm Race- Choose a rhythm flashcard to clap and count out loud correctly
Music Sculptorades (AP)-sculpt music symbols using play dough (treble clef, fermata, eighth note, etc.).
Instrument Cameo (AP)- Act out a specific instrument (triangle, trumpet, cymbals, etc.)
Datahead - Answer multiple choice trivia questions related to music history and instruments (How many keys does a piano have?, What is the correct order of the periods of classical music? A minuet is..., etc.).
Composer Craniac - Answer multiple choice questions w/ facts about various composers that I had previously highlighted in my "Composer Corner" section of my monthly newsletters.

I'd be happy to email you a copy of the cards (Microsoft Word Document). Unfortunately I"m not incredibly "tech savvy" so cutting them to all be the same size was a challenge. Feel free to adapt/improve them as needed. Just send me an email with "Piano Cranium" in the subject line. (jared_heidi1999@yahoo.com)

Motivation and Piano Parties

2010-05-03T15:40:00.007-06:00

I like to choose a different "incentive" program every few months to help keep my students motivated and accomplishing in various areas of piano. This month I gave each student an ice cream party checklist with a list of toppings and ice cream flavors on the left and various tasks to complete on the right. Following are the instructions and a sample list of tasks. I vary the tasks each year and focus on different elements of piano playing.
Select a few piano goals from the list to work on each week. When you complete a task have your teacher or parent initial it and then draw a line to the menu item you would like.
The more goals you complete, the more toppings you can choose!

Goals

Come prepared to your lesson to pass off 2 of your songs with a 3 star rating (*perfect rhythm, *notes and *technic)

Fill in a blank Circle of 5ths Chart
Memorize the Order of Sharps (Key Signatures)
Complete Eighth Note Rhythm Gym Challenges Counting Aloud (1-5, 6-11 www.practicespot.com)
Beat your own high score on a Music Ace Game at your lesson.
Practice 5 days in a row (20 minutes or more) w/ signed practice chart
100 % on flashcards at lightning speed
Complete a listening sheet at home
Play 1 octave arpeggios in 3 keys
Pass off a “Notes in the Fast Lane” Sightreading Page
Pass off a level on Staff Wars (Note Names)
Name the 4 periods of music in order & name 2 composers from each period
Play 3 scales forte(LH) vs. piano(RH)
Play 3 scales staccato(LH) vs. legato(RH)

It is humorous to see how motivating a little bowl of ice cream can be for some of my students. Others prefer the competition of summer olympics, earning music money or the suspense of our monster candy jar guesses. We will celebrate their achievements at our next group lesson as they enjoy the ice cream and toppings they have earned at the end of the lesson. What are some of your methods for motivating?

Great Review/Giveaway on Music Matters Blog

2010-05-01T14:55:00.000-06:00

Check out this great giveaway that Natalie at Music Matters Blog recently posted. Click this link to view her excellent review of "The Musician's Way - Guide to Practice Performance and Wellness"
Her blog also contains a wealth of information that I love including great ideas for practice incentives, games, links, printable worksheets etc.

Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers

2010-05-01T08:22:00.000-06:00

"The study of great composers' lives should be more than an academic exercise. Biography is to inspire, not merely inform" -Patrick Kavanaugh

After attending a performance of Brahm's Requiem by our local symphony last night, I was reminded of one of my favorite music history books- “Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, ” by Patrick Kavanaugh.

This book, offers a refreshing glimpse into the lives of 20 different composers including well known names such as Bach & Handel, and lesser known composers such as Elgar & Messiaen.
Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of each composer-their tempers, financial trouble and failures, he highlights the virtuous characteristics of each.

Each chapter begins with a brief story like narrative that introduces you to the composer in an engaging manner.Then follows a well-documented description of the "verifiable aspects of these mens' lives as they strove for good, sought to understand God, and found meaningful spiritual purpose in their lives." (p.13) My favorite part of each chapter is the conclusion in which the author highlights one particularly striking character trait that each composer exemplified. I found each chapter in this book both informative and inspiring. After reading it I felt inspired to be more like the great composers of the past... to have the humility of Haydn, the unselfishness of Ives, the determination of Beethoven and the optimism of Mendelssohn.
Some interesting facts I learned:
Who composed and performed while he was a prisoner of war during World War 2?
Who preferred to compose at his kitchen table while his children chased noisily about him?
Who was proclaimed by the public to be the “eighth wonder of the world?”]
Who said “when I sit at my old worm-eaten piano I envy no king in his happiness?”

ISBN 0-310-20806-8 approximate cost new $10.99 (I bought a nice used one on amazon.com for about $7)
"Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”

Music History Websites for Kids

2010-04-23T08:57:00.000-06:00

I recently discovered the Classics for Kids Website. It is a fun resource that I have used to introduce my elementary students to the periods of music history and expose them to the lives and works of composers from each era. Children are more likely to play expressively when they are exposed to great music, even if it is not keyboard repertoire. Each week during piano lab I assign them a different era to focus on. They select a few brief composer biographies to read while listening to the samples of their music. Then they write a couple of interesting facts about 2 or 3 composers on their Periods of Music History Worksheet by Joy Morin.

Another favorite site for my students is Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. This has been a great incentive for students to finish their lab assignments quickly. They love this site so much I reward them by allowing them to play it when their regular assignments are done. While journeying on a "safari," students are introduced to the various instruments of the orchestra. They play ear training games along the way and in the end learn about fugues. This is ideal for students who can read fluently, but even my 5 year old enjoys playing it with a little help.

DSO Kids includes a Composer Time Machine Game (identifying composer's correct music period), Beethoven's Baseball (reviewing interesting facts about various composers), Composer Corner(learning about composer's lives) and Music Match game (matching theory symbols)

The Music Lab at SFS Kids features a radio where students can listen to excerpts of various familiar classical pieces. I love how the excerpts are arranged by channel including "Big Moments, " "Musical Critters," "Once Upon a Time," etc. Students can hear how music is used to convey different emotions, storylines and sound effects which hopefully will aid them in playing more artistically at the piano.

The New York Philharmonic Kidzone Gameroom has a Music Match Composers Game. My favorite element of this game is that not only are students matching pictures of famous composers, it also includes short clips of some of their works that they listen to and match by ear. Students can also browse the "Composers Gallery" where they can view pictures of famous composers and read their brief biographies.

Starfall.com is the biggest hit for my preschool children. Although it is primarily aimed at helping children learn to read, I love how classical music is incorporated throughout many of the pages and the "It's Fun to Read" section introduces young children to the composers Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Offenbach, Joplin and Tchaikovsky. It provides the perfect introduction for very young children to learn about music history.

What are some of your favorite sites for introducing music history to children?

Hand Over the Pencil - Actively Engaging Music Students

2010-04-22T19:34:00.001-06:00

I've enjoyed putting together the newsletter for our local music club this year. It has helped me to actually put into practice many of the ideas floating around in my brain. Following is one of the recent articles I wrote.
I remember the frustrating experience of being trained as a temp. secretary by an employee who sat at their computer rattling off a bunch of instructions to me for processes they had completed hundreds of times, as they clicked furiously on different areas of the screen. Meanwhile, I sat at the side taking notes as quickly as I could. I would have retained so much more if they would have just “handed over the computer” to me and let me experience the process asking questions along the way.
I am thankful that my first piano teacher had me analyze my music extensively with colored pencils. Following are a few ideas for “handing over the pencil” to your students to facilitate their retention of musical concepts. When introducing new music/concepts, keep a pack of colored pencils close by and select a few “coloring tasks” for the student to do that pertain to the particular song they are learning.
♪ Find and draw a colored line over Repeating Rhythms
♪ Find Repeating melodies and label the Form by drawing colored lines over each section
♪ Color all of the Tonic Chords Yellow, Dominant Red, Subdominant Blue
♪ Find and Label Scales or Arpeggios
♪ Color Dynamics various shades (I use light or pastel for softer sections, dark or vibrant colors for louder dynamics).
♪ Outline the Accents in a bold color
♪ Write some words that match a prominent Rhythmic motif
♪ For Strings: color notes on various strings different colors
♪ Find & Color a specific interval
♪ Draw up arrows at the end of each phrase or draw a star at the high points of phrases
♪ Color the melody bright/dark, harmony soft/light
♪ Circle all of the flats/sharps when introducing a new key signature
♪ Find and color various types of cadences
♪ Write in chord symbols using different colors for major, minor diminished & augmented

As students experience this analysis process not only do they become more active learners, but they also improve sightreading skills, memorize more easily and tend to play more expressively because the details in the music become more salient. Often it is through this process that I detect when a student is not catching on to a concept. Another added bonus for me is that while they are “coloring” their music, I can write more specific practice instructions or outline new concepts on their assignment sheet without losing the students attention.

For more ideas on analysis, “chunking,” and teaching with questions check out these resources
“Chunks and Links” by Marienne Uszler – (Online at http://pianoadventures.com/newsletter/2003_pdf/PA3_pg12_Psyched.pdf )
“That’s a Good Question…How to Teach by Asking Questions” by Marienne Uszler (available for purchase at the Piano Gallery)
“How to Organize the Presentation of a Piece” by Frances Larimer(Online at http://pianoadventures.com/newsletter/2004_pdf/PA4_pg8-11_Organize.pdf)

Quarter Note Cookies

2010-04-20T08:28:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I spotted my candy cane cookie cutter in the drawer and I realized if I flipped it over it could make a perfect "quarter note cookie." My students had a great time decorating them for piano preschool. I also used white frosting to put in the middle of a few to transform them into half notes.

Piano Preschool Lapbooks

2010-04-20T08:09:00.000-06:00

After reading the post about piano lapbooks on Laura Lowe's blog , I decided to create my own preschool piano version to send home with my piano preschoolers. I let them decorate the covers with various musical symbols. Inside are pockets for Music alphabet/finger # and symbol flashcards from www.laytonmusic.com (Faber primer flashcards). I also included a laminated mini rhythm pizza (see www.susanparadis.com) and colorful piano for them to play Susan's Snowflake and Shamrock Keys games on. The back cover had a laminated Grand Staff which they can use for "M&M's stepping on the staff" game.

Composer Fruit Basket Game

2010-04-16T12:56:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been introducing my students to composers in various periods of classical music. I thought of this variation of "fruit basket" to help them become more familiar with composers and their musical eras.
Materials to make composer "necklaces":
Small Pictures of Composers (Two excellent places to find these are: D'net Layton's www.laytonmusicgames.com or Natalie Wickham's http://musicmatters.blog.com
Yarn
Hole Punch
Chairs
How to play:
Each student chooses a composer necklace to wear. Form chairs in a circle with one less chair than the number of people playing. The student w/o a chair stands in the middle of the circle and calls out a specific music period (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary)or "Music History." The student with composers in the specific period have to hurry & find a new chair while the person in the middle tries to "steal" someone's spot. The last person left standing calls out another musical era. If "Music History" is called, everyone must switch to a different chair. Students can switch necklaces after several rounds to help them become familiar with the periods all of the composers fit into.
Variation:
Instead of using necklaces, you could post pictures of the composers on the chairs. Then students have to check their chairs to identify what music period they are in.

Snacks between the bar lines

2010-03-29T09:35:00.000-06:00

To introduce the concept of bar lines, we played "Teacher May I" (see last previous blog post) again but instead used chocolate chip quarter notes (w/ pretzel stems), marshmallow half note (w/ pretzel stems) and Marshmallow whole notes (Big Marshmallows). The children "ordered" notes to add up to 4 beat measures and then also "ordered" bar lines (pretzel sticks) to divide up their measures into groups of 4 beats.

Adventures in Music Board Game

2010-03-29T09:14:00.000-06:00

I just discovered this fun free printable music game in the "printables" at Joy Morin's site http://colorinmypiano.com/. I like it because it is relatively short but reviews both note names on the staff and music symbols. I adapted it for my preschoolers by replacing the cards with 2 sets of cards under the "games" tab on Susan Paradis's website - "Fish Rhythm Cards for Beginners" and "Flashcards for Flyswatter Games." Even my 3 year old loves this game when I use only the "fly" notes on the staff that she has been introduced to so far.

"Teacher May I" Build a Measure

2010-03-29T08:59:00.000-06:00

Snack time activities are always my preschooler's favorite. To introduce the concept of 4 beat measures we played this fun game for snack time. I "tied" small teddy bear cookies together with chocolate frosting. Then we named the bear snacks - single bears=quarter notes, 2 bears stuck together=half notes, 3 bears=dotted half notes and 4 bears=whole notes. The children took turns ordering teddy bear snacks from me. They could only order snacks that would add up to 4 beats (one measure). For example they said "Teacher may I have 1 quarter note bear and 1 dotted half note bear(3 bears stuck together with frosting)." This had the added benefit of reviewing their knowledge of correct note names and the number of beats in each note.

Easter Egg Line and Space Notes

2010-03-29T08:48:00.000-06:00

Often young children have a hard time distinguishing between line and space notes on the staff. Check out this fun Easter Egg Notes worksheet. Have your child write "L" on the "egg notes" that are sitting on lines and "S" for notes that are in the spaces between the lines. This can also be used to help them review note names on the staff later. For more seasonal worksheets like this follow the link to Susan Paradis's website on the right.

Hangin on a Fence Post - Flexible Wrist

2010-02-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

For more practice with playing with a flexible wrist, click on the Faber My First Piano Adventures Link on the right to watch a video demo of "Hangin on a Fence Post." Then play "F's" along with the CD on the first set of bounces. Then switch to "G's for the second set of bounces.

Nursery Rhyme Movement Activities

2010-01-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

I found these great ideas in a book I recently discovered at our college library - by Rhoda Rabin - "At the Beginning, Teaching Piano to the Very Young Child." I love how she incorporates nursery rhymes which are already familiar to many children, but adds actions that help them develop their rhythmic and fine motor skills. Here are just a few:
See Saw Margery Daw - "See saw Margery Daw, Jack shall have a new master; he shall have but a penny a day, because he can't work any faster." Move arms outstretched up to head and down to side (like a See-Saw - alternating on strong beats)

Baa Baa Black Sheep - "Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, Yes sir 3 bags full..." Hold arms out in front of you with palms up. Cross thumbs over palms on beat 1, Move thumbs back to straight on beat 2. This could also be a great prep for older students learning 1 octave scales to help them properly sweep their thumbs under then palms when crossing finger 1 under finger 3.

Jack & Jill - "Jack & Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after."
Hold arms outstretched in front of you. Slowly alternate raising arms as Jack and Jill go up the hill. Drop one arm when "Jack fell down," drop the other arm when "Jill came tumbling after."

Music Alphabet Song Movements

2010-01-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

For a fun variation to the Music Alphabet song (Piano Adventures Lesson Book A , p. 60 - CD Track 33) try these actions instead while listening to the CD:
Alphabet Climb: Crouch down and touch the floor. As the music alphabet goes up climb your hands up higher as you go up the music alphabet. Then go back down as the music alphabet goes back down.

Alphabet Hop: Starting on the left side of the room hop to the right as you go up the music alphabet, then hop to the left as you go back down.

Floorslap Hop: Sit on the floor with legs crossed. Starting on the left side of your body, slap the floor then move hands to the right as you go up the music alphabet, then slap to the left as you move back down the alphabet.

Keyboard Hop: Using a 1-3 Donut start with your 3rd finger on a low A on the piano. Play each key with your 3rd finger moving up the alphabet and then to the left going down.

For a challenge: Use LH fingers 4(A), 3(B), 2(C), 1(D), and RH fingers 1(E),2(F), 3(G) and play the letter names on the piano as you listen to the CD.

Fun Activities for Teaching Music Alphabet on the Keys

2010-01-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

I usually introduce the white keys CDE (below the 2 black key groups)first.
First you say "Hey Diddle Diddle the D's in the middle" and have them find all of the D's on the piano in the middle of the 2 black keys. Then have them sing the music alphabet to discover what comes before and after D (C & E). Then go to Music Learning Community to play LetterFly until they know these 3 notes very well. A couple of other computer programs I have purchased that include games for this concept plus many more are Midisaurus Fun for Kids and Music Ace Deluxe. Midisaurus is more suitable for younger children, but Music Ace is more comprehensive.
My teacher taught me to find the CDE keys by calling the 2 black keys the "doghouse." The "D" for dog is in the middle. The "C" cat and "E" elephant live on each side.
Next I teach "F & B outside the 3" (3 black key groups) and have them find all the F's and B's on the piano.
My teacher taught me to find the GA keys by calling the 3 black keys the "GArage." It has car G & car A parked inside the "GArage." This is only effective if your child is reading fluently and can associate GA with garage.
Following are the links for my kids favorite games that helped them learn the white key letter names
Piano Candyland
I transformed my older version of Candyland and chose the following spots for the pink squares: Piano for Plumpy, Bass Clef for Mr. Mint (because the bass clef resembles a candy cane and its lower on the board), mezzo forte for Jolly, forte for Gramma Nut, Double Bar Line for Princess Lolly and Treble Clef for Queen Frostine (because the Faber Piano Adventures books introduce say The Queen Treble Clef has a fine swirly dress and she plays High notes on the keys). I love this game because my younger kids can play with the "Keyboard cards" while my older kids are challenged by using the "Staff cards."

"Cover the Keys", "Music is Fun Bingo", "Shamrock Keyboard Game" and "Snowflake Keyboard Race"
All of these games are free printables on Susan Paradis's amazing piano site. I love her creative resources!

Fast Hands (Good Ears) Game

2010-01-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

"Fast Hands" will help your child master the concept of stepping up/down, challenge their listening skills and help them become more familiar with the music alphabet order. To play "fast hands" have your child line up their Music Alphabet cards or magnet letters in order (ABCDEFGABCDEFG.) Then have them cover up the "A" in the middle with their hand. Call out several commands in succession to "step up" (to the right) or "step down" (to the left) in random order as they move their hand to cover the correct notes. Start out slowly and as they master the task, increase the speed & # of commands before rewarding them for ending on the correct letter.
For example if the child begins with their hand on "A" and you say "Step down, step down, step up," they should end on G. Once they have mastered this game, follow the link to Martha Beth Lewis's site on the right to read how to increase the difficulty with skips.

Compose Create Website by Wendy Stevens

2010-01-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

I love it when I stumble upon great ideas on the Internet that so many generous and talented contributors have been willing to share from their variety of experiences in music education. It rekindles my enthusiasm for teaching and listening to music, and I often wish I had discovered them years before.
One of my favorite music links is www.composecreate.com by Wendy Stevens.
One of her new compositions "Irish Celebration" is perfect for beginning level students. The rhythms are simple and the teacher duet makes the song even more engaging for beginning students. To view a sample as well as many other helpful resources visit her blog on www.composecreate.com and
A few of the other resources I enjoy on her site include:
♪ Free Printable Flashcards
♪ Leveled Rhythm Practice Sheets
♪ Inspiring Music-Related Quotes
♪ Free Manuscript Paper for Composing
♪ Leveled Sightreading Samples
♪ Engaging Music Compositions like “Irish Celebration,” “Twister,” and “Easy Hymn Solos”
♪ A Frequently Updated blog with ideas for composing, music education, etc.
♪ Music Game Ideas
♪ A variety of helpful music links on listening, composing, ear training and teaching

Counting Up the Mountain & Whole Note Hunt

2010-01-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Play this fun game your child to help them review the note/rest values. You can find the instructions by clicking this link to Susan Paradis's blog.
Today we also played "Whole Note Hunt." If you have misplaced the cards from the quarter note hunt we did a few months ago, you can print off some more by following this link which is also on Susan Paradis's blog.

Happy Note Free Software

2009-12-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

For some free games you can download on your computer check out the Happy Note link on the right. My 2 favorites games are "Treble Clef and Bass Clef" (teaches letter names of notes on the staff) and Music Notes in space (teaches names of the notes - quarter, half, whole). My students love to play the "Breakout" game because it is fun, but they don't seem to learn as much from it.

Yarn Staff Games

2009-12-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yarn Staff Game Instructions
I found the idea for this game several years ago on Martha Beth Lewis's piano site. she has so many great ideas for teaching piano to young beginners. To find a very detailed explanation of this game go to Martha Beth Lewis's piano site and read her article on teaching lines and spaces. It also includes many other fun activities to help your child learn to play the piano. Following is a brief version.
“Simon Says”
Concepts – distinguish between line & space notes/ high and low notes
· Make a staff on the floor with your five pieces of yarn (lines). Decide where you want the bottom (low end) of the staff to be. Pretend you are a note and play “Simon Says” using the following ideas. A space note fills the space. A line note has a line going through it.
o Be a line note (Put both feet on any line)
o Be a space note (Put both feet in any space)
o Be a high space note
o Be a low line note
o Be a middle line note
· Using your yarn staff play the same game as above but use other objects such as paper plates, cups, plastic easter eggs, balls etc. as the “notes”

"Twister"
Call out actions for students and see who can keep from falling as in the regular game of Twister. Students can compete against each other to see who can stay up the longest or play solo and see how many commands they can peform correctly before falling.
-Put your right hand on a high line note
-Put your left foot on a low space note
- Put your chin on a middle line note, etc.

M&M's Stepping on the staff

2009-12-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

To help reinforce the concept of stepping up and down the staff try this fun game.
Materials: M&Ms, one grand staff for dimes card for every player. A die or spinner. Each player starts with an m&m (dime, skittle or other round candy)and places it on the bottom line of the bass clef. Players take turn rolling the die and moving their candies up the staff by steps (line, space, line, space, etc.). Whoever reaches the top line of Treble Staff first gets to eat their candy (or keep their dime). You could also practice stepping down by starting at the top of the staff and moving down by steps instead.

Wagon Wheels on the Staff

2009-12-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Today at preschool to introduce the grand staff we made art pictures and glued "wagon wheel" pasta on every line and space on the staff. Children often don't visualize the "spaces" on the staff and think of notes moving from one line to the next line. To help them remember to see the spaces we also had "races in the spaces" by imagining the spaces as lanes on a race track. We then scooted our wagon wheels along the spaces in the staff. For more reinforcement of lines and spaces on the staff check out the fun variations of the staff on Susan Paradis's website link on the right. Under her games tab you'll find the following free printables: Candy Corn Staff, Staff for Dimes, Peppermint Notes and Jewel Notes.

"Nutcracker" Samples for Kids

2009-12-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

When children are exposed to a great variety of music, they tend to play the piano more expressivly. To listen to some samples of various dances from "The Nutcracker" click on the Starfall link and Check out Tchaikovsky's jukebox in the "It's fun to read" music section.

Treble/Bass Clef Musical "Spots"

2009-12-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last week at preschool I introduced the treble & bass clefs with this fun game. The kids loved it and wanted to keep on playing it. First the students each stood on a colored felt "spot" on the floor. Then I set a picture of a bass clef or a treble clef next to each spot. As we listened to the "Queen Treble Clef, King Bass Clef" song the kids walked around from spot to spot. When I stopped the music at random times the students raced to "act out" which clef they were standing by. Bass Clefs crouched down low to the ground to represent the low sounds in the bass clef, while the treble clefs jumped up high to represent high notes. They also named their clefs using the correct voice - High pitched Treble Clef/Low pitched Bass Clef. The students took turns playing the high (treble) and low (bass) notes at the piano to match the words of the song.

Jingle Bells Finger # Review

2009-12-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

Playing the piano becomes very motivating when kids learn to play familiar songs. I can still remember when I learned a song by Beethoven that I had listened to on one of my dad's records for years. It made me feel like I was a "real" pianist. For a fun way to review finger #'s, print out a simple of version of Jingle Bells at the Phonics 4 Piano website. This song is written just for the right hand. You can also try playing it on the "computer" piano by clicking on the "online fun" tab on their site.

Teaching with Snacks

2009-11-18T08:57:00.001-07:00

To introduce note values to my students I use graham crackers, chocolate chips and marshmallows. The grahams are already conveniently divided into 4 sections. Each rectangle represents one beat. Then we add the chocolate chips and pretzels to make quarter notes on one cracker or marshmallows & pretzels to make half notes on 2 crackers. This helps kids visualize that half notes are bigger and therefore longer. Once they have successfully "clapped" the rhythm on their crackers, then they get to eat them.

Meteor Match 1

2009-11-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

Click on the music learning community link to play this quick game to review quarter notes and half notes. It may be a challenge for some young students to control the mouse quickly enough, so you can have them point to the correct answer on the screen or call it out while you click on it.

Letter Fly

2009-11-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

Check out this fun game on the Music Learning Community link to introduce the white keys CDE to your child. I introduce "D" first by having them find the 2 black key groups and saying this little rhyme - "Hey Diddle Diddle, the D's in the middle." Another fun way is to call the 2 black keys the Doghouse and tell them that the "D" for Dog lives inside, but for young preschoolers who may not associate D with Dog yet, this analogy won't be very effective.

Who Took the Cookie From the Cookie Jar

2009-10-28T16:52:00.000-06:00

I was surprised at how much my preschoolers loved this familiar song. It helps them improve their sense of rhythm and large motor skills. Check out this video on Youtube for a demo.

Once a Year on Halloween

2009-10-20T15:20:00.000-06:00

This fun Halloween song from Susan Paradis's website (see link on the right) helps young beginners clearly distinguish between up & down stem notes. Try tapping the correct hand for the notes (down stems left, up stems right)to help. Say the hand as you tap...ex: left, left left, right: left, left left, etc. Once this is mastered they can tap finger #'s off the piano and then try it on the keys.

SanFran Orchestra Fun

2009-10-19T13:28:00.000-06:00

I discovered this fun music website for kids. Some of the material is geared towards "readers" several of the activities even young beginners could try.
The "Radio" has many short clips from Classical Music. Try having your child listen to different samples and ask them to draw a picture of what the music makes them think of. When children can associate music with pictures, stories or emotions they end up being more expressive performers.
The "Performalator" in the Music Lab can reinforce concepts of reading from left to right. It also reinforces the idea for children that notes high on the page are high on the keyboard, low on the page are low on the keyboard. Although it doesn't involve true music reading, kids can have fun "playing" familiar tunes on the keys like Twinkle Twinkle & Row Row Your Boat.

Wendy the Whale

2009-10-10T15:14:00.000-06:00

Click on the Faber Piano Adventures site at the right to watch a demonstration of this song. Often I like to introduce songs to preschoolers by first doing a larger body movement as they listen to it. For this one we pretended to be whales on the ground and swayed our "tails" to the rhythm.

Tap Your Sticks Together

2009-10-10T14:53:00.000-06:00

This song comes from a Hap Palmer "Baby Songs-ABCs" video. My daughter loves all of their videos which we frequently check out at the local library. Even though they are a bit dated, they have fun "activity" songs for preschoolers. The songs are well-written with easy "catchy" tunes. For this particular song, kids get two sticks (spoons, pens, wands, shoes etc.) and tap them together "Tap your sticks to the right with a 1,2,3; Tap your sticks to the left with a 1,2,3..." with several variations like tap your sticks on the ground, hammer left with the right...etc. It helps them improve their sense of beat, encourages singing & helps them improve their coordination and listening skills.

Piano Forte Classical Freeze

2009-10-07T09:48:00.000-06:00

To help my students learn piano (soft) and forte (loud), I played different excerpts from Classical music while they danced. When the music stopped they had to freeze & hold up a pianomouse sign (mouse picture w/ a piano symbol on it) or a fortelion sign (lion sign w/ a forte symbol on it) to show me what the music sounded like. They loved this activity, especially the "freeze" part!

Tigers at My Door

2009-10-07T09:46:00.000-06:00

This song introduces the sound of the major scale, which is used so frequently in Classical Music. For a movement activity we jumped in a circle to the music (1,2,3,4,5) and then bent down to knock the rhythm on books ("Tigers at my door") in the center of the circle. We knocked "forte" loudly with knuckles or tapped a finger "piano" softly to match the words of the song. Click the My First Piano Adventures Link at the Right to "Watch Nancy" demonstrate this song at the piano on the video tour. (Lesson Book p. 28)

Sing-a-long Books

2009-10-06T12:04:00.000-06:00

I love to reading and music so sing-a-long books are some of my favorites because they help my kids be more musical and better readers at the same time. Singing also helps children improve their sense of rhythm and aural memory. Sometimes I tap the rhythm of the song below the words on the page or bounce them on my lap to the beat or rhythm of the song.
At the Portneuf Library I found "Piggies" by Don & Audrey Wood. The illustrations are adorable and very captivating for young children. I made up my own melody while reading it and changed the words a bit to help review finger #s. Ex: "I've got two fat little piggies" sitting on finger ___. (one). I have the students wiggle the fingers the piggies are sitting on and say the corresponding finger # on each page where they introduce new "piggies." Then at the end of the book they "put them all together, all in a row" & tap thumbs together, then 2nd fingers, 3rd fingers, etc.

A few other sing-a-longs my kids enjoy:
The Boy on the Bus by Penny Dale - This is a fun variation of wheels on the bus.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani - Trapani has a lot of sing-a-long books that have additional verses to the traditional songs. Click on her name to see more. You can find a lot of these at the library too.
I'm a Little Teapot by Iza Trapani
Twinkle, Twinkle, Litte Star by IzaTrapani
Oh where oh where has my little dog gone? by Iza Trapani
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? by Eric Carle -the library has a music cd to go along with this favorite book that they use at storytime- but unfortunately it isn't available for checkout.

Do you have any other sing-a-long books that your kids enjoy?

Starfall Left to Right

2009-09-30T13:23:00.000-06:00

For prereaders - learning piano involves so many new concepts, including the idea that we read notes on the page from left to right. You can start introducing this idea to toddlers by guiding their hand along the page in the hymn book under the notes or words as you sing each week in church. Sometimes this trick even helps them sit more quietly:) To go further, gently tap their finger to the rhythm of the song under the notes. They will pick up on a lot subconciously.

Before playing songs in the book have your child point to the finger #s starting on the left and moving across the page to the right while they listen to the corresponding CD song. Starfall has a short fun movie that also reviews this concept in the Learn to Read section.

Rainbow Wrist Ribbons

2009-09-30T08:59:00.000-06:00

To help the students focus on their wrist motion I have them put a large hair elastic around their wrist (like a bracelet) w/ a rainbow ribbon tied to it. Then we sing Rainbows (Lesson book p. 24) while gracefully "drawing" rainbows in the air with our wrists.