Teaching Note Reading Games and Free Posters

 Sometimes cleaning out my piano files pays off! 

This week I browsed through old files and found some treasure ideas that will be great for our September group lesson focused on note reading. 

There are many approaches to teaching note-naming to music students.  I've found that although the "Every Good Boy Does Fine" approach worked for me, it is not ideal for a lot of transfer students who come to piano lessons with confusion about which sentence goes with treble or bass.

These fun posters and activities can help clear up that confusion!

I prefer to focus on landmark notes, musical chants, intervals and games to really help piano students to have strong note recognition skills.

BASS Lines Music and Movement Game

I'm eager to try this mashup of Bingo, Simon Says and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes at group lessons next week. Start by singing the lyrics below to the tune of Bingo while you and your students chant the bass lines and touch their body "head shoulders knees and toes" style, but backwards.  

Piano Pronto 5 Online Activities

 Piano Pronto Movement 5 Supplementary Activities

Choose the link below for lesson plans and activities that correlate with Piano Pronto Movement 5.

The theory, improvisation, and music and movement activities can be done in private lessons, group lessons, piano lab, or assigned for at-home practice.

#1 Victory Theme from Beethoven's Symphony 5 and E flat Major

#2 Autumn Theme No. 1 by Vivaldi and Voicing Thirds

#3 Battle Hymn of the Republic and LH Stride

#4 Brahms Waltz in A Flat Major

#5 Mexican Folk Medley and Spanish Music

#6 Vivaldi Violine Concerto in Am and 32nd Notes/Turns

#7 Radetzky March and 9th Intervals

#8 Chopin Prelude in Cm and Grave

#9 Pastoral Symphony Theme and Leggiero

#10 Pavane  and F minor

#11 Maple Leaf Rag and Ragtime Style

#12 O Mio Babbino Caro and E Major

#13 Come Back to Sorrento and Parallel Keys

#14 Sonata in C and Trills

#15 Wayfaring Stranger and Una Corda

#16 The Barber of Seville and Tempo Review

#17 Pavane and Impressionistic Music

#18 Bach Prelude No. 1 in C and Fractional Pedaling

#19 Autumn Theme by Vivaldi

#20 Russian Dance by Tchaikovsky and Tension Free Playing

#21 Pathetique Sonata by Beethoven and Cantabile

#22 Spring Theme and Fast Passage Practice

Piano Pronto 5 Spring Theme by Vivaldi and Fast Passages

 This post includes activities that correlate with Spring Theme by Vivaldi in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Vivaldi Spring Line Rider

Listen to Classics for Kids About Vivaldi or Sound Effects in Spring.

Piano Pronto 5 Pathetique Sonata by Beethoven and Cantabile

 This post includes activities that correlate with Pathetique Sonata Theme by Beethoven in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Pathetique Sonata Piano Adagio Cantabile performed by Yundi

Piano Pronto 5 Russian Dance by Tchaikovsky and Tension Free Playing

 This post includes activities that correlate with Russian Dance by Tchaikovsky in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Trepak Russian Dance Line Rider

Label the form in your music as you watch the Trepak Animated Form Video.

Learn more about the Tchaikovsky's famous music as you listen to the Classics for Kids Podcast about the Nutcracker.

Technique

Watch the Pianistic Video About Tension Free Playing  (Taps, Lateral and Circular Movement)

Focus on playing tension-free with a flexible wrist to play the quick 3 note phrases in Russian Dance.

Related Posts

#19 Autumn Theme by Vivaldi

#21 Pathetique Sonata by Beethoven and Cantabile

#22 Spring Theme and Fast Passage Practice

Piano Pronto 5 Autumn Theme by Vivaldi

 This post includes activities that correlate with Autumn Theme by Vivaldi in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Samples and History

Vivaldi Autumn Theme No. 3

Piano Pronto5 Bach Prelude No 1 in C Major and Fractional Pedaling

 This post includes activities that correlate with Prelude No. 1 in C Major by Bach in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Prelude in C Major by Bach performed by Lang Lang

Piano Pronto 5 Pavane by Ravel and Impressionistic Music

 This post includes activities that correlate with Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte by Ravel in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample and History

Pavane for a Dead Princess

Piano Pronto 5 The Barber of Seville and Tempo Review

 This post includes activities that correlate with The Barber of Seville in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Barber of Seville - Bugs Bunny vs Elmer Fudd

Piano Pronto 5 Wayfaring Stranger and Una Corda

 This post includes activities that correlate with Wayfaring Stranger in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Listen to the slower tempo that the performers use to create a solemn feeling for this piece.

Wayfaring Stranger Piano Guys and Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square

Piano Pronto 5 Sonata in C and Trills

 This post includes activities that correlate with Sonata in C by Mozart in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Listen to Mozart's Sonata C Allegro Movement 1 performed by Lang Lang and listen for the trills and other ornament embellishments that he adds to the melody line to make it more interesting on the repeat. 

Piano Pronto 5 Come Back to Sorrento and Parallel Keys

 This post includes activities that correlate with Come Back to Sorrento by de Curtis in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Browse some of the different performances of the Italian Song "Come Back to Sorrento" below.

Come Back to Sorrento Vocal Pavarotti

Piano Pronto 5 O Mio Babbino Caro and E Major

 This post includes activities that correlate with O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

O Mio Babbio Caro - Renaud Capuçon Violin and Piano

Blues Piano Free Resource Roundup

This month at group lessons piano students learned more about blues style and the 12 Bar Blues Pattern as we improvised melodies using some of the resources below.

Piano Pronto 5 Maple Leaf Rag

 This post includes activities that correlate with Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin in Piano Pronto 5.

Technique

Watch the videos to learn about the piano techniques you will use to play this piece.

PA Drop and Follow Through Video

PA Video Weighted Tone/Empty Fingers

Music Samples and History

Maple Leaf Rag

Piano Pronto 5 Pavane and F Minor

 This post includes activities that correlate with Pavane by Faure in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Pavane by Gabriel Faure Orchestra

Piano Pronto 5 Pastoral Symphony and Leggiero

This post includes activities that correlate with the Pastoral Symphony Theme by Beethoven in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Pastoral Theme Orchestra

Intermediate Piano Teaching Videos for Flipped Learning

After several years of music study, music I understood the basic rules of rhythm, note reading, and chords to tackle new pieces. I quickly learned that playing piano is much more of an art than a science with plenty of nuances and exceptions to the rules.

When is it OK to Break the Rules?

Keep your eyes on the music.

Lift the pedal at chord changes.

Keep your wrist level.

Play with a steady beat.

Make sure to follow the fingering in your music.

These rules can be helpful guidelines for beginners but intermediate playing requires the ability to fine-tune skills and adapt to the style of the music or even "break the rules" to achieve more artistry and avoid tension. 

Different fingerings might work better for one player than another, pedaling can be utilized more like a dimming switch than the flip of a light.

Just like a teenager is allowed a bit more freedom than a toddler, approaching music rules at the intermediate level requires more flexibility. On some topics I've discovered that not even the "experts" can agree on the rules. I think the best rule is a principle taught by my moral development teacher in college. Does it help or hurt?  

Piano Pronto 5 Prelude in C Minor and Romantic Pedaling

 This post includes activities that correlate with Prelude in C Minor by Chopin in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Sample

Listen for the dynamic variation in this performance of Chopin's Prelude in C Minor (Original Form).

Piano Pronto 5 Radetsky March and 9ths

 This post includes activities that correlate with Radetzky March by Strauss in Piano Pronto 5.

Music Samples

Radetsky March by Strauss