Intermediate Piano Festival Playlists R4

 

Baroque Calm and Lively R4

Classical Calm and Lively R4

Romantic/Modern/Recent Calm R4

Lively Romantic Era R4

Lively Modern/Recent R4

Related Posts:

Intermediate Festival R4 Song List Links
Piano Festival Preparation Free Resources

Music Staff Simon

How can Simon help you learn music faster?

Simon Nibbles a Note

Have you ever played the game of Simon which tests your musical memory skills in a fun way? I think this would be a fun game to keep in the waiting area of my music studio. But today I'm sharing a new way to use the concept of Simon in music lessons.

Wunderkeys Pop 2: Saorla Rising and Changing Clefs

This lesson plan includes practice tips for the Saorla Rising in B Minor in Wunderkeys Intermediate Pop 2 Performance Book by Andrea and Trevor Dow. 

Practice Tips

Listen to the performance as you tap the repeating syncopated rhythms in the left hand.

Watch out for the double Bass, Transfer to your left "sit bones" without scooting on the bench.

Supplementary Music with Changing Clefs

Tolling Bells by Stephen Heller

Wunderkeys Pop 2 Lesson Plans

 Choose the link below for lesson plans and activities that correlate with pieces in Wunderkeys Intermediate Pop 2 Performance Book by Andrea and Trevor Dow.

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

Piano Practice Challenge, Levels and Tips

 

More about the nightmares later...

First let's talk about focused practice!

Practicing the piano with specific goals in mind is significantly more effective than simply measuring the time spent and calling it good. This month, for my studio challenge, I'm inviting students to level up their practice by using focused practice strategy games during their practice. Obviously, effective practice includes spending time at the piano bench, but practicing with purpose not only helps the time pass quickly, it also helps students to be more productive so that progress happens in less time.

Gamified Piano Practice

I've seen the power of gamified practice during piano lab, where students just don't want to stop their practice until they've completed the next level of Rhythm Swing or earned 3 stars to unlock the next level on Piano Maestro. That same excitement of flow and achievement that comes from video games and music apps can also happen on the bench when students approach learning new pieces with gamified strategies using practice game cards.

As a college student, my practice was definitely more focused and enjoyable when I paired it with chocolate chips and "3 in a Row" (or Cross the River) practice. 

Boss Mode Practice

Overall piano practice success can also be compared to video game levels. I love this analogy shared by Nicola Cantan at the recent Piano Teacher Turboboost I attended!

Level 0 -Tutorial Mode (No Practice)

Level 1 - 1-3 Days per Week

Level 2 - 4-6 Days per Week

Level 3 - Add 3x Repetitions to your Level 2 Practice

Level 4 - Use practice card strategies for Focused Practice Sessions 

Level 5 - BOSS MODE - Pair clear and specific goals with your practice card games and record your progress for each practice session.

 While we might not achieve BOSS MODE every week, TUTORIAL MODE can kill the fun if students are stuck in it week after week. 

The challenge goal is to look at what level you are currently practicing at and make personal improvements to LEVEL UP!

Baby Piano Hands

I enjoyed many delightful moments teaching my own six children piano when they were young. In fact, piano preschool with 2 of them and a few neighbor children was the thing that prompted me to start this blog over 15 years ago. Now, most of them have moved out or moved on to their own favorite hobbies, which don't include piano. 

At first, I was sad about letting my dreams go of helping them reach new levels of proficiency in piano and felt I failed in some regard since they insisted on quitting to move on to athletics instead. But I love how Nicola Cantan described in her recent Teacher Turboboost the different archetypes of piano... appreciator, jammer, chamberist, unwinder, performer, teacher. Many students may be like my own children and music lessons will help them become mostly music appreciators (although it was fun to see a couple of my daughters teach young beginners for a short time).

I'm hoping my new granddaughter will live close enough when she's older that I can create some piano memories with her too. Can't help but dream of that when I see her perfect little, long, slender fingers! 

Teaching Tempo Terms with Songs

Several years ago, I posted some free printables and songs that I use to really help my students remember their tempo terms. Today, I revisited that tempo terms post to prepare for our group lesson on sightreading tips and added one more Lento tempo term poster to the mix. 

Sometimes it's so tempting to jump into new music at a fast pace, but practicing at the speed of no mistakes is super important so that muscle memory is paved in your brain with correct notes instead of errors.