The Ninth Session in B-flat Major is a spinoff of Beethoven's classic Ode to Joy Theme with left-hand syncopated interrupting eighths that sound a bit like the Forrest Gump Theme.
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.
This post includes activities that correlate with Sonatina in C by Frank Lynes in Piano Pronto Movement 4.
This post includes activities that correlate with "Into the Cave" and "3 Little Kittens" in the Piano Adventures Primer lesson book.
.png)
Chrissy Ricker's Valentine’s Day Yay or Boo provides a fun composition starting point based on a familiar poem rhythm. I love the flexibility suggestions that can be used for students of all levels. In addition to the possibilities Chrissy mentions, students could try one of the following
The Teach Piano Today Valentines Improv activity is a simple way to start with beginners that allows them to improvise on the black keys with quarter, eighth and half-note rhythm patterns.
For more of a challenge, intermediate/advanced students could try one of the Create First improvisation ideas below that include Add 2 Chords or Second Inversions.
Activity #1: Watch Create First Second ChanceSolo. Then create your own melodies using notes from the G Major Scale and Add 2 chords.
Activity #2: Watch Create First A Day Unbroken by Hours and then create your own improv using broken chords including root chords and inversions.
Choose one of the improvisation activities below to learn to create spooky-sounding music that is perfect for Halloween!
Create your own melodies on the black keys exploring some of the options below.
I love planning creative activities like composition and improv to use with my piano students in music lessons. Although I had no formal training in music composition, I have discovered many valuable resources that I've used with my students over the years to help keep their creative juices flowing.
I'm excited to serve as the Assistant Composition Festival Chair for the Upper Valley Music Teacher's Association and plan to share a post about themed resources every month that music teachers can use with their students. While most activities are designed for pianists, I'll also include some resources that can be used for string players or other instrumentalists.
Beginning to compose can be a bit intimidating for many students (and teachers😉) so I like to start with bite-size motifs using a game approach to take the pressure off. This Scale Degrees Gameboard Free Printable) can be used as a quick lesson starter when paired with any of the seasonal rhythm pattern cards from the Free Improvisation printables on the Teach Piano Today blog. For example the TPT Back to School Improv includes rhythm pattern cards like "leaky lunchbox," "make new friends," "running for the bus," etc.
To play, first choose a major or minor scale. The teacher and student (or 2 students) sit at the piano (or other instrument), take turns rolling a die, and move their marker around the game board (removable sticky flags) as they improvise short musical melody ideas on their instrument using notes from the chosen scale. To ramp up the difficulty more advanced students could also add chords for harmony.
For each spot they land on, they create a musical motif starting with the scale degree note and matching the rhythm. For example, if a player lands on dominant using the C major scale they create a musical idea that starts with G (dominant) as they say the phrase from the rhythm pattern card they chose.
This game cleverly introduces the intermediate concept of scale degree names, while allowing the teacher to model rhythms and musical ideas and let the student try them out in a no fear of failure approach. The winner is the first one to reach the end of the board. For a twist you could choose a "magic degree" and let players roll again if they land on that scale degree.
Watch the 4 sample improvisation videos below from Leila Viss's Halloween Hocus Pocus at the Keys.
Then choose your favorite style, follow the 3 boundary rules, and improvise your own short Halloween piece during piano lab. Choose a fun title that matches the mood of your piece.
This lesson plan includes activities for "Novela" in Piano Adventures 3A.
A Rondalla is a group of stringed instruments played with a pick originating in medieval Spain.
Listen to the beginning of the video to hear the piano and guitar versions of Granados Rondalla Aragonesa.
The song Molly Malone is about a young Irish girl who sold fish in the streets but sadly suddenly died of a fever.
Choose a Molly Malone Variation to listen to below.
Listen to the first part of each video to hear different instrumental versions of Romantic composer Paganini's "Caprice". Can you think of some lyrics to go along with the repetitive rhythmic motif?
Posts
All Comments
