Piano Lessons from a Pilot

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

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 Piano Pedaling Creatively

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. 

Off the Bench Piano Pedaling

To reintroduce the concept we did an off-the-bench "experiment" that she'll probably never forget.

Sonatina and Little Sonatas CD Giveaway

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

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

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

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?