Heidi’s Piano Studio

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Music Tech Teacher Online Music Games

The Music Tech Teacher Website has a variety of quick online games and quizzes that make music lessons more fun with stories and games like Simon and Space Invaders embedded in the learning. I've organized them below by concept and level based on how they correlate with the piano teaching method books I use.

Level 1 Online Music Games

For Piano Adventures Primer, Piano Pronto Prelude or Hal Leonard Level 1

MTT Skips, Steps and Repeats - tutorial and quiz on the staff

MTT Travel Through Treble Spaces - identify treble space notes on the staff

THIS RESOURCE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE😞

How To Create Spooky Halloween Piano Music Level 1 from Rebeccaspianokeys

Watch the elementary tutorial about how to use spooky intervals (minor, tritone) to create spooky music.

Pause as needed to try creating your own spooky music on the keyboard.

1- Left Hand: C minor Add 2 Broken Chord

2 - Right Hand: Minor 3rd, Minor 6th, Tritone Major 7th

3- Alternate Hands

4- Ending: Alternate C Minor Add 2 Chords Bass Drop

5- Optional: Add Damper Pedal

Piano Student Halloween Music Favorites

I love revisiting seasonal music year after year and sparking piano students' love for music by letting them explore music beyond their method books.

In addition to the free Halloween music I have compiled in leveled folders for students to check out each year, there are a few supplementary books and sheet music pieces that I come back to again and again because students just love to play them.

Spooky Halloween Piano Tunes from Will Baily

I've been prepping Halloween folders for my piano students and decided to add a few new options in addition to many of the free music Halloween music that are listed on my Free Halloween Piano Resources Page. When I compiled folders to send home last month with Will Baily's Piano Tunes, so many students came back eager to perform their favorites at group lessons.

Following are a few "spooky sounding" pieces that I'll be adding to their Halloween piano folders although they aren't necessarily made for that holiday.

Leila Viss Halloween Improvisation Jack Activity

Piano Halloween Improvisation Ideas

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.

Caramel Apple Jack

Grumpy Jackson

Jack on a Wicked Ride

Jivin' Jack Blues

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Piano Lab Online Activities Level 4

Following are online piano activities for Hal Leonard 4 or Piano Adventures 3A/3B organized by concept.

Technique
Video about Mordents

Playing with Feeling

Choose the link below for lesson plans and activities that correlate with Piano Adventures 3B. The theory, improvisation, and music and movement activities can be done in private lessons, group lessons, piano lab, or assigned for at-home practice.

8 Energico and Natural/Harmonic Minor/sfzorando

10 Fiesta Espana and Motive/Sequence

12 Snowfall and Relative Minor

14 E Minor Scales and Chords

16 Sea Chantey and Cut Time

T12 The Gathering Storm and Cross Hand Arpeggios

18 Rage Over a Lost Penny and Ternary Form

21 Finale and Lead Sheets

22 D Minor Scales and Chords

24 Cat Patrol and Vivace/Articulation

26 Baroque Dance and Binary Form/Trills

27 Legend of Madrid and Grace Notes/Cadenza