Adagio Teaching Tip

Have your students ever confused tempo terms like Adagio, Allegro, Andante etc.?  I decided that I needed to change my teaching approach when introducing terms to help make them more memorable from the start & this music makes the perfect memory aid.  The haunting melody of this "Ghost Waltz" by Edwin McLean (In FJH Federation Favorites Book 2) kept running through my mind after I played it so I added some repetitious lyrics to review "Adagio".


1.  Play the song as student tiptoes around the studio on beat downbeat of each measure.
2.  Sing some repetitious lyrics  with some extra expression on the long notes
"A daaaaaaaaaaaa  gi oooooooooooo  Play Slooooooooooooow,"
Adagio play slow
Adagio, Adagio, Adagio Play slow.( Repeat)
3.  Divide up the lyrics having the student sing "Adagio" and teacher sing "Play Slow"

For a contrast then play "Ramblin'Rails" by Melody Bober (FJH Federation Favorites Book 1) adding the lyrics "In a race your LEGs run quickly aLEGro means fast" to the first few lines.
Can you say that tongue twister 3 times fast?

Hal Leonard Lesson Book 5 Piano Lab Videos

The Bear by Vladimir Rebikoff

1. Color all of the tenuto marks red in your music.
2. Circle the clefs in your music.  What is the first note your right hand should play?
3. Watch the performer's right hand as you listen to this piece.  How does his hand position change as he plays the loud tenuto notes? 
4. What is the form of this piece?
5. What does pesante mean?

Arabesque by Fredrich Burgmuller

1. Pay attention to the performer's wrists as he ends the phrases in this piece.  What technique does he use?
2. When does it sound like he plays with more arm weight in the left hand?
3. How does he draw attention to the sfzorzando at the end of the piece?
4. Label the left hand chords and the right hand pentascales in your music.
   
5. Label the form in your music using letters (A, B, A1, etc.).
6. Identify the sections in your music that sound major.
   

Innocence by Fredrich Burgmuller

1. What measures contain sequences in this piece?
2. Write what key this piece is in next to the key signature in your music.
3. Define grazioso.
4. As you watch the performer, notice the "round-off" gesture he uses at the end of the long phrases.  Why do you think he uses a different motion at the end of the final long phrase?

The Clown by Vladimir Rebikov

1. What motions does the performer use to emphasize the articulation in this piece?
2. What tempo is this piece?
3. Imagine 2 things the "clown" may be doing during the music.

The Kind Cuckoo by Francois Couperin

1. Couperin calls the cuckoo (a European bird) kind or benevolent because it lays its eggs in other birds nests and leaves them for the other bird to hatch and care for.  Do you think this is  kind?
2.  Write the beats in the first 2 lines of your music.
3. Follow along in your music as you listen to this performance.  In what measure does the performer add some notes to the melody that differ from what is written in your music? This is an example of ornamentation which was frequently used during the Baroque period.
4. Label 2 lines are the same in the left hand part of your music.
5. Write what key this piece is in next to the key signature in your music.

Bethena by Scott Joplin

1. Listen to the original version of Bethena on the video below and read the story.  How did the story end?
2. Write beats in the 2nd line and tap the rhythm as you hear it repeated in the video.
3. Label the chords in the left hand in measures 5-18.
4. The piece in your book has been arranged. Arrangements often include the important theme of a song but may be written in a different key or have parts of the original song left out to make it easier to play.Listen to the arranged version of Bethena on CD (53) and label each line as major or minor.
5. Listen to the Classics for Kids podcast about Scott Joplin's life & answer the  multiple choice questions .

   
Menuet in G Minor from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

1. This piece composed in the Baroque era has a clear and precise sound.  Listen to the articulation of the quarter notes in the left hand.  Do they sound staccato (short & separated), legato (smooth and connected) or portato (moderately detached)?  What other articulation do you hear in this piece?
2. Baroque music often includes terraced dynamics (not gradual, but more abrupt changes from soft to loud).  Color the dynamics in your music (p-yellow, mp - yellow orange, mf- orange, f-red).  Can you hear terraced dynamics in this performance?
3. Baroque music should be played with a steady tempo, sometimes with a small ritardando at the end of the piece.  Did this performer do this?
4. Click the link to listen to a Classics for Kids show about Minuets and take the quiz at the end. C

Inspector Hound Returns

1. A chromatic scale moves by____________
2. Watch the 5 Browns play "Flight of the Bumblebee"

 The Gypsy Song by Hugo Reinhold

1. What era do you think this piece was composed in and why?  Baroque, Classical, Romantic or Modern
2. In what measures does this song modulate to major?
3. Define morendo & allegretto.
4. Think of another name for this song.  What images does it bring to your mind?

Everybody's Blues

PBS Kids Videoclip about the Blues

Allegro
What is an Appoggiatura?
Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel

Just for Fun!  The Piano Guys "Rockelbel's Canon"

NFMC Festival Music Samples Lab Assignment

Listen to each of the pieces in your festival level.
For each piece write the name of the piece and then answer the following questions:
1. Write 2 or more words to describe the mood of this piece.
2. What is the tempo (speed) of this piece (Adagio, Andante, Allegro, Presto, etc.)?
3. What articulation do you hear in this piece (staccato, legato, accents, pedaling etc.)?
4. Choose your personal rating for this piece from the following: 1- I have no interest in learning to play this.
2 - This piece is okay
3 - Nice, but not my favorite
4 - I would like to play this piece.
5. I would love to learn to play this.

Joy to the World Scale + Harmony Experiment

Practicing Scales & Chord Progressions.... What's the point????

I came up with this little seasonal exercise to help my students practice applying their scale & chord progression knowledge (I, IV, V7) to a familiar Christmas tune.  I like how it helps them to see the practical application of technical exercises in everyday music.
1.  Starting on C play the opening melody to Joy to the World with your Right Hand (Descending C Major scale). "Joy to the World, the Lord is Come"

2. Play again adding a C Major root chord in the left on each note of the melody. Does that sound good to you?

3.Experiment changing the C Major root chords to IV (F) or V7 (G) chords until the left hand chords harmonize well with the melody line.  Hint: To sound like traditional Joy to the World, choose chords that include at least one note from the melody line.  For example if you are playing C in the right hand a C chord (CEG) or F chord  2nd inversion (CFA) will sound better than G7 (BFG).

Additional Challenges:
4. Add your chord choices to the Music Ace Doodle Pad.
5. Once you've finalized your chord choices, try omitting a few of the left hand chords for a more legato sound.
6.  Transpose the opening theme of Joy to the World to the keys of G, D, A, E & F Major.
7.  Improvise the left hand chords.  Try playing open fifths, broken or arpeggiated chords.

Teaching Basic Fingering Rules

What finger do I start on?

My students who are used to method books where fingering is typically spelled out for them sometimes draw a blank when they try some supplemental music with no fingering guidelines.
Transitioning from method books where the fingering is suggested for students, to simplified hymns or supplemental piano music with no fingering guidelines can be a bit of a challenge. 

Rather than giving them fish (prescribing the best fingering), I want to be better at teaching them to fish (show them how to choose the best fingering for them for each situation.)
I like to start with Martha Beth Lewis's basic fingering Rules.
1.Thou shalt not hop.
2. In any finger crossing, thou shalt use a thumb.
Although my teachers spent a lot of time teaching proper scale, arpeggio & chord fingering, I don't remember a lot of emphasis being placed on how to apply fingering rules into my music.


Following are my step by step instructions to help my student choose appropriate fingering for a simplified version of one of my favorite Thanksgiving Hymns - "We Gather Together" .
 Steps for selecting appropriate fingering.
1. Goal: Play phrases Legato.  First identify and mark the phrases in the song.  Use the words and punctuation as your clues.
2. "Block" the Left Hand notes one phrase at a time
3. Identify phrases including notes larger than a 5 finger span.
4. Write in the fingering at the beginning of each phrase. "Floating off" (a delicate hop) to a new position between phrases is okay.
5. Remember, "Thou shalt not finger hop" (within the phrase).  Decide which fingering technique works the best - Expansion, Contraction, Finger Crossing or Finger Substitution.  Listen carefully as you play with your selected fingering to make sure it doesn't have create awkward accented notes.
Write in the fingering you have chosen and which strategy you used.

 For more helpful fingering guidelines visit the following link at key-notes.com.
7 Rules of Piano Fingering

P.S. It's hard to believe those little fingers in the picture are now big enough for my little girl to "color" all over my music now & play on the keys.

Lyric Composition Contest GMajor Music

While browsing to find one of my student's favorite Halloween pieces, "Big Bad Goblin Blues" (available at gmajormusic), I spotted this fun  "write your own lyrics" contest opportunity that has a monetary reward.  I think it will be the perfect thing for some of my students to fulfill their Creative Project on this year's "This is Your Brain on Music" incentive.

Fun Way to Review Music Concepts Online - Quizlet

I stumbled on Quizlet this morning while searching for an easy way to help students remember the order and definition of tempo terms.  My favorite element is the "Space Race" game where you can improve both your typing skills and music knowledge as you race to "kill" the term by typing in its name or definition before it slides off the screen.
In Piano there are over 600 flashcard sets, or you can create your own customized set.  Following are just a few of the concepts quizlet could be useful for:

Articulations
Key Signatures
Theory Terms
Tempos
Note Names

Certificate of Merit
Piano Composers and their Historical Periods

I have created several quizlet sets to review theory terms and also have links to others organized by level on my Piano Lab page.
Quizlet Music Theory Terms & Signs  Level 2 (Hal Leonard)
Quizlet Music Theory Terms & Signs Level 3
Quizlet Music Theory Terms  & Signs Level 4
Quizlet Music Theory Terms  & Signs Level 5

I would have loved this in grade school!  It's definitely more fun than ordinary 3x5 cards I used to study in school. Something about having the message pop up at the end that says "Good Start... now beat that score, " just makes me want to play again :).

I was grateful to be sidetracked, although I didn't find the answer to my original search.  Does anyone have a great acronym, story, etc. to help students remember the order of tempo terms?

The best I can come up with involves a
Grandfather (Grave)
L (Largo)
L (Larghetto)
L (Lento)
A (Adagio)
A (Andante)

A (Andantino)
M (Moderato)
A (Allegretto)
A (Allegro)
(llama)
 aspiring to be the
Vice (Vivace)
President (Presto)
P (Prestissimo)