What If I Make A Mistake?

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Mistakes Are GuaranteedWith concerts, recitals, and holiday performances just around the corner both students and teachers are starting to feel a case of the butterflies. I know I am! Teachers wonder if they will have all the students prepared in time. We wonder if the programs will get printed in time, if the sound system at the venue will be working properly, if there will be enough food for the reception. Students wonder if they will mess up on stage. They worry that they might trip on the way to or from the piano bench. They are tortured by a multitude of what ifs – one of the worst ones being what if I forget my song?

It’s been said that there are no guarantees in life, but actually there is one! As I was re-reading the Sept/Oct 2012 issue of Making Music magazine, the words of Glenn DaGrossa- a music teacher in New York – jumped off the page at me:

“As human beings, mistakes are guaranteed”

Well doesn’t that just go against everything we are working towards in rehearsals and practice?

Actually, this fact – and it is a fact – must be at the center of our rehearsals and practice. We must prepare not only to play to the best of our ability, but also prepare to handle the inevitable mistakes we will make. Our goal must  not  be a flawless performance, but a fantastic performance! Flawless performances can be flat and sterile, whereas fantastic performances are those that may or may not have noticeable mistakes but definitely connect the audience and performer to each other.

So, let’s all do ourselves a favor and recognize that mistakes are guaranteed. With this thought in mind, let’s proceed to practice with a greater purpose than perfection in mind.

Let’s practice with the goal of communicating and connecting through the music. That’s the kind of music that brings people together!

Lyric Writing Contest!

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Just in time for the holidays, gmajormusicthory.org is hosting a lyric writing contest where students write words to a new song on their site. The winner receives $75. Entries are due by Nov. 15th. This week I’ve been presenting the idea of entering the contest to my students. Initially a lot of them get that look in their eyes of “Oh no! More work”, however once I start asking them what they will do with the $75 suddenly their creative juices start flowing! Who couldn’t use $75 just before Christmas?

Ear Candy Game: Quarter Note Lollipops!

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Here is a new game to help teach/reinforce note reading.

Materials Needed:

Small poster board or other heavy paper

Twizzlers Pull Apart Candy

Skittles

Dum Dum Lollipops

Ways To Play:

For group lessons: After making a staff and bass/treble clef using the Twizzlers, have the student(s) place lollipops on notes you specify.

For each note they properly place, they get to eat the lollipop or save it for after the lesson

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For private lessons: You can have the board completely set up with staff, clef, and notes made of lollipops and skittles. Then have each student choose a lollipop or skittle they want at the end of their lesson. They get to eat it ONLY IF they can correctly name the note.

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This game can also be used to help students identify note on lines or spaces.

For more advanced students you can have them play the melody built by the notes for a bonus take home bag of candy.

Introducing The Quarter Rest

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Rests on printed scores are often ignored – especially by beginning piano students. I have my own ideas about the reasons why. At the top of this list is the fact that in today’s fast paced society silence is so rare that it has become a foreign concept to many. For others it is something to be feared and avoided at all costs! Musicians, however, know the value of a well placed rest. The well placed rest can convey a range of emotions and create magical moments in the music.

Here’s a quick way I introduced the quarter rest with my beginners last week.

Starting from a familiar place – quarter notes drawn on foam flash cards. (You can purchase foam paper at the dollar store or a local craft store.) The student can play or stomp the rhythm. Younger kids may even like to do the Dinosaur Stomp!

Here comes the quarter rest silencing the last beat!

What happens to the sound if the quarter rest moves to a different spot?

Finally, what happens if we get rid of the quarter rest?

Mystery Practice Assignments Pt 2

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Since last week’s post about Mystery Practice Assignments got so much attention on Pinterest and since my students seem to be enjoying the suspense involved in having to wait to find out what their practice assignment for each day is, I’ve decided to do a follow-up. Here are some of the mystery assignments I will be using this week. These are some of the tried and true favorites that I have used over the years in students’ notebooks as well as one idea that came from a comment on a post about How To Get Kids To Sing. Also, this week there will only be 4 mystery assignments – one for every other day. (Hmmm…could this be another way to reinforce the concept of skips?)

1.Place a small ball in the palm of your right hand. Wrap tape around the ball and your hand. Play the Treble clef notes of your practice piece without letting the ball slip out!

2. Using a kazoo, sing the first line of your practice piece whenever your brother or sister says your name tonight. (Thanks to Leila of 88pianokeys for this one!) Teachers/parents – for this one you may have to supply your student with a kazoo. This will actually add to the mystery since you will not tell him/her what the kazoo is for! You will only tell them that it is explained  in one of their envelopes!

3. Put on some dark sunglasses and play your piece with your eyes closed like Stevie Wonder. Were you able to play it without a mistake? If not, keep trying until you can!

4. Watch one of your favorite 30 minute TV shows and play your piece during the commercials. How many times were you able to play your piece?

For a printable copy of the assignments click here. There are enough for up to 4 students each. Simply cut strips and place in a sealed envelope for each day.

What To Do After The Lesson: A Checklist For Parents

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Parents want to HELP their kids do well in piano but often don’t know how and are pressed for time. As a piano parent myself, I totally get it. So in the spirit of multitasking, here are 4 simple things parents can do in the car on the way home (or headed to the next destination) after lessons.

Just remember the word

H.E.L.P.

Highlights – Ask your child questions about the lesson

Encouragement – Make a positive statement about their piano learning

Let it go – Laugh about something. Anything.

Play – for the first 5 minutes at home have your child play something they started learning at the lesson.

You can print a copy of the checklist here to keep in your car!

 

Mystery Practice Assignments

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This post is about the never ending practice war. You carefully write out assignments in your student’s notebook, slowly explain what you wrote, and you wait 7 days. Then you find out your student didn’t even look at the assignment sheet. You give your student a look of shock or disappointment and explain again why practice is so important. Repeat the steps from the previous week. The cycle continues.

I’m sure most piano teachers are familiar with the practice war and some may even have come to accept it as just a normal part of lessons. Well, the rebel in me is standing up today and saying NO! This has got to stop!

So, I have a proposal for any teacher who is ready to accept the challenge to end the war.

This will take a little advanced planning, but I’m betting it will be worth it. This week I’m giving students a different practice task for each of the 7 days in between lessons. My goal is for them to complete at least 5 of these tasks. If they complete all 7, they get to choose something from my treasure box at the end of the lesson. Here is where it gets interesting  – I will assign and explain a really cool practice activity for the first day like one of the ones in Shhh… Your Piano Teacher Thinks This Is Practice by Andrea and Trevor Dow. The other 6 assignments will be given to the student in sealed envelopes with the message – “Do NOT Open Until _________ “! The day of the week will be written on the line. Before giving the student the assignments, I will be making a list of them in my teacher notes so that I can use that in the following lesson.

I can’t wait to see how many of my students will take the mystery challenge!

Will you join me in this quest to end the practice war? Like and / or leave a comment if you’re on board!

Book Review: Making Music by Susan Bonners

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Here is a great book to add to your library of fiction books about piano lessons. Susan Bonners tells an engaging story of a young girl, Annie, who moves to a new neighborhood with her mom and little brother. The trouble is that they are moving far away from her Uncle who was teaching her how to play the piano. In the new neighborhood Annie is surprised to hear piano music coming from a neighbor’s house. As the story progresses we watch Annie and her neighbor  – who happens to be a retired piano teacher –  form an unbreakable bond because of the music.

Young readers who have an interest in playing the piano will easily relate to Annie as they read about how Annie struggles to remember the music her Uncle taught her before she moved away and how she eventually does remember HOW to remember! As a piano teacher, I constantly encourage young students to read fiction books about kids who play the piano or who want to learn to play. I believe that these stories are very valuable in validating children who take lessons by giving them characters who have similar desires and interests as their own. This is especially important because of the fact that piano learning is in so many ways a lonely pursuit.

The piano teacher in me enjoys reading these books because of the “knowing about the process” that is often depicted in them. For example, there is one line that jumped off the page as I was reading Making Music – “Teaching is tiring” the neighbor tells Annie when Annie asks her to teach her to play the piano. Simple relatable comments like that can be very refreshing because they are reminders that other piano teachers sometimes experience the same emotions that I do when it comes to teaching piano.

The story is a quick read that can be helpful for parents as well. Parents who read the book will get a glimpse into the mind of a young child who desires to play the piano and gain an even better understanding of lessons as it relates to their own child.

I found this book at my local library, but after reading it decided that I wanted to have my own copy. It is available through several sellers including Amazon.com.

What books are in your piano fiction library?

Printable Listening Sheet

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Today I ran across a Listening Sheet that I designed a while back for my students. You can use it to encourage your piano students to actively listen to recorded music. Active listening has always been a skill that must be developed, but have you noticed that we are teaching the first generation of students who have never really listened to music without video? This makes it even more challenging for them to listen to the music itself.

This listening sheet allows the student to listen for what instruments are playing, what the tempo is, and what the time signature is. Notice that the space to write this information is located on the Bass Clef Staff. I did this to draw attention to the Bass Clef Staff since piano students often seem to not notice it. Here is just another opportunity for them to see it. There is also a spot where they can indicate whether or not they would like to learn to play the song – great info for a teacher to know!

You can download the file by clicking here or on the picture above. For more FREE PRINTABLES, click here.

4 Reasons To Watch the iTunes Festival Concerts Free Now!

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The iTunes Festival has just concluded 30 Nights of Live Concerts and the iTunes Store is making the concerts available to watch FREE for a limited time. By clicking the pic above you can find out how to watch the concerts from your computer, mobile device, or your TV. There are many artists from a wide variety of genres represented.

Classical Music lovers will enjoy the concert by Andrea Bocelli as he sings “Amazing Grace”, “Time To Say Goodbye” and many more.

Fans of The X Factor will be happy to hear Rebecca Ferguson in concert with her Pop and R&B vocals.

World Music performer Laura Mvula, who studied classical composition is also included in this buffet of Free Concerts from the iTunes Festival.

My favorite new artist, Emeli Sande, has a fabulous concert as well! She performs her hit “Next To Me”, “Read All About It” and other tunes from her new album.

Can anybody say One Direction? Yes, they have a concert as well!

This body of concerts is a great opportunity for anyone who loves music, but it is especially great for music educators. Here are my top reasons for watching:

1. Discover new music –

Here in one place you have some of the hottest artists from a variety of genres which makes discovering new music that students will love easy to find. There are links on the concert page to each artist’s iTunes page where you can purchase the music you like.

2. See your favorite artists in concert for FREE!!!

3. See Clear Video for Performance Examples  –

      Music educators can use clips from the concerts to point out on stage performance techniques to students

4. Preview music on upcoming CDs – 

 We all hate to buy music and later discover we don’t like it. Eliminate this possibility by watching the FREE Concert before you buy!