Tag: piano

Kudos To School Music Teachers!

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Thankfully a lot of my piano students go to schools where they have a music class. I am always so impressed when a student arrives to their piano lesson and tells me about a concept they learned in music class at school. These teachers really make my job a lot easier. So, in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week I’m dedicating this post to my students’ school music teachers. The kids and I spelled out their names rhythmically.  Kudos and thanks for all you do, school music teachers. You’re Awesome!!!

             

Defeating The Performance Time Boogie Man

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So, you’re sitting at the BIG black monster – uh, piano – in front of a crowd of people. You’re playing your piece, and suddenly your brain goes on strike and you don’t know what notes to play. YIKES!!!

Most musicians have had this happen before, but what to do? These episodes seem to linger in  our performance memories for years and can be quite traumatic. I can still remember forgetting my piano piece in my second piano recital at age 6. It was so awful that my teacher had to finish the song for me! Well, piano students around the world need not fear this happening to them any longer. If during practice a certain phrase constantly escapes your student’s memory, this is a clue that some precautions must be put in place at performance time to combat any possible brain strike.

That’s where the blocks come in! One of my very young students was having trouble remembering the “fa la la la la” phrase in Deck the Halls. So, in a last-minute moment of inspiration, I grabbed some letter blocks and used them to spell out the notes of the phrase. We used them each time during the lessons leading to the performance so my student could get used to them being there. At the performance, the blocks were great because you couldn’t see them over the book stand like you would a book. My student was able to relax knowing that if he couldn’t remember his notes they were right there in front of him and the audience didn’t even know!

What precautions do you take to combat the inevitable performance time boogie man’s sabotage efforts?

Stickers And Parents Oh My!

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This one is an oldie but a goodie for motivating young students. No surprise here, but it’s worth mentioning just in case it’s slipped your mind. I know I had forgotten about the amazing motivational power of stickers until yesterday when one of my preschool piano players showed up for lessons and her mom said it was difficult to get her to practice last week at home.

Enter the amazing stickers! I took a blank piece of paper, folded it in half and told my preschooler that we were going to see if she could fill up the page with stickers. How were we going to do this? Well for each time she played her piece she’d get to put a sticker on.

But no we didn’t stop there! After she played the trouble spots a couple of times I told her I had a suggestion. Why don’t we get her to see if her mom could play it too? Of course she would have to be her mom’s teacher because afterall, I was busy teaching her! She absolutely loved the idea so her mom joined in the lesson and of course she earned stickers as well. Now we had two sticker sheets going! My student was excited to find out that not only would her mom get a sticker for practicing, she would get one also every time her mom played the piece.

Finally I had another suggestion. Why don’t we get you and mom to play it together? And yes, she loved the idea too. What 4 year old doesn’t want to do something special with their mom? The best part was that we recorded them playing and let them listen and judge their playing. Oh and as a bonus it was a perfect opportunity for a new vocabulary word: duet. Now my preschooler chants “a duet is when you do it together”

So what about home practice? Well the sticker sheet went home with a challenge to fill it up completely with no white spaces showing! When she brings it back she will get a something from my treat box. She couldn’t wait to get home and practice – I mean play!

Teachers, how do you get parents involved in the lesson? Parents, how do you get involved in practice at home? Share your wisdom in a comment below!

 

Black History: Music Picture Books

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Books On Songs and  Singing:


 What a Wonderful World

By: George David Weiss & Bob Thiele

Illustrated by: Ashley Bryan

Age Level: 3-6

Reading Level: Beginning Reader

This book  can be used while listening to Louis Armstrong’s famous recording of the timeless song. Children and adults will enjoy the colorful pictures.

Hush Songs by Joyce Carol Thomas (Aug 2, 2000)

A collection of African American Lullabies including music notation, pictures, and brief descriptions of many of the songs’ origin and uses.

All Night, All Day: A Child’s First Book of African American Spirituals

By: Ashley Bryan

Age Level: 3-6

Reading Level: Beginning Reader

When Marian Sang: The True Recital Of Marian Anderson, The Voice Of A Century 

by: Pam Munoz Ryan

Age Level: 6 and up

Books On Piano and Pianists:

Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum 

by: Robert Parker

Grades 2-4

The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend by Ann Ingalls, Maryann Macdonald and Giselle Potter

DUKE ELLINGTON, The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney (1999)
Video Picture Books:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgKi95r_FFk&t=1m58s

http://youtu.be/BMJbMKII8iM

“Peek A Boo” Game

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As piano teachers, we are always looking for ways to get students to “Play It Again” or “Play It Till You Get It”. Unfortunately, this usually equates to being locked up in a prison in a child’s mind. So, like me you are probably always on the lookout for a practice game. Here is a video of the latest practice game from my studio presented by one of my students. Enjoy!

Stay Calm!

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Recitals, performances, and anxiety – Oh My! Yes, it’s that time of year when limited time and looming performances can send piano students (and teachers) over the edge. So, I thought I’d share with you my new find that can lighten up the situation and make it more fun! Recently I got a new addition to go with the EASY button that sits on my teaching piano. It’s called the Panic Button. It features the familiar Hoops and YoYo characters from Hallmark and in true Hoops and YoYo style is HILARIOUS.
Whenever I see a kid approaching that point – you know the one where their eyes freeze up and frustration takes over – I say, “Quick Hit The Panic Button!” We both end up rolling with laughter as soon as they hit that button. I think this item is only available in stores but it is so worth a trip to the store!

The Crocodile In The Studio

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"Crocodile"

“Crocky Loves Music”

Besides the piano, this is probably the most used thing in my studio. Years ago when my children were preschool age someone gave them this toy crocodile game. To play, you push down his teeth one at a time. Apparently one of his teeth is bad and it hurts him when you push that tooth. So, he slams his mouth shut. The cool thing is that the bad tooth changes every time you play! All the kids in my studio love the shock of finding the bad tooth!
So, how does Crocky help us play piano? Well whenever we run into a tricky passage or something that needs to be played several times, we ask Crocky for help. The student plays the part we are working on and gets to push a tooth each time they play it. Once Crocky closes his mouth we know we’re finished working on that part for now.
The anticipated shock of Crocky closing his mouth and of guessing which one is the bad tooth keep the kids wanting to play their tricky piano parts over and over again! Sometimes they even ask “Where is Crocky” as soon as they enter the studio!
As I said, I’ve had Crocky for a long time, but you can probably find one at a toy store or maybe even online.
Do you have any especially fun props or characters that you use with your students to get them to do repetitions? I’d love to hear about them!

One More For Little Mozarts!

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This is a great FREE app for all ages, but especially for the youngest piano players. Using the Piano Tab on the app kids can learn to play 5 familiar tunes  –  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old Mac Donald, and others. The game works somewhat like Piano Wizard where the note to be played floats down to the key on the piano. I like the fact that it moves slowly enough for the kids to find the notes and it even waits while the kid does so. An added bonus is that kids using the Music For Little Mozarts method books will recognize a couple of friends on the screen – Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear! The graphics here are awesome and the colors are bright and fun. I can’t wait to introduce this one to my students! This app can be purchased for FREE in the apple itunes store. Did I mention that it’s FREE? What are your favorite music apps for younger piano students?