Saturday, March 11, 2017 by Lisa Barwell | Games

Weeks Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six
 

These past two weeks have been somewhat quiet here in the studio; we’re getting back into the routine after Festival. Festival participants read their rating sheets from the judges and others are preparing for their spring recital.
 
To have a little fun and review theory at the same time, we brought out some old and new games. Students had a blast playing “My Fly Pie,” “Frosting Frenzy,” “Sugar High,” and “Hydrant Hullabaloo!”

 
What a fun way to review things like “intervals,” “stem direction rules,” “directional reading,” and “sharps and flats!” Theory doesn’t have to be boring!

Saturday, February 4, 2017 by Lisa Barwell | Games

Weeks Twenty & Twenty-One
                               

Things are busy, busy, busy here in the studio. Federation students are working hard to polish their solos and duets for Festival coming up on February 24 and 25. Preparation has also begun for the March recital. Recital pieces were chosen by the participants and it’s looking like it will be a fun recital, full of interesting pieces!
In between all the serious work, we managed to squeeze in a few games, of course! After all, life can’t be all work and no play, right?
 
“Puddle Jumper” (reviewing note values) and “Root Canal” (practice with quickly creating root, 1 ^st inversion, and 2 ^nd inversion chords on the piano) made appearances again this week. These games are turning out to be studio favorites!

 
A new activity for the week was “Football Flashcards.” These flashcards really make the learning full-circle because students can fit the card into the piano key to show where it is played, instead of just naming it. Awesome! This led to some students having “breakthrough moments” in their understanding of the keyboard layout.

 
I love seeing my students enjoying themselves and making music!
 

Monday, September 26, 2016 by Lisa Barwell | Games

This week, students continued to enjoy sight-reading with Sheldon and Maxwell.  We are learning to think about notes, rhythm, dynamics, and other important details before playing.  Sheldon and Maxwell make it fun!

Older students enjoyed a game break this week!  We learned how to play “Pitch It,” a game that helps us practice naming enharmonic notes.

Younger students had a fun time reviewing finger numbers and piano keys with “Lumber Jack,” one of our all-time favorite games!

Some highlights from my week were hearing several students come into their lesson saying they are really enjoying their recital pieces and seeing one of my youngest student’s awesome hand posture!