Friday, September 16, 2016 by Lisa Barwell | Sightreading

 

Students who participate in Federation Festival are required to have a flashdrive that clips into their binder.  I was able to take several of these flashdrives this week and put a recording of their Festival solo onto it.  I loved using my new digital piano to record the solos!

Several students also started to learn how to play lead sheets.  We are using this fun book from the Teach Piano Today’s Book Club.

Not all students could do the above activities so we had fun playing theory games.  Some reviewed note values and tried to not wake the dinosaur with “Slumbersaurus”; some found and labeled all the 2 and 3 black key groups and continued practicing that with “Rock On!”; and some solidified their knowledge of pentascales using “Pentapillars”!

However, as fun as all of these other activities were, the highlight of most students’ week was sightreading!  Last year, we met Sheldon T. Squirrel and did one page a week as a sight-reading exercise.  They were eagerly anticipating meeting Maxwell A. Skunk this year and were all so sad that we only did one page this week.  Our goal for sightreading is to get it right the first time so students have to study the exercise before playing.  After they finish, we say “two stars and a wish.”  The stars are two things they did well (correct notes, good rhythm, etc.) and the wish is something they wish they did but will try to remember to do next time (dynamics, hold the half note, etc.).

It was a full week!  I’m looking forward to hearing the progress they’ve made on their recital pieces and lead sheets next week.  Fall is always an exciting time in the studio!

Friday, September 9, 2016 by Lisa Barwell | Composing

Group classes this week were fun!  We learned a little about the Renaissance era.

Students read some facts about this era while munching on some Renaissance “small cakes” (kind of like a raisin scone, but more dense).

 
We learned about the madrigal, a vocal piece set to a love poem.  Since we are learning piano, not voice, we wrote a piece for piano instead.  Students started by writing a four line poem about something they love.  Many students wrote about food but we also had a madrigal about the beach and another about Minecraft!

 
Then students wrote music to go with their poem using the “A” natural minor scale (also known as “Aeolian Mode,” a mode used during this period).

 
Here are some of the finished madrigals.  I created this heart-shaped worksheet based on Baude Cordier’s, “Belle, bonne, sage” (Concise History of Western Music, 2nd Edition, Hanning, 2002).

 
What a fun way to incorporate music history into lessons!

Friday, September 2, 2016 by Lisa Barwell | Games

This week was Parent Participation Week.  It was interesting to have students’ parents join them in their lessons this week.  Some of the students were a little nervous, surprisingly, but different experiences help us to grow.  It was a valuable time for student, parent, and teacher!

To start the lesson, the parent joined the student on the bench and did some rhythm work with our “Fingercise Cup” that we made last week.  Students made up a rhythm and then their parent copied it and vice versa.  The student was able to give a demonstration of why we made this little cup (to help develop curved fingers) and also to practice listening skills.

I couldn’t resist the opportunity to play one of our new games!  I found three listening games that would be understandable to non-musical parents (although it turns out that many of the parents are musical!).  Early beginners played “Huddle Ducks,” older beginners played “Ready, Set, Scoop,” and intermediate students played “Tossing Todd.”  There were even opportunities for students to teach their parents a little about music.

Students then played one or two pieces from their previous week’s assignments.  The parent enjoyed having a mini-performance and afterwards had the chance to observe how we approach a new piece of music.

After performing, it was time for the parents to become the students!  The kids became the teacher and taught their mom or dad how to play something they’ve been learning, like a scale or piece.  Several of the students surprised me this week by showing some natural teaching ability!  That was a fun discovery!

Some students even got to read a TEDDTale with their parent.  What a great opportunity to share piano time together!

To finish out the lesson, parents received these little treats.  Yum!

What a fun week!