Piano Students participate in the Yungling Piano Studio May Piano Recital in Brooklyn, New York
Yungling Piano Studio’s May Piano Recital was once again held at Clover’s Fine Art Gallery and Cafe. We had a delightful time playing songs for our family and friends. From 4 to 34, students of all ages displayed their skills and provided an amazing afternoon of fun and music. Clover created an inviting environment with a new set up of chairs that gave us the perfect, intimate recital space. Thank you to all the amazing piano students for their hard work and thank you to Clover for making our event so special. A special thank you goes to all our moms and dads who help keep music alive by encouraging their youngsters to study music.
Winter Piano Olympics 2010
This years Piano Olympic games are more exciting than ever. This year there is a ski lodge, ski lift, snowy mountain and a curling ice rink, too. (You might have to be Canadian to know what that is!)
Here is a newsletter I created to send to parents to share why I do what I do. I also include helpful ideas to make practicing more attractive to young students. View PDF here.
I selected some of the cutest pictures of winter olympic sports clipart the students can use as avatars as they move along the game board. The fun part is that the avatars are only known by me …..so that students who don’t like competing won’t feel pressure and those who love competing will still be able to see if someone is ahead of them or not. This way everyone can participate in their own way…and still have fun.
The best part is the ski lift! Students have to complete three tasks (Rhythm cards are great for this) before they can move up the ski slope. It takes three stars each to move higher up the mountain. I use 3×5 cards as the ski lift ticket and star stickers to show their success. I use a hole punch to indicate when they have used their lift ticket. The students love it so much they beg for more challenges! NOTE: I make them take the ski lift ticket home. They must return with it or they can’t play. A fun way to teach responsibility!
Winter Piano Olympics 2010: Badges
And to make it just a little official, I created Olympic Badges that the students could color their name on and decorate as they see fit.
I have a large collection of small prizes and a certificate to give each student as they complete the games.
I’ve been playing the piano for 28 years. I grew up with teachers showing me how to practice hands separately. I learned the value of isolating difficult spots playing one hand at a time and I know it produces amazing results. But then I cut my thumb! While improperly using a paper cutter for a piano studio project, I cut the top of my thumb down to the fingernail….OUCH! And playing octaves….well, pretty much anything….with that hand was impossible.
So I began working on my music with just the left hand. And I am energized at the progress and solidity I am achieving. I’m working on Chopin Scherzo Op39 in C# minor. And the clarity and confidence I feel is…well, not new, but somehow new because I can’t use my left hand even if I want to!
May your hands always be safe and free from harm. However, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of encouraging your students to play hands separately. Of course, making a fun game out of it will most likely make it attractive to the younger students.
Happy practicing!
Tags: practice
I’m always looking for ways to engage my students in music centered activities. And with today’s electronic gadgets competing for their interest, I’ve got to stay on my toes!
In 2010 I will be teaching my students about simple rhythmic and melodic motifs and how repetition and variation create interest. Of course, I won’t be using these words to describe it or they’ll be asleep faster than I can say “Da Capo Al fine”.
I’ll use Beethoven’s 5th symphony as a starter with rhythmic motif and repetition.
I’ll play games in the studio with 3-5 note rhythms, have the student repeat me and then we’ll play around with the order of our rhythms to create variation. I’ll show them how to notate it and then have them spend a week making up their own rhythms and writing them in their staff booklets (based on our template).
I’ll do the same with melodic motifs. I’ll use Mary Had Little Lamb to show them how to take the same notes and rearrange them. Then we’ll take 3-5 notes and rearrange them to our hearts content. I’ll show them how to notate it and then give them a week to create their own music.
This is a fun activity sure to inspire any student. And they’ll never know they’re being taught theory, notation and composition all at the same time. They’ll just be having fun!
Piano Olympics is a fun way to get students motivated. Here is a new idea for the upcoming Feb. 2010 Olympics. (Also, check out my first post on Olympics in the Piano Studio
This winter I will create a winter mountain that rises and drops steeply. Then I’ll set colored flag markers for each of the major and minor scales (probably grouped by fingering similarity). To make the game fun, I’ll make a template for both girl and boy…with skis that the students can take home and color to match their personality. Then as they progress up and down the slippery mountain of scales, I’ll fix their paper with pushpin on the mountain.
NOTE: I have noticed in my experience that some students do not like competition. I will not create it as a race, but rather a fun journey. I’ll have prizes at the end, of course
Summer Olympics in the Piano Studio
The young students who were all in the same primer book had the task of playing each of their songs correctly (counting, notes, dynamics, etc) and there were 48 songs in the book. If a student had already finished 1/2 of the book, I simply used the 6th color to fill in the grid….unless, of course, when the student preferred to play them all again just to get the gold sticker! That was a pleasant surprise.
Older students had a choice to play 48 increasingly difficult rhythm cards or all of the major and minor scales in each hand. Both options had 48 total tasks.
Prizes were given upon completion and pictures next to the poster were taken. Not everyone finished, but fun was had by all.
An Amazing Recital Space
Are you looking for a great recital space with an amazing piano? I highly recommend you check out Clover’s Fine Art Gallery and Cafe on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Clover has a beautiful space which is immaculate and spacious enough for 70 guests. She also has a brand new Petrof Grand piano! She serves alcohol and a wide array of cafe drinks as well as bakery items. Yungling Piano Studio is having its Fall Piano Recital on Sunday, December 13 at 3pm. I’ll be posting a follow up to let you know how everyone loved the venue!
Tags: business, music, Performing, recital
Many of my students love to draw and color. A new practice I’ll be starting in January 2010 is to have my youngsters draw, color, paint, collage, etc one picture for every day that they practice during the week.
All they have to do is create a picture that represents how that practice session was for them. They could draw to show how they felt, how the practice was, or what the music made them think of.
When they arrive the following week they’ll have a small “booklet” of images telling the story of their practice week. Then using Garageband, the iMac and my microphone, we’ll record a brief improvisation that matches the image. The student will create a score for their “mini-play”. I’ll send them the complete MP3 file and then they can have “theatre” performances at home with family members and friends.
My expectation is that some students will be inspired to create scenes/images outside the realm of piano practice and delve into the creative story-telling process with music. My hope is that the activity will be so fun that they will want to practice more days so that they have more images. Of course I’ll have to put a limit of one image per day of practice in order to inspire that motivation!
Anyone who has done this or has any input, comments, etc. please send them to me. I’m grateful for any support I receive.
Another book I’m reading that has helped reinforce some instincts I’ve had as a teacher….and has opened my eyes to ways I can still play as an adult. So far I can say that the heightened awareness of play has helped me pay attention to my students “playfulness” more. I notice that some students prefer to play songs their own way. While my goal is to have them learn and master the existing notation system and develop into sensitive intelligent musicians, I am sometimes conflicted about correcting them when they are intentionally “creating”. In the past I used to think I was failing as a teacher, but as I spent more time “letting go” and learning how to praise the young student’s every act of musical spontaneity, I’m finding they are plenty willing to do it “my way” when they’ve been given the freedom to do it their way, too. This has given me great joy and has resulted in much more laughter in the studio!
ISBN: 978-1-58333-333-4
A great place to get books at delightfully inexpensive prices is www.cheapesttextbooks.com
Tags: education, fun, Great Book, play
A must have for any pianist
Every pianist should have this book. Seymour Bernstein has generously share his lifetime’s work so that we may be actualized fully has human beings. He includes case studies of students, psychology, humor and exercises for strength, stretching and particularly how to free the thumb from the wrist. A joyful and valuable read. You will be touched and moved by how much this man loves you and cares about you as a person.
ISBN: 0-7935-5712-7
A great place to get books at delightfully inexpensive prices is www.cheapesttextbooks.com
Tags: education, Great Book, music