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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

This is a GEM for students of all ages.  The rule is simple:

Once you’ve chosen a section of music (a measure or more), you practice slow enough to be able to play it with no mistakes (That means correct notes, correct counting and correct fingers).

Once you can do this, you will apply the 3 x 1 rule:

• Practice the section 3 times slowly.  You have to get 3 in a row that are mistake free!
• Once you accomplish this, you play one time faster (not crazy, but at a somewhat riskier speed.)  No matter what happens you MUST NOT TRY TO FIX IT OR PLAY IT FAST AGAIN.
• Instead you immediately return to the slow speed from before and play the section 3 times slowly. Once again you must play 3 times in a row mistake-free.
• After that, you play at a riskier faster speed and watch the miracle unfold before your eyes.

I do this with my students step by step and when they get to the end and their playing is so improved they are always amazed. No matter their age, they look as if a magic trick has just occurred.

Then we talk about how to use this approach and when it is most important. For the little ones, it is a game of concentration to see how quickly they can get the mistake-free playing. You can add extra fun by putting a timer on the task and also by creating a reward system such as, “You get to choose the next activity if you can finish the 3 x 1 game in less than 3 minutes.” etc. Or, “I’ll squawk like a chicken if you can finish the 3 x 1 game in less than 2 minutes.” The idea is to make it fun. This can be a fun way to teach your students how to be meticulous and at the same time have them produce results faster which will make them happy and increase their confidence, too.

I’d like to share a few things I look out for that are clear circumstances for me not accepting a student into my studio. Here is what I look for:

• Energy & Enthusiasm
• The student’s behavior with me and his/her parents
• The parents behavior and attitude

No matter the age of the young beginner, if they spend the entire hour of the introductory piano lesson sluggish and unresponsive (assuming all of my talents for working with children fail) I usually will not accept them into my studio.

Additionally, if the child continually gets off the bench and runs around or simply will not try anything I offer (again, assuming all of my talents for working with youngsters completely fails), then I will not likely accept this student.

The last category applies to both the student and the parent. If the student is disrespectful to me during the introductory lesson and the parent does not intervene or correct the student’s behavior, I will certainly not accept this student into my studio. I will also not admit a student if the parent is belligerent or disrespectful to me during the introductory lesson.