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.

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.

ISBN:  978-1-58333-333-4

A great place to get books at delightfully inexpensive prices is www.cheapesttextbooks.com

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.

My equipment: 20 inch iMac, $170.00 microphone, $30.00 mic stand, $35.00 usb external speakers for better playback

THE SURPRISE! I also record my students’ improvisations. This is one of the favorite activities. I then convert the files to MP3 and e-mail to the students/parents.

To my delight I found out that the parent who can’t come to lessons now feels included since they can listen to the progress on their own time AND many parents are e-mailing the files to out of town relatives who don’t often get a chance to hear the life performances! It’s bringing grandma and grandpa closer than ever.

It’s also a great way for the piano student’s sibling(s) to get excited about what goes on at piano lessons…..and perhaps come check it out!

FUN, FUN, FUN!

Much like American Idol, a music teacher is trying to avoid elimination by being voted off in favor of something more desirable like soccer or videogames. And yet, our mission is hardly what I would call a popularity contest. The paradox is obvious, but at the end of the day, we must make music attractive in order to get the children into the music studio. From there we turn ourselves inside out to help spark a lifelong interest and love of music making. We work and play so that our students find their own personal connection to music. And once the student has found his or her connection to music, the journey changes from one of “trying this out to see if I like it” to a joyful collaboration between student and teacher where play and enthusiasm are generated from within.