Student Compositions

Periscope #18

Student Compositions

               " Ah....., I'm working on a little something...."


  That is how it starts out. My student has been composing and hesitantly wants me to hear it. It is simply scary to show your creative self. Here are five ways to make composing happen in  your studio.

1. Be willing to listen
2. Encourage them to write down their song with any kind of notation. Provide empty staff paper
3. Be willing to help them notate on your computer during extended lesson time
4. Encourage them to get free Finale Notepad on their home computer
5. As you help them notate be ready to repeat theory lessons you were sure they understood

Here are two compositions which are repetitive and fun to learn. Dancing With The Stars, written by Anna when she was 10 years old,  is in Gb but once the pattern is learned the notes seem easy. Song #6 is a syncopated piece with interesting accents, written by Chris in his early teens You can find them here. 

        

 I am on Periscope on Tuesdays at 10:30 PST and my screen name is GabriB. I hope you will visit me. Next week I plan discuss ways students can use their piano skills in their community.

Also check out Elizabeth Gutierrez on Periscope. She does teachings tips in 10 minutes on Tuesday mornings at 8:00am CST and I really enjoy her insights. Her handle is @pianoprof88 and she has a great blog. 

     Periscope is a free app by the Twitter company that allows you to broadcast all over the world. There is no time limit. Viewers can participate by typing messages and questions and by sending hearts for content they like. The recorded broadcast is viewable for 24 hours after airing.

                                                                 

Mr.Music- A Game For Learning Note Value

Periscope #13

Games For The Beginning Student 

    March brought some new students my way. So, again I pull out my trusty games, one for learning note value and for learning piano key names.

    I thought of Mr. Music when I remembered playing Mother May I as a child. The video below has a description of how to play.

Playing Name That Key came along when I needed motivation for my students to learn their key names with the musical alphabet. I play a key and they must tell me the letter name. We use tally marks to keep score from week to week. To make it challenging for myself when they play a white key for me, I shut my eyes and tell them which key they played. Now, I don't have perfect pitch but I do have relative pitch and I surprise them when I get them correct. Alas, sometimes my ear does not anchor on a pitch and to my student's delight I don't get a point. Drats! 

                          
 

 I hope these games are useful and FYI, next week I will not be Periscoping. But I will return on April 12. My famous voice scientist brother, Ingo Titze, will be Periscoping April 18, yes, that is a Monday, and I will be interviewing him about breath and helping pianists who are breath holders.

 I am on Periscope on Tuesdays at 10:30 PST and my screen name is GabriB. I hope you will visit me.

Also check out Elizabeth Gutierrez on Periscope. She does teachings tips in 10 minutes on Tuesday mornings at 8:00am CST and I really enjoy her insights. Her handle is @pianoprof88 and she has a great blog. 

     Periscope is a free app by the Twitter company that allows you to broadcast all over the world. There is no time limit. Viewers can participate by typing messages and questions and by sending hearts for content they like. The recorded broadcast is viewable for 24 hours after airing.

                                                                 

Homemade Scale Foldable

This month's group lessons consisted of rehearsing and videoing the duets, (October was duet month) and making homemade scale foldables. I had two to four students at a time, for one hour. 

  Buying scale books is possible but allowing each child to use the patterns to make their own scale book is child centered-learning. I used colored folders, inexpensively purchased at Amazon, as the shell and the inside varied depending on age. Keyboards can be copied for free from Susan Paradis. (Thank-you, Susan) Scroll down the teaching resources page to Keyboard labels. My students glued the labels on, making dots on the keyboard to illustrate a 5-finger or octave scale, and then with post-it notes made covers for each scale. We will use them at their lessons.

    A even more inexpensive version is to fold two pieces of paper hot dog style, vertical, and then staple them into the folder. After the scales are written in we cut the top fold just under each scale and make a cover. The best part of this process, for me, was listening to them discuss half-steps and whole-steps. It was  keyboard analysis from which each student benefitted.

Busy B Word Bubble and Duet Month

   October is duet month. I have tried this before. In the past I ended up playing some of the second parts because getting children together to practice is a scheduling challenge. However, it is working and I purchased some fun pieces to delight my students. One important element this time is that I have determined to get the partners together twice. Once to practice and have a group lesson experience, and once to perform for my video camera. I intend to show my movie during cookie time after my January recital. Duets provide the perfect setting to bring home the concept of the steady beat. Without lecture or nagging, the impotence of feeling the beat moves to the forefront. I have tried to shy away from pairing up siblings. They can annoy each other quickly. Next week I will get together the first batch of duets. I look forward to the process and the outcome.

I found a fun site that will generate a "most often used" word bubble from your blog. The idea it drives home in my mind is that my posts have been dedicated to sharing ideas for learning piano music.
I love the word "beat" right in the middle. I do many things to enhance a steady beat. Make your own word bubble here. 

Getting In Sync With The Steady Beat

  The internet is a buzz with the You Tube Video from Japan showing the science of the transfer of sound and thermal conductivity using metronomes.

 
 
  One of my most common challenges in teaching piano is helping students feel the beat and become synchronized with it. I wonder if 32 students playing the piano on a moving stage, playing the same song, will eventually yield to one ready beat.
  Hmm… probably not. There will always be a rebel in the group.

Lead Sheets

   This summer I wanted to introduce each student to a lead sheet. I have used them over the years and they appear in the strangest places. For example, I was hired by a very passionate third grade teacher to come into her classroom to do music. This school had a music teacher and each classroom went once a week. She wanted more, so she paid me, out of her pocket for eight years. I went in on Mondays and stayed 45 minutes. I started out just accompanying, but over time she gave me more license and freedom to bring in music of my choice. The music she gave me to play was mostly lead sheets. Sometimes I had to make my own because she would hum the melody and I would jot down the tune on music paper I had with me. It was a learning adventure for me for sure.

    The Fabers have included lead sheets in their new edition lesson books. I have scoured the internet for free music to add to my collection. I start with just one note in the left hand, the root note. Then I add fifths, the first and the fifth note of the chord, and finally the whole chord.
     Here is an example of a great song to use that plan. "Walk Don't Run" sounds good with just one bass note, the fifths, and the chord. With my intermediate students who understand intervals, I show them the inverted chords, close together for fluency.
     Reasons to work with lead sheets-

1. It opens the door to understanding chord theory
2. Improvisation happens naturally
3. Traditional songs come back into use, like Happy Birthday.

Wikifonia is a great internet site for finding lead sheets and even uploading your own.
                                                  Find some free lead sheets here.

Middle School Blues

My pack of five have started middle school and we are singing the blues. One hour earlier to start school, way more homework, and sports in the afternoon is causing this malady. When can they practice the piano? Like last year, I have to dig around and find those songs which can capture their hearts. Speaking of hearts, this piece, on Musicnotes.com, is on the radio and happens to have an easy arrangement. My Faber Level 3A gang are getting this and really enjoying learning the whole six pages, with repeats. It is a girl song so He's A Pirate is an option for those who are more into action than lost love.

    Christina Perri who performs it and co-wrote it started writing songs on the guitar and transferred those chords onto the piano. I like the A minor key with the harmonic G# now and then. The first page is always free to print on Musicnotes.com.

 

What Key Is This In?

   When I bring a few students together in a group lesson I like to start a conversation about musical theory. Yesterday I asked if anyone could explain key signature. 

   "It's your hand position."

   " It's the pattern of notes you play."

   " It's how many black keys there are." 

   It will take a few more discussions to fully understand it, but we tried in in a new way. It begins with the metaphor of a train and how it stops at different stations.

   The main station. Key of C is where the train begins. No passengers are aboard. It is five steps to the next station and there passenger F# takes a seat and stays for the whole ride.

   Five steps further along the track and we arrive at the station called D Major. When the passenger C# comes aboard F# takes his seat at the front of the train. Then it's five steps to the next station called A Major and so the train continues on. After using our feet to make the physical steps we travel around the circle of fifths until we arrive at F# Major, full train of passengers. Another day we can travel the other direction meeting passengers who are flats. Next week in our private lessons we will relate the train metaphor to the circle of fifths on their assignment pages. I hope it gives them another way to see Key Signatures.

Leaving Cues to Ignite Deep Practice

    In my continuing study of the book "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle, I am trying a more overt message that I value hard work in my piano studio. A study by Dr. Carol Dweck dealing with the aspect of motivation reveals some important information.

  "When we get a clear cue, a message that sends a spark, then "boing", we respond". 

  Four hundred fifth graders were given verbal cues of praise and the cues they most responded to dealt with their hard work not the acknowledgement of their intellect.

  "When we praise children for their intelligence we tell them that that's the name of the game: look smart and don't risk by making mistakes".

    Deep practice is about digging into a piece and working through it even when it is hard. I am going to be more diligent about giving the message that I care how much my students practice and how well they practice.

"We are exquisitely attuned to the messages that tell us what is valued."

                   "You really worked hard, it was a struggle, but you conquered it."

   I am tracking practice minutes very carefully for the next months and I hope to send a clear signal that work at the piano can be fun and the reward is more beautiful music.

Igniting the Desire For "Deep Practice"

   In the last post I wrote about the book "The Talent Code" and explored the concept of "deep practice".

   How do we as teachers ignite that desire to practice deeply?  I'll start with my own life and draw on the events that pushed me into desiring a higher level of practice. The first reason I can think of that started my relentless pursuit of competence was when I started singing the pop hits on the radio. I wanted to be able to accompany myself on the piano and I needed better skills to make that flow. I think that made me count out loud for the first time. My teacher had asked me to do this with every piece but I did not do it until I played songs with intricate rhythms.
   I saw another ignition when I was asked to accompanying the children in my church. I was too ashamed to show up and flounder at the keyboard, so I practiced and practiced. The adults gave me so much praise for my efforts that the desire sustained itself.  Ignition is cued by primal instincts, to be part of something big, to be included in a desirable group, or to be well thought of and brought into the fold. Ignition does not follow rules so, as a teacher, I may not be able to control it but it works as energy to get the task moving.
   What do teacher's do to spark ignition? The most important events in my studio are group lessons. When I take a small group of students and we work together on improving a skill I see more progress in that skill in private lessons. Yes, it is the power of peer pressure or peer approval, but in a positive environment it is a spark. Recitals can also be a spark. In the last recital I played a Beethoven Bagatelle which is featured in "My First Piano Adventures Book B". I asked the audience to sing the simple words every time I played that part. I have never had to ask any student in that age group to practice "Beethoven's Door". They can't wait to learn it because of the group experience at the recital.
   Lastly, I've captured a few images of "deep practice" on my piano bench.

However fleeting the moment is, it is precious to behold. Here also is a U-Tube video of "deep practice"

How Do Our Brains Learn Best?

   I have been very curious about how our brains work when we learn to play the piano and read music.

   Of note in the blogging world is Tara Gaertner's blog about how the brain learns music. In my opinion, the world is learning much about how our brain works but our habits do not reflect what we know. Take for instance the truth we know about the brain's need to recall new information within a short timespan. In my teaching experience I have proven to myself that if a student practices a short time on the day of the piano lesson the recall of the lesson improves dramatically all week long. If this truth were to be implemented then the parent would have to make a consistent effort to make time that evening to allow the lesson learning to be reviewed and processed. Even talking with your child about the lesson and asking questions would expedite recall.
  I look forward to reading Tara's posts and finding ways to use my own brain better and encourage anyone I might influence.
  "Welcome to “Training the Musical Brain”, a blog combining my interests in neuroscience and music pedagogy.  I believe that neuroscience, psychology and related areas of research have a lot to tell us about the affects of music on the brain, and about the best ways to optimize our musical training."

http://trainingthemusicalbrain.blogspot.com/

Fun With Measures

  Explaining time signature is hit and miss with my 5-6 year-olds. I was struggling with the concept of the measure line with my first student of the day and failed miserably. Even when we worked in the writing book and drew the measure lines I felt I was not connecting. The next student was the same age and we were doing the same lesson. I remembered copying  learning tools from Susan Paradis called rhythm blocks. This seemed to do the trick.

    We lined up the cards into 4 count units using my colored pencils as measure lines. This allowed D. to find out what combinations make up four beats. Then we changed the time signature and only put three beats between fences.

   Fences, measures, sometimes words make such a difference in communication. On some days I feel tongue tied and unable to say things that make sense and other days I am right on.

Asking Good Questions

 I am exploring and improving my ability to ask questions during my piano lessons. A passive role is safer for a student but I want my students to be able to think for themselves while they are practicing. Asking good questions is an art form. I find I often ask close ended questions where yes or no is the simple answer. These questions give some assessment but they reveal very little to the student. The best question invites revelation. The open ended question might ask the student to make an opinion or an evaluation. An example might be; how could you make this line sound more mysterious? What would the song sound like if we added a sharp here?

       Questions can be asked before a student plays and after she finishes. Before the student starts to play 

the questions can point to specific places in the music. These questions can give confidence that the task is understood and comprehended. The more difficult questions come after the piece has been played. Here the traditional role of the teacher is to assess the performance. But how can a student learn to evaluate his practice when he is alone if he is never asked to do so at the lesson. The best questions I asked last week were; if you were the teacher what would you say to help yourself play this song? She answered; you need to practice more. Which part needs the most practice? The middle section. Why is that difficult? My fingers get all confused. What fingering should you use in this section? 

  I find that I cannot ask questions in the same way to every student. Some seem to be on the same "wavelength" and others struggle with every question I ask. Those that struggle are often students who are "followers". They like to have the right answer and get wary if they are asked to have an opinion. I am seeing good results with a few of these students. They are trusting me more now and I see more observations skills developing. Does asking all these questions take up too much time? It can, especially if I still do too much explaining. I am trying to cut down on too much "teacher talk". They don't listen. If, however, I engage them with questions they are doing at least half of the talking. What do you think?

 I mindmapped my ideas to help me see the principles quickly. You can see them here. Enlarge the PDF to 75% and scroll down.

 "That's a Good Question" by Marienne Uszler is a great read.

Ongoing Assessment- What do they really know?

      Student-Centered learning encompasses  being aware of what the student actually knows. We can’t assume that just because we taught it, the student has learned it.  Students need multiple explanations, repetition, and reminders. I often have a student say to me, "I played it perfectly at home". I usually smile and say, "It must be me." I know that real learning takes a long time to be stable and predictable.
 I discussed the process of learning with my brother recently. He is a professor of physics, who focuses his research on the human voice. He is currently writing a book for voice practitioners and he shared a chapter with me on motor-learning which I felt helped me in my piano teaching.

       "Motor learning is a process, inferred rather than directly observed, which leads to relatively permanent changes in the general capacity for motor performance, as a result of practice or exposure."

   New action patterns are not incremental and they do not accumulate some place in the head in an ordered way. They are dynamic, they fluctuate, but real, permanent learning means that various mental processes will occur consistently as a result of practice. Temporary performance shifts that may occur during lessons do not imply learning. Learning involves relatively stable changes and improvements in average performance over time. I had a student who has since moved away who would try to wing it at his lesson. As he played his piece for me I knew, and he knew I knew, that he had not practiced enough. "Wait," he would say, "Let me do that again and maybe this time I will be lucky."

   Improvement over a short period of time, such as during a lesson or a week long practice session, does not mean real motor learning is permanent. Distractions can impact learning. The best measure of how well something is learned is demonstrated by the first try with multiple distractions.

   Most studies hold to the principle that spaced practice tends to produce greater learning than massed practice. If a student is attentive and working on a problem he will be more productive if he works on it 10 minutes and then rests and comes back later in the day, than if he practices 60 minutes and does not go back for several days. The brain will work on the problem when the student is away from the piano. I felt a little discouraged when I read that because my student's lives are so full. Would they ever go back to practice on the same day?

   Verbal instructions from a teacher are not as effective as curiosity, from the student, to try different approaches and find the answer themselves. Attention to the experience the student is having is more effective than telling the student what to pay attention to. Asking questions such as "did that feel better" "was that easier", or "did it sound better" are more effective than "was your hand curved". Paying attention to the experience is better for processing than paying attention to the physical action.

    Watching others has been shown to be very motivational. Self goal-setting works better than having a goal assigned. Giving feedback while the student is playing interferes with his own processing of information. Waiting until after they are done, works better and asking them to evaluate their own playing first, helps them even more.

    Provide some variability in the lesson setting. Playing with different conditions enhances learning. I think we all know that when a student is practicing for a recital it is wise to practice in different situations; in front of family, on a different piano, or while someone is speaking. 

    Random practice, or playing pieces and exercises in a different order, is effective because it forces the learner to "reboot" and reconstruct his learning which he may not have to do if he has a rote practice agenda.

   Part-whole practice is effective for learning. Dividing a piece into sections and starting on a different section helps long term learning.

   These are just ideas researchers are working on. My brother is summarizing those that have had the most consistent results. He is hoping to help vocal coaches and vocologists who have students and clients who need to learn new motor skills having to do with their vocal mechanisms.

   I find these ideas most interesting and it explains many occurrences in my experience. One, for example, is the way note-reading seems to come and go, in a beginning student. They seem to be able to do it at our lesson, but then it falls apart at home. So, real learning did not take place at the lesson. The test of stability, getting it right on the first try, even with distractions, is the ultimate measuring tool.

Pattern Recognition

  Wouldn't it be great to take the Magic School Bus into our student's mind and view music on the page they way that they do? Would we see that the lines and spaces move around and merge? Would we be surprised to see that they do not even notice the crescendo sign and ritardando sign we pointed to? The complexities of notation keep some of my students playing vertically one note at a time. I have a desire that they come to the point where they play horizontally, seeing, what Dr. Faber calls, "chunks" of notes. And so, one of the keys to student-centered teaching is Pattern Recognition.
  Pattern Recognition is seeing notes in larger and larger chunks. If seeing notes in groups is the desired outcome, why, I ask myself, am I drilling single notes? Why not do more sight-reading with groups of notes so that they become more easily recognizable in the pieces my student's play? This may seem obvious at first but as I analyze the emphasis I place on this endeavor I see I may be short-changing my students. I know I need to repeat and repeat and then assess if my students are actually seeing the chunks I am drilling.
  Dr. Faber made an interesting statement. Perception cannot be forced,  it must be invited. I have been pondering why that is so. I think one reason is because music is symbolic language and symbols have many layers to be explored. I could place flashcards in front of my students but  that does not guarantee that they see the relationship to these notes. I can talk to them and play it for them but really I need to invite them to be curious about how these symbols interrelate. As the student begins to explore these symbols I, as teacher, could invite them to see variations which keep the basic foundation but introduce a new element which changes their meanings. 

For example a 5 finger scale as a chunk, shows how notes step, like a ladder

 Add a bar line and introduce beats and rests, which makes the time signature become important. 

  Change the value of notes and see how the measure must extend. Behind this simple notation, are layers of more meanings; half-steps and whole steps, ascending tones needing dynamic interpretation and on and on. These layers of meaning take a while to perceive but my teaching should invite curiosity to widen perceptions. That is what I am after this new year. One book I am adding to my list for my beginning student "Piano Adventures, Primer Level Sight-Reading Book". 

  I hope it assists me in being more aware of my student progress and perceptions.How do you facilitate note-reading in chunks?

Engagement- Keeping the Student's Attention

       Dr. Randall Faber talks a lot about child-centered teaching. I have been thinking about what that means to me. I want to be centered on my student. I want to take my ques from the messages they are sending me. If I were not child-centered what would be at the center of my teaching? My lesson plan? My goals for what I want them to learn?

 A key to child-centered learning is engagement, according to Dr. Faber.
   "Are we operating on the student’s 90% attention capacity, or 6%?  Just like perception, attention can’t be forced.  It must be invited."
    What tools do we, as piano teachers have to invite attention?
    - Our open- hearted personality
    - Our own love of music
    - learning games
    - asking questions that invite curiosity
    - our ability to pace activities

 " When a student tries to contribute and direct learning, do we inwardly swat them away and stick to our lesson plan?  Harnessed attention is a gift, and yet we so often forego perfect opportunities for learning when the student shows interest."
    I know I have the teacher voice in my head saying, "We have to learn two new songs today. You are pulling me in the wrong direction."
    Last week I had double booked accidentally and I had two boys here together. One was in the second half of his hour lesson and we were about to work on the notation to his own composition. The other, who showed up, was a student who had been waning in interest. I went with my gut intuition and invited the older boy to teach the younger boy his song. I marveled how inspiring the teacher was and how attentive the learner had become. My agenda was not completed but something better happened.
   According to Dr. Faber, "One secret to engagement is the idea of curiosity.  Curiosity is a wonderfully useful state of mind!  It engages attention, and is a prerequisite to learning.  Not only should we let the student lead learning with curiosity, but the teacher must also model curiosity."
    "What if" are words which lead to interesting reasons to repeat a song or a phrase. My student's "What ifs" are always more adventuresome than mine. What if we play this phrase higher, or on the black keys, or backwards? I try to have three attention grabbers ready at every lesson because I know I will have to recapture their interest about every ten minutes.
   You may want to read Joy's notes on Dr. Faber's talk at NCKP 2011