What Gifts Are Emerging With Piano Lessons?

   On my parent questionnaire I asked what gifts were emerging since the onset of piano lessons. I find that I see the gifts as well and I am so grateful to see them blossom. When it comes to gifts, it is my observation that they are given incompletely. I have a gift to improvise and compose but I did not get the gift to be thorough and detail oriented. I find a melody, play it and get excited and then my lack of stick-to-it-tiveism bogs me down. Notating is tedious and nerve-racking. Gifts never preclude hard work. 

   Here is a sampling of the great answers I received. As you can see composing is a gift that keeps rising to the top. 
1. He seems to have a good ear and good rhythm.

2. She can figure songs out by ear that she hears on her iPod.

3. She has always shown musical talent and she sings from her heart.

4. He is shy but the piano playing is revealing his musical gifts.

5. Both children are experimenting in other musical fields.

6. He enjoys composing and playing his own music when he has time. Music has given him confidence,

7. I remember when you asked him to improvise the first time. He only played one note. Now he makes up his own endings and he makes the music his own.

8. He is experimenting playing his own songs with chords. His confidence has grown mastering more difficult songs.

9. I found out she has even more music in her heart and head than I thought she did. She has been singing since she was very little.

10. He is creatively inspired.

11. He has improved his ability to sing in tune, can read notes, and has developed good rhythm.

12. We knew she was musically gifted but we didn't realize how steady and solid her rhythm would become.

13. She likes to compose a little of her own.

   These answers help me feel that I am on the right track to do more lead sheet work and improvising. Wish I had more time in the lessons.

More Pattern Recognition

   My First Piano Adventures students need pattern recognition drill and it is helping them immensely. I thought about this process before and lately I have been hiding little slips of paper around the room with note patterns on them.

    For the first three minutes of the lesson I play a pattern on the piano, they look at me playing it and I ask them to tell me the notes. Then they look around the room and find that pattern on a paper.

When they bring it back to the piano we play it to check if they have the right one. It works well and this starts us out on a the right path to playing their assigned pieces.

I have a small box with patterns on the piano, ready to go when I meet their smiling faces. Hurray for chunking music patterns.

Pumpkin Party Group Lessons

    I am taking all the songs around "Pumpkin Party" to the bank in two weeks time as this becomes the theme for group lessons.

   I hope this is entertaining for you as I review my plans.. I value all my blogger piano friends who give me their great ideas.
   Title: Pumpkin Party
   MC: Tucker
   Goal: Review patterns from A-G
            Let everyone play a piece
            Expose the students to accompanying
            Share some pumpkin cookies
   Agenda:
            Sing Pumpkin Party with one child playing
            Have Tucker greet each child and give each of them a ticket for the A train
               bound for Piano Adventure Land.
            Get on the "A Train" with one child playing- circle dance
            Find the missing patterns around the room
            Each child plays their pattern on the piano, the keyboard, or the I-Pad Piano
            Tucker shares his secret life
            Sing while one child plays
            What are the dogs dancing?
                    A-B Bop- circle dance with one child playing
                    Russian Sailor Dance- with one child playing
             Match the notes- Call out a note name and everyone tries to touch the
                note card in the middle with their mini spatulas
             Have a pumpkin cookie

     Invited: Five MFPA students

                 Tucker, you are an inspiration!

           

Bass Clef Patterns

   Some of my off the bench activities include my kitchen floor, not far from my studio. I have been using my black ropes again as I teach the bass clef notes to MFPA Book 2 students. They need to experience the staff in many ways to understand the concept of the staff and the clef signs.'Learning a concept must be reinforced bu using the concept in varied contexts." Marienne Uszler

Sometimes figuring it out is exciting.
   October will bring group lessons back and I know the MFPA students will be having a Pumpkin Party where Tucker the Dog will want to hear every ones rendition of Tucker's Secret Life. This is such an engaging title and I have taken this about as far as I can go.Yeh Tucker!

His song is making my practice incentive art project into a real art display. We are adding sparkly paper shapes as we log into the 300-400 minutes of practice.

    It started out blank and then grew to this. Artistically this is pretty cool. My students are thinking about where to place their color and what shape they want to use. It should be very interesting to see it at the recital in November.

Big Dog Boogie

My First Piano Adventures Book B students are all playing, or have played, Tucker's Secret Life.This big dog boogie is a big hit in my studio. 

 What a great way to introduce the next rhythm pattern I want to highlight. CBAGFE will get much attention as we find different ways to drill this group of notes.Using the white board on my I-Pad, we locate and draw the CBA. The stylus makes drawing so much easier. Thanks Pianoanne for the heads up.

 Next we drill with Note Goal Pro on the I-Pad which has added a new tutor option of showing notes in sequence.

Then with some weeks on seeing these notes as steps we will practice them on Note Squish.

The great sequential lesson book and my added enrichment is making better progress than ever before.