So Many Exciting Things!

If I didn't have much to write about last time I did studio updates, the last two weeks have made up for it!

   I'll try to keep it short and sweet, but I am really excited to share with you all the things that have been going on. 

Improv: Twice the Fun with Two

   I enjoy getting my students to do rhythm-based improvisation. It's good for their creativity, and I think it's also a nice break from some of the more rigorous parts of learning piano. (I haven't tried chord-based improv yet. It's another thing on my to-try list.) But I just discovered, through buddy lessons, a way to get more out of improv. When I put two students to improv using the same rhythms at the same time, I was able to point out to them, "See how nice these two notes sound together?" or "See how these notes don't really sound good together?" or "See how these notes sound good, but they don't sound like the end of the song?" Basic harmony simplified and integrated into a fun activity!

Spontaneity: Scrap My Plan

   Lessons were ready to go for a young student. I had a fun St. Patrick's Day theory activity picked out for him, as well as the pieces I wanted to cover.

   We jumped into piece #1, which included several ties. We'd talked about what the ties do, but we had to review how to play the tied notes. Suddenly he pointed to the slurs and asked, "Are these the same thing?"

   Oh, yeah ... we hadn't covered the difference between ties and slurs. Out came musical excerpts, string, and clothespins for a hands-on demonstration of the difference between slurs and ties!

   OK, so the Christmas-light-bulb clothespins are definitely not seasonal. I knew when I bought them on sale that they'd come in handy -- but I honestly hadn't planned on using them until next Christmas. :) I'll have to remember to put some plain clothespins in my studio, for emergencies like these. ;)

Ear Training: New Game!

   In January, I had mentioned my lack of success with creating an ear-training game. However, over Christmas, my original plan had been to create a whole set of ear-training games, so I still had ideas. And I'm very happy to say, I finally completed one of those ideas!

   It works like this: Tone quality is as important as any other part of music (right notes, right rhythm, etc.). And different tone qualities are produced by how the pianist uses their hands, arms, and body while playing. So this game gets students to experiment with different ways of playing, such as a relaxed hand and a still arm, lots of arm movement but no hand movement, etc. Then they describe, with words, a picture, or an emoji sticker, the tone they created. The idea is that they learn what actions make a good tone, and what actions make an unpleasant tone.

   You know what I discovered? You can give two different students exactly the same directions -- and they can produce drastically different tones. Just goes to show -- we're all unique!

  Here's a photo of one of my students with her partially-completed worksheet.

I was just getting started!

   There's a lot more I could say about what went on the last two weeks in the studio. Who knows -- maybe we all needed the break to make coming back more exciting. :) However, I'll leave off with this. Next time, I hope to have gained some insight from the Parkland Music Festival that I can share with you, so keep in touch!