When I watched Frozen for the first time, the selfishness, rebellion, and complete lack of self-control in Queen Elsa got under my skin. Then I discovered that every girl everywhere was singing that song, and that made me dislike it even more. I commented to someone, "That song is so popular, it's annoying."
Then, you might rightly ask, why on earth would I use that song as a teaching tool?
Good question. For one thing, it's the song every one knows. Even me. I mean, I'm clueless when it comes to what's trendy. Always have been, probably always will be. Just ask my mom, who has to *coughs* help me update my wardrobe every... five years. 😆
For another thing, the Piano Guys have a video (that you've probably seen if you have watched anything from them) that combines "Let It Go" with Vivaldi's "Winter."
Now, it's true that this is not a unique video in their repertoire. But, I have learned that my students might not necessarily know The Jungle Book or Kung-Fu Panda or Indiana Jones. (Actually, I haven't watched Kung-Fu Panda or Indiana Jones either. But I'm a little more familiar with classical music than my students. ;) And if you're trying to point out, "Look at what these guys did with classical crossover!", it's a little harder to do if your student isn't familiar with the music.
So, yes. February's Theme Month was Piano Guys Month. In which the above video took centre stage to make a point: Classical Music can be cool. So cool, it's Frozen. 😄
Most of my students are working on making their own Piano Guys-style arrangement. Sort of.
I gave them each a Classical piece, abridged for their level. Then I had them pick out a Disney song to go with that Classical piece. I made a worksheet with questions to help them choose something appropriate -- that way we didn't end up with Grieg's "Morning Song" and Tangled's "I Have a Dream" mashed together. Now, they are slowly working on blending the two in their own arrangement. I gave them staff paper with a suggested outline -- a line of Classical here, a line of Disney there, and such. Some of the students who have been taking lessons longer will be adding chords later.
One of my students is doing a hymn with her Classical piece, instead of a Disney song. I like that.
Some of my students are entering Parkland Music Festival this spring, and I didn't want to give these hard-working performers an extra workload. Also there were a couple of students who just started, and I didn't think it would work to get them doing arrangements right off the bat! So we've been doing smaller themed activities. Like listening worksheets with the video, improv based on short lines of Classical music, and an ear-training game.
In this game, students move towards "The Great Wall of China" (really the highest C on the piano) by correctly identifying what I play to them. For some students, it was a matter of identifying whether the notes were moving higher or lower or staying the same. For others, they had to identify small intervals. This adapted really well to online lessons. I also had made event cards that would either cause them to miss a turn, or give them an extra step up the piano (each C was one step, with them starting on the lowest C).
By the way, before I sign off, I noticed on my blog that one of my pages (or maybe two of them) has suddenly become hard to find. Hopefully this hasn't been a problem for anyone. The page, "How I Found Lasting Peace" can be found by clicking here.
(Note for those who may not know: The word "Amen" comes from an ancient word -- whether Greek, Hebrew, or some other language, I do not remember -- that expressed agreement with truth. It is a transliterated word; that is, it's very similar to the original word in the original language. One person claimed it was one of two words that has been transliterated rather than translated across all languages, the other word being Hallelujah. Fun fact for the day. 😀) Again, I had writer's block and didn't know what to write about. All I could think about was how it's February, it's a theme month, and I haven't finished planning the theme, even though the month has already started. So, once more, I turned to Pinterest . (If that link doesn't work, let me know, because I'm not sure it will actually take you to my Pinterest profile.) This time, instead of music humour, I found this beautiful musician's prayer. And I went, "Yes! That is exa
Snow swirls around the streets of Leningrad, Russia. Pedestrians pull winter coats tighter around themselves. Car lights shine through the flurries. In one large, multi-story building, a window on the corner of the building is lit. Inside the room, frost decorates the window panes. The only occupant – a young man, with a spark of life in his blue eyes – turns out music, gorgeous music, on the upright piano against the wall. He wears a heavy overcoat and plays with a pair of medium-weight, knit gloves – for his dormitory room has no heat. At this point in the narrative, the music teacher jerks his enraptured student back into the present – modern Edmonton, a warm and very comfortable music studio, and the two Yamaha baby grands sitting side by side – with this question: “ Have you ever practiced with gloves on?” Ahh . . . no, I hadn’t. My house always had heat?! My music teacher, undeterred by my blank look (which he had undoubtedly seen many times before!), resp
It was Sunday evening, and various members of PMTA were gathered at one member's home for the Annual General Meeting. Since I've only been a member for less than a year, this was the first time I'd been to one of their meetings. As we were setting up for supper, I asked the president, "So, what goes on in the meeting?" She looked at me, and her face instantly displayed drama. With gusto, she replied, "You'll be thrilled, and chilled, and ... bored out of your mind!" LOL! That's the great thing about hanging around with other artistic minds. There's plenty of room for drama. :) Seriously, though, I like getting together with other music teachers, because all of us can talk for hours about music. :) It was a lot of fun comparing notes back and forth and getting to know some of the other teachers. I pick up ideas from these exchanges, including other teachers' favourite methods and new things to include -- or new ways t
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