Rina surprised me by bringing her precious mini-purple plastic piano that played a salsa rhythm style piece with very fast notes. It was gratifying to watch her spontaneously point to the "big" and "little houses" on her tiny keyboard that comprise "neighborhoods" or "octaves" in Tales of a Musical Journey. This preceded her relaxation movements… Continue reading Rina, 4, brings a toy piano to her lesson; creates her own rhythm; and learns A and B; (7th week of instruction using Tales of a Musical Journey) 5 videos
Category: how to help children compose
Composing activity during a piano lesson: Claudia, age 8, surprises me with her new creation (Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTcRB02EVHU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF5sg3LsTe0 Eight-year old Claudia surprised me today when she brought a melody she had composed. Her new book, Faber Adventures, Lesson Book One inspired her to create a piece beginning with notes on the first four lines of the treble staff. Together, we explored the first phrase of her music, worked on fingering, rhythm… Continue reading Composing activity during a piano lesson: Claudia, age 8, surprises me with her new creation (Video)
Piano Lesson: Fritz, Age 7, performs his composed piece, “FINDING GOLD” (Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFObHOAwNV0 Over a period of three weeks, seven year old Fritz, who'd been taking piano lessons for about 7 months, composed a piece that he titled, "Finding Gold." The student has been using Faber Primer Piano Adventures, with my inserted modifications. He warmed up this past Monday with Lesson Book p. 24, C-D-E-F-G March transposed… Continue reading Piano Lesson: Fritz, Age 7, performs his composed piece, “FINDING GOLD” (Video)
The Piano Teacher as Composer: Using my MOONBEAMS collection as an example (Video)
Why not give composing a try? I did. For the most part, you don't need a degree in composition, but a Theory background helps things along with voice leading in the bass part and understanding the rules of notation. Above all, intuition and inspiration are the main ingredients in any creative undertaking. In 1985 I… Continue reading The Piano Teacher as Composer: Using my MOONBEAMS collection as an example (Video)
Piano Students as Composers: Stimulating a Creative Teaching and Learning Environment
This morning, as I foraged through piles of folders, I stumbled upon one of my articles that was published in the California Music Teacher (MTAC Magazine) in 1985. At the time, I had just released my music book, "Piano Duets and Solos by and for Children," which included a lengthy introduction titled, "How to Help… Continue reading Piano Students as Composers: Stimulating a Creative Teaching and Learning Environment