Friday, February 21, 2014 by Hamdani, Laurie | Ideas

Click on Pyramid below to download a diagram I came up with years ago to illustrate how students learn music.

Pyramid

Friday, February 21, 2014 by Hamdani, Laurie | Technique

Students learn early on that the white keys on a piano keyboard are named using the letters of the alphabet. Except, only the letters A - G. This is due to the repeating pattern of keys on the keyboard:

So, there are multiple keys named A, B, C, etc. Students often recognize that they should play an A or an F (or B, C, D, E, or G) when reading the music but sometimes get confused as to which A or F (or B, C, D, E, or G).

This is where the Oreo comes to the rescue. We all know what an Oreo cookie looks like:
a chocolate cookie layer on the bottom and top and a tasty white creamy filling in the middle.

I compare an Oreo to the musical Grand Staff. The Grand Staff holds all the notes a student can play. The upper staff (Treble Staff) holds the notes which represent higher sounds and the lower staff (Bass Staff) holds the notes which represent lower sounds. Higher sounds on the piano are from the center of the keyboard moving to the right and lower sounds from the center of the keyboard moving left. Think of the Treble or upper staff as being the top chocolate cookie layer of the Oreo and the Bass or lower staff as being the bottom chocolate cookie layer.

Students learn early on that the white keys on a piano keyboard are named using the letters of the alphabet. Except, only the letters A - G. This is due to the repeating pattern of keys on the keyboard:

So, there are multiple keys named A, B, C, etc. Students often recognize that they should play an A or an F (or B, C, D, E, or G) when reading the music but sometimes get confused as to which A or F (or B, C, D, E, or G).

This is where the Oreo comes to the rescue. We all know what an Oreo cookie looks like:
a chocolate cookie layer on the bottom and top and a tasty white creamy filling in the middle.

I compare an Oreo to the musical Grand Staff. The Grand Staff holds all the notes a student can play. The upper staff (Treble Staff) holds the notes which represent higher sounds and the lower staff (Bass Staff) holds the notes which represent lower sounds. Higher sounds on the piano are from the center of the keyboard moving to the right and lower sounds from the center of the keyboard moving left. Think of the Treble or upper staff as being the top chocolate cookie layer of the Oreo and the Bass or lower staff as being the bottom chocolate cookie layer.

Students learn early on that the white keys on a piano keyboard are named using the letters of the alphabet. Except, only the letters A - G. This is due to the repeating pattern of keys on the keyboard:

So, there are multiple keys named A, B, C, etc. Students often recognize that they should play an A or an F (or B, C, D, E, or G) when reading the music but sometimes get confused as to which A or F (or B, C, D, E, or G).

This is where the Oreo comes to the rescue. We all know what an Oreo cookie looks like:
a chocolate cookie layer on the bottom and top and a tasty white creamy filling in the middle.

I compare an Oreo to the musical Grand Staff. The Grand Staff holds all the notes a student can play. The upper staff (Treble Staff) holds the notes which represent higher sounds and the lower staff (Bass Staff) holds the notes which represent lower sounds. Higher sounds on the piano are from the center of the keyboard moving to the right and lower sounds from the center of the keyboard moving left. Think of the Treble or upper staff as being the top chocolate cookie layer of the Oreo and the Bass or lower staff as being the bottom chocolate cookie layer.

Some notes on the Grand Staff appear in the white space in between the Treble and the Bass staff. These notes represent sounds in the middle range of sounds and quite literally near the center of the keyboard. Think of this white space in between the Treble and Bass staffs as being the tasty white cream in the center of the Oreo cookie.

Quite literally, if notes are written on either staff near this white space in between the two, or are actually IN the white space, those are keys very near the center of the keyboard.

As notes climb higher on the Treble staff, they move higher in sound and further to the right of the middle of the keyboard. Conversely, as notes step lower on the Bass staff they are lower in sound and move further to the left of the middle of the keyboard.

Students can quickly begin to grasp whether a note on either staff which represents the key A or B (or C, D,E, F, or G) should be near the middle of the keyboard or higher or lower.

If they are playing an A but not the correct A, I can simply ask them which layer of the “Oreo” that note is on!

Some notes on the Grand Staff appear in the white space in between the Treble and the Bass staff. These notes represent sounds in the middle range of sounds and quite literally near the center of the keyboard. Think of this white space in between the Treble and Bass staffs as being the tasty white cream in the center of the Oreo cookie.

Quite literally, if notes are written on either staff near this white space in between the two, or are actually IN the white space, those are keys very near the center of the keyboard.

As notes climb higher on the Treble staff, they move higher in sound and further to the right of the middle of the keyboard. Conversely, as notes step lower on the Bass staff they are lower in sound and move further to the left of the middle of the keyboard.

Students can quickly begin to grasp whether a note on either staff which represents the key A or B (or C, D,E, F, or G) should be near the middle of the keyboard or higher or lower.

If they are playing an A but not the correct A, I can simply ask them which layer of the “Oreo” that note is on!

Some notes on the Grand Staff appear in the white space in between the Treble and the Bass staff. These notes represent sounds in the middle range of sounds and quite literally near the center of the keyboard. Think of this white space in between the Treble and Bass staffs as being the tasty white cream in the center of the Oreo cookie.

Quite literally, if notes are written on either staff near this white space in between the two, or are actually IN the white space, those are keys very near the center of the keyboard.

As notes climb higher on the Treble staff, they move higher in sound and further to the right of the middle of the keyboard. Conversely, as notes step lower on the Bass staff they are lower in sound and move further to the left of the middle of the keyboard.

Students can quickly begin to grasp whether a note on either staff which represents the key A or B (or C, D,E, F, or G) should be near the middle of the keyboard or higher or lower.

If they are playing an A but not the correct A, I can simply ask them which layer of the “Oreo” that note is on!

Thursday, February 20, 2014 by Hamdani, Laurie | Ideas

Over my years of teaching I have come to believe that my role as a teacher extends beyond just the specifics of the language of music and the mechanics of the instrument. I strive to notice and act on "teachable moments". For example, when a student repeatedly comes to lessons unprepared, it can provide an opportunity to discuss personal responsibility, choices and consequences, motivation, and so on.

One tool I've used over the last few years is something I call the "Grins & Groans jar". Sometimes students walk into their lesson completely preoccupied with some event in their day or week and feel compelled to share. So much so, at times, that I need to find a way to help them focus on the task at hand, i.e. their piano lesson. In these situations, I offer them a chance to write a brief description of the issue or event on a card and then put it into the jar. "Grins" might be something really positive that happened to them, like getting a role in the musical they auditioned for. "Groans" might be something like their frustration with a teacher, a test, a friend, etc. Then I offer to save a few minutes at the end of the lesson to talk about what they wrote on the card if they so choose. But, once the card is in the jar, that topic stays in the jar during the lesson so that we can focus on the present moment, the present task at hand.

A recent example involved a student who is generally highly motivated, engaged, and prepared. But one day, she showed up very distraught and apologetic for not being prepared with her piano materials. She had had a bad pre-audition on another instrument at school, had had a death in the family, and had been out of town for a few days as well. In other words, she was feeling very stressed and sad and frustrated. I had her write some of this down on the card ("groans") and put it in the jar. Then I asked her whether she could just leave all of those groans in the jar while we had a working piano lesson, reviewing and practicing the things she couldn't get to over the last week. She responded "yes" and actually felt quite relieved to step away from all that drama for a while.

At the end of the lesson, I asked her if she wanted all those "groans" back to take home with her or whether she'd just like to leave them in the jar. Naturally, she left them in the jar. This is an exercise in mindfulness, being present in the present moment, and learning that you have a choice whether or not events external to you affect you in the present moment.

Not every student has needed to use this tool. But I have seen that when they do, it makes a huge impact going forward.