Piano Teaching Ideas
Ideas drawn from my experiences as a Suzuki teacher
Enjoy your teaching more and help your pupils play better
Lessons
- motivation and encouragement
Practising
- making repetition interesting
Performing
- opportunities and rewards
Group work
- fun with games
Ensemble work
- doubling up in duets and trios
Listening
- to recordings and live performances
Observing
- other pupils' lessons
Young pupils
- singing and rhythm games
Involving parents
- in lessons and practising
Developing memory
- playing by ear
Building repertoire
- favourite pieces
Theory and aural
- the early stages
Sight-reading
- duets with teacher
Scales and arpeggios
- introducing variety
LESSONS - motivation and encouragement
Give honest praise followed by positive ideas for improvement
Emphasise pupil’s strong points - build self-esteem
Teach one thing at a time - thoroughly
Achievement of small manageable targets motivates pupils
Pleasure/satisfaction of knowing a piece is played well in lesson or concert
Boredom sets in when too much playing straight through pieces and not enough working on details
Football teams game - favourite and least favourite - favourite team scores if assignment played correctly, and vice versa
Group lessons
Ensemble work
Observing lessons
PRACTISING - making repetition interesting
Set short sections, making it clear in what way the music/technique is to be improved, and doing it together several times in lesson
Let child choose number of repetitions, or roll dice, or age number - if mistake, start again
Count down towards zero - heightens concentration
Tally/chart
Smartie for every 10 correct repetitions
Make jigsaw, colour square, colour in picture, do dot-to-dot for every (10) repetitions
Lucky dip with practice points or complete pieces
Practise last bar of phrase 4x, last 2 bars 4x, last 3 bars, etc
Vary repetitions, eg staccato/legato, different rhythms, different 8ves, increase difficulty eg practise leaping 2 8ves instead of 1 8ve
Explain what is to be practised, and why, and how
PERFORMING - opportunities and rewards
Regular performance opportunities at different levels
Individual lessons - observers
Group lessons - perform pieces prepared/unprepared/sight-read/ensemble
Informal concerts in teacher’s music studio
Formal concerts in hired halls
Combined concerts with other teachers, other instuments
National performing opportunities
Home concerts - 2 or 3 families get together, all bringing something for tea afterwards
Children perform weekly to family; or teddy bear concert - issue tickets
Follow concerts with tea parties and social events
Reward with an outing, especially musical
GROUP WORK - fun with games
Finger games
Rhythm games - clapping/tapping
Singing games
Flash cards - note naming games, rhythm games
Dynamics game - all crouch down and whisper “pianissimo”, start to stand up and say “piano”, etc, until standing up straight with arms stretched up and shout “fortissimo”
Spot the mistake - teacher plays pieces with mistakes for pupils to hear and/or see, eg playing too near edge of keyboard, heavy thumb, wrong key, wrong LH, inaccurate rhythm
Wrong note game - children sit in pairs with hands outstretched, one child’s hands over partner’s hands; teacher plays a piece; if child hears a mistake, tries to slap hands of partner, who tries to pull hands away
Major/minor - pupils play a major piece in a minor key or a minor piece in a major key
Sock improvisations - 2 pupils at 2 keyboards - put socks on hands and play glissandi and clusters, etc, varying speed, dynamics, register, etc
Pentatonic improvisations - 2 pupils improvise question and answer on black notes
Lucky dip - each pupil has box with pieces of paper with names of pieces s/he can play - draws one out and performs it
Matching pieces - several pupils play same piece one after another, encouraged to make positive comments about each others’ performances
Football - at 2 keyboards - one child starts playing piece; when teacher indicates, other child takes over - ‘passes the ball’; or one child plays RH while other plays LH
Playing questions - one child plays familiar piece, meanwhile answering questions posed by other children, eg what is your name, telephone number, etc
Cross hands - play piece with hands crossed
Continuous scales - take turns to play a scale round circle of 5ths at 2 keyboards
Dynamic scales - pupil takes card indicating dynamic and/or speed and plays scale accordingly; others guess dynamic/speed
Sight-read double duets/trios - 4 or 6 pupils at 2 keyboards
Follow the score - give each pupil a copy of some music; discuss all the signs, notes, rhythms, as appropriate to the stage of the children; then teacher plays some of the piece and pupils point to place in score where teacher stops
ENSEMBLE WORK - doubling up in duets and trios
Duets for pupils of similar age, or older with younger pupils
Family duets/trios with siblings or parents
Sight-read/prepared ensembles
One pupil accompany another
Pentatonic improvisations - 2 pupils improvise question and answer on black notes
Sock improvisations - 2 pupils at 2 keyboards - put socks on hands and play glissandi and clusters, etc, varying speed, dynamics, register, etc
LISTENING - to recordings and live performances
To fine performances
To pieces being learnt - about to be learnt - current repertoire
To other pieces by same composers
To other music for own instrument
To classical music, especially choral (singing sounds) and orchestral (sounds of different instruments)
To CDs, radio, and especially to live performances - excitement of an outing
OBSERVING - other pupils’ lessons
Observe another pupil ideally a little older and more advanced after pupils’ own lesson
Can be more receptive if something explained to another pupil - when not in hot-seat
Motivating for pupil and parent
Social benefit - helps prevent feeling of isolation (especially for pianists)
Pupils become accustomed to having an audience while playing; also to sitting quietly, colouring and listening, while observing other pupils
YOUNG PUPILS - singing and rhythm games
Change activity frequently - pool of ideas
Right and left - play Simon Says, eg “Simon says put RH on nose” - pupils must do it; but “Put RH on nose” - don’t do it! When teaching any pair concept, teach only one of a pair for a long time, then there is no confusion.
Finger games - name and wiggle Mr Men fingers (Mr 1, Mr 2, etc); speed games - “Put your hands behind your back and take out Mr 1” or “Put Mr 2 on your nose”; cummulative fingers - say and move fingers, eg 1, 1-2, 1-2-5 - add a finger each time
Hold bubble and 10 finger dome - drop hands by side, then lift them up and pretend to hold bubble in each hand; gently place together thumbs, Mr 2s, Mr 3s, etc; tap fingers as requested by teacher; hold finger dome over head so cannot see
Strong finger Os - make O-shape between Mr 1 and Mr 2, or Mr 1 and Mr 3, etc, squeezing tightly - no collapsing joints
Finger wrestling - link finger Os with another pupil and pull - who has the strongest fingers?
Pick up pencil - using thumb and specified finger - plenty of thumb and fingertip movement
Copy me game - pupils copy teacher’s actions, keeping steady beat, eg clapping hands, tapping knees, etc, adding an extra action on each repetition
Pass the ball - one child or teacher plays a piece while others pass squashy ball round circle, passing to the next person on the beat, using specified fingers, eg RH Mr 1 and Mr 2, or Mr 1 and Mr 5
Action songs
Copycat rhythms
What piece is this - clap rhythm or play melody
Miming game - teacher mimes piece at piano for pupils to identify
Spot the mistake - teacher plays pieces with mistakes for pupils to hear and/or see, eg playing too near edge of keyboard, heavy thumb, wrong key, wrong LH, inaccurate rhythm
Wrong note game - children sit in pairs with hands outstretched, one child’s hands over partner’s hands; teacher plays a piece; if child hears a mistake, tries to slap hands of partner, who tries to pull hands away
Sing nursery rhymes - loud then soft, or fast then slow
INVOLVING PARENTS - in lessons and practising
Parents attend lessons and take notes (perhaps have lessons themselves)
Parents supervise practice - discuss with pupil what is to be done and how, and guide practice accordingly
Make practice chart for child to follow
Make lucky dip for practice points
Offer plenty of encouragement and moral support in gentle enthusiastic manner
Stimulate child’s natural desire to learn - make practice interesting rather than fun
DEVELOPING MEMORY - playing by ear
Playing from memory never an issue if children always used to listening to sounds and working out notes for themselves and playing from memory
Start by setting easy pieces from memory
Each lesson ask for more from memory
BUILDING REPERTOIRE - favourite pieces
Sense of satisfaction and achievement from being able to sit down anytime anywhere and play favourite repertoire pieces from memory
Pupil add a piece each month (or week, or term) to repertoire
Work regularly on old repertoire pieces so pupil learns to play them more and more musically
THEORY AND AURAL - the early stages
Studied in group lessons
Theory
Flash cards - note naming and rhythm games
Telephone game - place in front of each child a card with a rhythm on it; teacher claps one of the rhythms; child whose rhythm it is answers the call by clapping the rhythm back and turning the card face down
Right or wrong rhythm - lay out row of rhythm flash cards; teacher clap rhythm; pupils say whether or not clapped correctly
Rhythmic counterpoint - lay out rhythm flash cards in two rows; teacher or pupil clap one row and others say which was clapped; half group clap one row, other half clap other row; clap one row with RH, other with LH; add dynamics
Follow the score - give each pupil a copy of some music; discuss all the signs, notes, rhythms, as appropriate to the stage of the children; then teacher plays some of the piece and pupils point to place in score where teacher stops
Dynamics game - all crouch down and whisper “pianissimo”, start to stand up and say “piano”, etc, until standing up straight with arms stretched up and shout “fortissimo”
Tempo game - all walk very slowly round room saying “adagio” four times, a little faster saying “andante”, faster saying “moderato”, much faster saying “allegro” and very fast saying “presto”
Aural
Listening game - all sit very quietly; teacher plays one note at piano; pupils listen carefully and raise hands when sound has completely gone; use different ranges of piano; identify high/low, short/long, soft/strong sounds
Listen in silence - all sit comfortably with eyes closed and listen to the silence for two minutes; then pupils say what they heard; after 30 seconds teacher can add own noise, eg tapping; CF Kim’s Game - remembering objects on tray
Wrong note game - children sit in pairs with hands outstretched, one child’s hands over partner’s hands; teacher plays a piece; if child hears a mistake, tries to slap hands of partner, who tries to pull hands away
Copycat rhythms; question and answer rhythms; question and answer melodies
SIGHT-READING - duets with teacher
Or 2 pupils sight-read duets in adjacent or overlapping lessons
Double duets or trios in group lessons - 4 or 6 pupils at 2 keyboards
Pupil study piece for a few moments, then from memory answer questions on piece
Name notes and clap rhythm
Mime notes
Play correct rhythm but improvise notes (for perfectionists who will insist on going back to correct mistakes)
Teacher/pupil alternate playing a bar each; or one play naturals (white notes) and other play sharps and flats (black notes)
Regular ‘prepared’ reading as well as reading ‘at sight’
SCALES AND ARPEGGIOS - introducing variety
1-2-3-4 scale for speed and dynamic variety - set MM eg crotchet 60 and play 1 8ve slowly in crotchets forte, 2 8ves in quavers mf, 3 8ves in triplets mp, 4 8ves in semiquavers p
Different rhythms
Down then up
One hand forte, the other piano
One hand staccato, the other legato
Double staccato - each note 2x
2 8ves apart
Crossed hands
Russian style - play 2 8ves ascending in similar motion, 2 8ves contrary motion, 2 8ves up and down in similar motion, 2 8ves in contrary motion, 2 8ves down in similar motion
Top 8ve 4x
Very fast, but stopping on each tonic
1 8ve up and down until perfect 2x, then 2 8ves until perfect 2x, etc
MM - increasing speed when perfect 2x consecutively
Eyes closed
Arpeggios
Play chord up and down piano alternating RH and LH
Repeat 1 8ve up and down arpeggio - circling hand round
Double staccato on each note
Slow with good tone
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