The other day, I received an email from a friend asking how I would begin teaching a new adult piano student who is about at intermediate level.
I have enjoyed teaching several such students. My first thought was, “They’re all different!” Just as every person has different interests, their own look, speaking voice, and preferences in reading material, movies, food, etc., our approach must honor that person’s individuality.
So in my view, no one series of piano method books will entirely meet any student’s needs. Giving each student a comprehensive look at a wide variety of sounds and styles requires diverse resources.
This is my friend’s email:
“Hi Gretchen,
I was trying to think who might be able to help me and I thought of you. I have a new adult piano student. She reads music well but has pretty bad technique so she is limited in what she can play well. She has used those collections of 50 favorites and has some fairly good exercise books. I would consider her an intermediate piano student. I would really like to find a series that I could use with her that would be fun but would also challenge her. She seems to like classical music although I would love to try something else too. Any ideas. I looked at the Alfred Adult series but couldn’t figure out what level she might be. I just don’t have enough students to really know…..and most of my adult students have been beginners…..I never had a student where I need to break some really bad habits before. Anyway, any help will be GREATLY appreciated.
C.”
And my response:
“Hi C.,
Great to hear from you! I’m honored that you would use me as a sounding board.
My suggestion would be to skip around among different books. Going in sequence probably won’t work. In addition, all series books have pieces assigned to a certain level by the person who compiled the series. Each compiler/teacher thinks differently, and each student has different strengths and weaknesses.
That said, I like Alfred’s adult beginner book, Music for Millions, and skipping around in A Dozen A Day. For the latter, I don’t think it’s necessary to do every exercise, or even complete exercises. Understanding the concepts feels more important to me.
Best of luck! Just go with your gut, and let me know how it goes. Hmmm… I feel a blog post coming on! Maybe you could let me know what you’ve tried and we could take it from there.
Take care,
~ Gretchen”
For further thoughts about teaching students at any level, also applicable to teaching other instruments, please see my ebook, “Goal-oriented Practice.”
Improvising is a wonderful opportunity for piano students to learn more about what makes music effective . . . or not so effective. Here are three important principles that pianists should consider in order to improve the quality of their improvisations.
Phrasing
One of the most important aspects of successful improvising is phrasing. A musical phrase is like a sentence or short paragraph in spoken English. Just as we don’t keep talking without brief pauses between sentences and paragraphs (at least most of us don’t!), a good improviser will create musical phrases with space (rests) between them.
The average phrase will typically consist of smaller intervals (unisons, seconds, thirds and fourths) with larger intervals appearing less frequently.
In written English it’s important to vary the length of one’s sentences in order to keep the reader interested. The same is true when improvising music. Varying the lengths of improvised phrases helps keep listeners’ attention.
Another aspect of phrasing is contour. The contour of a phrase may rise, or fall, or rise then fall, or any of a number of combinations.
Both the length and contour of phrases can help to create or release musical tension (see below).
The following G-flat pentatonic scale (black keys only) improvisation for RH employs phrases of various lengths and different contours. Each phrase consists of intervals of a third or less.
Unity is important because it provides consistency, which the human brain usually prefers. Without consistency, an improvisation may sound like a jumble of disconnected notes.
Contrast keeps listeners awake and interested. Without contrast, music can become monotonous or even boring.
Unity is created through repetition. An improviser might repeat notes, a phrase, a motif, a rhythm, or a harmonic progression, etc.
Contrast is created through change. An improviser might change the length or contour of phrases, change the rhythms used for different phrases, change the range (playing higher or lower), change the dynamics, change the tempo, etc.
An easy way for beginning improvisers to make sure they’re providing both unity and contrast is to improvise with an ostinato or simple harmonic progression in the LH (which establishes unity) while playing a varied improvised line in the RH (which creates contrast).
Tension & Release
A third important factor in effective improvising is building and releasing tension. Just like a good film creates and releases dramatic tension, a good improvisation creates and releases musical tension.
A few ways to increase musical tension include:
Playing higher and higher
Playing louder
Playing longer and/or more complex phrases
Playing faster
Some ways to release musical tension include:
Playing lower and lower
Playing softer
Playing shorter and/or less complex phrases
Including more space (silence) between phrases
Pianists who pay conscious attention to phrasing, unity/contrast and tension/release will create more interesting and effective improvisations and are bound to increase their overall confidence as improvisers.
Doug Hanveyteaches improvising to aspiring creative pianists in Portland, Oregon. HisPiano Lab Blogfeatures fresh ideas, tips and inspiration for piano teachers and students.
Bravo in Barcelona. Shutterstock image. Source: Pixabay.
A new blog post! Surprising, I know. Having a few days’ vacation time gives me an opportunity to catch up a little.
A most amazing thing happened in musical theater class a couple of weeks ago. I’m so excited to have a chance to tell you all about it!
A student took her turn a few minutes into the class, singing “Almost There” by Randy Newman.
She had nailed “All That Jazz” by John Kander just the week before, so I was anticipating that this would also be wonderful.
As it happened, she was anxious about something. When she began to sing, I could barely hear her. I wanted to get into it and play, but my sound would have covered her voice.
Why was she nervous?
It could have been anything.
Was she coming down with something?
Was she unprepared?
Was she working on one aspect of vocal production rather than performing the song?
What was going on?
She was worried about the high note at the end of the first phrase, so she held back out of fear that her voice might crack. This is a freshman class. The students are shy about making a fool of themselves in front of other people, even in class. (I’ve been there myself so many times! As a freshman, I was so nervous in my first voice jury that I forgot every word after the title of a slow song in English! I changed my major immediately.)
The professor, who is also her voice teacher, identified the problem and found a way to deal with it. Among other things, she vocalized the student to a top note a third above the one she was concerned about.
And THEN…
On the fourth or fifth try, she knocked everyone out of their chair! She was SO GOOD!!! It was perfect.
Next:
The professor talked about how well the student had just performed, giving her kudos for her substantial progress this semester. She talked about how gratifying it was to witness this as a teacher, saying, “If I had my shoes, I’d throw them!” ++
Huh?
She elaborated. In the African-American tradition, when something is “too good,” audience members throw their shoes! *
And then the professor burst into tears. It was so moving.
The student was in tears soon after.
And the class was speechless.
And that, for me, is what it’s all about.
++ Class is held in a studio with a dance floor. Everyone takes off their shoes so the floor remains grit-free. If a dancer were to trip on grit, s/he could sprain, dislocate or break something, putting him or her out of the game for a long time. So that’s why the professor didn’t have her shoes!
*Both professor and student happen to be African-American. After class, I shared with the professor that I worked in an African-American church in Brooklyn for quite a while, also performing in other venues with the music director, who is a wonderful singer. However, when things were “too good,” no one threw their shoes. So where did that come from? She said it’s a Southern thing. People even throw their shoes in church!
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“Goal-oriented Practice” Are you practicing well? Is your repertoire of ideas working for you? Are you making consistent progress?
My book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many practice- and performance-tested suggestions here.
50% off!!! Absolutely NO JARGON! Even my non-musician little sister says so.
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Today I am starting to practice again after a break. This post explores some aspects of returning after taking time off.
Not perfect?
Although we may vow to practice every day without exception, we all find ourselves taking a break from time to time, whether planned or due to illness, other responsibilities, being on hold with ConEd, travel, etc.
Feeling guilty?
In the past, I would get angry with myself. Not helpful! That leads to yelling at yourself when staying calm would be the way to go. When you acknowledge that everyone has days off, getting back into the loop is much less of a struggle.
What we can expect
What can we expect when we start again? (Note that I did not say “start over.”)
Perfection? Probably not. However, if you are going back to music you have practiced recently, you can expect improvement! Somehow, “ignoring” the music for a while lets it “cook.” You will most likely find new insights when you return to it.
Jell-O fingers? Yes… so I use the first practice session to concentrate on my warmup. Skipping the warm-up after time off just doesn’t work well for me. I need to feel the muscles in my fingers, so I exaggerate the movements.
Playing at performance tempo? Even if that were possible, wouldn’t we be inviting wrong notes, fingerings, errors in dynamics and phrasing? Practicing under tempo is useful, but extremely slow practice is not necessary. I’ve already learned the notes. But right now, performance tempo invites mistakes that I’d rather not add to the mix.
First day back
I usually dislike my playing that first day. That is frustrating, but by now I expect it. By the second day, it starts to sound better.
The first day back also seems to be a good time to assess fingerings. If something feels uncomfortable (a level or two below “rusty”), this may be the time to experiment. See whether a different fingering feels better.
Dynamic changes may not sound smooth. In addition to that, if a notated dynamic contrast is completely missing, mark the spot in your music! That means you didn’t learn that spot well enough. This is a great time to eliminate the “oops” and fix the gap. When you’ve remedied the problem, that phrase will usually fit into the whole more easily when you return to performance tempo in a few days.
I find it extremely motivating to set a goal, such as a performance date. With a concert in place, I am far less likely to return to vacation mode. (I have an aversion to making a fool of myself on stage. Wonderful incentive!)
It is also helpful to keep a practice journal. You’ll be able to see your progress. I have found that dropping and then returning to a program speeds my progress toward my performance goal. If you have a journal from the time you started learning the notes, you will be able to eliminate guess work and have accurate feedback. (Do you remember what you did a week ago? A month ago? Keeping a written record is very helpful. There is no reason to expect oneself to remember everything. Remembering the notes is enough!)
Mix it up!
In an online piano forum, participants were exchanging ideas about how to return to practicing after a break. (What’s the secret? How can I make this easy?) Differing viewpoints emerged, as one might expect. Looking through the comment thread was invaluable.
One participant advocated starting out exclusively with etudes. Another suggested practicing only new repertoire. Someone else planned to play familiar music, waiting to add new pieces until s/he was back in shape.
While reading the thread, it seemed that perhaps taking something from everyone might be best. In that way, etudes are included but not intimidating. Familiar music needs to be there so we feel like we know how to play! And new repertoire keeps us making progress.
What do you think?
This post has been updated from 2010.
What do you do when returning to practice after a break? How do you help your students get back into it? How much time do you need to get back to normal?
My book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many practice- and performance-tested suggestions here.
50% off!!! Absolutely NO JARGON! Even my non-musician little sister says so.
Click here for the book intro, table of contents, reviews, and reader comments.
If this post has been helpful and you think your friends and contacts would benefit from reading it, please share.
A young boy plays with a toy drum that was given to him during Joint Task Force-Bravo’s visit to at the Sisters of Charity Orphanage in Comayagua, Honduras, Jan. 25, 2015. The Sisters of Charity Orphanage is one of seven different orphanages from around the Comayagua Valley that the U.S. military personnel assigned to JTF-Bravo have supported over the past 17 years. In addition to spending time with interacting with children, members have also collected and donated much-needed supplies and food, as well as helped in minor construction work on the buildings in which the children live. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Heather Redman). Source: Wikimedia. Public domain.
Isn’t this a wonderful photograph?
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Background
A high school flutist and I performed the piece excerpted below on a recital in April. She plays quite well, but this piece was full of syncopation. Keep in mind that she was looking at the flute part only (top line). Pianists usually play from the complete score (solo line plus piano part).
Excerpt from “Allegretto” from Suite de trois morceaux, Op.116 by Benjamin Godard
First Run-through
The soloist knew her part securely. But the rhythm in the piano part, not surprisingly, threw her off. She took the right hand part (off-beat) to be the beat. So, for example, in the 3rd bar of the 2nd system, her quarter note was one beat late, played after the last chord in the piano part.
Second Try
I played my part as printed, counting out loud. We would stop along the way to correct rhythmic mistakes. She would look at the score when the rhythm threw her off.
That approach resulted in about 50% improvement in our brief rehearsal.
Taking a Closer Look
I continued to think about her that evening. How could this be a better experience for the student, with the performance in front of an audience only a few days away? Was it sink or swim? Or could I do something to help?
In Her Shoes
After considerable thought, I realized that the student was relying primarily on what she had heard during our brief rehearsal. She didn’t have the piano score, and told me she had not listened to recordings.
Going by sound alone complicates things in this case.
Try it! When you sing one low note followed by two higher notes at the same pitch, listen to the way the higher pitch is easier to hear. It would take a lot to make the low note take over as the anchor. Hearing the pitches without looking at the score can easily sound like the low note is an upbeat.
A singer, by contrast, would have the score to refer to. Instrumental parts are published separately, so only the solo line is available unless they keep a copy of the score (or someone provides it).
To add to the challenge, I learned the next day that the student has a cochlear implant. That would make it more difficult to hear anything, possibly also causing a delay in the perception of sound.
The Next Day
Fortunately, there was more rehearsal time available. I checked with the teacher to ask whether it would be acceptable for me to call the student’s parents with the goal of finding another time to get together. We found a time for the following evening.
Recording the Piano Part
I realized that we had only rehearsed the piece one way; as printed.
Since the off-beat is so easy to hear as the beat, I wanted to try something. The student had her phone with her, so we recorded the piano part twice: the first time on the beat; the second as written.
The “on the beat” version went very well! We practiced the piece that way again. This time, the student tapped (stomped, really) her foot on the beat.
Then we practiced the piece as written. She was much closer.
The Core Problem
The student had been attempting to understand the syncopation without knowing where the beat was. You can’t have an off-beat without feeling the beat first.
I encouraged her to march around the room, stamp her feet, and sing, play, clap… whatever would get the rhythm into her body. I suggestion that she count, tap, stamp, clap, or whatever else she wanted to do, louder than the piano part.
Her First Response
“I can’t tap my foot in the performance.”
I agreed, and went on to say that it’s OK to tap your toe inside your shoe, especially the first time you’ve ever done this. And you can do whatever you need to do in rehearsal. The audience doesn’t see you rehearsing, nor does it know what you’re thinking in performance.
Solo Flute Practice
She did it! She had two days left to experiment, and addressed the problem at home without my being there.
Performance
Wonderful! She played out, sounded secure, and was not particularly nervous.
Followup
Two or three weeks later, I ran into her at school. After we said hello, I asked how she felt about the performance. Her response: “It went better than I thought it would. I felt very comfortable.”
What do you do when a student is thrown by something new? Comments welcome!
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Please take a look at my e-book!
“Goal-oriented Practice” Are you practicing well? What do you do when you hit a snag? How do you help your students practice?
Do you have a plan for putting difficult pieces together at performance tempo? How do you help your students achieve a steady tempo without slowing down in difficult passages?
This book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence.
50% off!!! Absolutely NO JARGON! Even my non-musician little sister says so.
Click on the link to see the book intro, table of contents, reviews, and reader comments.
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Town crier in Plymouth, Devon, England, 2014. By Sullivanthepoet. (Own work.) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
New information updates previous blog posts! Recent input informs the way we handle injuries, where each of us is in the perfect pitch conversation, and ergonomic instrument development.
First, Don Ehrlich, who plays an ergonomic viola, posted this comment on Facebook:
Don: Hi Gretchen, An interesting point in time that this [link to my guest post] reached my computer. You don’t know this: The injury to my right thumb got worse and worse. For example, I played a performance of Bach’s 3rd Brandenburg Concerto, where in rehearsals I couldn’t get my bow to behave as I wanted it to. (It did work out in the performance, thank heavens.) Turns out to have been a broken tendon. I found a Very Good hand surgeon in Kaiser South San Francisco. He operated on me on April 13. I’m only now in recovery, trying to regain my skill, strength and endurance. Today I had an appointment with my physical therapist, one recommended by my surgeon. He is weaning me off my range-of-motion exercises and giving me strengthening exercises. Life is never easy, I guess. There is a new-styled frog for violin/viola bows, the Galliane frog. It’s supposed to be ergonomic, though I don’t know how. I was hoping to have it in place already, for my recovery, but that hasn’t happened yet. I can keep you posted, if you like.
Gretchen: Thanks for being in touch, Don. I was unaware that tendons could break. Best of luck, and yes, please keep me posted.
OK if I add your comment to your guest post?
Don: Of course.
My physical therapists usually like to say to avoid surgery at all costs. Well, for me it became intolerable, and surgery became necessary.
Gretchen: Thanks, Don. I know 2 other people who have had tendon surgery (a finger was trapped in closed position for both). They are completely back to normal now; one is a pianist.
“Goal-oriented Practice” Are you practicing safely? How do you approach physically demanding works? Do you power through when the pressure is on? How do you guide your students?
This book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence.
50% off!!!
What did you find here? What would you like to see? Comments welcome!
If this post has been helpful and you think your friends and contacts would benefit from reading it, please share.
Source: Wikimediacommons
File: Nuovo_regno,_fine_della_XVIII_dinastia,_conversazione,
1352-1336 ac ca, da el amarna poi hermopolis.JPG
The links provided in this post will take you to articles related to recent posts on this blog. Links to my posts are also listed here. Please take a minute to look around! Comments welcome!
“Goal-oriented Practice” Pleasetake a look!
My book will save you time. In addition, you will soon be learning more music. You will gain insight into teaching students as individuals. Both you and they will perform with confidence.
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What did you find here? What would you like to see? Comments welcome!
Have you worked from scores containing editors’ markings that could be interpreted as being misleading? How did you proceed?
Last week I had the privilege of collaborating with a talented violinist, a high school senior. One piece on her recital program was the Trio Sonata for Flute, Violin and Continuo in G Major, BWV 1038, by J.S. Bach. The flutist was also a high school senior.
Both played very well. Baroque style, however, seemed to be unfamiliar to them. So they relied on the score much more than on listening to each others’ phrasing.
The edition we were using contained editors’ markings which were misleading if taken literally.
First rehearsal
This was to be our only rehearsal together, with the exception of a short time in the hall prior to the performance.
I liked many aspects of what I heard:
In-tune playing.
Good balance of sound (one player not louder or softer than the other).
Legato playing, appropriate for this largo movement.
Nice tempo.
In the “needs work” department:
• Give and take so the moving part could carry the music.
Each player needed to diminuendo on the long notes, as they had alternating parts. Both players were more familiar with other musical styles, where a crescendo would be called for instead.
Notice in this clip that the top part (flute) plays tied notes while the 2nd part (violin) has more melodic and rhythmic interest. The give and take in the sound when the players honor that approach changes the sound completely. Now it sounds baroque rather than romantic.
• The music needed forward motion.
This could be heard primarily in the flute part. The flutist, looking at the editor’s markings, playing the slurs as indicated. In addition, because she needed to breathe, she would breathe after a short note. That took just enough extra time to interrupt the flow of the music, whereas taking time away from a long note in order to breathe would not have had the same effect.
Take a look at the top two parts (flute and violin, respectively). Notice how the markings seem to ask for the longer note to be slurred to the shorter one?
The music flows when exactly the opposite phrasing is used, as in the notation at the right of this example:
So we changed it! The sound improved immediately.
Second rehearsal
This rehearsal was with violin and piano only. However, we had an opportunity to discuss the Bach.
At the end of the first rehearsal, my impression was that the violinist understood the changes we had made. The flutist had improved, but was still relying on the printed score more than listening to the flow of the music.
My suggestion was for the violinist and the flutist to get together by themselves. They attend the same school and have free time, so this was not a problem. I asked the violinist to coach the rehearsal, finding musical lines they could play together, such as this one:
My goal was to make any differences in phrasing between the two players as clear as possible. Rehearsing alternating lines might not have had the same effect.
Pre-recital and performance
I am delighted to say that the sound was transformed! During our brief time in the recital hall prior to the performance, we had just a few minutes to rehearse this piece. After marking in accidentals that crept up on both players, likely because of nerves, I felt encouraged. If everyone could remain calm, count, listen, and enjoy it, we had an excellent chance of performing well.
And… it happened! The audience loved what they heard, and I felt gratified.
Here are two YouTube videos of this beautiful piece. Enjoy!
One version, performed with piano:
And another version, this time with harpsichord:
Have you worked from scores containing editors’ markings that could be interpreted as being misleading? How did you proceed?
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Are you heading into June and beyond without a teacher? Need fresh ideas to share with your students?
Teach students as individuals, and perform with confidence.
![By Sullivanthepoet. (Own work.) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://gretchenspianos.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/town-crier.jpg)
