• Work with Gretchen
  • Bio
  • E-book
    • Goal-oriented Practice
      • Book intro
      • Book review
      • Book T of C, p. 1
      • Book T of C, p. 2
  • Review
  • Pictures
  • About me
  • Contact form
  • My career path
  • What they’re saying

Gretchen Saathoff

~ Collaborative Pianist/Vocal Coach ~ forging partnerships, making memorable music together

Tag Archives: Sight reading

Q&A: One-handed lessons

04 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by GretchensPianos in fatigue, health, injury, music, new approach, new experience, new insights, organ, outside the box, pedal, piano, priorities, process, progress, Q&A, question, sightreading, something new, teaching, the unexpected, tools, variety

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Broken arm, Creative teaching, Education, Sight reading, student, teacher

US Congressman Donald Manzullo signs a short arm cast.  (Photo: Wikipedia)

US Congressman Donald Manzullo signs a short arm cast. (Photo: Wikipedia)

A reader asks:

One of my piano students broke her right arm.  Do you know of any method books to help improve her left hand during the 6 weeks she’ll be in a cast?

Response:

I understand your reasons for using this as an opportunity to address a common problem. However, you may want to put yourself in your student’s place for a moment first.

  • Everyone’s left hand is 2 weeks behind the right.
  • The left hand often learns by imitating the right.
  • Someone who is forced to use only one hand is at risk of overuse and injury.  The uninjured hand is being used all day for everything.  That is tiring!  Have you ever tried it?

If this were my student, I would go with the situation instead.  There is so much variety to be found!  You and your student will both have fun, and your student will learn more than you imagine in the process.

A few suggestions:

  • Duets
    • use music for 2 hands, with student playing one part and teacher playing the other.  Then switch parts.  (Your student will be playing the treble part with her left hand!  How unusual is that?)
    • play duets written for 4 hands, leaving 1 part out.  (You have 3 hands between you.)
  • Chorus music or hymns
    • student can play all 4 parts, one at a time.  This is wonderful sight-reading practice.
  • Teacher plays
    • student pedals
    • student walks around the room in rhythm, counts out loud, sings names of notes, plays triangle or drum with 1 hand
  • Listen to a recording and talk about it
  • Make up a piece

OK, now that I’ve gotten you started, it’s your turn!  I’m sure you will have more ideas.  Just go with it!  You can make up a lesson as you go along. Your student will have plenty of ideas, too.

Good luck, and have fun!

Have you taught a student who broke his/her arm?  What did you do?  Please share your thoughts in the Comment Section below!

Back to top

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Q&A: sight-reading in chorus rehearsals

26 Wednesday Jan 2011

Posted by GretchensPianos in career, chorus, focus, music, piano, process, Q&A, rehearsal, rhythm, sightreading, singing, tools, work

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

chorus, Music, piano, rehearsal, Sight reading

Skulptur "Flickan med hopprep" av Cl...
Image via Wikipedia

Sight-reading in chorus rehearsals is different from sight-reading on our own.

If you’re thinking that you’ll always have the music ahead of time, it isn’t going to happen.  From time to time you will be sight-reading in rehearsal.

Sight-reading choral music has its own requirements

It’s about the rehearsal, not the piano part.

Any choral score has more staves than most piano music.

Singers need to hear their parts clearly.

Singers need to hear anything else that helps them sing their part.

We can omit whatever is going well in the chorus.  (When the soprano part is the melody, that can most likely be omitted.  It is the easiest to hear, and the singers will “get it” the most quickly.)

We don’t need to expect to play everything.   Ornaments and arpeggiated chords, for example, can confuse people on first hearing.

The rehearsal is better served when we know what comes next.  Singers benefit from hearing any changes.

Bass lines are good to play.  They give singers something to build their harmonies on.

What we need to know before we play

Use the time the conductor takes to introduce the piece to the chorus.  Look through the entire piece for repeats and key, meter and tempo changes.

If you must play immediately, look ahead while holding long notes.  You can turn pages long enough to check something out quickly.

While playing, look for entrances, difficult vocal leaps, changes in meter, key, tempo, 2nds between parts, lines that switch parts, syncopation ~ anything unusual.  Then be sure to play everything you found.

Adjustments we must make

Sight-reading with a conductor requires that we forget about ourselves.  Believe it or not, this is conducive to playing a good rehearsal.

Fingering, possible mistakes, even our own comfortable tempo must be of no concern.  We should be fine with all that by now, knowing that its place is in our practice sessions.  In rehearsal, it is crucial ​to let go and not get in our own way.

Our focus is on the conductor as well as the entire room and the sound of the group.

Piano reductions

A piano reduction in an unaccompanied choral piece (where the piano part is marked “for rehearsal only”) is the singers’ parts.  Right now you’re saying, “Whew!  I’ll play from that!”  Right?

Not so fast!

We cannot rely on reductions exclusively.

Read the parts too, as you’re playing.  Repeated notes in vocal parts may be tied in a reduction.  Singers need to hear their parts accurately.  That may involve syncopation.  A voice part may have important notes playing off other parts rhythmically.

Open score

There may be a piano reduction that someone made for you.  Is it accurate?

During graduate school, I played rehearsals for The Philadelphia Singers.   The group was preparing Poulenc’s “Figure Humaine.”  The piece is scored for 16-part double chorus with no piano reduction.  Although the assistant conductor had written out a piano reduction for me (after the 2nd or 3rd rehearsal), it was full of errors.  (Poulenc isn’t so easy!)  I already knew the score and had been playing from that.  So, after playing a few bars with mistakes from the reduction, I switched back to the original.

When the conductor, Michael Korn, wanted to make a starting place clear at one point during the rehearsal, he assumed I had been playing from the reduction.  Since the layout was different between the reduction and the score, he came over to the piano to point out where he wanted to begin.  He  was astounded that I had been playing 16 parts from open score.  I felt it would have been a waste of rehearsal time not to.

Our job is to facilitate rehearsal.  Other concerns such as fingering or “performing” the music (with all the notes) should not be part of sight-reading in a chorus rehearsal.

How do you approach sight-reading in chorus rehearsals?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Many thanks to the person who searched for this topic.

Back to top

“Goal-oriented Practice” has gained many satisfied readers! Click for great reviews and comments. Buy it now!

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

How to improve your sight-reading

18 Tuesday Jan 2011

Posted by GretchensPianos in learning, music, process, progress, sightreading

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Music, piano, Sight reading

Handwritten music score from Franz Liszt
Image via Wikipedia

This weekend,  I asked an adult student how it felt to play in a new way.

She said, “I had to be hyper-alert and not think too much.”

Even though she wasn’t sight-reading, her response would be a great description for how to do that.

During my freshman year of college, it became apparent immediately that I needed to improve my sight-reading.  (I crashed in the first chorus rehearsal I played!)  Knowing whether the notes were correct was not the problem.  I’ve never had to check between the score and the keyboard in traditional music.  (In Messiaen, though, I do all the time!)

The biggest snag was that I would read one measure at a time, then regroup at the bar lines.

The drill

This is what I did:

First, I hooked up with a teacher who could sight-read anything.  He was a visiting artist at my school.

He had me sight-read Bach chorales, Riemenschneider edition.  This was an excellent suggestion, because chorales have a steady pulse.  You don’t have to second-guess meter, tempo, or key changes ~ you just keep going.

In lessons, my teacher would have me begin playing a chorale, then cover the notes with his hand, forcing me to look ahead.  At first I panicked.  Then I improved enough to play the beginning of a line, count what I couldn’t see or play, and then play the last bar of the line.

After a few frustrating lessons, things started to work much better.

For a long time, I didn’t believe my teacher when he said, “If you’ve seen it, you can play it.”  He was right.   🙂

Things to be aware of

Always work on sight-reading when you’ve had enough sleep.  It’s frustrating enough already ~ you don’t need to be tired, too.

Long sight-reading sessions are not helpful.  People concentrate best at the beginning of a session.  20 minutes every day seems about right.

Sight-reading and practicing have nothing in common.  So always look ahead, no matter what.  Never go back to correct mistakes.

Choose a tempo you can handle.  This is not a speed contest.

If you leave things out, that’s fine.  Keep looking ahead, count, chill out, then play something in tempo.

Stop thinking.  Just do it.

From time to time, play the first chord in each bar and count everything in between.  Your eyes will become used to moving ahead.

When you are sight-reading with the intention of improving your skills, pay no attention to ornamentation.  Just leave it out.  This applies to Bach ornaments as well as those 17-note passages in Chopin that are printed in miniscule type.

Fingering doesn’t matter. You aren’t learning this piece, and won’t be sight-reading it twice.

It is useful to let go of the notes and move your hands to the next chord early.  You can pedal to sustain the sound.  This isn’t great art right now.  It’s about getting the notes.

For a little variety, have someone conduct as you play.  I find it easier to keep going when playing with a conductor.

If you want some “live” practice sight-reading, find a Sunday School class to play for.  Or a grade school.  Or a children’s choir at church.  The level of difficulty isn’t the point ~ looking ahead is.

Join a chorus and use the downtime to learn all the parts.  Being able to anticipate the next sound when sight-reading helps in a big way.  Developing your ear is a huge part of that.

Practice score-reading away from the piano.  Can you hear a score in your head?

Evelyn Wood

It took me awhile to improve my sight-reading skills.  Be patient if things don’t suddenly click for you.  (If you need to vent, leave a comment here!)

Both of my brothers took the Evelyn Wood speed reading course at different times.  It’s interesting that each of them described the experience in the same way.

The technique involves scanning the page in various directions, then going on to the next.  The first day, for example, might involve scanning the first page diagonally from left top to right bottom, then doing the same on the next page.  Scanning also went from top to bottom, bottom to top, bottom right to top left, scanning lines from right to left, looking at the page in blocks, etc.

Nothing made sense to my brothers for weeks. (I think it was 8 weeks.)  And then, just as each of them became so frustrated they wanted to quit, something clicked.  They could understand what they had read!

I have seen the results of this method first-hand.  My oldest brother read an entire Newsweek article while on an escalator between two floors of a clothing store.

I think sight-reading is similar.  It takes time, frustration builds, we think it’ll never work, and then… we can do it!

Best of luck!

Does your sight-reading need some improvement?  What have you tried so far?  Please share your experience in the comment section below!

“Goal-oriented Practice” has gained many satisfied readers! Click for great reviews and comments.  Buy it now!

Back to top

Enhanced by Zemanta

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Performing focuses my practice

14 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by GretchensPianos in career, choosing program, concentration, concert, directed practice, focus, goals, listening, motivation, music, new insights, perception, performing, practice, preparation, priorities, process, progress, responsibility, risk, sightreading

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Music, performance, practice, Progress, Sight reading

Ministry Of Sound - Laser Light Show with DJs ...

Image by Anirudh Koul via Flickr

I don’t know about you, but I have an aversion to making a fool of myself in public.

Some musicians prefer performing, some recording.  Still others like to play for their own enjoyment.

I love performing, and also enjoy recording.  But playing for myself doesn’t quite do it.

There is some intangible component to having an imminent performance that makes my practicing much, much better.  Today, for example, I had a heightened awareness of sound, variety of articulation, being ready in advance, and clear dynamic contrasts.  Next concert ~ two days away (unless it’s three ~ allowing for snow).

How does this happen?

Well, it could be related to sight-reading ability.  Sometimes being a good sight-reader can be a disadvantage.

What is sight-reading good for?

  • reading through repertoire to choose programs
  • deciding on program order (key, tempo, and mood relationships)
  • playing rehearsals ~ although we would like to have the music in advance, that sometimes doesn’t happen

How can sight-reading get in the way?

  • using the same fingerings consistently is more difficult
  • reading through the piece is more fun than practicing
  • making mistakes and going on is easy ~ missing a fingering rarely causes a train wreck
  • when used as a practice method, sight-reading ensures that little if any improvement occurs

How does nearing a performance date change things?

  • fear of playing badly kicks in
  • mistakes and sloppy playing suddenly become much more obvious
  • imagining a large hall with an audience is completely different from playing for 4 walls in a smaller space
  • playing through pieces suddenly becomes a waste of time
  • making the playing as foolproof as possible becomes crucial
  • I hear with different ears!

In short, performing makes me the best I can be.

What focuses your practice?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

“Goal-oriented Practice” has gained many satisfied readers!  Click for great reviews and comments.  Buy now!

Back to top

Enhanced by Zemanta

Share

  • Print
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Would you like to save practice time and learn more music faster? Subscribe for free!

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Gretchen Saathoff

Collaborative Pianist/Vocal Coach

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive FREE notifications of new posts by email.

Search this blog

http://www.wikio.com
Follow @GretchensPianos

NEW! LOWER PRICE!

Pages

  • Work with Gretchen
  • Bio
  • E-book
    • Goal-oriented Practice
      • Book intro
      • Book review
      • Book T of C, p. 1
      • Book T of C, p. 2
  • Review
  • Pictures
  • About me
  • Contact form
  • My career path
  • What they’re saying

Contact Me

Please use the Contact Form above.

Top Posts

  • From the archives: Creative Hymn Playing
  • Piano Shoes
  • Chance: of trial and error and "Aha!" moments
  • Piano Glasses
  • Our little choir's 1st success of the new season
  • Remembering Jean Ritchie, 12/8/22-6/1/15
  • Q&A: Playing organ pedals in stocking feet

Blogroll

  • All Piano
  • All Things Strings
  • Arts Journal
  • Carolyn Donnell
  • Chamber Music Today
  • Chamber Musician Today
  • Christopher O'Riley
  • Clef Notes
  • Crosseyed Pianist
  • Divergence Vocal Theater
  • Everything Opera
  • Geraldine in a Bottle
  • Get Classical
  • Global Mysteries
  • Good Company
  • Hell Mouth
  • Horn Matters
  • If it Ain't Baroque
  • Interchanging Idioms
  • Katerina Stamatelos
  • Marion Harrington
  • Metaphysics and Whimsy
  • Music Matters
  • Music Teach ,n. Tech
  • Musical Assumptions
  • My Life at the Piano
  • Noble Viola
  • Oboe Insight
  • Once More With Feeling
  • Operagasm
  • Pedal Points
  • Pianists from the Inside
  • Piano Addict
  • Pianorama
  • Practising the Piano
  • Rachel Velarde
  • Speaking of Pianists
  • Spirit Lights the Way
  • Stephen Hough
  • Susan Tomes
  • The Buzzing Reed
  • The Collaborative Piano Blog
  • The Glass
  • The Mahatma Candy Project
  • The Musician's Way
  • The Orchestra Pit — Musical Theater Piano Central
  • The Piano Files
  • The Rest is Noise
  • The Teaching Studio
  • Think Denk
  • Tubahead
  • Under the Piano Stool

Resources

  • "Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique" by Alfred Cortot FREE DOWNLOAD!
  • The Whole-Hearted Musician

web site

  • Digital Piano Review Guide
  • El Sistema USA
  • Ergo LCD Corp, Ergonomic Specialists
  • J.S. Bach Foundation
  • Jason Coffey, baritone
  • Piano Buddies
  • The Human Solution
  • Website Marketing

article career collaboration concert directed practice distractions focus goals health learning listening music new approach new experience performing piano practice practicing preparation priorities process progress rehearsal singing teaching the unexpected tools Uncategorized variety work
NetworkedBlogs
Blog:
Gretchens Pianos
Topics:
piano, music, collaboration
 
Follow my blog

Archives

  • September 2016 (1)
  • April 2016 (1)
  • January 2016 (2)
  • December 2015 (1)
  • November 2015 (1)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (4)
  • June 2015 (7)
  • May 2015 (9)
  • March 2015 (5)
  • February 2015 (1)
  • January 2015 (3)
  • December 2014 (1)
  • November 2014 (1)
  • October 2014 (5)
  • August 2014 (4)
  • July 2014 (3)
  • June 2014 (6)
  • May 2014 (17)
  • April 2014 (1)
  • March 2014 (1)
  • January 2014 (4)
  • December 2013 (4)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (7)
  • August 2013 (5)
  • June 2013 (3)
  • May 2013 (6)
  • April 2013 (3)
  • March 2013 (6)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (2)
  • December 2012 (2)
  • November 2012 (5)
  • October 2012 (8)
  • September 2012 (5)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (4)
  • May 2012 (10)
  • April 2012 (9)
  • March 2012 (9)
  • February 2012 (8)
  • January 2012 (9)
  • December 2011 (8)
  • November 2011 (24)
  • October 2011 (14)
  • September 2011 (10)
  • August 2011 (10)
  • July 2011 (8)
  • June 2011 (7)
  • May 2011 (11)
  • April 2011 (13)
  • March 2011 (15)
  • February 2011 (13)
  • January 2011 (16)
  • December 2010 (10)
  • November 2010 (15)
  • October 2010 (16)
  • September 2010 (6)
  • August 2010 (8)
  • July 2010 (14)
  • June 2010 (16)
  • May 2010 (25)
  • April 2010 (11)
  • March 2010 (25)
  • February 2010 (4)
  • January 2010 (4)
  • December 2009 (3)
  • November 2009 (4)
  • October 2009 (9)
  • September 2009 (5)
  • August 2009 (5)
  • July 2009 (29)
  • June 2009 (40)
  • May 2009 (23)
  • April 2009 (20)

Copyright Notice

All posts are copyrighted by Gretchen Saathoff and may be used only by permission of the author.

Search Engine Optimization and SEO Tools
Submit Your Site To The Web's Top 50 Search Engines for Free!

Free SEO Meta Tags Generator

Blog Catalog Blog Directory
Active Search Results
Quickregister.net Link And Article Directory

Would you like to save practice time and learn more music faster? Subscribe for free!

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Official PayPal Seal

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: