In these episodes which end with five (155, 145, 135) we are following the journey of a typical student as he learns to read music and play the piano. This student, I’m calling him Ray, began lessons with me in January of 2019. His older brothers studied with me a few years ago and I am delighted to be working with him.
When we last shared Ray’s story, he had just begun learning the pieces in the Piano Adventures Method book 2A.
Listen to the full episode here
Lesson 10
Ray has been eager to get to the Level 2B book, where his brothers left off. I don’t know if he just likes those songs better or if he wants to catch up with his brothers but he has been highly motivated to get to that book.
As a result, he has wanted to skim through the Level 2A book.
I told him we can go as fast through the books as he wants but we also need to make sure he knows the concepts each book teaches him.
One of the things I like about the Piano Adventures books is that the books are broken into units. Each unit has a variety of songs or pieces for students to play which give them experience with the new concept being taught. The songs are in different styles or genres.
One song that might appeal to one student holds no interest for another student. They are free to work on music that appeals to them while learning the new skill in the unit.
As my students complete a unit they choose their favorite piece from the unit and place a Post-it flag/tag on it to mark it. This becomes their “tag” song. Periodically, I will have students play their tag songs for me during the lesson or as part of their weekly assignment.
Lesson 11
Just because Ray was able to play selected pieces in the 2A book, doesn’t mean he has completely mastered the concept or skill contained within those pieces.
One way I help him gain more experience with the pieces he has learned is by giving him additional music to sight read.
Listen to episode 153 to learn how to choose supplemental music for your piano kid.
Each year in my studio, all the students participate in a studio-wide campaign. Last year they were divided into teams. Two years ago, students collected beads.
The studio-wide incentive for 2019-2020 is buttons. I’ll have to dedicate an upcoming episode to our button incentive but for now I’ll just tell you that one of the buttons students can earn is the SR25 button. When they sight read 25 pieces beyond their weekly assigned music, they earn this special button. (Between you and me, there is also an SR50 button and an SR75 button. If I have a student motivated enough, I will make a special SR100 button just for them!)
Ray is currently working to earn his SR25 button. I know that playing additional music reinforces his reading skills, causes him to decipher music on his own, and strengthens his ability to play the piano.
Lesson 12
Remember that I think Ray’s brothers have been helping him learn his music a lot at home? While I am delighted they work together like this, I suspect this has caused Ray to miss developing his reading ability.
Learning by rote and playing pieces you’ve heard have their place in music education. Ray is very comfortable with the piano and he loves to experiment with lots of sounds. I think that’s great.
Now that Ray is moving beyond his brothers’ ability and is starting to work on music he hasn’t heard as much, his weakness for recalling the notes on the staff has become more obvious. Not only his staff reading but he is also less attentive to the note values. He might breeze through half notes and quarter rests without giving them their proper value.
To help master staff note names, Ray is working to earn his One Minute Club button. To earn it, he must be able to identify all the notes of the grand staff within one minute. We are using Thomas Grayston’s excellent app, Note Rush (Thomas told us about his app in episode 065.) to drill the notes in various combinations and time his recall. It is amazing how many times a student will go through a set of flashcards when they are trying to beat their best time!
To help Ray establish a steady pulse when he plays his music, we are using the Piano Adventures Player with some of his tag songs, pieces he has already become familiar with and can play without much hesitation. Playing with the backing tracks in the app is like karaoke for the piano. While Ray reads his music, he listens to the band and adapts his playing to match theirs. If he jumps over a quarter rest or doesn’t hold a half note for two full beats, it is obvious that he isn’t with the band and he must adapt. The backing tracks make timing mistakes much more obvious than a metronome can.
I am not affiliated with the Piano Adventures company at all, I’m just a happy customer sharing what is working for my students.
Final Thoughts
Ray has finally made it to the PA 2B book that he’s been aiming for. What will he set his sites on next? I hope he doesn’t think he’s done – we’re just getting started!
Thanks for listening!
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