Stars In April

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Tom McPherson in Pedagogy | Leave a comment

The role of the piano teacher is something like that of a good parent. It is important to offer a sense of emotional security and to encourage the student to grow beyond his or her current level of skill development — regardless of what that is. Concurrent with that, it is important to define limits of what is or is not acceptable, and to help the student set goals for achievement. For the month of April, I have decided to lean a little more towards “defining the limits”. It is proving to be a valuable experience for my students, and it offers parents some quick feedback as well.

In each student’s assignment book, rather than simply putting in a check-mark for each item as it is covered in the lesson, I stick on a coloured star indicating just how well the student accomplished the task. My piano students are versed in local school district terminology of “minimally meets expectations”, “meets expectations”, “exceeds expectations”, etc., but I decided to go with the Royal Conservatory Of Music’s hierarchy of terms… with one of my own as well. So, for the month of April, my students’ assignment books are sparkling with coloured stars with the following meaning:

Gold: First Class Honours With Distinction (90% and higher)
Silver: First Class Honours (80% to 89%)
Red: Honours (70% to 79%)
Blue: Pass (60% to 69%)
Green: Thanks For Trying

When writing down each task in the assignment book, we discuss the wording to make sure each goal is specific and achievable. For example, I might write, “Play the Right Hand of your Sonatina with accurate fingering.” The same week, I may also write, “Play the Right Hand of your Sonatina with appropriate dynamics and phrase shape”. After one playing of the Sonatina at the next lesson, I would select one star for each of the required tasks. Later on when the Sonatina is mastered, I might simply ask to hear a performance of the piece and would offer a star to evaluate the overall job.

I like this system, but think it is important to do it only for a limited time. I don’t want my students to feel like they are always being evaluated, but for a month a lessons, I think it is a good reality-check for teacher, for student, and for parents. I’ve had the pleasant surprise from some students (who normally do just fine at their lessons) who are practising that much more because they know that the achievement will mean something!

Give it a try sometime, and let me know what you think.

Intervals

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Tom McPherson in Self-Serve Theory | Leave a comment

Most theory textbooks outline a method of calculating intervals that requires the student first to determine the major key signature of the lower note of the interval, then to see if the upper note agrees with that key signature, regardless of the key of the piece of music. (Wow, even that sentence sounds a bit complicated.) Over the years I’ve come to think that that method certainly can provide correct answers for theory examinations, but it isn’t really how musicians think.

Here are some examples: When I am playing a piece of music in C major and come across the interval of A up to C, I really don’t think I temporarily “abort” from C major and realign my point of reference to A major for that short moment of time. When when I encounter a semitone, I automatically know that that is a minor second — I don’t stop and think about key signatures. The same goes for major sevenths; they’re simply one semitone short of an octave. Minor sevenths are a full tone short of an octave.

One thing I think musicians — pianists especially — can easily commit to memory is the combinations of notes that produce perfect fifths. When the bottom note is a natural note (a white key on the piano), the top note is natural. When the bottom note is [something]-flat, the top note is [something]-flat. When the bottom note is [something]-sharp, the top note is [something]-sharp. There is only one exception, and that is when the bottom note is some form of B. We will come to know that things to do with B often create an exception.

Memorizing what combinations create perfect fifths can easily assist the student in knowing other nearby intervals. Minor sixths are one semitone larger than perfect fifths; major sixths are a full tone larger.

Anyhow, I created the attached chart as a tool to help students measure intervals. I think it emphasizes that intervals are merely distances between notes, and that some equal distances can be notated in different ways (eg. C to F-sharp, and C to G-flat). I like the fact that it secures in my students’ minds some basic measurements. Minor thirds, for example, are three semitones apart whereas major thirds are four; doing the key-signature method doesn’t really bring that to light.

Measuring intervals is now a simple two-step process. The first step is to determine the basic “number distance” of the interval either by observing how it is notated on the staff or by counting the number of letter names it encompasses. C to F-sharp, for example, is a 4th because it spans four letter names: C-D-E-F. In the same manner, C to G-flat is a 5th because it encompasses five letter names: C-D-E-F-G. The second step is to count the number of semitones from the lower note to the higher one. A keyboard, or a picture of one, really helps in this process. And from the grid, presto, there is your answer!

I hear some of you thinking, “That’s all very handy when you have that chart in front of you!” I have found that, with practice, students can commit it to memory.

Click here to get a pdf version of the chart. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Good Practice

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Tom McPherson in Pedagogy | Leave a comment

“Good practice is the purposeful repetition of accuracy.”

We began lessons this year having a look at that statement, and it certainly says a lot! It comes from a clever comic book series called The Art Of Piano Performance which is published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company. The comics are appealing to everyone from pre-teenagers to adults. The issue Perfect Practice is written by Peter Coraggio and illustrated by Jon J. Murakami. It is loaded with useful information pertaining to the achievement of successful piano performance, and it gives a scientific yet common-sense description of how the memory works while playing piano.

In the words of the author:

“Effective practice consists of first partitioning a composition into workable sections, determining fingering which feels natural for the intended musical expression, refining each unit through reinforcement and repetition while carefully observing all of the composer’s directions, reassembling component parts into a completed work, and finally, preparing properly for confident public performance which results in audience satisfaction and a sense of personal achievement.”

I challenged each of my students at the beginning of the year to come up with five ways they could ensure that their own practising was, in fact, a repetition of accuracy. Here are some of the highlights from that compiled list.

1. Have an environment free from distractions of TV, telephone, text messages, brothers, etc.

2. Make fingering choices a priority when first learning a piece and stick to those choices.

3. Scan the music before you play to find passages that might be challenging. Work on those first sections first.

4. If rhythm is the challenge, prepare it first by tapping the part(s).

5. Work on small sections at at time. Drill difficult runs with attention to fingering and patterns.

6. Notice dynamics when first learning a new piece and include them from the onset.

7. If the key signature is challenging, first practice scales and triads to get the patterns in your fingers and in your head.

8. Take a few seconds to relax before and after a difficult section. You will then associate that section with relaxation.

9. Plan the hand position — the shape of your fingers as they approach the keys as well as how the hand needs to move from one position to another.

10. Don’t assume that because it was good yesterday that it will perfect today. You still have to think and be careful.

And the most common response from all my students was this: Practise slowly.

Reading The Art Of Piano Performance: Perfect Practice is a fun way to learn about the challenges of piano playing, the way the mind works to learn those new skills, and the benefits and joys that are so rewarding for pianists of all ages.

Introducing “Self-Serve Theory”

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Tom McPherson in Self-Serve Theory | Leave a comment

This is an area of the website where students and teachers can get new ideas on how to approach topics in Music Theory. By no means is this intended to replace your current method of studying theory. It is, rather, a place to have a new way of looking at things.

Many of the concepts here come from what I call seeing (and hearing) things from the “pianist’s brain”. At times, too, I may refer to the “singer’s brain” or the “wind player’s brain”, etc. — each one interpreting musical symbols in a slightly different way.

I hope you enjoy my unique approach to Music Theory.

Too Early Use of Damper Pedal?

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Tom McPherson in Pedagogy | Leave a comment

Lately I have been questioning the use of the damper pedal in beginner books. In most cases, the student is taught to push the pedal down and leave it down for the duration of the piece. Yes, it does create a nice tone colour, and (if the correct notes are played!) the piece can sound rich and full. What concerns me is that when the time comes for a student to use the pedal appropriately, many students refer back to this first experience, push the pedal down, and leave it down for the whole piece.

I think it might be better to forego those early pedal experiments and save learning the pedal for a time when it will be done having appropriate attention put to the timing of pedal changes.

Five Ways Of Learning Music

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Tom McPherson in Pedagogy | Leave a comment

It is not surprising that some piano students learn better by ear and some by sight. What surprises me after a few years of teaching my students is the wide range of ability of ear vs. sight even though I had given each of my students what I thought was the same “diet” of repertoire and exercises.

I think the concern here is that I had settled into what I call my “default” mode of teaching: always having the printed score open for a student while he/she is learning a new piece, and periodically demonstrating passages (or the whole thing) when I felt that would provide the most direct form of guidance. The students who were naturally better “ear” learners clung to those demonstrations and remembered them surprisingly well. My “sight” students would appreciate any help I would give to outline patterns in the score, to help with analysis of form or harmony… in short, anything to help make sense of those little black dots. What I didn’t realize is that some of my students probably tuned-out the information that didn’t fit with their natural learning style.

In an attempt to develop a full spectrum of skills, I came up with these “Five Ways Of Learning Music”. It is my intension that, if I have my students work on one piece of repertoire for each of the five different methods, then I can prevent the syndrome of only playing by ear or only by sight.

I don’t know who coined this expression, but I do love the meaning. It is our goal as piano teachers to have our students “see with their ears and hear with their eyes”. I think that would make for the most well-rounded musician.