Category: THINGS WE LEARN THROUGH TEACHING

Sing It before You swing It!

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It’s often useful if a learner is able to sing the tune they’re trying to learn by ear. As a first step, introduce the melody in a key which fits the student’s singing or humming range, probably quite low down in their range so that they don’t have to sing loudly. This key may not be the one in which the learner will finally play the piece but this can be introduced later. The teacher might play or sing the first few notes then allow the student to experiment until they find the tune.

With learners who lack confidence and need early success, the teacher may wish to provide the starting note. This can be faded out as confidence is gained.

 

Happy Learning!

 

 

The Language of music – Communication or Obsession?

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When in the company of people who don’t speak your language, you might need to be able to ask the way to the nearest shop. This is important. But do you need to ask in such a way that your listeners think you are a native speaker of the language? Surely this is unimportant right now.

 

Some piano students will revel in the language of music for its own sake. Some will not.

 

To begin with, when teaching and learning by ear, do we really need to know that a certain piece of plastic on the keyboard is called F Sharp? Perhaps we need to know only that it makes a certain kind of noise when played along with other pieces of plastic, or that it’s found at the left end of the groups of three black notes!

Black notes?

left and right?

What are those?

 

For some learners, we might start with D because it’s nessled between two black notes. BETWEEN might be easier than Left or Right, Up or Down.

 

YES! EXTREME! And I hope the reader will forgive the use of an extreme for the sake of clarifying a thought.