Just enough time today for a quick post before students start to arrive for the evening… I mentioned last week that I had raided my studio closet to come up with enough games and activities to review a year’s worth of theory in group classes. In doing so, I pulled out some of my favorite “old” games that hadn’t been off the shelf in a … Continue reading
Oops… between taking a week off for spring break, then returning to busily prepare for a couple of upcoming events, I’ve been a neglectful blogger as of late! One of those upcoming events is a festival that requires students to complete a written theory exam in addition to their performance. I LOVE to have students participate in this event in the spring, because it really … Continue reading
In planning for group lessons this month, I found myself looking for a fun way to introduce/drill interval qualities in my intermediate level groups. The interval tower game was such a hit last month with my elementary students last month, I decided to adapt it and use it again. I used the same deck of interval cards (they can be downloaded here), but for … Continue reading
This new game was a BIG hit with my elementary students at group lessons last week. We’re working on instant recognition of intervals (without having to count lines and spaces), which takes a LOT of drill. With this game, though, the kids wanted to keep playing the whole lesson! Here’s how we played: I divided the students into partners and gave each pair … Continue reading
We’ve been on a heavy theory kick in my studio this month. I have several students who will be participating in theory testing as part of a festival in April, so ALL of my students have been getting the benefit of a little extra lesson planning on my part. As a part of that, I’ve been working on a couple of new games. Here’s the … Continue reading
Break is over! A new semester has begun! One of my goals as I start each new semester is to return to a “balanced” curriculum. I find that the END of a typical semester is full of performance-oriented teaching. Lesson time is consumed with fine-tuning repertoire and preparing for recitals, concerts and recording projects. For most students, the BEGINNING of a new semester does not bring with it those same … Continue reading
Sometimes the best ideas come from students! This new twist on a couple of old games was born last week during an elementary student’s lesson. We were ready to take a mid-lesson break from the piano and I had materials for Boomwhacker flashcards handy (see previous post). My student had other ideas! She ran over to a bowl of alphabet cards I had on a … Continue reading
One of my favorite mid-lesson monotony breakers is the bucket of boomwhackers I keep in my studio. Whoever invented those things was truly genius! They’re a fantastic way to work off some energy or “beat” out a little piano-induced frustration. They’re also a great way to make flash card drills a LOT more fun for students. A while ago, I created some jumbo-sized flashcards to … Continue reading
Since many of my elementary students are working on Halloween sheet music for a recital this weekend, we’ve been talking quite a bit about the difference betwen major and minor this month. For this week’s group lessons, I printed 2 signs with a picture of a house on each. One was a haunted house (I simply printed a copy of this coloring page on orange paper), … Continue reading