Monday, November 5, 2012
I just updated my Jennifer Warren-Baker Profile on GigMasters! Check it out!
I just updated my Jennifer Warren-Baker Profile on GigMasters! Check it out!: Jennifer Warren-Baker is on GigMasters, the number one event booking service.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Halloween as Springboard to J.S. Bach and Organ? Yes!
I am the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of the organ. I much prefer my piano. But one of the coolest "Halloween" pieces of all time is a classical piece written for organ by J.S. Bach. What is it, you might ask? Why -- Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor (BWV 565) -- of course! If you don't recall what this piece is, check out this video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4FXvojtq6g&feature=player_embedded
Ok, so Bach devoted all of his music to the glory of God. So how did his piece come to be associated with a holiday which is considered to be pagan in origin? It's simple, really. The first page or so is very scary-sounding and Hollywood found that it registered high on the fear meter! It has been used in no less than 19 movies, from the Disney classic "Fantasia" to horror movies. Although I'm sure J.S. Bach intended to do nothing more than induce a proper fear of God with his bold opening statement (Figure A, below), we actually use this piece to scare each other in horror movies, haunted houses, and Halloween media hype. Fortunately, our kids hear a little Bach every Halloween because of this media saturation. So I have begun using the Toccatta's Halloween association as a springboard for introducing J.S. Bach and organ to my students -- especially those with classical phobia (I have some who would never consider Bach as worthy for their attention if it weren't for this piece).
In addition to giving them some appreciation for the classics of the Baroque era, the Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor presents the perfect opener for a discussion of one of the most complex engineering feats in existence -- the pipe organ. Your budding engineers and scientists might appreciate this (subject matter for another post).
And you might throw in a little sidenote about how Bach, a gifted composer, was really just this very humble church organist who felt that....
And how about showing students how much coordination is required to play this complex instrument? Show them the video above. It gives students an excellent demonstration of how the foot pedals work in organ music. I tell them this is where the very big, low notes come from. A lot of kids don't know that there is a virtual piano keyboard at your feet and each pedal has a different pitch. So this video is very enlightening as far as the foot pedals go.
While some piano teachers may dismiss this piece as too difficult for intermediate students, I think the first page is very attainable through proper instruction. And my students LOVE, LOVE, LOVE playing this piece! By showing my students the patterns and chords in the music this month, I was able to teach the first page of this to virtually all of my intermediate and advanced students. They don't need to play the whole 8-minute piece to get a taste of Bach and organ music. Even the first page is enough to show their friends. They can go home and play the piece on their keyboards with a pipe organ sound (most of my students have a keyboard and/or piano). If two hands is too hard, the piece is easily reduced to right hand only. One of my students, who is handing out candy instead of trick-or-treating this year, says he is going to put his keyboard out on the sidewalk and play this piece on Halloween night. And that's what it's all about! Getting them excited about music and making it fun!
If you take a look at the first measure, it looks pretty intimidating to a young intermediate student. Imagine how much their confidence is boosted when then leave the lesson, knowing they played this difficult-looking music!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4FXvojtq6g&feature=player_embedded
Ok, so Bach devoted all of his music to the glory of God. So how did his piece come to be associated with a holiday which is considered to be pagan in origin? It's simple, really. The first page or so is very scary-sounding and Hollywood found that it registered high on the fear meter! It has been used in no less than 19 movies, from the Disney classic "Fantasia" to horror movies. Although I'm sure J.S. Bach intended to do nothing more than induce a proper fear of God with his bold opening statement (Figure A, below), we actually use this piece to scare each other in horror movies, haunted houses, and Halloween media hype. Fortunately, our kids hear a little Bach every Halloween because of this media saturation. So I have begun using the Toccatta's Halloween association as a springboard for introducing J.S. Bach and organ to my students -- especially those with classical phobia (I have some who would never consider Bach as worthy for their attention if it weren't for this piece).
In addition to giving them some appreciation for the classics of the Baroque era, the Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor presents the perfect opener for a discussion of one of the most complex engineering feats in existence -- the pipe organ. Your budding engineers and scientists might appreciate this (subject matter for another post).
And you might throw in a little sidenote about how Bach, a gifted composer, was really just this very humble church organist who felt that....
"The final aim of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul."He didn't seek any fame or fortune for his mind-boggling compositions. In fact, the guy who created this cool piece was just an ordinary family guy (he had 7 children by his first wife, then 13 by his second wife, whom he married after he was widowed), yet he is now recognized as one of the greatest composers of all time.
And how about showing students how much coordination is required to play this complex instrument? Show them the video above. It gives students an excellent demonstration of how the foot pedals work in organ music. I tell them this is where the very big, low notes come from. A lot of kids don't know that there is a virtual piano keyboard at your feet and each pedal has a different pitch. So this video is very enlightening as far as the foot pedals go.
While some piano teachers may dismiss this piece as too difficult for intermediate students, I think the first page is very attainable through proper instruction. And my students LOVE, LOVE, LOVE playing this piece! By showing my students the patterns and chords in the music this month, I was able to teach the first page of this to virtually all of my intermediate and advanced students. They don't need to play the whole 8-minute piece to get a taste of Bach and organ music. Even the first page is enough to show their friends. They can go home and play the piece on their keyboards with a pipe organ sound (most of my students have a keyboard and/or piano). If two hands is too hard, the piece is easily reduced to right hand only. One of my students, who is handing out candy instead of trick-or-treating this year, says he is going to put his keyboard out on the sidewalk and play this piece on Halloween night. And that's what it's all about! Getting them excited about music and making it fun!
If you take a look at the first measure, it looks pretty intimidating to a young intermediate student. Imagine how much their confidence is boosted when then leave the lesson, knowing they played this difficult-looking music!
 |
Figure A (Measure 1) |
Figure B
For much of the piece, the left hand is a carbon copy of the right hand (Figures A and B), and that makes it much easier to learn than other two-handed music. Although I printed the sheet music for them, they didn't have to use it very much since I taught them by rote (memorizing instantly through listening and observation of the teacher's demonstration) and by pointing out the patterns and chords. To learn how I teach the first page in just one lesson, look for my next post!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Halloween Improvisations With Keyboard Sounds
I have a pretty old digital ensemble piano that is a mammoth sound factory. This instrument adds a lot of excitement to seasonal projects such as Halloween improvisations. What is a Halloween improvisation, you ask? Allow me to elaborate..
I don't believe in the occult or really "celebrate" Halloween, but it is a fact that most my students participate in Halloween customs such as trick-or-treating and wearing costumes. They also associate Halloween with scary sounds and songs. I have several awesome Halloween-style sounds on my keyboard, including goblins, dark movie scene, and crystal.
For our Halloween improvisation duet today, my student improvised in pentascales, following my chord progressions. For instance, if I played A minor, he improvised in A minor 5-finger position. If I played G major, he improvised in G major 5-finger position. The pattern continues. Here it is:
http://soundcloud.com/jennifer-warren-baker/halloween-duet-with-goblins
I think he enjoyed it. I will post the sheet music for the teacher part for anyone interested, but the progression is A minor, G major, F major, D minor, and repeat. It's just a tad spooky sounding, but not over-the-top.
Another student, ecstatic about my goblins sound, just enjoyed sitting on long, slow "goblin chords" while I improvised a dramatic piano part. Here it is:
http://soundcloud.com/jennifer-warren-baker/the-fear
I just had to watch his hands closely to see what goblin chords he was playing so I could do the same chord with piano. On a second track, I had him add some orchestral percussion with my gong sound!!! As we sat back and listened to our creation, he began to dramatize a fight scene he was imagining and said he couldn't wait to show it to his friends.
So Halloween -- even though I'm not a huge fan -- can be a springboard for exciting projects which get them excited about music and keep them coming back!!!
I don't believe in the occult or really "celebrate" Halloween, but it is a fact that most my students participate in Halloween customs such as trick-or-treating and wearing costumes. They also associate Halloween with scary sounds and songs. I have several awesome Halloween-style sounds on my keyboard, including goblins, dark movie scene, and crystal.
For our Halloween improvisation duet today, my student improvised in pentascales, following my chord progressions. For instance, if I played A minor, he improvised in A minor 5-finger position. If I played G major, he improvised in G major 5-finger position. The pattern continues. Here it is:
http://soundcloud.com/jennifer-warren-baker/halloween-duet-with-goblins
I think he enjoyed it. I will post the sheet music for the teacher part for anyone interested, but the progression is A minor, G major, F major, D minor, and repeat. It's just a tad spooky sounding, but not over-the-top.
Another student, ecstatic about my goblins sound, just enjoyed sitting on long, slow "goblin chords" while I improvised a dramatic piano part. Here it is:
http://soundcloud.com/jennifer-warren-baker/the-fear
I just had to watch his hands closely to see what goblin chords he was playing so I could do the same chord with piano. On a second track, I had him add some orchestral percussion with my gong sound!!! As we sat back and listened to our creation, he began to dramatize a fight scene he was imagining and said he couldn't wait to show it to his friends.
So Halloween -- even though I'm not a huge fan -- can be a springboard for exciting projects which get them excited about music and keep them coming back!!!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Major Scale Fingering Made Easy - A Helpful Chart
(Scroll down to download a PDF of the chart!)
My students hear it all the time from me:
As soon as you can, learn your piano scales in two octaves (even hands separate is fine at first). The fingering patterns will be much more apparent when you are playing two octaves, and everyone knows that music is much easier when you can see the patterns! Once you can play two octaves, you can extend that easily to three or four octaves.
Here is a chart I have been envisioning for years. I created this chart today to help my students organize the major scales in their minds, understand the patterns, and master them more quickly. The focus of this chart is fingering patterns, not the notes of the scales (I have put key signatures on the chart to help with that). I find that, when students see the patterns, scale mastery comes much more quickly! I hope to post a poster-sized chart on my studio wall. I think this chart will help any piano hobbyist to compare and contrast the major scales and their various fingerings -- to see how they're the same and different.
In the chart below, the scales which begin on white keys are in white ovals. The scales which begin on black keys are in the gray ovals. Students should learn the scales from top to bottom, following the flow of the chart lines. I have grouped the major scales by shared fingering patterns. It is much easier to learn the ones that share fingering patterns first. For example, pianists should master C, G, D, A, and E major (the first 5 in the circle of 5ths) first because they all share the same fingering pattern. You will notice that there are 5 scales with unique fingerings - B, F, Bb, Eb, and Ab major. These should be the last learned because they are exceptions to the patterns found in the other scales. F# and C# both follow "black key finger matching" rules, so once you understand those rules, you realize that the scales with the most sharps are actually the easiest to learn and play! For now, I offer this chart for free (small preview below)! To download a free PDF of this chart, click the link here: Major Scale Fingering Chart. And please let me know in the comments section if you find this chart helpful, or if needs any edits!
My students hear it all the time from me:
"Major scales in music are like the multiplication tables in math. You cannot advance in math without knowing your multiplication tables, and you cannot advance in music without knowing your major scales."
Major Scales = Multiplication Tables of Music!
Why is it so hard to advance in music without knowing your major scales? Everything in music is a based on major scales. For instance, a major chord is made up of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the major scale. Minor scales and blues scales are described as alterations of the major scale, or formulas based on the major scales.
Without knowing your major scales, you will have difficulty understanding chords, and without knowing your chords, well...my opinion on this is very strong -- you're doomed! Your reading and memorization will be much more difficult without knowing your chords. Improvising and playing chord-style/ playing from lead sheets will also be pretty much impossible without knowing your major chords. And if chords are built from scales, we need to know the scales first!
I also describe each scale as a musical language. I explain to my students that our goal as pianists is to be completely fluent in reading and speaking (playing) each musical language.
Each scale is a musical language. We need to be fluent in every language!
As soon as you can, learn your piano scales in two octaves (even hands separate is fine at first). The fingering patterns will be much more apparent when you are playing two octaves, and everyone knows that music is much easier when you can see the patterns! Once you can play two octaves, you can extend that easily to three or four octaves.
Here is a chart I have been envisioning for years. I created this chart today to help my students organize the major scales in their minds, understand the patterns, and master them more quickly. The focus of this chart is fingering patterns, not the notes of the scales (I have put key signatures on the chart to help with that). I find that, when students see the patterns, scale mastery comes much more quickly! I hope to post a poster-sized chart on my studio wall. I think this chart will help any piano hobbyist to compare and contrast the major scales and their various fingerings -- to see how they're the same and different.
In the chart below, the scales which begin on white keys are in white ovals. The scales which begin on black keys are in the gray ovals. Students should learn the scales from top to bottom, following the flow of the chart lines. I have grouped the major scales by shared fingering patterns. It is much easier to learn the ones that share fingering patterns first. For example, pianists should master C, G, D, A, and E major (the first 5 in the circle of 5ths) first because they all share the same fingering pattern. You will notice that there are 5 scales with unique fingerings - B, F, Bb, Eb, and Ab major. These should be the last learned because they are exceptions to the patterns found in the other scales. F# and C# both follow "black key finger matching" rules, so once you understand those rules, you realize that the scales with the most sharps are actually the easiest to learn and play! For now, I offer this chart for free (small preview below)! To download a free PDF of this chart, click the link here: Major Scale Fingering Chart. And please let me know in the comments section if you find this chart helpful, or if needs any edits!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Pianists Don't Do Nails
I don't "do my nails." Never have, never will. I'm not going to pout over my plain, boyish nails. It's far more sanitary to keep them short. I'm sure the bacteria population under my ultra-short nails is much lower than it would be if they were an inch long and coated in red lacquer. How can you see the dirt under all that color anyhow?
But honestly, the real reason I keep my nails short is...
Case in point...
A student came in today who always seems to have long nails. I am frustrated. I have told this student over and over to cut her nails. Her long nails make it impossible for her to have the finger curvature necessary to play piano. The final knuckle joint in her fingers always buckles. Her fingers are flat and her wrists collapse. I believe I have already addressed the nail issue with her parents. But the problem has persisted for many months. As a result, she plays with a weak sound and sloppy execution. She cannot get her fingers to do what she wants.
Maybe it's time for a sign to go on my wall....
I try so hard not to have a punitive teaching approach, but maybe I need to start writing tickets from the Piano Police. Or cancelling lessons if they arrive with long nails (ok, maybe too harsh). Is it that hard? Maybe I need to sell a beginner piano packet that includes nail clippers with the metronome. Or I could put a checklist on their practice sheet...are your nails short?
No - I have it. I will give them engraved nail clippers at the end of the school year as my "thank you for your business" gift.
Here's the deal, folks. Long nails don't make for good piano playing. Long nails make fingers go flat. This results in low wrists and poor technique, leading to a high rate of error in one's playing. Want to do a fast scale run? Want to do anything fast? Well you may as well forget it if your nails are long. Even if you're playing slowly, long nails lead to sloppy execution. So let go of your vanity and cut them. And that goes for boys too! Boys are just as guilty of growing man-claws.
Cut them every week, as short as you can. And please, please, cut them before your lesson! You cannot play guitar, violin, and most other instruments with long nails. So don't think you're the only one subject to this grooming imperative. No matter what instrument you play -- nails just get in the way!
But honestly, the real reason I keep my nails short is...
You cannot play the piano with long nails.
Case in point...
A student came in today who always seems to have long nails. I am frustrated. I have told this student over and over to cut her nails. Her long nails make it impossible for her to have the finger curvature necessary to play piano. The final knuckle joint in her fingers always buckles. Her fingers are flat and her wrists collapse. I believe I have already addressed the nail issue with her parents. But the problem has persisted for many months. As a result, she plays with a weak sound and sloppy execution. She cannot get her fingers to do what she wants.
Maybe it's time for a sign to go on my wall....
"Leave your ego and vanity at home. Humble hearts and short nails welcome."
I try so hard not to have a punitive teaching approach, but maybe I need to start writing tickets from the Piano Police. Or cancelling lessons if they arrive with long nails (ok, maybe too harsh). Is it that hard? Maybe I need to sell a beginner piano packet that includes nail clippers with the metronome. Or I could put a checklist on their practice sheet...are your nails short?
No - I have it. I will give them engraved nail clippers at the end of the school year as my "thank you for your business" gift.
Here's the deal, folks. Long nails don't make for good piano playing. Long nails make fingers go flat. This results in low wrists and poor technique, leading to a high rate of error in one's playing. Want to do a fast scale run? Want to do anything fast? Well you may as well forget it if your nails are long. Even if you're playing slowly, long nails lead to sloppy execution. So let go of your vanity and cut them. And that goes for boys too! Boys are just as guilty of growing man-claws.
Cut them every week, as short as you can. And please, please, cut them before your lesson! You cannot play guitar, violin, and most other instruments with long nails. So don't think you're the only one subject to this grooming imperative. No matter what instrument you play -- nails just get in the way!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Making a Living in Music: Diversify Revenue Streams
Some of my students and music majors are probably wondering -- is it possible to make a living in music? Am I going to be a starving artist? Will I be able to support a family in music?
While I don't make an attorney's salary, I do make a good living in music. How do I do it? My primary source of income is teaching lessons. But I also play gigs, accompany vocalists, and offer music transcription, arranging, and composing. Although I don't do much of the last 3, there have been years in which a pretty significant slice of my income came from creative work. While some may find this list mind-boggling, I think it helps for musicians to be versatile; offering more than one thing.
So when you're starting out in the music field, think about diversifying your revenue streams. In other words, don't put all your eggs in one basket teaching lessons, but create multiple income streams from several types of work. Not only will this boost your overall income, but it will help you network with others who need your services. For instance, while accompanying a community theatre production, you may meet vocalists who need your accompanist services. While playing for a church, you may meet families who need wedding music or music lessons for their kids. So each mode of work (each separate income stream) feeds the other income streams, multiplying your income potential.
My largest secondary income stream is the money I make playing gigs. In addition to increased income, let's look at the fringe benefits of playing gigs:
While I don't make an attorney's salary, I do make a good living in music. How do I do it? My primary source of income is teaching lessons. But I also play gigs, accompany vocalists, and offer music transcription, arranging, and composing. Although I don't do much of the last 3, there have been years in which a pretty significant slice of my income came from creative work. While some may find this list mind-boggling, I think it helps for musicians to be versatile; offering more than one thing.
So when you're starting out in the music field, think about diversifying your revenue streams. In other words, don't put all your eggs in one basket teaching lessons, but create multiple income streams from several types of work. Not only will this boost your overall income, but it will help you network with others who need your services. For instance, while accompanying a community theatre production, you may meet vocalists who need your accompanist services. While playing for a church, you may meet families who need wedding music or music lessons for their kids. So each mode of work (each separate income stream) feeds the other income streams, multiplying your income potential.
My largest secondary income stream is the money I make playing gigs. In addition to increased income, let's look at the fringe benefits of playing gigs:
- Boosts credentials. Playing gigs boosts your credentials as a music teacher. Though it's certainly not essential for a music teacher to be a performer too, it definitely helps you enhance your value as a music teacher and augments the knowledge you can share.
- You enjoy playing. I, personally, am much happier playing gigs and teaching because I enjoy playing the piano and feeling challenged.
- Higher profit? With gigs, I don't have the overhead of studio rent to pay. Because my gigs happen mainly on the weekends, my husband can watch the kids. This means I don't have any childcare expenses during gigs. So after taxes, gigs are pure profit!
- Church gigs - I think every pianist should have a church gig. Why? 1. It has a powerful spiritual impact, drawing you and others who hear you closer to God. 2. It keeps your skills sharp. 3. It provides regular, supplementary income. 4. It keeps you visible and involved in your local community, and helps with networking.
- Accompany auditions - Several vocalists ask me to accompany them for auditions each year.
- Weddings
- Funerals
- Parties/ receptions/ restaurants/ hotels/ high-end department stores
- Accompany/ music-direct musicals - Again, this keeps you visible and involved in your local community. not to mention that theatre productions help you network with other vocalists and people who may hire you for something else.
- Music transcription, arranging, composing - If you can do any of these services, by all means offer them! You can also sell your sheet music online if you compose (something I will be setting up soon).
- Writing about music? Are you a writer? If you are, you can create an additional income stream writing articles about music and blogging.
- Presentations and conferences - What are you an expert in? Could you do presentations on a particular specialty?
- Sell your recordings. Do you have professional recordings of your work? Sell your music on iTunes or sell CDs when you perform/ give concerts. (I will be selling music on iTunes soon.)
Friday, September 28, 2012
Improving Sight-Reading Skills
How I Train My Students to Sight-Read
With my students, I usually focus on sight-reading every few months, and more frequently with those who really need it. I do a "sight-reading intensive" for about a month, training them to incorporate daily sight-reading into their practice routine. The aim of the intensive is to build good habits that they will continue, even after the "intensive" is over.
During the sight-reading intensive, I make them sight-read at every lesson for a month, about 5 minutes during each half hour lesson, or 10 minutes during each 45 minute lesson. At the lesson, I often use the "Line a Day" sightreading books. These are published by Bastien and I can't say enough good things about them.
For home practice, I loan out used books from my library that are 2 levels below their performance level. This is important! Do not practice sight-reading at your performance level! You should always practice sight-reading two levels below your performance level (and some students need to go 3 levels below if their sight-reading is really deficient). Remember, it has to be easy enough to get it pretty much right on the first try.
My students have to log in 2 songs a day on the back of their practice sheet. When they come back the next week, I test them on 2 or 3 songs from their log to make sure they truthfully practiced sight-reading.
Mental Preparation of the Score is Key
Yes! Mental preparation is more important than physical preparation. I learned this first-hand by observing the accompanist for our Symphonic Chorus in college. I never saw her physically practice, but she was always tucked away in a study cubicle, hunkered over her choir scores. She simply studied her music. I imagine she also wrote in the chords. And she was fantastic! Boy did I learn my lesson by watching her. Indeed, training them to study their music and analyze it before sight-reading is a must! Our sight-reading exercises at the lesson begin with me asking the student many questions:
Sight-Read With a Metronome!
Next it's time to crack the whip! Translation: metronome. We count a measure out loud first, then proceed to sight-read. Be careful to set the tempo to something slow like 50. Here are my guidelines for sight-reading:
I can't stress this enough! As soon as chords start appearing in the child's music, you must train the child to recognize chords within his/ her music. Chords are to music as words are to language. Not seeing a chord is like reading the word "chord" as an illiterate person. You only see the letters C-H-O-R-D, not a word. The same thing applies in music reading. If we don't see that C-E-G spells C major, our reading speed suffers.
With my students, I usually focus on sight-reading every few months, and more frequently with those who really need it. I do a "sight-reading intensive" for about a month, training them to incorporate daily sight-reading into their practice routine. The aim of the intensive is to build good habits that they will continue, even after the "intensive" is over.
During the sight-reading intensive, I make them sight-read at every lesson for a month, about 5 minutes during each half hour lesson, or 10 minutes during each 45 minute lesson. At the lesson, I often use the "Line a Day" sightreading books. These are published by Bastien and I can't say enough good things about them.
For home practice, I loan out used books from my library that are 2 levels below their performance level. This is important! Do not practice sight-reading at your performance level! You should always practice sight-reading two levels below your performance level (and some students need to go 3 levels below if their sight-reading is really deficient). Remember, it has to be easy enough to get it pretty much right on the first try.
My students have to log in 2 songs a day on the back of their practice sheet. When they come back the next week, I test them on 2 or 3 songs from their log to make sure they truthfully practiced sight-reading.
Mental Preparation of the Score is Key
Yes! Mental preparation is more important than physical preparation. I learned this first-hand by observing the accompanist for our Symphonic Chorus in college. I never saw her physically practice, but she was always tucked away in a study cubicle, hunkered over her choir scores. She simply studied her music. I imagine she also wrote in the chords. And she was fantastic! Boy did I learn my lesson by watching her. Indeed, training them to study their music and analyze it before sight-reading is a must! Our sight-reading exercises at the lesson begin with me asking the student many questions:
- What is the key signature?
- What is the time signature?
- What is the first note in the right hand?
- What is the first note in the left hand?
- (for beginners) Which hand position is this in?
- (for intermediate and advanced students) Which chords do you see in the left hand?*
- Do you see any scales in that phrase?*
- Do you see any possible trouble spots?
Sight-Read With a Metronome!
Next it's time to crack the whip! Translation: metronome. We count a measure out loud first, then proceed to sight-read. Be careful to set the tempo to something slow like 50. Here are my guidelines for sight-reading:
- During metronomic practice, going backward to correct your mistakes is against the law.
- Just keep one hand going if you have to!
- Don't panic when you mess up.
- Just ad-lib. As long as it's in the scale, make something up if you have to. But keep the beat going. I tell them that this is valuable training for playing with their future rock band (the music goes on, with or without you). They have to keep up!
I can't stress this enough! As soon as chords start appearing in the child's music, you must train the child to recognize chords within his/ her music. Chords are to music as words are to language. Not seeing a chord is like reading the word "chord" as an illiterate person. You only see the letters C-H-O-R-D, not a word. The same thing applies in music reading. If we don't see that C-E-G spells C major, our reading speed suffers.
Sight-Reading - Why It's Important
I have often felt that there are two types of musicians -- those who are readers and those who are not. This division becomes quite striking when teaching piano. Most piano methods introduce music-making through the process of reading notes. And traditional piano teachers using these methods tend to reward the readers. "Readers" are the machine-like data processors who can quickly gobble up notes and convert them into action at the speed of light. But sometimes, those sight-reading whiz kids are devoid of emotion. These students dazzle us with their speed and execution, but oftentimes, they don't move us.
In the other camp are the intuitive, right-brained, expressive types (me). Such students fall naturally into playing by ear, which leads to improvisation and composition. They play with a soulful depth that has moved me to tears at many recitals. For this type of student, however, the task of decoding notes is much more difficult than figuring it out by ear. I used to think that these students just couldn't read. But, since overcoming my own reading handicap, I believe the sight-reading failure of many students is simply the result of laziness; that, and lack of music theory training.
Why bother reading when your ear and intuition can figure it out faster? With a little trial and error and a good ear, one can bypass the data-processing step altogether. Reading notes is just one more chore. And it slows us down. We're impatient. We want instant gratification. Reading at our performance level, on the other hand, means delayed gratification; not something we're very fond of in a culture of microwaved meals and instant messaging.
It has long been my goal as a piano teacher to save these artist-students -- the aural geniuses -- from falling through the cracks. But I don't want to give them a false sense of ego. Not everyone can expect to have the success Paul McCartney had without reading or writing music (Beatles veteran and composer Paul McCartney does not read or write music). They are going to need more than a good ear to make a living in music, should they choose that route. My experience, for example, has taught me that sight-reading skills greatly increase one's marketability as a musician. Without my sight-reading skills (something I have worked very hard on), I would miss out on a significant portion of my income that comes from accompanying, musical theatre, and church music. If you can only play by ear, your options as a perfomer will be very limited! Furthermore, you won't be able to write down those great ideas you have because you don't understand the visual language of notation. This is why it's important to train students to read well.
So how do you keep the mini-Mozarts from melting into a puddle of tears over their reading challenges? First, convince them of the value of sight-reading. You remind them that Beethoven and Chopin did not just compose; they could read and write music as well. In fact, they wrote their own music without the help of notation software or an orchestrator. A healthy dose of reality doesn't hurt either. So I always share the hard-knocks tales of several "by ear" players I taught who thought pretty highly of themselves until they unsuccessfully tried out for jazz band or choir accompanying at the local high school. Little did they know that their director would expect them to read well. Yes, even the jazz band director wants good readers!
See my next post to learn how I teach sight-reading.
In the other camp are the intuitive, right-brained, expressive types (me). Such students fall naturally into playing by ear, which leads to improvisation and composition. They play with a soulful depth that has moved me to tears at many recitals. For this type of student, however, the task of decoding notes is much more difficult than figuring it out by ear. I used to think that these students just couldn't read. But, since overcoming my own reading handicap, I believe the sight-reading failure of many students is simply the result of laziness; that, and lack of music theory training.
Why bother reading when your ear and intuition can figure it out faster? With a little trial and error and a good ear, one can bypass the data-processing step altogether. Reading notes is just one more chore. And it slows us down. We're impatient. We want instant gratification. Reading at our performance level, on the other hand, means delayed gratification; not something we're very fond of in a culture of microwaved meals and instant messaging.
It has long been my goal as a piano teacher to save these artist-students -- the aural geniuses -- from falling through the cracks. But I don't want to give them a false sense of ego. Not everyone can expect to have the success Paul McCartney had without reading or writing music (Beatles veteran and composer Paul McCartney does not read or write music). They are going to need more than a good ear to make a living in music, should they choose that route. My experience, for example, has taught me that sight-reading skills greatly increase one's marketability as a musician. Without my sight-reading skills (something I have worked very hard on), I would miss out on a significant portion of my income that comes from accompanying, musical theatre, and church music. If you can only play by ear, your options as a perfomer will be very limited! Furthermore, you won't be able to write down those great ideas you have because you don't understand the visual language of notation. This is why it's important to train students to read well.
So how do you keep the mini-Mozarts from melting into a puddle of tears over their reading challenges? First, convince them of the value of sight-reading. You remind them that Beethoven and Chopin did not just compose; they could read and write music as well. In fact, they wrote their own music without the help of notation software or an orchestrator. A healthy dose of reality doesn't hurt either. So I always share the hard-knocks tales of several "by ear" players I taught who thought pretty highly of themselves until they unsuccessfully tried out for jazz band or choir accompanying at the local high school. Little did they know that their director would expect them to read well. Yes, even the jazz band director wants good readers!
See my next post to learn how I teach sight-reading.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The Bench and Stand - Why Height Matters
You Mean I Need a Bench Too?
We focus so much energy on choosing a home piano or keyboard that we sometimes neglect the importance of seating and keyboard stands. To my horror, I recently discovered that several of the children I teach are sitting on everything from ottomans to beds while practicing! Some have even reported putting the practice keyboard on the dining room table or bed. Upon receiving this distressing news, I realized that most of my clients don't know they are doing anything wrong. I immediately felt compelled to address this issue!
Proper Seating Height When Playing the Piano
What is wrong with using the dining room chair? Proper piano technique is dependent upon seating at the proper height, especially in relation to the keyboard or piano. Piano benches are quite a bit higher than your average chair, thus boosting the torso to a height that makes playing comfortable and promotes proper technique. Here is the test:
Sit on your bench or stool and outstretch your arms, elbows hanging loose by your sides, with wrists level and above keys, as if you're ready to play a song. Ask someone to tell you if your forearms are level and parallel to the ground. When seating is at the proper height, the forearms will be level and parallel to the ground.
If you are practicing on a starter keyboard (< $1000), you will need to rest your keyboard on one of these.
What's in a Bench?
Every piano student should have a piano bench, whether playing on a keyboard or piano. Here are some considerations when buying a piano bench:
I recommend adjustable benches for everyone, especially for small children. The reason is -- by and large, most benches tend to be too low. Maybe this is because I am long-legged and have a short torso, but that is just my experience. Children always need the extra height.
As of the date of this blog, you should be able to find a decent adjustable bench for under $150 (I found the above model at Sam Ash for $119.99). I really appreciate the thorough descriptions and staff opinions on this site, however: http://www.grandpianobench.com/.
You should look for benches with 4 sturdy legs as opposed to X-shaped legs. Keyboard suppliers often try to sell these kind of benches to go with their keyboards. I find that those with the X-shaped legs are either too low or tend to topple over sideways. Adjustable benches will clearly have a knob on the side which allows you to raise and lower the bench. High-end adjustable benches called "artist benches" are heavier than standard benches and quite expensive ($450 - $1000). These are more appropriate for the concert stage than the home, and certainly not essential gear for a young piano student. The other problem with most artist benches is that they only seat one person, making them poor choices for duet teams.
We focus so much energy on choosing a home piano or keyboard that we sometimes neglect the importance of seating and keyboard stands. To my horror, I recently discovered that several of the children I teach are sitting on everything from ottomans to beds while practicing! Some have even reported putting the practice keyboard on the dining room table or bed. Upon receiving this distressing news, I realized that most of my clients don't know they are doing anything wrong. I immediately felt compelled to address this issue!
Proper Seating Height When Playing the Piano
What is wrong with using the dining room chair? Proper piano technique is dependent upon seating at the proper height, especially in relation to the keyboard or piano. Piano benches are quite a bit higher than your average chair, thus boosting the torso to a height that makes playing comfortable and promotes proper technique. Here is the test:
Sit on your bench or stool and outstretch your arms, elbows hanging loose by your sides, with wrists level and above keys, as if you're ready to play a song. Ask someone to tell you if your forearms are level and parallel to the ground. When seating is at the proper height, the forearms will be level and parallel to the ground.
When seating is too low (the most common error), forearms will sag below the keyboard. The student will appear as if s/he is reaching up for the keys. The inadequate height will make practicing difficult and unpleasant. When the teacher is telling the student to keep his/ her wrists up, the student will find it extremely difficult to do so. With lack of arm and upper body weight to transfer into the fingers, the student will not be able to have a strong tone when needed. Volume will tend to be weak. Fingers, which are supposed to be curvy, will go flat, and a sloppy execution will result. Thumbs of these students tend to fall off the edge of the keys and the student is constantly wondering where the thumb is when it's needed. Students with low seating also tend to raise shoulders as they try to reach the keys and keep their wrists up, resulting in upper-body tension. Any pianist knows that upper-body tension is a no-no.
When seating is too high (a possibility when the keyboard stand is too low) or students are sitting on chairs, the posture suffers. The back should be straight when playing the piano, and posture should be either 90 degrees to the ground (perfectly vertical), or a little less than 90 degrees, as the student leans slightly in toward the keys.
Do I Need A Stand for My Keyboard?
Yes. Do not put the keyboard on the bed, your lap, or the dining room table when practicing. If you don't have a stand for the keyboard they are practicing on, get one. Musician's Friend has a lot of stands like this:If you are practicing on a starter keyboard (< $1000), you will need to rest your keyboard on one of these.
What's in a Bench?
Every piano student should have a piano bench, whether playing on a keyboard or piano. Here are some considerations when buying a piano bench:
- Are two people in the family playing? If so, duets are a possibility. You will want to make sure your bench is a "duet bench" that seats two.
- Would you like storage space in your bench? Even some of the adjustable benches offer storage. Many people store books and sheet music in their bench.
- Will a young child be playing? Do you have a short torso yourself? You will need the extra height of an adjustable bench.
- Do you play on a keyboard with a separate stand (like the above photo)? If so, I would insist on an adjustable bench because these stands are sometimes too low.
- Do you want the bench to match your piano's color? Benches come in many different wood stains, from polished ebony to walnut and mahogany. I like this site because they allow you to select your color: http://www.grandpianobench.com/.
I recommend adjustable benches for everyone, especially for small children. The reason is -- by and large, most benches tend to be too low. Maybe this is because I am long-legged and have a short torso, but that is just my experience. Children always need the extra height.
As of the date of this blog, you should be able to find a decent adjustable bench for under $150 (I found the above model at Sam Ash for $119.99). I really appreciate the thorough descriptions and staff opinions on this site, however: http://www.grandpianobench.com/.
You should look for benches with 4 sturdy legs as opposed to X-shaped legs. Keyboard suppliers often try to sell these kind of benches to go with their keyboards. I find that those with the X-shaped legs are either too low or tend to topple over sideways. Adjustable benches will clearly have a knob on the side which allows you to raise and lower the bench. High-end adjustable benches called "artist benches" are heavier than standard benches and quite expensive ($450 - $1000). These are more appropriate for the concert stage than the home, and certainly not essential gear for a young piano student. The other problem with most artist benches is that they only seat one person, making them poor choices for duet teams.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Playing By Ear
I have a gift. Or maybe not. Maybe it is just the result of decades spent honing my skills. Maybe it is the result of my daily immersion in music-making. But I recently find that I am able to just sit down a play a tune, completely by ear, and with relatively little error. Isn't this what we all want to do? Wouldn't it be wonderful to bypass the dreaded labor of decoding notes on a sheet of paper? What if you didn't even need to read music in order to make music? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just sit down and play a popular tune by ear and artfully arrange it on the spot; even improvise around that song?
Whether this is a gift or skill, I have developed this ability in response to needs. On the way to church some mornings, I am not always sure what I will play for my prelude music. This is because I am very busy with three children and a thriving music studio. There is little time for physical practice at the piano. Fortunately, God always plants a song in my heart on the way to church. And, purely through mental preparation on the car ride over, I can be ready to sit down and play, arranging the song on the spot. How does this work?
STEP 1 - SING MELODY IN SCALE DEGREES
First, while in the car, I figure out the scale degrees of a melody by ear and sing the melody in scale degrees (each note of the scale is numbered from 1 to 8). For instance, I sing the first phrase of "Amazing Grace" by singing the numbers 5-1-3-1-3-2-1-6-5. Those are the scale degrees, or notes of the scale that make up Amazing Grace. This is a skill I was first exposed to in a Sight-Singing and Ear-Training class at George Mason University. Since my only training was private piano lessons, this was a completely foreign concept to me! But I began to listen for the tonic (or the "1") when I was listening to music on the radio. It's easy to find, because it really sounds and feels like home. It sounds like the melody note you would end the song on. A good test is, "If I ended this song right now, what note would I sing?" That note is the 1! Another test for finding the 1 of the scale is locating the 5. The 5 has an inevitable sort of pull toward the 1, and often precedes it in a melody. The perfect example is "Amazing Grace." Clearly, you can hear the "A" in "Amazing" is the 5 and the "maz" is the 1 because that sounds like the note you would end the song on.
Once you can hear where the 1 is in the context of your song, you can determine the scale degree of every other melody note in terms of its relationship to the 1. In addition to being able to sing scales, it's pretty essential to know what your different intervals sound like (an interval is the distance between 2 pitches). Your trained ear can identify an interval by matching its sound to the beginning notes of certain familiar songs. Here is the most comprehensive list I've ever seen of songs that help you recognize intervals:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/theory/resources/macgamut_theory/songs_interval_recognize.html
PICK A SONG YOU KNOW FOR EVERY INTERVAL! AND KNOW WHICH SONG GOES WITH WHICH INTERVAL!
STEP 2 - DETERMINE CHORD PROGRESSION
Once you can sing the whole melody in scale degrees, you need to figure out the chord progression that goes underneath that melody. These are the chords the band/ pianist/ guitarist plays with the singer/s. This takes experience and practice playing by ear. Yes, you have to practice figuring out tunes by ear, not just reading notes! You can start by listening to songs on the radio or on your iPod and seeing if you can guess the chord progression. Then, when you sit down with your guitar or piano, see if you guessed correctly. The melody notes will also suggest a chord. For instance, if the melody note is E and you are playing in the key of C, it is highly probable that you have a C chord (the I chord) underneath that melody note since E (the melody note) occurs in the C major chord (C-E-G). Of course, your other possibilities will be the iii (E minor...E-G-B) or the vi (A minor...A-C-E), but the probability is higher for a I chord since it is the most popular in all of music. Remember, most songs consist of what I call the "holy trinity of chords" -- the I, IV, and V. If you don't know what that means then come to my studio for lessons and I'll teach you! Chord progressions do not occur in completely random order. There is some logic involved, and you can use logic and probability to boost your chances of figuring out a progression by ear. For instance,
STEP 3 - EMBELLISH, IMPROVISE, ARPEGGIATE, AND HAVE FUN!
This will be a topic for another post. But if you want to learn how to get to step 3, just come to my studio for lessons and I'll teach you how! We're at www.madmusiclab.com and our e-mail is info@madmusiclab.com. Our phone number is 540-338-SONG (540-338-7664).
Whether this is a gift or skill, I have developed this ability in response to needs. On the way to church some mornings, I am not always sure what I will play for my prelude music. This is because I am very busy with three children and a thriving music studio. There is little time for physical practice at the piano. Fortunately, God always plants a song in my heart on the way to church. And, purely through mental preparation on the car ride over, I can be ready to sit down and play, arranging the song on the spot. How does this work?
STEP 1 - SING MELODY IN SCALE DEGREES
First, while in the car, I figure out the scale degrees of a melody by ear and sing the melody in scale degrees (each note of the scale is numbered from 1 to 8). For instance, I sing the first phrase of "Amazing Grace" by singing the numbers 5-1-3-1-3-2-1-6-5. Those are the scale degrees, or notes of the scale that make up Amazing Grace. This is a skill I was first exposed to in a Sight-Singing and Ear-Training class at George Mason University. Since my only training was private piano lessons, this was a completely foreign concept to me! But I began to listen for the tonic (or the "1") when I was listening to music on the radio. It's easy to find, because it really sounds and feels like home. It sounds like the melody note you would end the song on. A good test is, "If I ended this song right now, what note would I sing?" That note is the 1! Another test for finding the 1 of the scale is locating the 5. The 5 has an inevitable sort of pull toward the 1, and often precedes it in a melody. The perfect example is "Amazing Grace." Clearly, you can hear the "A" in "Amazing" is the 5 and the "maz" is the 1 because that sounds like the note you would end the song on.
Once you can hear where the 1 is in the context of your song, you can determine the scale degree of every other melody note in terms of its relationship to the 1. In addition to being able to sing scales, it's pretty essential to know what your different intervals sound like (an interval is the distance between 2 pitches). Your trained ear can identify an interval by matching its sound to the beginning notes of certain familiar songs. Here is the most comprehensive list I've ever seen of songs that help you recognize intervals:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/theory/resources/macgamut_theory/songs_interval_recognize.html
PICK A SONG YOU KNOW FOR EVERY INTERVAL! AND KNOW WHICH SONG GOES WITH WHICH INTERVAL!
STEP 2 - DETERMINE CHORD PROGRESSION
Once you can sing the whole melody in scale degrees, you need to figure out the chord progression that goes underneath that melody. These are the chords the band/ pianist/ guitarist plays with the singer/s. This takes experience and practice playing by ear. Yes, you have to practice figuring out tunes by ear, not just reading notes! You can start by listening to songs on the radio or on your iPod and seeing if you can guess the chord progression. Then, when you sit down with your guitar or piano, see if you guessed correctly. The melody notes will also suggest a chord. For instance, if the melody note is E and you are playing in the key of C, it is highly probable that you have a C chord (the I chord) underneath that melody note since E (the melody note) occurs in the C major chord (C-E-G). Of course, your other possibilities will be the iii (E minor...E-G-B) or the vi (A minor...A-C-E), but the probability is higher for a I chord since it is the most popular in all of music. Remember, most songs consist of what I call the "holy trinity of chords" -- the I, IV, and V. If you don't know what that means then come to my studio for lessons and I'll teach you! Chord progressions do not occur in completely random order. There is some logic involved, and you can use logic and probability to boost your chances of figuring out a progression by ear. For instance,
- I = HOME
- V or V7 = LEADS TO HOME (I)
- IV = TYPICALLY FOLLOWS I
- I-IV-I-V (or V7)-I is a very predictable, common progression, but also rather boring to harmony nerds like me.
- If it doesn't sound like a I, IV, or V, it's probably a ii, iii, or vi chord. The sad sound of the minor chords will clearly indicate this, and the melody notes should give you a clue about which chord you're dealing with.
STEP 3 - EMBELLISH, IMPROVISE, ARPEGGIATE, AND HAVE FUN!
This will be a topic for another post. But if you want to learn how to get to step 3, just come to my studio for lessons and I'll teach you how! We're at www.madmusiclab.com and our e-mail is info@madmusiclab.com. Our phone number is 540-338-SONG (540-338-7664).
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