Piano Lessons Basking Ridge Area - A Teacher's Resource

Minor Chords and Five Finger Positions

2012-01-13T04:38:00.003-05:00

Minor finger positions and minor chords can be related to the major keys that the student has already learned. To create the five finger position for the minor or minor chord, begin with the major position and move the middle finger (degree 3) down the nearest key (one semi-tone/half-step). The nearest key can be either black or white.

Have the piano student practice parallel major and minor chords in various rhythms. When changing chords he should not look down at the keyboard. He should form a mental picture of the chord shape and arrange his fingers this way.

Optimally, each new class in theory should be accompanied by ear training drills. Use ear training games to distinguish between major and minor tonality. At first the student can sing the tones while the piano teacher plays minor positions or chords. Emphasize the minor third. Next have the student listen to a chord and tell if it is a major or minor. Lastly, play several chords in a row (major, minor, minor, major) all in the same key, and have the student ascertain what was played. Later, play the same pattern, but change the first tone of each chord (CM Am Gm EM).

The student can then create little tunes based on major and minor scale fragments and their chords.

For more information about piano instruction in Basking Ridge, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Major Key Signatures

2011-12-28T09:48:00.002-05:00

First year piano students will most likely be playing in only three keys, the C major, G major and F major. One approach is to teach the order of sharps first and then teach the sharp key signatures. Next teach the order of flats, then teach flat key signatures.

A second approach is to teach the key signatures as they come up in the music literature for the level of playing that the student is currently studying. It is also a good idea to teach the associated scale to be played for one octave the first year. The student will already have been introduced to playing simple sharps and flats in the literature and learning the associated scales should be possible for most students.

Theory workbooks to learn to identify key signatures are usually presented beyond the first year.

Key signature flash cards are useful for drills both at home and at the lesson.

For more information about piano lessons in the Millington area, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Sharps and Flats

2011-12-13T10:55:00.002-05:00

Modern literature often recommends that the order of sharps and flats be taught so the student is prepared for naming key signatures. Traditional literature introduces sharps and flats in the key signature starting with C major, G major and F major. I see no reason for introducing the 14 accidentals to beginning students first without relating it to the keyboard sheet music. I prefer the traditional method that first teaches the student to read the time signature, read accidentals in the music, and then read accidentals in the key signature and applying the sharp or flat to the corresponding notes in the music. Then introduce the idea of a major happy sounds and a minor sad sound as we progress through the literature. Much later, I will introduce the concept of a key as applied to the entire composition.

To learn all key signatures, I teach the poem for sharps Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle. Flats are the reverse order of the same poem. Then, by repeating verbally the order of the sharps and flats the student will begin to learn their sequence somewhat by ear.

I also have no problem teaching the Circle of Fifths and Fourths by demonstrating the order of sharps and flats on the piano. Piano students of any age find this a logical approach to understanding the relationships of accidentals and their keys.

For more information about piano classes Bedminster area, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Intervals Training

2011-12-08T20:59:00.002-05:00

It's important to include ear training drills when students learn intervals. First have the student play and sing intervals at the piano. For example, sing 1-3, 1-5, and so forth. Then have him try to recognize intervals played by the piano teacher. Use familiar songs to recognize intervals. The first two notes of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" for a fourth, the first two notes of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" for a sixth, and so forth.

Flash cards are great to use when teaching intervals. Students can work with flash cards at home and also in class.

Intervals can be explained easily as the difference in tone (pitch) between two keys (notes). Melodic intervals are individual notes (relate to the "melody" of a song). Harmonic intervals are two notes played at the same time.

A second moves from a line to the next space or a space to the next line on the staff. A third moves from a line to the next line or from a space to the next space on the staff and it skips one musical letter. A fourth move from a line to a space or a space to a line on the staff. It looks like a second but it skips two musical letters. A fifth moves from a line to a line or a space to a space on the staff. It looks like a third but it skips three musical letters.

For more information about piano classes in the Bedminster area, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Five-Finger Positions and Chords

2011-12-05T12:36:00.002-05:00

The Major keys can be thought of as four groups of similar finger positions based on the tonic triad. If the student learns the pattern of black and white keys for each group they will be a step ahead. The student can create a picture in his mind of the groups and learn the chords by the shape of the white and black key patterns. Then he can practice finding them on the piano with his eyes closed.

Group 1 - These keys have all the white keys in their tonic chords:

C Major
G Major
F Major

Group 2 - These keys have a black key under the middle finger and white keys on either side:

D Major
A Major
E Major

Group 3 - These keys have a white key under the middle finger and black keys on either side:

Db Major
Ab Major
Eb Major

Group 4 - All of these fingerings must be learned individually.

Gb Major
Bb Major
B Major

For more information about Bernardsville area piano lessons, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Beginning Music Theory

2011-12-04T10:41:00.003-05:00

A first year theory program should include the following:

Major 5-finger positions and major tonic chords
Dominant seventh chords (inverted positions)
Intervals
The order of sharps and flats
Major key signatures
Minor 5-finger positions and minor tonic chords
Subdominant chords (inverted position)

Ultimately, the piano student should know how to identify the key of the piece, understand the harmonic changes, and have some understanding of the structure of the composition. To get there, piano instruction should include theory from the beginning as an integral part of the piano lessons.

I make it a point to each one hour piano classes rather than half hours because performance, technic, theory, and aural training cannot be managed in only thirty minutes. Families with two students cannot always swing this, so I offer half-hour classes to these candidates. Written theory assignments can then be given and the piano teacher can check these in a few minutes during the lesson.

For more information about piano lessons in the Millington area, please contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Chromatic Scales

2011-11-24T20:11:00.002-05:00

Playing the chromatic scale facilitates the use of a contracted hand position and therefore is useful in developing broad technical ability. Additionally it helps in learning to read sharps and flats. By reading the chromatic scale and practicing it ahead of time, students will be helped when they come across songs in the first year literature containing little chromatic passages.

Chromatic exercises can be created by the piano teacher starting with just a few notes. Each time it is repeated, a higher note is added. In this way the student learns to play up and down with equal ability.

A helpful book in learning chromatic scales is A Dozen A Day, Preparatory Book and Book One.

For more information about piano lessons, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio in Basking Ridge, NJ.

Double Notes Legato Technique

2011-11-15T11:16:00.002-05:00

Although first year students won't need much drill on double notes, a few passages containing legato thirds are found in some of the music studied at early grades.

Similar problems happen between playing single legato notes and playing double legato notes; that is, connecting the fingers without blurring. It takes time and patience to apply the legato touch correctly to two notes. The student's tendency is to disconnect the tones. Double note exercises should be devised by the teacher to give the student experience playing them prior to use in first year and second year pieces.

Second and third-year piano students may find that simplified Chopin etudes and piano technique are good pieces to practice legato phrasing and legato thirds.

A good resource for short exercises is the Dozen A Day book series.

For more information about piano lessons Millington area, please contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Turning Thumb Over or Crossing Over Thumb

2011-11-12T08:05:00.002-05:00

Fingering Technic

In early piano fingering systems the thumb was rarely used as a pivot over which the fingers could pass either up or down the scale. The basic principles of modern fingering first became known through C.P.E. Bach. Carl Czerny created an original method of finger exercises in The Art of Finger Dexterity. One of the principal aims of good fingering is to avoid unnecessary hand movement.

Scale playing requires agility in turning the thumb under or crossing another finger over the thumb. There are a lot of opinions regarding the best time to begin teaching scales. Gat states "If the pupil has already mastered small pentachord pieces to the point of sight-reading them he may begin to practice scales."

As for myself, I begin teaching the one octave C major scale with hands separate well before the student learns pentachords. Although the beginner student may not yet be ready to read scales and arpeggios, once he shows some control over playing white and black keys, he can be shown how to turn the thumb under properly.

Although the actual study of scales may be delayed, a beginner can be exposed to scale preparation within the first 6 months to a year of lessons. The thumb should be turned under smoothly without twisting the hand and arm out of shape. When the student first begins to turn the thumb under, hey may start by turning under the second finger. The next step is to turn the thumb under 3, and finally turn under 4. Turning the thumb under 3 and 4 is especially helpful, because this will prepare the student for scale playing.

Crossing a finger over the thumb is just as important as turning the thumb under. The crossing should be made as smoothly as possible, without poking the elbow far out to compensate. The hand should remain quiet at all times when crossing under or over the thumb.

For more information about piano instruction Basking Ridge area, please contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Down-Up Wrist Motion for Phrasing

2011-11-11T19:59:00.002-05:00

Slurs and phrases produced on the piano are dependent on the correct motions of the hand, wrist and arm. The mechanics of producing slurred groups can be taught to first year students when they have sufficient control to produce the proper motions. Constant practice in correct phrasing technique will dramatically impact their ability later to perform classical works from such great composers as Mozart.

Piano instruction can demonstrate the motions used in playing a two-note slur to the student. Show him what it looks like to drop on the key with a slightly lower wrist motion and release the key with a higher wrist motion. Several terms may be used to describe this process:

down-up wrist
drop-release
drop-roll (rolling inwards toward the piano and lifting at the same time)

The lifting of the wrist is the same at the end of a two-note slur or any phrase. When a longer phrase mark is used, it is helpful to relate the group of notes under the phrase sign to a vocal line. If sung, a breath would be taken on the last note of the phrase. At the piano, the hand lifts, the legato line is broken, and the "breath" is accomplished.

Numerous exercises for slurring can be created by the teacher. The first note of the slur should be slightly louder and the last note should be slightly softer. The student may be told to "float off" on the last sound from the slur ending to the first note of the next slur.

Many first year solos have multiple touches--staccato, legato, and slurred groups. Have the student say aloud the hand motions used. Say "up" for staccato, "down" for long notes or phrases, and "off" for phrase endings.

Great photos of phrasing motion can be found in John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano First Grade book and John Thompson's Junior Hannon book.

For more information about piano lessons in the Basking Ridge area, please contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Arm Drops

2011-08-29T10:48:00.006-04:00

Teaching Arm Drops

Consider having the piano student use the large muscles first, then concentrate on the smaller motions used in coordinating finger action.

Supporting a finger and dropping with arm weight will give the student a feeling of security at impact, and it will give him the correct concept for holding his fingers in a curved position later when the support is not used.

Later, when learning chords, tell the student to prepare the chord in the air and drop on the keys, keeping the fingers well-curved. Fifths, sixths, (octaves later) may also be played like this.

Legato Touch

The legato and staccato touches in are taught in the first year of learning keyboard technique. Legato touch requires the student to play a key, hold it, and release it when the next key is played. It requires some finger coordination and can take time to develop. This is the most basic task of teaching technique to the beginner.

Legato can be explained as a person walks, one foot comes down, the other comes up, and the process is repeated over and over. This is like walking on the keys when one key is played and held until the next key is played, then the first key is released.

Staccato Touch

Have the piano student separate the tones so that they sound short. Another explanation is having the student bounce his finger on the key when a dot appears over or under a note. Some students will need to differentiate between a staccato dot and a dotted note dot. A bounce is not unlike that of a bouncing ball when the upward bounce is the result of the downward movement. To produce this on the piano, the student must imitate the upward bounce consciously.

For more information about piano instruction Basking Ridge, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Beginning Piano Technique

2011-08-24T09:49:00.006-04:00

Technique is the method or details of procedure essential to expertness of execution in any art.

Within the first year of piano lessons, the pianist should begin to learn matters of the singing touch of legato, the hammering snap of stacatto, two-note slur phrasing with a graceful, swan neck-like wrist, and finger coordination with combined mastery of black and white notes, whether in arpeggios, close finger dexterity, rolls, or accurate two-octave notes.

These are essential concepts for first year piano classes:

Posture and hand posture
Arm drops, large muscle motion
Legato touch
Staccato touch
Balance of melody and accompaniment
Down-up wrist motion for phrasing
Turning the thumb under or crossing over the thumb
Chromatic scale
Double notes

Posture and Hand Position

The student must sit toward the front of the bench (not all the way back nor in the middle) and lean (not slouch) slightly forward over the keys. The feet are planted squarely on the floor, not crossed nor tucked under the bench. The back, legs and feet support the body, never leaning on one hand or the other on the bench. The hands, wrists, and forearms should be held in a straight line; the fingers should be well-curved.

In the beginning, triads and five-finger positions are helpful for shaping the fingers and developing the correct hand position. Playing triads requires curved fingers. Additionally, the hand easily forms the correct position with the bridge of the hand held up with the knuckles protruding. In the beginning the student will need to concentrate on the arched position of the hand and will have to work at maintaining firm, curved fingers.

The tendency is to cave in at the first joint on the second, fourth and fifth fingers. The little finger is particularly weak, and in addition to caving in, it often plays on the side, falling over.

The beginner will not perfect these basics within the first year, maybe not even in the second year. But over a period of time matters of posture, hand position, curved fingers, and so forth can be repeatedly corrected by the teacher (and observant parent) until these become natural.

For more information about the area of Basking Ridge piano instruction, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

First Year Piano Lessons - Learning Notes

2011-08-21T06:47:00.003-04:00

When teaching the names of lines and spaces, it is helpful for the student to see how notes relate to each other on the entire staff, not just part of it. Note names can be learned by relating all the lines or all the spaces on the staff. The student learns one landmark for each clef and relates the other notes from this point.

For example, G is on the bottom line of the bass clef. A skip up from G on the next line is B (skipping A in the space). Each line note is named by going up a skip. The student will be able to name any line note on the staff by thinking skips up from these notes. Jingles such as "Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always" are not lasting tools. They do not teach students to think and reason. If the jingles are forgotten, so are the notes along with them.

For thorough drill, direct the student to write the line notes four times a day. After the student has worked with line notes for a week or two, he may be given the space notes to write. Teach the space notes in the same way as the line notes.

A lot of drill must be done in the first year of lessons on learning the notes. Aids to learning individual note names include:

Flash cards
Singing note names
Writing note names
Numbering the lines and spaces of both clefs

The student should name the note on the flash card and play it in the correct location on the keyboard. For first year students a few minutes of each lesson should be devoted to flash card drill. Singing note names establishes good sight reading. The student should name each note aloud thinking directionally up or down, skip or step. Most theory books contain note drills. Note spellers provide additional work on individual note recognition.

For more information about NJ piano lessons, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

College Coursework for the Piano Major

2011-08-09T05:45:00.004-04:00

Piano classes for the keyboard major include:

applied keyboard study
history of music literature
accompany and ensemble performance
chorus
functional piano

The student will be exposed to a broad range of piano literature. Insight into various styles, an understanding of performance traditions, interpretative depth and sensitivity toward music are areas that are developed. The piano student should have at least a listening aquaintance of these composers, be able to identify the periods based on the style heard, and to be able to play increasingly difficult selections from each:

Representative seventeenth and eighteenth century works by D. Scarlatti, Couperin, Handel
A cross section of J.S. Bach's keyboard works
Familiarity with important sonatas, concertos, and other solo works of Haydn and Mozart
A representative sampling from each of the three periods of the Beethoven sonatas, as well as acquaintance with the concertos and variations
A cross section of such nineteenth century composers' works as Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schubert, Liszt, Brahms
Familiarity with representative impressionistic works of Debussy and Ravel
An examination of representative pieces of twentieth century figures as Scriabin, Stravinsky, Bartok, Prokofiev, Copland, Schoenberg

The piano teacher should be able to analyze technical problems, and over an extended period systematically guide the student toward ever greater physical ability at the piano. Exercises alone, introduced with the usual arsenal of scales, arpeggios, etc. will not be adequate preparation for virtuoso playing. The teacher must also be able to explain how to use the playing mechanism, what to do with the arm, wrist, and fingers as in keyboard phrasing, how to produce certain effects, how to go about unraveling a technically difficult passage, etc. Without correct technical training, the result can be lost time, sore muscles, and tight, poor playing.

The piano student learns to make his own interpretative decisions - especially in regards to keyboard dynamics - to gain even greater technical security, and able to produce finished results without the teacher's prompting. In short, he becomes an artistic entity in his own right.

Teaching First Year Piano Students

2011-06-12T18:31:00.003-04:00

To begin thinking directionally, have the student play skips and steps on the keyboard. Explain to the student that a skip skips a finger and skips a letter in the musical alphabet. A step plays the next finger and is the next letter in the musical alphabet.

Directional Reading

Reading by shapes and contours is a helpful mechanic in reading notes. Relationships such as up, down, same, repetition, equal distribution in the tonic chord, or unequal distribution in the dominate seventh chord should be seen. Explain to the student the three movements possible on the staff: up, down or the same. Also, there are three types of distances possible on the staff: steps (seconds), skips (thirds or larger intervals), or repeats.

Use interval terminology from the beginning. The goal is to teach the student to think and reason directionally from a given note.

Drills can be taught easily without keyboard sheet music. The student can close his eyes while hearing the directions. Experiences such as playing 5-finger positions and chords prepares students for reading notation. It is helpful to create written drills which work with the concept of direction only, writing pairs of notes in any given direction, up, down or repeat.

For more information about piano instruction NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Music Education College Major

2011-05-02T09:02:00.005-04:00

For the pianist who wants to be a piano teacher in either a university or public school setting, only two general types of degrees have proper credentials: the Bachelor of Music degree and the Bachelor of Music Education degree.

The student earning a Bachelor of Music with a major in piano with the goal of teaching on the university level will also need to pursue graduate studies. With the glut of pianists competing for jobs in the teaching field, a masters is absolutely essential to stand even a slight chance of winning a university position. The exceptions are those individuals who exhibit extraordinary professional achievements, such as concert performers, recording artists, prize winners, etc. Increasingly, an earned doctorate for the performer, usually the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, is becoming mandatory for successfully competing for the better positions on the university teaching scene. The young pianist is strongly advised to not only attain degrees, but achieve as much professional concert experience as possible.

The Bachelor of Music Education degree with a heavy piano concentration is a must for those who want to make teaching music in the public schools their career. A person obtaining a Bachelor of Music Education degree will have to teach other musical subjects and know other instruments besides the piano. Although the student might want to ultimately pursue a master's degree, this is usually not mandatory for at least landing a first job, as it is in the university market.

Students electing to specialize in music education more heavily than in piano performance can obtain a Bachelor of Music degree stressing this area. Even though this type of program will not have as large a concentration of actual keyboard applied study as the straight Bachelor of Music in piano, it is useful to those intending to go on to the graduate level.

For more information about piano classes NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Pre-College Piano Development

2011-04-15T08:11:00.006-04:00

One of the most valuable pre-college experiences is the senior high school recital which can serve as preparation for both the college entrance audition and the ultimate graduation recital. A typical program might include one or two of the easier preludes and fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, a Haydn or Mozart sonata, a group of nineteenth-century works of the level of the Chopin waltzes and nocturnes or Schumann's Fantasy Pieces opus 12, and possibly closing with an impressionistic or twentieth-century group of the difficulty of Debussy's Pour le Piano, Copland's Cat and the Mouse, or Bartok's Allegro Barbaro. Even at this level, though, an effort should be made on the teacher's part to expose the student to as wide a range of musical periods and styles as possible.

A common error in the pre-college training is the assigning of pieces that are overly difficult both technically and musically. The experienced teacher will develop the student's playing gradually so that proper attention may be given to all areas of musicianship.

The prospective piano major should not only have acquired a degree of competency in performance, but should also be well-grounded in technique (scales, chords, arpeggios, etc.), have a thorough knowledge of theory, and have some knowledge of the literature. Supplied with an adequate pre-college background, the student will be well prepared to meet the demands of the college music department as a piano major.

At California State University at Los Angeles, for example, the Bachelor of Music degree is a rigorous curriculum for students who wish to prepare for a professional career in music or for those who wish to reach a professional caliber of music attainment. Within the Bachelor of Music degree program, students may pursue specialized study in vocal, instrumental, or keyboard performance; composition; jazz studies; and music education.

For more information about LA piano teachers Calabasas area, contact Piano by Julie.

When is a Child Ready for Piano Lessons

2011-04-09T18:06:00.004-04:00

Not every young child will be ready to begin piano instruction. The maturity level of young children varies greatly. Girls generally are better coordinated and exhibit better dexterity than boys at an early age. Before rushing headlong into piano lessons, parents should ask themselves questions concerning their child's readiness level:

1. Does he show an interest in learning to play the piano? Perhaps he tries to pick out melodies on the piano, or perhaps he sings well. He may also just enjoy listening to music.

2. Is his attention span long enough to practice at least fifteen minutes at a time?

3. Does he have fairly good coordination of his small muscles? If a parent has taught him to draw letters, numbers, or to write his name, is he able to handle a pencil fairly well? A parent who has taught a child any of these things probably will be willing to help him practice.

4. Does he take instruction well from the person who will be helping him at home? This could be a parent or an older sister or brother.

5. Does the child receive a great deal of satisfaction from learning new things? Is he eager to learn?

If a significant number of these prerequisites are missing, it is recommended that piano lessons be started later when conditions are more conducive for learning. The readiness age will vary with each individual child.

For more information about how to learn piano, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Teaching Plans and Outlines

2010-10-05T09:53:00.004-04:00

Here are some suggested first steps for beginner piano students:

Playing by imitation
Melodic analysis of song for form (AABA, for example)
Five finger hand positions of right and left hands
Tonic and dominant-seventh chords
Rhythm exercises
Sight reading
Transposition
Theory
Technique
Home Practice
Creative work
Block and broken chords
Analysis, melodic and harmonic
Playing the song and observation of cadences
Melodies for the left hand
Technical development through varieties of fingering
Increasing finger independence
Piano pieces without words

For more information about piano classes NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Adding Chords to a Melody

2010-09-30T14:11:00.003-04:00

Adding chords to a given melody is a great type of creative work to learn keyboard among beginner piano students. In supplying an accompaniment to a given melody, the student first studies the melody thoroughly until it can be played fluently, and until the child can think the tones away from the keyboard. Then he experiments at the piano with the I and V7 chords until an acceptable accompaniment is evolved. Each child decides for himself the way he thinks the chords may best be used. Then, the student plays his arrangements to the piano teacher and comes to an agreement as to the most effective accompaniment. That may be transcribed to his composition book.

Another creative project might be to have the student complete an unfinished composition. This gives him the opportunity to make up some music. Give the student the first half of a little song, and have him finish it. First have him complete the melody. The part which is given is like a musical question, and the student completes the answer. Then he must complete the accompaniment with chords which sound well with his part of the melody. When it is all done, it will be fun to sing and play some pieces which he has helped to compose.

His attention should be called to the balance and proportion of the two phrases. He should observe the feeling of "question" in the first phrase and of "answer" in the second. Children enjoy the game of musical "question and answer" in which the child or teacher invents the question and the other invents the answer.

For more information about piano classes NJ, please contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio today.

Piano Student Performance Review

2010-07-05T09:30:00.004-04:00

Review pieces should be used to build a repertoire. Each student should master five or six pieces that can be played with confidence and polish, preferably memorized. This repertoire may change frequently, with newer pieces replacing older ones. Such pieces could be played at home when company comes or relatives visit. When it's time for a recital performance, the piano teacher and the student can choose the best from among present or former repertoire pieces.

According to Julie Gunvalson who teaches piano lessons Agoura Hills CA, there must always be a purpose for review. Tell the student what needs to be improved. Accuracy of rhythm, notes, fingering, dynamics, phrasing, and pedaling are elements that often need extra work, especially when preparing for piano performance.

A typical student will work one, two or somethings three weeks before finishing a piece of music. During that time, most practice effort is devoted to the basics -- correct notes, rhythm, fingering, dynamics, etc. Although you give an award seal or star when a piece is completed, there are often things that the student could have done better. Review is an opportunity to improve and work on the fine points of performance.

For more information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Chopin and the Keyboard

2010-06-11T10:08:00.003-04:00

Chopin advocated the unrestricted use of the thumb on the black keys, and often used it to strike two adjacent keys simultaneously, much to the dismay of the conservative pedagogues of the day; he would sometimes pass the longest fingers over the shorter ones without the intervention of the thumb if that would secure a better legato; he recommended a flat finger for a singing touch; he employed the organist's favorite device of finger substitution to sustain melodies; he favored a low piano stool, finding it more comfortable than the high one adopted by the hard-hitting virtuosos who liked to descend on everything from a great height. Above all, there was his "flutter pedalling," that continuous vibrating of the sustaining pedal, which cast a warm glow over everything he played, yet gave it at the same time its unusual clarity. He reacted strongly against the so-called "finger-equalization" schools of Czerny, Kalkbrenner and others, maintaining that each finger has individual characteristics, which are there to be enhanced, not equalized away. "The third finger," he would tell his pupils, "is a great singer," and he would then go on to unfold entire phrases with this finger taking the major share of the work.

From the Music Teacher by Alan Walker.

For more information about piano instruction NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Piano Teaching Tips

2010-05-16T20:13:00.004-04:00

Singing the Song. Young piano students should try singing the song before trying to play it on the piano. The piano should consistently be a medium of expression. The student first knows the tones that he wants to play, and then makes the piano express what is in his imagination.
Playing by Imitation. The piano teacher should play a phrase on a keyboard so that the student can observe every detail, and then they imitate what they see the teacher do. The early stages of every form of endeavor begins with the process of imitation. Students, however, are expected to begin the graduation development of independence in their work with recurring ideas and technique. The teacher should gradually withdraw assistance reserving the imitative processes for unfamiliar ideas only.
Sight Reading. A firm foundation for sight reading can be laid in the first year of piano playing -- not through laborious note-by-note reading, but by teaching the student to learn to think and feel tones and notes in groups, melodic and chordal. Note-to-note playing seldom develops into skillful sight reading. The student can learn to sight read from recall of phrases or parts of phrases of familiar songs.
Form. All music, and all other forms of art, is based on principles of form. The two essential principles are repetition and contrast. A song, for example, might consist of four phrases, each phrase on a separate line. Three of the phrases are alike (repetition) and one is different (contrast). The letter A is used to designate the first phrase and all similar phrases in the piece. The letter B designates the contrasting phrase. A study of the form of a song will have immediate application in the process of learning the song, because the student will perceive that when he can play the first phrase, he is also able without further study to play the next. The rhythm of one phrase covers the rhythmic problems of the complete song, at the simplest level. a) The teacher shows the student how to play the first appearance only of a phrase which is repeated. b) The student must be led to realize that the repetition of a phrase should be played with the same fingering as its first appearance. c) The phrase divisions of the song must be carefully indicated by raising the hands at the point of the song where the singer would breathe. Sometimes this motion of the hands can be slightly exaggerated until the principle of phrasing becomes firmly established.
Technical Development. Insistent development to position of body, arm and hand should be emphasized from the beginning. The relative height of the keyboard and bench should be correct for the student. The distance of body from keyboard is also important. Constant attention should be given to the position and action of the arm, hand and fingers. There should be no rigidity, only ease and relaxation. Some five-finger and chord studies are designed as technic drills.
Major Scales. The practice of all the major scales should be continuous. Pieces can be transposed as a helpful practice to play the scale of the key into which the composition has been transposed. Scale work eventually should include the major scale, natural minor scale, harmonic minor scale, and melodic minor scale.
Further Technical Development. Development of freedom in the feeling of relationship between the student and keyboard and ease of attack and release, through constant changing of the location of the hands up and down the keyboard should be promoted. The development of accuracy, smoothness and singing tone by keeping each hand in position directly above the five keys of the phrase or group of tones to be played is encouraged. Over time, a gradual extension of range over the keyboard can be encouraged, but the student should not be advanced so rapidly that he loses the feeling of the presence of the keys directly beneath his fingers. This feeling may be maintained through relaxation, from the shoulders, of the arm and wrist. Varieties of fingerings introduced should include replacement, expansion, contraction, substitution, broken chords, perhaps organ point, finger crossings, and hand crossings.
Pedaling. Too early use of the pedal can likely lead to many bad playing habits. The student should be trained to listen to his own playing, and to secure a smooth legato and musical phrasing without the pedal. Gradually introduced, the pedal will enable the student to sustain a chord while adding other tones too distant to be played at the same time. A richer closing effect is then established. Practice may be given to developing a graceful sweet of the hand from the first position to the other distant key. An effort should be made to play the effects without looking at the keys, thereby developing the important feeling for the keyboard so essential to pianistic freedom. This development of playing with less visual attention to the keyboard should be gradual.
Creative Work. The student should be encourage in original thinking by experimenting at the piano until he achieves a desired sound, and then to write the notes accordingly. The student can learn a melody until he can think about the tones when he is away from the keyboard. Then he experiments at the piano with the I and V7 chords until an acceptable accompaniment has evolved. The student decides for himself how the chords should be used. Then, in class, the student plays his arrangement for the teacher, and they come to an agreement as to the most effective accompaniment.
Call and Response. The teacher can sing or play the first phrase of a two-phrase song, and have the student reply by singing or playing the second phrase. His attention should be called to the balance and proportion of the two phrases. He should observe the feeling of "question" in the first phrase and of "answer" in the second. He could himself invent a question and answer.

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Beginners Technique

2010-03-20T17:45:00.004-04:00

A few young piano students may have difficulty in finger and hand control, resulting in stiffness. Probably the student stiffens because he feels that what he is trying to do is very difficult and will require a lot of effort and concentration. This very attitude can result in stiffened muscles, and the harder he tries, the stiffer he becomes. It is very important to relax the student and explain that at first you are only going to ask him to do things that are very easy, until his hands and arms 'get into training.' Everything should be made to appear easy and natural No physical action should be beyond the scope of the child's hand.

In my experience I have noticed that big problems arise where students seem to be making a continuous effort to 'push down' the keys. Piano playing requires execution and release and the moment of release is usually the more important. For this reason, I would suggest that most early exercises are played gently without force. Encourage the student to move from one level of tone to another as soon as possible.

Beginners should not practice too long at first, perhaps no more than fifteen or twenty minutes. This is really long enough for eight years and under. Do not begin finger exercises at this stage. On the other hand, any young piano student who enjoys sitting at the piano and picking out little tunes he has heard, or making them up and trying out improvisation, should not be discouraged or corrected, even in the technique is not perfect. I think that in our eagerness to teach all things correctly, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that the piano student wants to play the piano. The assigned work must be carefully done first, but after that a young artist should be free to enjoy his own music in any way he wishes!

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Young Beginners Piano Posture

2010-03-19T08:53:00.007-04:00

The student should be seated at the piano at the correct height, so that his arm from elbow to wrist slopes neither up nor down. His arm should be slightly poised. It should support his hand, and not drag it downwards. The hand itself forms a slight uphill slope to the knuckles, curving away to the finger-tips. It is very important not to sit too close, and if the student's feet do not reach the floor, using a footstool is advantageous to stability. Those who can reach the floor should sit slightly forward on the stool, so that a little of the weight of the legs rests upon the feet. Anyone too low for the keyboard can sit on a pillow or raise the bench.

The distance from the piano is tested by the student reaching towards a very high note with the left hand and then toward a low note with the left. We want to encourage free movement over the keyboard from the start and not restrict the beginner to a five note range. With those who can reach the floor make sure they sit well forward on the stool. By using less stool, they are able to swing from side to side and cover the keyboard with ease. Many Intermediate to Advanced students come to me having problems with four-octave arpeggios because they have always sat solidly, as on a chair. A simple change of position works wonders.

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Harmonizing Melodies

2010-03-06T17:57:00.004-05:00

As soon as students have learned two chords, I and V7, and have begun to practice pieces for two hands, melody and accompaniment, they can try to adapt harmonies to familiar melodies. Keep the melodies within the compass of the five-finger position.

Students can be led to listen to the agreement of melody and chord, and to change the harmony at the proper place in the melody according to the musical effect rather than because of the teacher's directions. This elementary study in the feeling for the proper relation of harmony and melody is important and is actually a fundamental lesson in harmonic ear training.

After harmonizing a simple melody, the student can write the chords in blank staves.

A little study will also show students that by changing the third tone of a five-finger group they can alter the effect from major to minor and vice versa.

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Scale Playing

2010-03-05T20:20:00.002-05:00

A thorough knowledge of scales in all keys is a fundamental necessity for the pianist. Scale practice, indeed, must be continued constantly throughout the career of the greatest artists. Scale study offers excellent ear training as a student must hear the scale pattern in order to play songs in various keys. Scale study is fundamental in transposition. It also provides drill in step and half-step relationships in scale patterns. Early songs that give five-finger and triad positions in each hand for every key are invaluable in scale playing. They are an excellent early step in the study of keyboard harmony.

The foundation for scale playing is laid in the early songs where through transpositions the first five tones of all the scales are learned, leaving only the addition of three tones to complete the ascending scales. In accordance with the pedagogy of the first year, the ascending scale occurs in various songs furnishing the fingering which is used in all ascending scales. The descending scale also is included with first year fingering.

The scale is the basis of melody, and this practice trains the ear to appreciate melodic relationships. With motivated students, the scale can be taught immediately from the beginning lesson, including the thumb-under position of the full eight-note scale. This introduces students immediately to fingering of the keyboard. Once the full scale is mastered, the students can proceed to full keyboard scales.

Scales are the beginning of finger exercises, as well. Scale drills, however, should not be forced upon young students or they may rebel. They will want to learn songs right away. After all, isn't this why they wanted to learn piano in the first place?

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Chord Study

2010-03-04T19:02:00.003-05:00

Early lessons with the Tonic Chord lead young students to discover that it consists merely of the first, third and fifth tones of the familiar five finger position. As soon as this is apparent the tonic chord will be played easily by either hand in any key that the student learns, both in the keys given in the book and in their transposition.

It should be noted that (with the exception of the first presentation of I) the chords are played first divided between the two hands either as the lower part of a four-hand duet or as an accompaniment to singing. This process is similar to that in which the melodies with a compass of more than five tones are played with two hands before undertaking the difficulties of expansion and finger crossings. By playing the chords with two hands any tendency towards awkwardness and stiffness of the fingers is avoided and a relaxed condition of arm and hand is maintained.

Chord playing and the playing of chord progressions will be learned far more readily if the student concentrates on this one problem for a few lessons. Where it is necessary to divide the attention between melody in one hand and chords in the other the difficulties are far greater than when melody and chords are treated as separate problems. After two hand experience has clarified the chord progressions and made them familiar to the student, the next forward step of playing melody in one hand and chords in the other will be much simpler and less likely to be accompanied by muscular tension.

The chords are first taught by imitation, the teacher playing on the keyboard followed by the student. All keys are fingered alike, and are therefore equally simple according to the presentation process. Of course no analytical description or discussion of these harmonies is appropriate to this stage of progress. The student hears the effects and is shown how to produce them. Thereafter he expresses his harmonic feeling through the appropriate use of these chords in the selections in his piano books and in harmonizing assigned familiar melodies. The teacher should be careful in suggesting for harmonization only such melodies as may be accompanied by this very limited harmonic vocabulary.

The student is naturally eager to play pieces in which one hand has a melody and the other hand plays accompanying chords. Such pieces seem to a young student to be musically advanced and highly interesting, and his desire to play them should not be suppressed. The teacher, though, should try to postpone the more difficult step until the chords and chord progressions are made familiar through demonstrated playing. The best way to do this is to stimulate the interest in two-hand chord playing. This can be done in a few ways:

1. By having the student play accompaniments for the singing at home
2. By the student accompanying his own singing at home
3. By transpositions of the chord progressions into as many keys as possible
4. By inventing a variety of chord figurations

These varied experiences are interesting to the student, and will give him considerable drill in two-hand chord playing as a preparation for the more difficult steps which follow.

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Transposition

2010-03-03T18:28:00.003-05:00

Every piece of music should mean tones to the student, not merely keyboard fingering adjustments. Transposition should be based on this principle. The early stages of transposition consist merely in finding the five finger positions in various keys and then playing the transposed melody with the same fingering as in the original key. Ear and muscular memory aid with this process.

At first the transpositions should be to keys made familiar by the pieces the students have previously studied, but very soon students will enjoy exploring the keyboard to find other possible transpositions. For the first of these new keys the piano teacher could show the five finger position. She may then play the phrase in several other keys, calling attention to the similarity of tonal effect. The student is then encouraged to find the five finger positions and play the phrase in other keys. The new five finger positions should be discovered chiefly by ear. Let the step and half-step relationship come as a result of these ear training explorations rather than as preliminary directions. Occasionally a student must be guided by such directions, but only when the teacher observes that he is becoming impatient or discouraged.

The contrast between major and minor five finger positions provides a definite place for clarifying the step and half-step relationships on the keyboard.

Melodies involving the entire scale are naturally more difficult to transpose than the five finger melodies. Even so, let the ear be the chief guide, and reserve mechanical directions as a last resort. In these melodies, it is most helpful for the student to play the scale of the key into which he intends to transpose the selection.

For more information about learning transposition, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Rhythm

2010-03-01T05:12:00.005-05:00

Physical Expression of Rhythm. Rhythm is fundamentally a muscular rather than an auditory experience, and should be taught as this. Our natural impulse to a march or strong downbeats is to keep time in our bodies. In training the student in rhythm it is important to develop the physical awareness and response to the beat. The simplest form of this drill is to tap the hand or the foot synonymous with time keeping. Note that much music in 4/4 measure has the feeling of two beats to the measure, as has much music in 6/8 time.

Clapping. From the first lesson the students should clap the music. The hands are clapped for each note and held together during the value of the note. For a long note the hands are held lightly together with a slight swing at the moment of each beat. Between the notes the hands must be separated briefly to prepare to clap again. For a rest, the hands should be separated with a definite motion, the opposite of the clapping motion. For notes, hands move towards each other; for rests, away from each other.

Clapping the music is an excellent device for clarifying the meaning of the notes with respect to time. Students readily distinguish between quicker and slower motions of hands, and apply this analysis to the notation of their music.

Phrase Rhythm. The relationship of the phrase rhythm and the beat is too often taught in reverse order, on the assumption that the beat will eventually develop a feeling for the phrase. Rather, the reverse is true. In fact, a degree of relaxation between the phrases is desirable, even sometimes with a slight interruption of strict time. Every phrase should be played as a unit, just as it should be sung to one breath. Understanding keyboard phrasing is also fundamental to sight reading.

Counting Time. Counting time really presupposes an understanding of rhythmic experience. Otherwise it is mechanical and loses its musical significance. In the earliest years, occasionally the piano teacher may count time, especially in connection with a discussion of time values and signatures. But students should be introduced to counting and rhythm shortly thereafter and introduced to listening to music to actually hear the beat in music that they may duplicate the experience in playing pieces. Counting and rhythm are not the same thing. Rhythm has much more to do with groupings of notes and accents. Counting has to do with actualizing the time signature per measure.

For more information about learning tempo in classical music, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studios.

Different Kinds of Drills

2010-02-23T21:04:00.006-05:00

Drill on Five-Finger Positions on Treble and Bass Staves. The positions are typically shown in the early literature. The piano teacher drills the student in finding these hand positions and then may call for the "five-finger position of the right hand, treble staff, key of G," or "the five-finger position of the left hand, bass staff, key of A-minor," etc. This drill can be reversed by the teacher playing the phrase and the student pointing to the notation in his book. This helps with early fundamentals in learning keyboard fingering.

Theory of Music. Naming the notations, key signatures, names of chords, and so forth are learned incidentally and not through drill. After a while when these are consistently called by their names, students will soon associate the correct names with familiar characters. Drilling theory is distasteful to young children and unproductive. But once notations and their names are familiar, it is good to occasionally question the student to be sure that the association is correct. Don't explain, merely use and call by name. Organized explanations will come in later years.

The Tonic Chord. The tonic chord is learned as it appears in the literature, and then serves for drill similar to the drill on the five-finger positions. All chord study should be presented as sound, not merely as notes.

Writing Music. As chords are studied in later lessons, students can write chords in predesignated keys. Later students are encouraged to discover experimentally the application of these chords in harmonizing the melodies, and to write the chords in the staves of predesignated pieces themselves.

Two-Handed Melodies. Drills can be developed in finding the two-hand positions and alternating the hands on the keyboard. The alternation of hands must be practiced until it can be done without an appreciable break in the legato passage. These little studies should never be played with both hands together.

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Sight Reading

2010-02-23T20:17:00.004-05:00

One of the most important objectives of singing and playing is the development of fluent sight reading. Every selection provides material for correlating ear, eye and hand. The piano teacher should realize that the child's early experience is best not directed to playing new material from the notes. This practice leads merely to note-to-note reading, rather than to a comprehensive grasp of music notation. Instead of reading new material the child should have an opportunity to develop ready recognition of the notation of familiar passages of music.

For example, a child of at least five years old can be taught the C major scale fairly easily. Once the scale is learned, the piano teacher can point out pieces of the scale found in the song. Often beginner songs are composed of scale fragments. This will also facilitate fingering by reminding the student that the fingering used is the same as or similar to that used in playing a scale. The familiarity of the scale fingering gives the student an anchor of self-confidence in recognizing phrase patterns.

Songs can be freely used as sight reading drills. After a piece has been learned so that the student can play it readily and accurately, the piano teacher can choose a phrase and ask the student to play just that much. The indication may be given by directions such as "Play the second phrase," or the teacher might point to the phrase.

With a minimum of effort the student learns to recognize a familiar phrase and to play it in its correct octave, as indicated by the treble or bass staff. This practice in recall can avoid note-to-note playing and lead to real music reading.

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Inventing Variations on a Melody

2010-02-14T20:18:00.004-05:00

After learning a piece, have beginner to intermediate students find the same hand position higher and lower on the keyboard and play the melody in various octaves. Let them discover in how many places on the keyboard the same phrases may be played. What different effects result from playing in different octaves? Imagine a particular effect and find the octave most appropriate to produce it. The piano teacher may play keyboard phrasing and the student try to find the octaves he has heard. The phrases may be divided between the two hands and played in different octaves; occasional hand crossings may be used.

Have the student transpose the composition into different keys. Change a major key to a minor key and see what the effects are.

The variations are almost limitless in their possibilities, and the imaginative and inventive teacher will find this a fertile ground for stimulating creative practice.

This activity is great for

1. Encouraging creativity and playfulness by inventing new combinations and effects
2. Stimulating the imagination to find new effects
3. Clarifying spatial relationship of the keyboard, and developing the muscular consciousness of the extensive proportions of the keyboard
4. Promoting freedom of arm movement and to learn keyboard facility

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Training for Feel of the Keyboard

2010-02-01T14:52:00.004-05:00

The development of the feeling for the keyboard is important from the start. From the first lesson, the hand positions should be made a matter of feeling the keys rather than merely seeing them. This development of the muscular sense continues throughout the training of the pianist, and eventually becomes almost an automatic reflex action. The ability to feel scale and chord hand-positions coordinates with sensing the aural effects of the tones produced, an essential in fluent sight reading.

The first step in playing by imitation is to establish the hand-position. The five fingers of the right hand are placed over the first five key of the scale involved. From this hand position it is a simple step to playing, by combined ear, eye and directions, the five finger pieces at the elementary level. The notation is then shown to the student as a picture of what he has played.

The same procedure is then taken with the left hand.

Next there is an alternation of hands, the first phrase being played by one hand and the second phrase by the other.

From this first experience in playing by imitation the student progresses to the subsequent steps of learning piano, each new element being presented through imitation. It is important to demonstrate the correct hand position, fingering, phrasing, and expression. From the first lesson the student should be made to realize that good piano playing demands thoroughness and attention to detail. He should be encouraged to think of the piano as a means of self-expressing, and that by beautiful self-expression can he find pleasure in his music.

For more information about piano classes NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Rhythm & Singing

2010-01-09T20:02:00.003-05:00

Singing will serve to keep the piano playing rhythmic and up to tempo. The student at the piano should be trained, if a mistake is made, to find the place at which the teacher is singing and join in with the song rather than to stop the song to agree with the error of the pianist. This training in keeping the music going is extremely important. The student should only be sent to the piano when the piano teacher is reasonably sure that he is able to play the music correctly, and then he must be required to keep the performance going at the correct tempo from beginning to end. If a mistake occurs, let it be corrected later and the difficult spot drilled upon until mastered, but avoid stopping in the middle of a piece to make correction. This is also a vital exercise in sight reading sheet music.

So-Fa Syllables. The use of so-fa syllables is recommended. The syllables are valuable in expressing the tone relationships within the scale, and offer the simplest means for tonal ear training. A difference of opinion exists between the advocates of the movable do and the fixed do systems. Once a system is selected, however, it is best to follow through with the methodology.

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Teaching Songs

2010-01-08T13:14:00.003-05:00

It's always preferable to teach songs without using the piano except to get the right pitch. After the song has been learned the piano teacher may sometimes play an accompaniment as the student sings, but this should be done sparingly, postponing adding the harmonic element in the song until it occurs in the regular course of piano instruction.

Some children don't sing well, and occasionally one is met who can't carry a tune. This does not necessarily mean that this child is not musical. The non-singing child should be urged to listen nevertheless. He should be encouraged to sing alone as much as possible. Often he will be helped by singing beside another child who has a good voice. Someties he will imitate the voice of another child better than the voice of his piano teacher. Sometimes he can sing in a lower pitch than other children,and sometimes he can be encouraged to sing the song in a key within his own voice range. Every effort should be made to help him discover the light, high head voice which is the natural way for children to sing.

The song ca be presented a phrase at a time, first scanning the words of the phrase, then playing the melody, and lastly asking the student to sing the phrase. Thus it is possible to teach the song by rote, phrase by phrase.

Children should always be led to feel the spirit of thesong, as bright, lively, sad, quiet, etc., rather than arbitrarily directed to sing slow, fast, loud, or soft. Tone quality should be appropriate to the spirit and mood of the song. This helps young piano students develop an ear for expressing music.

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How to Teach Song

2010-01-07T18:49:00.005-05:00

In teaching a rote song, it helps to familiarize the children with the song as a whole before asking them to imitate the pattern sung for them by the teacher. While listening to the song as sung, it is best that each child has his book open and follows the music and words as he hears them. This helps in the development of his grasp of musical notation.

After the child has received a general impression of the song as a whole, the teacher sings the first phrase the the child imitates. The phrase corresponds to a line of text. If some portion of the phrase is not imitated correctly, the teacher repeats the phrase a a whole or repeats the figure in which the inaccuracy occurred, until the student responds correctly. The second phrase is learned in the same way. Then the two phrases are presented together and imitated. If the song is longer, the remaining phrases are taught in the same manner, first a phrase at a time and then combined in accordance with their structural relationship in the song.

After all the phrases have been taught and combined into sections, the teacher and the student sing the whole stanza. This process helps young students learn to hear music phrasing and notation.

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Musical Orientation

2010-01-01T12:25:00.008-05:00

Singing. Just because a child is a non-singer (monotone), does not necessarily imply that he is not suited to piano study. Sometimes these children correlate eye, ear and hand better than singers do.

The song approach, though, does make the ear the guiding force. Singing helps develop expressive playing. The song approach provides a connecting link between music associated with text and absolute music. Singing naturally introduces the study of music form and interpretation. Singing is a much truer and more musical rhythmic guide in early piano instruction than is the practice of counting aloud. It reduces mistakes at the piano and allows for self-correction. Further, the song approach easily leads to ready playing in all keys. Singing is the best background for the development of fluent sight reading. The song approach has the strongest, simplest and most interesting appeal for home practice.

Rhythm. The piano teacher can play or sing something in simple duple time, having the student clap keeping time, gradually accenting more strongly, making crescendos, diminuendos, accelerandos, and ritardandos. Then change to triple time and try the same game.

Pitch. If children have been singing with so-fa syllables, you can test pitch discrimination simply. Play or sing various intervals, having the student name them by syllable. If they have had little or no music experience, give them an idea of "high" and "low"; then, playing or singing, start with the extremes, high and low, and gradually bring the intervals nearer and nearer together. The readiness with which a student distinguishes between the higher and lower tones indicates his power of pitch discrimination.

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Tone Color

2009-12-31T18:31:00.004-05:00

Varieties in tone color at the piano are produced by different kinds of touch, unequal distribution of power both in tones struck simultaneously and successively, differences in the moment of attack and release of tones, differences in the degrees of legato and staccato in sustaining tones, different uses of the pedals, and in other ways too subtle to discuss at this point. Still, in coloring the tone quality of piano playing comes largely through repeated experimentation at the keyboard, listening intently to the results of different ways of laying the same passage and contrasting passages. Careful observation of the playing of others and of the effects which they produce is a most helpful practice.

Above all, tone coloring is the result of aesthetic imagination, which conceives an effect and strives to realize it. The teacher should strive to stimulate his pupils to expressive playing through coloring the tone quality of their performance in accordance with the spirit of the music. The use of songs in the early study of piano playing is a great help in this work. The songs express mood. The children may first sing them so that the mood is reflected in the vocal tone quality. Then they can strive to color the playing with the same tone quality. Such imaginative coloring of the tone serves as the best background for the later more technical approach to the subject through varieties of touch, dynamics, phrasing, and pedaling.

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Phrasing

2009-12-29T20:20:00.003-05:00

Phrasing is to music what punctuation is to language. Just as punctuation indicates the divisions of sentences and parts of sentences within paragraphs, so does phrasing show the groupings of tones of the composition into such divisions as will make the tonal flow most comprehensible. And as in speech there are longer or shorter periods of silence separating the word groups, so in music the phrasing is effected by brief periods of silence between the tone groups. In singing a breath is usually taken between the phrases; and in playing the hands should likewise seem to breathe between the phrases. The phrases usually end softly, with a gentle release of the tone. Phrasing gives clarity to the expressive interpretation of the music. Definite phrasing is as essential to the interpretation of music as are the rhetorical pauses in expressive speech. The best and most natural way to teach phrasing is to sing the phrase.

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Dynamics

2009-12-26T17:10:00.003-05:00

Crescendos, diminuendos, stresses and accents constitute vital piano dynamics in expressive playing. Like the inflections of the voice in speech, they point the meaning of the composition. Two successive tones should seldom be sounded with equal intensity. As in speech, there should be constant variation in the tone, volume, stress and accentuation. The possible variations in dynamic contrasts are almost limitless, but there should always be reason and purpose in the way they are employed. Ascending passages usually increase and descending passages decrease in volume, but sometimes the opposite procedure is all the more effective because it is unexpected. Of course the printed dynamic indications must be observed, but the student must be led to delve deeper into the reasons for contrasts in tone volume and must not mechanically follow marks and directions nor imitate blindly the playing of the piano teacher.

It is not uncommon for teachers to over-stress the importance of measure accents and in so doing to lose sight of the larger rhythmic units. Such constant pounding on the first beat of each measure is like the metrical sing-song way of reciting dull poetry.

Every phrase has its climax, and every composition has its principal climax. In longer works there is a series of climaxes which cumulatively lead to the principal climax. A great composer builds his climaxes with the same careful planning that is given by an architect to the designing of a building. The performer must realize the design in a musical composition, and must plan his dynamic scheme with care, so that each climax, subordinate and principal, may receive its due proportion of emphasis. This principle may be illustrated in the very simplest of little pieces, provided they are based on the principles of artistic design.

Children should be directed in their study of every composition to the consideration of the general dynamic effects of the piece as a whole, contrasts within the piece, and the relationship of primary and secondary climaxes.

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Tempo

2009-12-22T16:44:00.009-05:00

Tempo is one of the elements of interpretation through which the nature of an artist expresses itself. The piano teacher needs to make sure that tempo is observed and evaluated in the study of each composition. The student's ability to control and express his interpretation in piano classes will thereby grow in his capacity to be clear and expressive.

The general time gradations in the performance of a piece of music, sometimes called agogics,are important in determining the character of an interpretation. First of all, the rate of speed (tempo) of the piece as a whole should be determined. The composer usually indicates the tempo by such terms as andante, allegro, etc., though these terms are subject to various interpretations depending on the character of the music itself. Sometimes the tempo is indicated by a metronome mark, though even this is subject to variation under different conditions, as, for example, in recital halls of various sizes. Many compositions are printed without tempo indications, and then the general character of the music must determine the rate of speed of the performance.

After the general tempo has been decided comes the consideration of variations of speed during the performance, accelerandos, ritardandos, etc. The more important of these changes in the rate of speed are usually indicated by the composer, though there are infinite subtleties too delicate to be recorded in notation. For instance, an ascending passage sometimes pushes forward, and the close of a composition is liable to slow down somewhat. Few pieces should be played with metronomic precision in classical music tempo - ebb and flow is very desirable. These variations should not be overdone, though, since the effect of exaggeration is as inartistic as is clock-like metronomic regularity. On the other hand, it is important to develop the ability to maintain a given tempo, without hurrying or slowing down.

To inquire about a piano teacher NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Plan of Technical Development

2009-12-18T01:36:00.004-05:00

The piano is a medium for the musical self expression of the student. Technique is really a means to this end.
The approach to piano playing should be through the music to be played. The music should be interesting while stimulating the desire to play, grows out of the student's past experience and is directly linked to it. Hence the importance of the "song approach."
In learning to play even their earliest and simplest pieces, students recognize certain technical demands and requirements. These should be immediately reinforced by the teacher as material for drill.
Each technical drill grows out of an immediate musical experience and should be applied to additional new and interesting musical material. Drill may at times be given per se, but it should grow out of actual music and lead to more actual music.
These are especially applicable to the earliest years of study. They easily lead to the formation of musical habits and a keen interest out of which attention to matters of technique become more or less automatic. The older students then find real pleasure in overcoming the problems of more advanced technique.
During the first year technical drills grow out of the experience of playing the musical numbers in the course books. To these are added games designed to develop control of fundamental movements of arms and fingers. Gradually this is developed into organized, independent drill in the several essential elements of technique, such as chords, scales, arpeggios, etc.

Learn more from a piano teacher NJ at Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Early Movement

2009-12-09T10:55:00.014-05:00

It is helpful for a piano teacher to have books of games and fingerplays in her library that develop muscular control in playing piano without stiffness. This means having ample material handy for progressive selection to suite the age and ability of students.

The earliest pieces establish free, rhythmic arm movement. This could include material for developing alternation in muscular tension involved in lifting the arms, and the immediate relaxation in the natural drop of the arms. It helps the student learn an activity that shows the tensions used in actual playing, and shows that between the tensions there is relaxation in the brief intervals resulting from rests or other breaks in the music.

Following pieces learned for rhythmic arm control, the teacher can offer a combination of arm and finger activity. In these pieces children use both rhythmic arm movements and the use of finger support, in that the relaxed weight of the arm is brought to rest on the various finger tips in turn. These are designed to lay the foundation for correct hand position, and after these would follow pieces for more particular development of finger movements.

In the first months of study it is good for students to learn arm and finger control with the least possible conscious attention to the muscular movements involved. Calling attention to hand position, or the specific manner in which fingers should be raised or knuckles arched, etc., is likely to induce the stiffness and inhibitions we try to avoid. The value of finger plays lies in having students so absorbed that they acquire the desired movements and positions without feeling self-consciousness or constrained.

We all know that technique progresses from unformed beginnings gradually to more and more finely controlled movements. To begin with, children are naturally relaxed because their nerves and muscle movements have not yet been disciplined. To avoid strain and stiffness, training for keyboard mastery should be gradual and careful. Good piano teachers want to lay a solid and steady foundation for a permanent skill. So, advancements are progressive to get the results, but slow enough to avoid strain - and frustration on the student's part.

The early pieces serve as an introduction to the formal technical drill of later years, such as in finger exercises developed by Czerny.

For more information to learn piano NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Keyboard Posture

2009-12-08T06:52:00.004-05:00

The correct use of the arms can be achieved sooner than a perfect hand position, fineness in finger action and control. Almost all children tend to play with free arm movement and unconscious use of the weight of the arm. In the beginning of piano instruction, emphasis should be on freedom and ease of arm movement rather than over-precision in hand position and finger movements.

On the other hand, the teacher should illustrate the principles of correct technique in easy, graceful arm movement, good hand position and well controlled finger movements. The basis of the child's early technical development is imitation. So, he should have an opportunity to observe and imitate good models to form his ideal of good piano playing. The following will help establish good technique.

Height of chair at piano. This should be arranged so that when the hand is held in position on the keyboard (keys depressed), the wrist and forearm are horizontal. In testing for correct height of seat by means of quiet hand position on keyboard, use the below guidelines.

How to sit. The player should sit somewhat forward on the chair, the body upright from the hips, poised very slightly forward, never bending over the keys. He should never rest on the back of the chair while playing, and should not rigid in the hips.

Distance of player from keyboard. The player should sit at a distance from the keyboard so that the upper arm hangs vertically from the shoulder, never with the elbow further back than the position.

Use of arm. The arm should be used freely from the shoulder. All movements should be as natural as possible and free from affectation. Between successive chords, the hand must be lifted, by the arm, slightly above the keys. In melodies the same release is to be used at the ends of phrases. When coming away from the keys let the hand hang, relaxed, at the wrist; never swing the hand back at the wrist.

Hand position. The standard position of rounded, arched hand with curved fingers and curved-in tip of thumb is recommended. Hold the hand quiet when testing for height of seat and make sure the thumb is held absolutely horizontal. The child's first approach to correct hand position should come through observation and imitation of the teacher's use of hand and fingers.

Use of fingers. As no formal finger exercises are usually given in the first year with younger children, control of finger movements should be first approached through striving for legato in melody playing. If the melody is played legato, then the finger attack and release are correct as to timing. Here again, gradual improvement is the aim, guided by the teacher's example.

Good tone. This means a quality of tone that expresses the message of the music to be played, such as singing tone in a melody, a firm tone in a march, etc.

Fingering. Fingerings are indicated with definite plan and care in first year music books. In five finger position, unless indicated otherwise, the next finger plays the next note in all diatonic passages. A repeated phrase is always played with the fingering indicated upon its first appearance.

Accuracy. Accurate, clean playing should be strived for at all times. The student should aim for the middle of each key and develop thereby an accurate sense of finger spacing.

Dynamics. "Louder and softer" can be attained through imitation, and through singing the songs and then playing them in the same spirit. Every composition has a climax, and every phrase has its own secondary climax. It is through dynamics and phrasing that, in expressing his message, technique serves the performing pianist.

For more information about piano classes NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Piano Technique: Drill and Teaching Pieces

2009-12-07T09:20:00.006-05:00

Piano playing involves developing the ability to learn keyboard technique. In the past, this technique evolved only through mechanical drills and technical etudes. These classical exercises are designed to give control of the movements necessary to play, to increase facility in playing the various figurations found in piano music, to develop power and speed, and to establish foundational control for dynamic and rhythmic variety in piano performance.

However, the mere mechanics of playing, without spirit and expression, is not widely accepted as the way to musicianly performance. An extensive literature of teaching pieces has evolved, through which the student can acquire technique while at the same time he studies selections more or less interesting musically. Most teachers now depend largely upon this type of material for the technical development of the student, while others make use of the exercise and etude literature as an integral part of their teaching scheme.

Some teachers have come to feel that technical drill may be entirely abandoned in favor of a progressive list of more varied material. Their reasoning?

only a comparatively few teachers have acquired real skill in obtaining the essential technical elements from the pieces and organizing them into a well rounded system of development
the teacher is restricted musically in the selection of pieces if it is necessary to depend on this material alone for technical material
it is hard to find selections which contain all the necessary material for comprehensive technical training of the student
while this procedure has carried many students successfully through certain elementary stages of development, sooner or later there has come a time when progress stops, and the student, lacking training under a comprehensive plan, abandons his pianistic ambitions in the face of difficulty and demands involved in further pianistic advancement.

In the final analysis, though, practice of exacting technique cannot be avoided by a piano student or teacher. A good pianist must have training which includes all the different elements of a well rounded technique. Advanced pianism includes both artistry and expression, and the necessity of playing exacting technique which the pianist uses according to his artistic taste and judgment. It is common for teachers, even the most eminent, to exaggerate certain phases of musicology at the expense of others.

The superb control over technique that results from classical drilling is incomparable. Thus, both classical mechanical drilling and creativity must be included in the course of teaching piano for the student to become an accomplished pianist.

To find a piano teacher NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Parental Support of Creative Practice

2009-12-06T07:06:00.006-05:00

Home assignments usually take for granted some kind of parental supervision. Many parents oversee the practice of their children, and have assumed the responsibility for timing the practice periods and seeing that the student is kept consistently at a routine. While this method sometimes is effective, not infrequently it degenerates into a system of policing that is irksome to both the parents and student. Few things are more dispiriting to a student's progress and enjoyment of music than the constant nagging of parents to make him practice his home assignments. Besides, parents eventually tire of supervision, and there are few, naturally, who have the patience, tact and influence over the student to carry him along year by year until he has reached the point where his own interest prompts him to keep up with sufficient practice. Additionally, the quality of enforced practice, with a ticking clock as a constant reminder, is seldom going to bring the best results.

Parental Cooperation

One of the first essentials to the success of creative practice is to make the plan clear to parents. So much stress has been laid for years on the necessity of parental supervision of home practice that parents expect to be called upon to assume this responsibility. It is often difficult for them to keep away from the child and leave him to his own devices at the piano. Parents should be urged to leave the child alone with respect to home practice. The following forms of cooperation are ones the parent should give, and are vital to the success of creative practice.

Best Place for the Piano

The piano should be available to the student whenever he feels like playing it. This is not always easy - sometimes the piano is in the living room where the student's playing disturbs others; sometimes visitors interfere with the student's freedom of action; sometimes in winter it is hard to keep the room well heated at hours that suit the child's convenience; sometimes a tired father or mother is disturbed by the student's playing. Conscientious parents can work out the most satisfactory solution possible under the circumstances.

The piano should be placed where there is enough light to read music and learn the keyboard both during daytime and evening. If at all possible, a separate music room, free from family gatherings, visitors, cell phones, television, and other interruptions, and where the student can go at any odd leisure times, is an ideal condition.

Let the Child Correct His Own Mistakes

Parents often find it extremely difficult to refrain from giving help and suggestions when the child makes mistakes. They might hear or see the child doing something contrary to their own experience as piano students, and are naturally anxious to offer assistance. But such help is exactly what the student should not have. He needs to develop his own interest and initiative, learn to detect his own errors and find his own ways of correcting them. He will find his stimulation in piano lessons. A student should be so engrossed with the music he is working out that the urge to practice comes from within. The spirit of emulation (see earlier blog post) will help motivate him to perfect his practice.

Other Home Music Projects

There are many music projects that interested parents can start, that serve not only to stimulate the student's pleasure in music study, but also to make the home a center of interest that will carry over into his whole life. Reading matter on musical subjects of interest to children should be abundant. The child's room can be decorated with pictures of musicians or musical subjects, chosen by the student and arranged as planned by him. A music cabinet can be available, where he can be encouraged to organize his music. Attendance at concerts and recitals should be planned, with advance preparation by reading about the repertoire or hearing the music on iTunes. The use of all of these will contribute to the growth of the student's musical culture and his musical life. They will vitalize piano study by associating it with the broader world of music.

For more information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Creative Practice

2009-12-05T09:14:00.004-05:00

We all know that the results of piano lessons are largely dependent upon the practice done by the student between lessons. Every good piano teacher realizes this fact, and tries to encourage students to give consistent time and energy to home practice. Various plans work with greater or less success. Roughly these plans are

parental cooperation;
a card system for checking the time which the student has given to practice and some form of rewards; or
organization of home practice so it can become a creative experience

The third type, creative practice, can be the most effective, especially when combined with the spirit of emulation naturally stimulated by activities such as watching the teacher perform, listening to music, attending concert pianists' recitals, or attending local classical music events such as chamber music or musical ensembles. If a student can develop an interest in his practice, an initiative in going to the piano for pleasure, a desire for regularity in home study, this attitude will be a great step toward successful pianism.

Plan of Creative Practice

Essentially the plan of creative practice consists in presenting a musical problem to students which can be solved in different ways, or which can be worked out by the student from material of his own choosing culled from his previous experience. The music should be able to be worked out at the keyboard. This helps motivate good piano practice. The student then brings his solution to the lesson and has an opportunity to express his own ideas, to consult his own taste, and to have his opinions sympathetically considered by his teacher (and family). He has created something - thereby exercising one of the strongest incentives to playing piano. Of course, the teacher must exercise her own ingenuity and inventiveness in applying this idea.

It's best if lessons are varied, flexible and alive. Truly, home assignment shouldn't degenerate into mechanical drilling or to merely assigned tasks. Intense drilling can come in later years. When a particular composition is to be studied it is approached with the ideal of attaining an expressive result, as nearly as well as the child can make it; and whenever possible, taking a creative practice approach to the piece.

For more information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

What Is Reading?

2009-12-01T10:53:00.004-05:00

Some of the instruction of little children and the music material prepared for piano instruction is based upon the idea that sight reading is the development of a fluency in deciphering one note after another. It is assumed that if a child can be taught to read one note after another correctly, and kept it up patiently, he will gradually be able to repeat this faster and faster until he becomes a ready music reader.

Studies shows that reading is the ability, first, to recall to mind a previously learned thought by means of recognized symbols; and second, to group familiar symbols into larger and larger units, each group representing its previously learned idea. in other words, fluency in reading does not consist in seeing single notes more rapidly, but in visualizing in larger and larger units the groups of notes.

This process is greatly facilitated where the note groupings on the page correspond to tonal or music units. Where the notes of a phrase skip from staff to staff, the unity of the group is broken and the eye must follow the music from note to note. When teaching reading, look for keyboard sheet music where the music is printed phrasewise, each tonal figure printed to be grasped in one eye span. Where the chords may be seen as units, the melodic line encourages groupwise rather than note-to-note thinking. These considerations are basic to the development of good sight reading skills.

For more information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Suzuki and the Art of Piano

2009-11-28T09:48:00.004-05:00

Suzuiki method assumes students will become a member of an orchestra and prepares them for orchestral playing.

The Suzuki Method is most often found in violin, viola, cello, flute, guitar, and bass lessons for students four and up. Piano, on the other hand, is primarily a solo instrument. A professional pianist often accompanies a vocalist, is a member of a small ensemble, or is a concert pianist.

Also called the "Mother Tongue" method, Suzuki instruction is modeled on the way children learn to speak their native tongue. The instruction, which encourages active parental involvement, aims to envelop the entire family unit.

Key program components that differ from traditional instruction usually includes significant parental involvement, daily listening, and regular group lessons in addition to weekly private lessons.

Suzuki tonalization, a word coined in violin training, is similar to vocalization in vocal training. The idea is to teach the student to produce good tone and to use musical expression. Students are given ear training and imitation of musical sound on the instrument.

Many people, with little knowledge of Suzuki, seek a piano teacher who will train in the Suzuki Method. What they don't realize, however, is that there is little difference between this Japanese approach and the typical training of a pianist under any other method. Ear training is a vital component of learning the piano as is involving the student in listening to music, listening to and imitating the teacher, and hearing the songs he learns to play on the keyboard, as well as reading notes.

The difference seems to lie in the assumption and preparation of the student for orchestra, and the distinctly Japanese idea of community and group learning, versus Western methodology that leans toward individualism.

For more information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Ear Training and Imitation

2009-11-27T09:56:00.002-05:00

Music is primarily a matter of hearing; why not use the ear in piano playing? Some teachers believe that playing "by ear" leads to carelessness and indfference to the exactness of the keyboard sheet music. When you think about it, though, much early musical experience happens naturally through imitation. The imitative faculty is one of the child's strongest means of development, one of his most effective ways of learning. Why not let the young student study to utilize this powerful process in ways that are most effective?

The only potential problem with imitation is failing to develop the child's powers of initiative and independent effort. But this failure is not due either to the use of or neglect of the child's natural tendency for imitation. It really means that the piano teacher is not terribly inventive herself to take advantage of this great natural gift and use it to further growth. It is the teacher's, not the child's, limitation.

Here are some steps that could help piano students grow in mastering music notation by learning to play by ear and imitation:

The student learns to sing a song
By imitation, combined with the use of his own "ear," the student learns to express the melody on the piano as well as vocally. Note that this process makes the piano an instrument of self-expression from the very beginning, and not just a medium of impressions.
The student is shown the notation of the song, printed both as a song and also as a piano "variation," with the phrases in various octaves on both the treble and bass staves. He plays the familiar material in the various ways.
Marginal material summarizes the essential tonal content of the song. The student uses this marginal material for sight reading and technical drill.

After repeated experiences the student acquires two powers: a) to progress through each of the above processes more rapidly and accurately; b) to discover similar tonal progressions in new material and to learn the new music without assistance.

For more information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

A Path to Learning Music

2009-11-26T12:44:00.002-05:00

What's the best way to teach music? The word method means "way", and a piano teacher's method is the way she organizes her procedure, progressing step by step to the goal. Actually, method looks to psychology to tell us how to make learning progress with great satisfaction. The teacher's approach should conform with the student's level of emotional development. She needs to understand how and when to present, develop, drill and apply the successive steps of lessons. An example of this is that students may need to understand the concrete before the abstract, proceed from the known to the unknown, etc.

There really are just two aspects to method:

Method should accomplish the goals.
Method should lead to progress.

In the study of music, using a method guides the student toward the ability to play well, to read music fluently, to be well acquainted with musical literature, and more. It should inspire students to a deep pleasure and ear for good music - classical, jazz, contemporary - and a lasting love for it.

There are actually some piano teachers who insist on having no method. They want to use "common sense," to study each student and apply whatever means they believe is useful. Some may even resent the suggestion that they consider following a method created by someone else. These teachers don't really understand the meaning of the term "method," which simply means a plan, or orderly procedure, or progress to an end result.

What these teachers really mean is that they follow no published procedure. A teacher with an inventive and imaginative mind might develop processes adapted to her own personality. But these processes, however ingenious or effective, are only devices that in the end emphasize some aspects of piano without necessarily offering a well-rounded development of the whole subject of music.

The art of teaching piano really begins with using published procedure, whatever school of training is chosen. Then the confidence and ability that comes from her pianistic experience will lend authority to a teacher's practice. That can become a starting point for fresh discoveries in guiding piano students. Actually, piano methods are not static; experienced teachers are constantly improving their art.

In my experience, all accepted methods of teaching piano are good, whether Alfred, Thompson, Suzuki, or the like. A piano teacher who is both artistic and an excellent coach can make good use of any proven method to teach students how to play piano well and appreciate music. No single school of training is better than the other - the teacher makes the difference.

For more information on piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Creative Individuality

2009-11-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

Encouraging Musical imagination to Self-Expression. Creative work stimulates the musical imagination of the student to self express. Beginning with little musical questions and answers, the student is taught to capture the fugitive melodies which flit through the minds of all people of musical sensitiveness, and to organize them into little compositions. The experience is not intended to develop composers so much as it is to lead the student to a keener appreciation of the music the he hears and studies.

Development of Creative Individuality. From the earliest lessons, a piano teacher NJ should encourage children to play according to their own conception of the spirit of the music they are studying, and as early as possible the study of fingerings, phrasing, etc., to encourage children to think these matters through for themselves. Such piano instruction will also stimulate the student to think between lessons, and lead him to work out his own conception of the interpretations of the pieces assigned him for study. In this way his individuality will be developed on the basis of his growing taste and musical discrimination.

For more information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Music Terminology

2009-11-23T15:28:00.002-05:00

A beginner 7-year-old student recently asked what the difference was between the meaning of notes and keys.

It is important to be aware of careful use of terms with children. Adults easily understand meaning by use in a sentence or by experience. Children, however, have no such background of general experience, and in talking to them the teacher should employ specific terminology. The word "note," for instance, is used by adults in several ways. "We see a quarter note on the printed page." "We distinguish high and low notes (pitches) by hearing." "Strike a black note (key) on the piano." "One note (tone) sounds longer than another."

If the piano teacher differentiates carefully in the use of these and other terms, students will be spared endless confusion.

For more information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Psychological versus Logical Order of Music Instruction

2009-11-22T09:56:00.002-05:00

A piano teacher should begin where the child is, and lead him step by step through the developing stages of piano instruction. This is the emotional and psychological order of the stages of learning for children. It's where a good piano teacher distinguishes himself from one who is an artist only.

The artist, on the other hand, absorbed as she is likely to be with the music of her calling, will often present the material in logical order. That is, an artist's approach is taking a mental organization fit for adults, chopping it into pieces, and giving it a piece at a time to the child to learn in piano classes.

Psychological order is the order of experience, of discovery, and consequently of learning. Logical order is the order of arranging for later use what has already been learned.

A child's processes will be immensely shortened by having as a guide someone who knows the piano. But, to be effective, piano instruction must be presented in psychological rather than logical order. The best piano teachers are both artist and teacher.

For information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

How to Teach Piano

2009-11-21T12:49:00.002-05:00

Here is an outline of one widely-recommended system of teaching piano, taken from the Oxford Method:

Building a musical background; listening, unconscious imitation, rote singing.
Learning to play little pieces of music through imitation.
Observing by hearing or seeing new effects as they are tried out and played. Music is essentially about hearing, so all teaching should be directed first to the ear. The student should be encouraged to listen to every detail of his own and his teacher's playing: pitch, rhythm, tone quality, nuance, effect, and interpretation. Observing through seeing involves technique such as proper position, use of arms, hands, and fingering; and all the details of notation.
Naming the effect and expressing it by its symbol, e.g., mf mezzo forte (playing somewhat loud). Names and explanations should follow the experience in playing. It's suggested not to precede imitative playing by a conversation of the notation involved.
Drilling. Teaching theory through practice; theory and practice should proceed side by side.
Applying the drill results to new material. The course of study should be cumulative, each new selection including some of the elements of the previous study.
Ear training is vital during lessons and during practice.
Making sure the student performs the correct action when he reads notation. Explanations and definitions can come later, after the right habitual action is learned. Sight reading should be developed by constantly repeating the experiences that notation, tones, eye, ear, and hand are related in performing the playing again and again. It takes a long time to develop the ability to sight read, so making demands on a student that he isn't prepared for by a thoroughly developed background can frustrate him.
Don't dwell on the mistakes, faults and failings of students, because this just makes mistakes more vivid and pronounced in the student's mind. A mistake should simply be explained constructively.
Get the student to focus on the meaning, mood and spirit of the music he is playing rather than self-consciously upon himself.
Carefully watch the interest of the student. Don't persist in any phase of the lesson to the point where mental fatigue makes attention impossible. There should be concentration and persistence. But above all there must be interest, and interest can't be pushed beyond natural limits of the student.

For information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Playing Piano from Memory

2009-11-20T08:16:00.002-05:00

Playing from memory is a skill that can easily be developed. The essential elements are a strong, clear-cut impression; varied associations that set up related ideas (visual, aural, muscular impressions; analysis of form and harmony, etc.); repetition; and a formula or cue which will bring recall, such as the title of the piece, name of the composer, opus number, or key phrases of the piece.

Music memory is complex. with many people memory is largely visual; some remember better with aural impressions, while others remember a composition with their fingers, i.e. muscle memory. The student's natural memory tendencies should be developed by the piano teacher, while at the same time the other types of memory should be cultivated so that every possible association can contribute to the accuracy and retentiveness of the student's memory. No composition is fully memorized until the pianist can actually hear it in his imagination.

To develop the skill of playing from memory, start the student with small pieces. As his proficiency develops, build out toward larger pieces. Have the student memorize stanzas and then sections and then movements of the composition, memorizing each and building upon the prior memorized sections. By following this process, the student will have memorized the entire work in easily managed portions.

For information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Attention and Distraction

2009-11-19T09:14:00.002-05:00

Attention is a very fleeting thing. Paying attention and focusing means concentration on a single idea out of the many distracting visions that compete for space in our thoughts. If focusing for an adult is a challenge, just consider how a child's quick, diverse and shifting perspectives are like a kaleidoscope of colors each of which captures a child's interest.

The teacher's job is to keep the children attentive to the piano classes at hand. Instead of blaming a child for being inattentive, we really mean that he is thinking of something else than what we want.

A child can give only a few seconds of concentrated attention. His mind must have periods for recuperation between brief stresses of concentration. The more interesting something is, the easier it is to prolong his attention and give it greater intensity. It's also easier to return to a subject after some mental relaxation.

A music lesson must be varied, so that the student's mind is refreshed, lessens the child's mental fatigue, and keeps his attention alert. A change of topic during the lesson will awaken new interest and fresh attention.

Keeping the piano lessons varied also avoids monotony. To remain too long on one topic means loss of interest. It's also just as important, though, to relate the new topic to a prior experience in learning piano so the association rouses curiosity and interest, and thereby secures the child's attention.

For information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.

Piano Practice

2009-11-18T19:40:00.002-05:00

A child during his or her early piano lessons must concentrate on every little motion and often with even the most intense effort finds it difficult to make the fingers behave as they should. A skilled pianist, on the other hand, may direct his thought to the interpretation of the music, or even to matters less directly connected to his performance, while his fingers play along almost of their own will, without thought.

The well-formed habit of practicing the piano regularly teaches our fingers to move and find keys without thinking or looking at our hands. Finger exercises and playing compositions must be repeated again and again to become fixed by the child's hands and in his mind.

Sight reading, for instance, is the result of habit and memory. The notes awaken associations and habit enables ready performance. How important is it, then, that the right impressions and habits be formed early.

Habits should be established in technique, sight reading, interpretation and all other activities in piano playing. Remember that a wrong action can become a habit as readily as a right action. It's best not to press the child forward too rapidly in his technical progress, because playing music which constantly keeps the student at his highest level of technique is likely to create a habit of tension or a habit of carelessness. Merely explaining a process won't assure correct performance by the student. It's important to see to it that the student performs the correct action again and again just as it should be performed, until you are certain not only of his understanding but also of his accurate fingering.

Coaching Piano Students

2009-11-17T14:55:00.002-05:00

By following these three Principles to Learn Piano, piano students will soon experience a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in their practice. Being satisfied, they will feel happy and encouraged in their pursuit of music and will want to learn more.

Readiness. Being tired, preoccupied or distracted are obstacles to a student being ready. Interest in playing is supremely important in motivating students. Teachers should encourage students toward piano playing, toward the music being studied, and all the other elements leading to success. Students need to feel successful. Today's success means tomorrow's readiness.

Satisfaction. Satisfaction strengthens; frustration weakens. Success means satisfaction, as does accomplishment as the result of creative practice. Each step forward brings its own feeling of accomplishment, with much praise and encouragement from the piano coach.

Finger Exercises. Drilling finger exercises is essential in fixing an idea in our mind, and in making fingering more accurate and rapid. But drills work only when a student is conscious of the need of them to achieve the music that the student desires. Scales, for example, should be drilled so that playing them becomes automatic, but only after the pianist has slowly built the scale and realizes that scale progressions are actually found in the music the student wants to play. The same is true of all the other elements of technique and theory. Finger exercises alone aren't enough - they must lead to satisfaction for the student.

For information about piano lessons NJ, contact Barbara Ehrlich Piano Studio.