Curriculum

I’ve been working on I IV and V on accompaniment 1 programme with some students and was asked these questions which I couldn’t quite answer with confidence. Care to share your experience and thoughts please? So does the I IV and V only work for…

• Last updated 4 months ago
• acc 2, Acc Knacks, Acc Packs, Acc2, accomp 2, accompaniment, demonstrating ratios, developing I-IV-V, explaining ratios, finding I IV V in all keys, I-IV-V, I-IV-V chords, I-IV-V in minor key, Laurie Richards, processing I IV V, ratio, ratios, ratios and aesthetics, Shape Songs, time signature, transpose, transposing, transposing minor keys, transposition

If a younger student can’t yet manage the second chord of Dreams Arrangement 1, is there a preference in a three-note version? Fingers 123 (shifting 3) throughout or 135 (shifting 3 and 5) with the 9th omitted for now? I think they both work and…

• Last updated 4 months ago
• adapting, adapting fingering, adapting for young students, adapting the curriculum, adapting to student's needs, alternate fingering for chords, chord, chord alterations, chords, Dreams, dreams 1, Dreams Arrangement, Dreams Come True, family chords, finger adaptations, small hands, teaching very young students, teaching young children, teaching young students, young children, young students

A new adult student with a small amount of previous experience told me that it’s hard for her to watch her hands because she took a beginning piano class in college with a teacher who insisted that students never look at their hands and would…

• Last updated 8 months ago
• comparing traditional to Simply Music, eyes on hands, eyes on sheet music, eyes on the page, look at hands, look at sheet music, looking at hands, looking at page, looking at sheet music, looking at the page, outside reading knowledge, PB, playing-based, playing-based while reading, previous reading knowledge, prior reading experience, RB, reading, reading concerns, reading music, reading problems, reading process, reading program, reading-based, sight reading, SM vs traditional, source from the page, source instructions from the page, starting SM with traditional students, student wants only to read, students that already read music, students who already read, tracking the page, traditional, traditional background, traditional experience, traditional student, traditional students, traditional students to SM, traditional to Simply Music, traditional vs. Simply Music, traditional vs. simply music reading, traditionally trained, transitioning into SM, transitioning students, transitioning to SM, transitioning traditional students, using playing-based tools while reading, watch hands, watch sheet music, watching hands, watching page, watching sheet music, watching the page

If a student already knows the names of the rhythm ingredients (whole through sixteenths) can we use those or should we actively use the informal terminology anyway before the note naming process? This comes up from time to time with students with prior experience! Personally,…

• Last updated 11 months ago
• beat, clapping rhythm, complex rhythm, counting, counting rhythms, difficult rhythm, doubles, eighth notes, feeling rhythm, improving rhythm skills, introducing reading, Laurie Richards, learning note names, marching sdq, masters of the rhythm, note names, outside reading knowledge, physical beat, playing rhythm tracks, previous experience, previous reading knowledge, prior experience, prior reading experience, processing rhythm, processing rhythms, quarter notes, Read and Play, Read n play, reading outside Simply Music, reading process, reading program, Reading Repertoire, reading rhythm, reading terminology, reads rhythm, rhythm, rhythm streams, rhythm tracks, rhythm words, RR, SDQ, singles doubles quads, sixteenth notes, student with previous experience, students with previous experience, students with prior experience, substituting words in rhythm, tapping sdq, teaching reading, teaching rhythm, using words in rhythm learning, voicing rhythms with words, walking sdq

Jazz Clues…doing clue one with Here to stay. The Bmin7-5 sounds bad with 1 and 5 LH because the 5 is supposed to be flatted. So do you have the students flat the 5th or stick to the clue? I don’t recall this being addressed…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• dim, diminished chord, diminished chords, Gordon Harvey, jazz, Jazz 1, jazz chords, jazz clue 1, jazz clues, jazz program, jazz program questions, JC, JC1

Just wondering if the sheet music for ‘Lament’ in the Jazz program is treated as a completely separate exercise to the improvisation in the reference book. Alternatively, do we work out what 4 note chords to use in the LH for the sheet music version…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• Gordon Harvey, improv, improvisation, jazz, Jazz 1, jazz clue 1, jazz clue 2, jazz clues, jazz program, jazz program questions, JC, Lament, modes, stride

I am finding the variation on Family Tree a challenge, even after leaving it for a time and coming back to it. Can someone give me some tips please? (Or should I just leave that one out?) It is challenging, indeed, in a very similar…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• administering the dosage, audio, audio materials, audio recording, Audio recordings, audio recordings for learning arrangements, audio SHMs, Chester, chester chills out, Chester Chills Out Variation, Chester Samba, Chester Variation, clapping rhythm, complex rhythm, control the events, controlling the events, counting rhythms, CTE, difficult rhythm, dosage, dosage of arrangements, family tree, Family Tree Variation, feeling rhythm, helping students feel rhythm, how to play, humming along, improving rhythm skills, isolating rhythm, lyrics, playing along with audio, playing with audio tracks, processing rhythm, processing rhythms, rhythm, rhythm difficulty, singing along, single thought process, single thought processes, STP, using audio recordings, using audio tracks, what to play

I have a student in her 70’s who is working on Walk at Eleven. We have been over all the clues many times (C to A to D to G, focusing on the notes a half step above or a half step below, etc.); despite…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• adult, adult lessons, adult student, adult students, adults, adults with memory problems, blues, blues songs, coaching adults, FL9, Foundation 9, foundation level 9, half steps, improvisation, improvising, it takes as long as it takes, Level 9, older student, older students, remember, remembering, remembering patterns, Robin Keehn, target notes, teaching adults, teaching half steps, Walk at 11, Walk at Eleven, walking bass

READING RHYTHM TIPS For students who struggle to play the MORs using 5SS – especially those who have trouble keeping the 3 ingredients even within a steady beat 1) Match a metronome playing only singles until smooth and even. Then only doubles until smooth and…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• 5SS, audio recording, Audio recordings, beat, clapping, clapping rhythm, clapping the beat, internal beat, internal metronome, internalizing beat, Laurie Richards, masters of the rhythm, metronome, mor, MORs, Music Speed Changer, play along, playing along with audio, reading rhythm, rhythm audio, RR, SDQ, singles doubles quads, using audio recordings, using audio tracks, voice

I just remembered a Jackson Blues variation I like to teach around Halloween that makes it sound a little creepy: RH – for each chord, move finger 3 down a 1/2 step (makes them minor chords – they don’t need to know that if they…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• blues variation, Dog, Halloween, Halloween Dog?, Jackson Blues, Laurie Richards, major vs. minor, minor chords, minor keys, Minuet in G, new variation, Nightmares, sleeping, Spooky Jackson, Spooky Minuet, variation, variations