Foundation Songs

I’m having some issues with some students that want to move ‘faster’. There’s a lot we’re trying to fit in during a lesson, but for some students it doesn’t feel like enough, at least according to them. Usually with these students, the playlist suffers. Just…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• arrangements, Foundation songs, Gordon Harvey, impatience, Laurie Richards, motivation, pace of teaching, pacing, students moving ahead

How do you teach the fingering for the first three of the 9 Es, 5-5-1 vs 5-1-2 vs any other options? I see that Neil uses 5-5-1. As a child I learned 5-1-2. I’d love to hear thoughts about the pros and cons of these…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• 9 Es, F2, fingering, Fur Elise, level 2, nine Es

My student has a question for Neil! The last chord of Home is driving her crazy. She wants to know if you intentionally left it as a “cliff hanger” (her words!). We had an extended conversation about the possible significance (or irony) of ending with…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• F6, Home, Home ending, Laurie Richards, Level 6, Neil Moore

I’m in the process of learning Shoo Fly in Level 5. The teacher training video mentions grace notes when demonstrating the right hand, and suggests teaching students later, but I can’t find when/how the grace notes are introduced later. I’d love any help you could…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• F5, Foundation 5, grace notes, Laurie Richards, Level 5, shoo-fly, variations

I’d like to hear people’s strategies for stretching out the teaching of Foundation songs starting in about Level 4 beyond the obvious tactic of taking 2-5 or so weeks to learn the entire songs. I’m accustomed to teaching songs at this level and beyond over…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• F4, Foundation 4, Laurie Richards, managing expectations, pacing, playlist review, streams, Teacher Workshop Series, TWS

Regarding Night Storm in F1, I cannot find even a mention of the “alternate” tailpiece lyrics (snuggle up real tight) which are shown in parentheses just below “listen to the night.” It suddenly occurred to me that no one ever talks about it? Is it…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• alternate ending, arrangement, ending, F1, foundation 1, lyrics, Neil Moore, Night Storm

I seem to be having increasing numbers of students struggling to put Night Storm together in the correct order between the lesson at which it teach it and the next lesson. Have other had this problem, and what’s your strategy to overcome it? I watched…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• F1, foundation 1, lyrics, Night Storm, order, singing while playing

I seem to be having increasing numbers of students struggling to put Night Storm together in the correct order between the lesson at which I teach it and the next lesson. I’ve had people coming back who play the whole first section 2 times and…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• Night Storm, trouble with hands together

Using Chester Chills Out as an ongoing warm up exercise is appealing to me. One advantage is keeping the song alive over a long period of time. It can be played fast/slow, white/black notes. After level one, the next step is to take the advancing…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• Chester, transpose, warmup

I have a blind, autistic adult student who lives in a group home and goes home on weekends. She plays the piano every day and up until about a month ago, I assumed that someone was with her when she practiced, that there was someone…

• Last updated 10 years ago
• autistic student, blind student, no life coach, Star Spangled Banner