Curriculum

Any suggestions how to get a 7-year-old to sloooooow down in his playing? Initially he was slow because of weak and small hands and lack of motor skills, but now his hands are stronger and he has also listened to a lot of fast rock…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• duets, fast playing, getting student to slow down, playing too fast, singing, slowing down

I’m curious to know if any other teachers incorporate any ear training into their lessons. I’m thinking about doing some chord quality quizzes as we learn all the different types, or maybe at the end as part of a final review. I remember doing this…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• accompaniment, comp & improv, ear training, intervals, Laurie Richards, natural musicality, playing by ear, playing-based

I am preparing to teach Church Song for the second time. I’m finding it a little challenging for my student to get the rhythm right. I have just watched the teacher training video and noticed that Neil made no mention about the rhythm, but the…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• Church Song, Church Song rhythm, clapping, F7, Foundation 7, Gordon Harvey, Laurie Richards, listening to audio recordings, using music book

One of my best students (a 12-year-old home schooled girl who gladly plays for at least an hour every day, always has her Playlist current as well as an arrangement or her own variation to share each week) had been a bit reluctant to begin…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• breaking down barriers, Gordon Harvey, reading, reading notes, reluctant to read, small doses

Some students recently pointed out that the Songs for Children (SFC) book online is different than my older, printed book. The new version only writes the chord when it changes–so if you’re meant to play C several times in a row, it only appears written…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• accompaniment, bingo, Elizabeth Gaikwad, SFC, SFE, songs for children, Songs for Everyone, transposing, transposition

I’ve been trying to learn Dreams 1 (aka Family Dreams) so that I can teach it. I have had the dickens of a time trying to figure this out with just the audio. I realize that this is to force us to learn a way…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• arrangements, dreams 1, Dreams Arrangement, Family Dreams, Gordon Harvey, Teacher Workshop Series, Teaching Arrangements, TWS, using music in learning arrangements

Is there a list somewhere of the names of Arrangements that is different from the numbering of the Arrangements? For example, Dreams Come True 1 is named Family Dreams. I’m specifically looking for a name for I’ll Be There 3.   I’ll Be Here and…

• Last updated 8 years ago
• arrangements, Gordon Harvey, I’ll Be There, playlist management, supplemental programs

I have a private student, an adult with no previous piano lessons of any kind, who is learning even a lot faster than what I am used to seeing. As an artist, she also loves improvising. I teach her one of the F1 songs and…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• controlling the events, CTE, dynamics, fast moving student, playing too fast, practicing slowly, slowing down

When are dynamics introduced? By the end of Level 1 I’m having students work through “how to play” songs they know pretty well. We discuss telling the story of each song with expression. I think it is a conversation you can start having in context…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• adding expression, dynamics, expression, how to play

When does the circle of fifths get introduced? How do you introduce/use this concept as a teaching tool? I don’t think it’s in the curriculum. But when introducing key signatures, I introduce it. In Accompaniment 2 there is a fantastic diagram/shortcut explaining how many sharps…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• circle of 5ths, circle of fifths, Gordon Harvey, key signature, scale maps