Curriculum
Outside reading projects
As your students get in the upper foundation levels, what reading projects do you like to give? Are there certain books that you found to be appropriate, or specific pieces? Just to get things started I use 60 Progressive Pieces You Love to Play (Hal…
Hand position on blues chords
A student asked me if it is okay for her to pull her hand back a bit when switching between chords. She’s learning Alma Mater Blues. Is this a technique no-no, or is it okay? This is on CAGE chords and also on the shift…
Danny Boy – last piece in Accompaniment 1
Could someone advise me how to easily transition into the last piece in Accompaniment Level 1 — with all the new chords? Do you suggest doing different exercises to process the augmented, diminished, 11th, and 13th chords — all new chords — before moving to…
Canon in D
Foundation 7 has Canon in D, but not the fast part? Do we add the fast part in Foundation 8/9? No. It would be an opportunity for a student who wanted to learn the rest to do so in Development Levels as an additional project.…
Accompaniment 2 exercises 3, 4, 5
Accompaniment 2 rhythm tracks (pages 6-7, exercises 3, 4, 5): After your students go through these exercises, do you have some favorite songs you can use to generalize these skills? I try this with some of my lead sheets and haven’t been able to find…
Adult student resistant to comp & improv
Any advice for an adult student who is extremely resistant to comp and improv? She hates improv every time I bring it up and stomps her feet. She does it reluctantly, though. She is also showing resistance to arrangements and is practically hitting a wall…
Fur Elise Level 7 LH fingering on repeated notes
Regarding LH fingering in Fur Elise Level 7: I recall a training session with Nancy Reese in which she advised against using the 3 2 1 fingering. But I don’t fully trust my memory and I don’t remember enough about why. I’m about to teach…
Accompaniment Variations 23 & 24
Any advice on Accompaniment Variations 23 and 24 (pivot runs) which are applied to chord inversions? This isn’t presented until Accompaniment 2, so should we come back to these later? I think you just teach the pattern without explaining. I usually just say C chord…
Order of teaching Fur Elise sections
Any reason why the C section of Fur Elise is learned before the B section? Is the B section really more difficult? The third part (Level 7) is more pattern-based. The fourth (Level 9), which is technically the third, is a little more complicated. The…
Student is learning Fur Elise from keyboard with incorrect fingering
I’m teaching Fur Elise to a group of boys in Foundation 1. One came in today talking about his keyboard: “It has all of Fur Elise. It’s a really long song! We’re only learning a little bit of it”. Apparently it has lights or sounds…