Curriculum
Visual Descriptions of Chords
I just had to share this nice moment from one of my lessons. I recently showed the CAGE chord to one of my students, a young boy. I had him hold his hand on the chord (the one chord) and encouraged him to find a…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- chords, description of chord shapes
A Dialogue on Being “Rhythmically Challenged”
Recently, a general question was asked, and in the email the words “rhythmically challenged” were used as a metaphor. It prompted an email exchange that is worth reading. I have provided a digest below. Kind regards, “… I would like to hear from the experienced…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- coordination, musicality, profoundly musical, rhythmically challenged
Finger Positions
When describing finger positions, is the octave below middle c described as low c, low d, etc? Is the next octave bass c, bass d, etc? Or do I have that backwards? I believe the octave below middle C is bass C, and then further…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- C position on piano, finger positions
Depth vs. Breadth Analogies
I have a question on how to explain depth vs. breadth to my students. I want to encourage them to practice all of the streams every week, even if I don’t necessarily have time to cover it in class, but I want to explain why…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- analogies, depth vs. breadth in knowledge
Teaching Foundation Levels and Streams
I recently received materials on Accompaniment, Accompaniment variations and Reading Rhythm, and found all of them very good. Actually, my adult (recent retiree) was so excited when with CFG set she could play several familiar Christmas songs almost at once, “Can you believe it, the…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- foundation, Robin Keehn, streams
Playing with Expression
I have a student who is playing all of the right notes for her songs, but is lacking in musical expression of those songs. For example, she plays a “lullaby” type song the same way she plays the blues. And it sounds really good on…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- playing with expression, uneven rhythm
Developing Expression
Sheri emailed me about how I develop musicality with my students. She said, “I haven’t worked much formally with my students in expressing the musicality of pieces. I wonder if you could share with me some of what you do to formally train the musicality.…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- expression, musicality
Year-round Lyric Writing
I personally have experienced the power of a casual question, like “Did you write any music this week?” Last week one of my students casually asked me, “Are we going to have any songs for Halloween?” When I started looking for songs, I didn’t come…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- writing lyrics
Capitalizing on Self-generative Opportunities
I was looking forward to trying out the alternate lyrics (Star Spangled Banner) in lessons this week, because I had so much fun singing them. To my surprise it fell rather flat. One of the adult students found the lyrics amusing, and would have enjoyed…
- Last updated 10 years ago
- national anthems, Neil Moore, self generative, writing lyrics
Reply To: Getting the most out of reverse engineering
I am just covering my bases/honesty here – I just had a student inform me via email that she only enjoys learning the video-supported material and wonders if I can teach her only this or if I know a teacher who teaches only the SHM…
- Last updated 9 years ago
- adult students, arrangements, claiming territory, complete curriculum, foundation, Laurie Richards