Curriculum

I have a 12 year old girl in level 2 that has really been struggling with rhythms. When I brought up a metronome as an idea to help her get a feel, she said it was a disaster when she tried it with her traditional…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• challenges, clapping, games, hythm, isolating rhythm, Playlist, reading rhythm, tapping

I have a student that seems to have rhythmic issues. He is working really hard and has made huge progress but still seems to have a little trouble hearing and processing some of the rhythms. His mom is making him use a metronome at home…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• Audio recordings, beat, consistency, duets, Foundation Duets and Variations, internalizing beat, metronome, physical beat, rhythm, Robin Keehn

This is a great topic, and applying the SM strategies is a skill that does take lots of practice.  Below is what I have called a ‘decoding sheet’ which I put together to help remember the steps to take while developing the skill to take…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• air piano, cross pollinating, external speaker, generative learning, how to play, mapping, strategies, Time for More Music, what to play

Got a call from someone who has a masters in Composition, knows how to read sheet music, knows chords, and is looking especially for improvisational freedom in playing. She feels she composes in her head, not her hands, and she wants to get more “in…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• adult students, composition, experienced players, foundation 1, improvisation, playing-based tools, students with prior experience

I have noticed with a number of my students that when they have first learned a song, they play it well; i.e. clean, mistake-free, musical, etc. Then when it becomes a part of the playlist and they play it repeatedly over a period of time…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• claiming territory, cross pollination, playing deteriorating, recording pieces

Could I have some advice on how and when to introduce the pedal correctly with my students? It’s a potentially contentious issue, but my view is that whereas traditionally the default status of the pedal is usually ‘off’, I suggest reinventing the default position as…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• Dreams Come True, Neil Moore, pedal use

I also started teaching last fall. Another teacher in my area (Dixie Cramer) had a great idea that I have been using. As the students start to get anxious to learn how to read notes, she gives them a list of things they have to…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• accompaniment, Amazing Grace, Greensleeves, Honey Dew, pedal, Pedal Workshop, rainbow pedaling, The Pipes

This is my eighth week of teaching Simply Music and I have been asking students to start holding down the pedal with Night Storm, as this is what I understood Neil to indicate. I have read through everything in the Forums on the pedal as…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• accompaniment, Gordon Harvey, pedal, pedal recording, teacher workshop

In response to a question regarding the purpose of the pedals on a piano. The pedals serve these functions: Right pedal is of course the sustain pedal. On a baby grand, the left pedal (or the ‘soft’ pedal) actually shifts the entire ‘action’ mechanism (the…

• Last updated 12 years ago
• bass sustain pedal, Leon Moore, pedal, sostenuto pedal

I’m wondering when other teachers are introducing overlapping pedal technique with the right (damper) pedal. I know this can vary from student to student and tends to be age related. My teen students tend to grasp the concept quickly, but I find it seems to…

• Last updated 9 years ago
• accompaniment, Amazing Grace, Dreams Arrangement, Honey Dew, I’ll Be There, Night Storm, pedal, Pedal Workshop, rainbow pedaling, self expression, technique