Simpedia

Ian M., Indiana

I think this can happen with just about any student – a momentary lapse in attention might grow into something bigger, or possibly something that should be practiced gets left out inadvertently for two or three weeks in a row.

There are two things I’d do if I were you. First, with something like “counting from C to get to G”, for instance, simply stop them right in the middle of it – even putting your hand on theirs to freeze their thought process – and point out, matter-of-factly, what it looks like they’re doing. They may have a slightly different explanation of what’s going on, and it’s fine to get their side of it. Then you show them a playing-based way of achieving the same result.

So for getting from C to G, one of two ways – either they’re playing the two outside notes on C and G already, in which case no counting is necessary because they just move finger 1 to where finger 5 was (for the RH, or opposite for LH), or they’re NOT in that position to start with, in which case you have them describe what G looks like, and what you’re looking for is some variation that will let them recognize it instantly, such as “it’s the first white note above the bottom black note in a group of three black notes”.

Second, I’ve come to believe that it’s very important to let your students know “I want you to be able to do THIS” – because sometimes just showing somebody something doesn’t get that message across, and this is especially true with the kind of situation you’re describing. You think something is obvious and you come to find out that they don’t see it as obvious. E.g: “I want you to be able to go from a C chord to a G chord immediately, without thinking about it. Playing the blues pieces will help you with this, as will playing “Amazing Grace”.

In the end, this kind of “gap-filling” is something that almost every SM teacher goes through at some point (in my opinion). It’s nothing to panic about; it may even be an opportunity to point out that you’re learning what to do and how to do it in terms of teaching, and some of what you learn comes directly from your students.

Heidi M., Canada

They actually have no problem changing chords from C to G. It’s locating the notes (especially G) outside the context of a particular song.

Ian M., Indiana

I think it’s early to expect them to be able to find specific notes outside the context of a song. What you might do if you want to strengthen their ability to do that is to give them an exercise that contextualizes what you want – coaching them, in effect, to utilize the playing-based skills to hear the instruction you’ve given and cross-pollinate by referring to a song they know.

To put it in a more theoretical way – referring not to music theory, but the way Simply Music is taught – finding a note outside the context of a song is really not a playing-based activity. And so to me, it’s not surprising at all that they can go from chord to chord with ease, but finding a particular note is more challenging. At one level, Simply Music is all about creating the context in which the instructions become obvious.

In my experience, students learn this naturally, on their own, with no intervention from the teacher, over the course of the first year or so. In my opinion, there is absolutely no need to rush the process so that it occurs in a certain time frame (e.g. by the end of Foundation 1 or whatever). To answer your specific question, I’m pretty sure it is not a goal, or at least not a goal with a hard and fast time frame.

All of my students are comfortable doing this (identifying individual notes on the piano, not via reading) by the end of the first year, but I never ask them about it or test them on it – I simply note to myself that their competence is developing. If I were to note that it was not developing, I would come up with a way to address it at that point.

Leeanne I., Australia

Try playing games to find the notes. You can just use popsicle sticks, write the note names on them, draw a stick out, then play the note. Keep going until you have played all the notes. The fastest time wins.

Stephen R., California

I actually see this often and it makes me realize that I have work to do with some of my students. I have been teaching SM going on 6 years now and I still have students mixing up B and Bb chords. I’m going to make note which students are doing this and we are going to work on it! The information just wasn’t solidified and internalized enough in the beginning.

The reality is that it’s more fun for students to play songs and keep their playlist alive, than memorizing notes and chords. In fact, when you really think about it, the Foundation is the easy part of the program because those are songs with ample support (video/audio). All the other Special programs are really where students grow and develop as musicians, and this can be challenging for them. Developing comfort with notes, chords, scales, the keyboard, reading, technique, self-generation, and theory, happens over time. We have to meet students where they’re at and help them to assimilate and acquire the knowledge as developing musicians, because we know it’s all important in the long run!

Leeanne I., Australia

The white notes names are part of The Basics, even though we are using songs to help remember where they are on the keyboard. I want my students to know them pretty well by the time we get to Bishop Street Blues and start learning the black note names. If they can’t find a B note, how can I expect them to find a B flat quickly?

Heidi M., Canada

This is one reason I hope they can easily find all the white notes (know what they are called/where they are on the keyboard) so it is easier for them to easily find how to play a basic triad chord as in the Accompaniment 1 program which I start near the end of F1 in most cases. This will make (for example) Amazing Grace and Auld Lang Syne in D and E easier.

I do simple things like “F” is to the left of 3 black notes and D is between 2 black notes (like the hot dog between two hot dog buns) and also sometimes a story.

Laurie Richards, Nebraska

I’m going to offer a few slightly different perspectives. I’ve noticed the same thing over the years – students all of a sudden ‘forgetting’ a chord shape that they’ve been pretty solid on. It also happens fairly consistently with black-on-bottom chords. Also confusing the terms ‘flat’ and ‘minor’ is very common.

I really believe that it is not a matter of not ‘knowing’ the chord shapes well enough (assuming they were solid previously of course). Rather, it’s putting something known in a new context that mixes them up a bit. I’ve seen students play beautifully through Danny Boy (either key), then encounter one of those chords in a fake book and not know what to do. It might seem obvious to you and me, but it’s almost like the brain ‘knows’ Eb only in the context of Danny Boy.

I think it is related to Neil’s analogy of ‘file folders’ in the brain – the brain creates ‘file folders’ for particular experiences. It notices ALL sensory information related to that experience and stores it in that file folder. So when a student practices REALLY hard for t performance, playing a song over and over and over on their piano at home, then inexplicably struggles with it in the performance, it’s partly because the brain is recognizing the song being played, but almost nothing else matches up with the “Playing Lullaby on the Piano” file folder – sounds, smells, peripheral vision, feel of the piano, size of the room, etc.

I think when students struggle with the chords, it’s similar to that. They have played C, F, and G chords in several songs, but now you’re adding shapes and including other chords, and it looks different, and their brains just aren’t making the connection yet. They just need to get accustomed to the new context of thinking in terms of shapes. It works itself out fairly quickly with simple reminders while the brain adds to the old file folder or creates a new one.

Re: finding individual notes on the keyboard, personally I don’t like to spend time drilling this. It’s one more thing to process. I have found that the Accompaniment program tends to speed this process along naturally because they are always having to find the bottom note of the chords.

I do, though, have them always on the lookout for clues to help with transitions between chords – always and forever, as long as they have Accompaniment projects. So, going from C to G = the top note of C becomes the bottom note of G (if they are moving up, not down). I tend to have them move DOWN to G in Accompaniment so the RH chords don’t go into ‘chipmunk land’, so for the student they may notice the top note ends up right next to C. Either way, I think it is helping the brain to internalize note names.

Having said that, I do occasionally drill flats and sharps to keep the CONCEPT fresh.

Joanne D., Australia

I use flash cards in a round robin at the piano so it’s a fast fun game (using the appropriate letters for their stage) – finding just the letter names and other times the chords that belong to the letter names. I have found that students struggle sometimes with the bottom note of the chords; if I ask for B flat sometimes the play a B, etc. I mention it’s the thumb that goes on the letter name or name of the chord but I’ve found it helpful just to review the notes from time to time and then go over chords too. I teach only small groups and privates, so it doesn’t take much time and with two running around a piano stool, it can be quite fast and fun!