Simpedia

Robin Keehn, Washington

I posted this to Simpedia recently. I’ve added some thoughts to the email… and answered some other reading related questions here, too!

With regard to reading, first we teach students to read rhythm. They begin by feeling the beat by walking. We feel singles, doubles and quads. We walk it, clap it, and vocalize it. We identify singles, doubles and quads on the written page. We clap the steady beat while we vocalize the rhythm, usually with the sounds of “bum” or” bah.” There are pages of rhythm patterns that students read and the goal is accuracy and then speed. At the same time, we do transcription exercises. Students learn to listen to a measure as I clap and vocalize it and then they repeat it back and write it down. They learn all the note values including ties, dotted notes and rests. Eventually we do count, but delaying the counting allows it to be felt rather than all about math.

Reading rhythm takes anywhere from three to five months to accomplish. Mastery is the goal but of course, that takes time.

Reading Notes is introduced near the end or after Rhythm. We start by seeing that intervals are just distances. We see them in our hands–across our fingers. We reinterpret Night Storm, Dreams, Ode, Dog, Min in G, etc as intervals. We learn to work accurately and quickly. We move to the page where students learn to quickly identify 2nds, 3rds, 4ths and 5ths. They learn to read “streams” of intervals both away from and at the piano and transcribe them.

Once that is clearly understood and processed, we introduce the idea of location points and learn to read intervals from those location points. We are routinely reading everywhere–including all ledger lines. There are some songs that they know in the Reading Notes book but they are written an octave or two above where they were originally played.

Students also learn to read chords as intervals. They learn more about scale in Reading Notes. That is another topic but it is introduced more formally in Reading Notes and Time for More Music.

My experience is that students become very solid readers who are able to figure anything out.  A lot depends on the attitude of the teacher, but in my studio I keep it fun and exciting. We look at music as a puzzle to be worked out. I love reading with my students and because they are in groups, they contribute to each other’s learning.

Some other questions and answers:

Q: How long should it take to go through Reading Rhythm? Do your students master it before moving to Reading Notes?

When we start RR, I tell my students that reading takes practice and RR always is more challenging than reading notes because there are an infinite number of rhythm patterns and a finite number of notes.

With that in mind, I move through RR at a pretty good clip. I make sure that I do it EVERY week….I never skip a week or forget to do it even if that means I just review something and give them a specific project to do at home that week. It usually takes me three to four months. I want to make sure I’ve set it up properly and that they are capable of keeping the steady beat with their hands while vocalizing the rhythms. I want them to be fairly quick and completely accurate. I give them writing projects every week in class (one student speaks and/or claps the rhythm while I keep the steady beat and the other students clap back and then transcribe).

I think that dotted notes and ties are usually where students experience the first slowing of the process. I have done two things that seem to help. For ties, we SAY what we are doing such as, “Play, play, hold” or “Play, play, don’t play.” It could also be, “Clap, clap, hold.” Of course we look at what Neil has laid out for us to see that a tie makes a note longer.

For dotted notes, I start by telling them that a dotted quarter note simply says, “One and two.” That’s it. We start there and later we discover that a dotted quarter is followed by an eighth note or two sixteenth notes or a rest of that value. I keep it as simple as possible. I don’t get into big discussions and I don’t ask how they see it.

Rests seem to be very simple for students.

Mastery of reading rhythm takes practice and practicing with written music is the most rewarding way to do it. So, I know that as long as students understand all the elements in RR, we can move forward.

Q: How would you incorporate the new Read ‘n Play materials from Laurie Richards?

The Read ‘n Play materials are wonderful because they are tangible and the assignments reinforce the concepts. For many students, projects that can be assigned and checked provide structure and they feel that they have accomplished something. I would definitely use the workbook.

Q: When do you have students begin transcribing rhythm?

I follow the steps as outlined in RR. We walk the beat. We get the singles, doubles and quads in our fingers. We process that at the piano. That is what I call, “The Setup.” Once we’ve done that, we start with Masters of the Rhythm. I keep the steady beat and students need to be able to clap the rhythm AND to vocalize the rhythm (using a syllable like “bam.” Be sure to have a consonant at the end of the sound. Students need to close each sound off for accuracy.

Q: When do you have students write their own rhythms?

I have them start once they’ve begun transcribing. We’ll do it in class to begin with. I’ll say, “Please write a cycle of four using just singles.” I add the other elements as I see that they understand. I always want students to experience a success so I start slowly so that they are not overwhelmed.

Q: Does Neil say to keep the beat and voice the rhythm?

Honestly, I’d have to go and listen to the TTMs again to see when he says that. I have always kept a steady beat under the rhythm. There has to be that underlying beat to help students experience the cycles of three and four.

Q: With regard to Reading Notes, is scale introduced?

Scale IS introduced at the end of Reading Notes when we talk about the flats and sharps and teach students the four flats are BEAD and the sharps are FCGD. I take this opportunity to say that if there is only one flat, is it ALWAY B, two are always B and E. That opens up showing students the scale journey–what shape the key with one flat looks like on the piano. You could do more if you wanted to. I introduce the concept here and then apply it in Time for More Music.

Finally, my goal is to complete RR and RN in the same year. The longer I drag it out, the harder it is for students to be excited about the process. I have to be diligent about making it a priority in class-right after the Foundation piece I am teaching. If I can move faster, I certainly will given that students are solid.

My first year of teaching Reading, it really did feel like we were passing through the eye of the needle. We took so long that students lost interest, felt frustrated and thought they’d never come out the other side. I learned a lot. I realized I needed to prioritize Reading, work on it every week and hold students to practicing it at home. I also tell them that 5-10 minutes in class will not get them there–they have to practice at home. I also tell them that reading takes lots of practice and that I still practice my reading.

Time for More Music is where this all starts to come together. You want your students to apply all those learning tools and strategies to the written page. It is very exciting when they see the music holistically instead of disconnected notes on the page. We can talk about this, too if it would help.