Rhythm Difficulty
Found in: Practicing & Playlists
Shari G., Colorado
I have a student that has a difficult time keeping a beat. She is 6, has been with me since September is almost through Level 1. Week to week she can follow through with my corrections and suggestions for her songs but then loses them in the following weeks. These are her particular struggles. Perhaps you might have new ways of dealing with these issues that I have never tried.
- has trouble keeping track of where she is on the page when reading Amazing Grace
- practices too fast at home
- has a hard time keeping a song at a consistent tempo
I know she will get the most help from mom at home helping her practice correctly. If she practices correctly it will stick. I know this is the biggest problem. I thought she was getting that help at home but she really seems to need it for every song, all the time for us to get anywhere.
Her mom says she does not always hear the problems at home when she listens. When I exaggerate the problem in the lesson to explain what she needs to change the mom then hears it but she tells me she often thinks a song sounds great when I then point out a problem with it.
Any ideas you have are appreciated. We are re-working all the songs at this point. How do I approach this without boring her and discouraging her. She really needs some new material but I don’t want to work on variations when she does not even do the basic song correctly yet. She is such a great girl, I don’t want her to give up.
Georgia H., Western Australia
Over the last few years I have had a lot of 6 year olds students starting lessons. I teach group classes now and only have 2 or 3 in a lesson.
When I conduct the FIS I always STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT THE PARENT LEARN LEVEL 1 as well. With students so young, they need a lot more help at home, so if the parent is also learning, they understand the process much better and are able to help at home more effectively. I don’t work with the parent at the piano, but have them doing the patterns on their lap and keypad along with their children. I have everyone come up to the piano as everyone goes through it.
One thing I insist on is having them LISTEN TO THE AUDIO RECORDING as much as possible. I point out that they don’t even have to actively listen to it to get to know the pieces, just having it on in the background helps them learn. It’s like listening to the radio and humming along to a tune you didn’t know you knew. A lot of my students say they listen to it in the car or before they go to bed. I do have to remind them, especially when the rhythm needs work.
One thing to remember here is that it is important to get WHAT to play first and HOW to play it second. If they have already heard the song, the rhythm comes easier. Clapping the rhythm out may also help as well as using the words. Once they have the what to play, have them PLAY ALONG WITH THE AUDIO RECORDING.
Sheri R., California
Is she able to sing the songs in tempo? If not, you might want to tell her to start listening to the cd a lot and even singing along. And even if she can sing it still might be a good idea to have her listen more. I always ask my students to listen to the cd before they learn a song, (which they don’t always do) but since emphasizing listening to Alma Mater more than I used to it seems to come back much more often with the intended swing rhythm.
I do a lot of duets in lessons so students know they have to keep a steady beat with someone else. She may not be able to do that but it may also help her to get in sync. We always go slower than they might go were they playing solo and the other kids in the lesson keep the beat by banging on things or clapping. If she is in private lessons you might want to try that with her.
For Amazing Grace maybe just have her practice one line a week until it’s easier for her to follow along.
For practicing too fast as home, try some of Laurie Richard’s recently posted games! They sound fantastic! Also, I tell parents if they tell their kids to slow down they usually think they are but merely just start playing softer. I tell them to actually sing a much slower beat or if they know the song to play it very slowly–it’s easier for the kids to replicate then.
As far as consistent tempo I notice often students gradually get faster and faster as they get to the end. I guess I wouldn’t worry as much about that for now since she has other areas that seem more important. If she can sing her songs well, see if she can sing and play at the same time. That might help too.
I think you can teach her some of the arrangements that don’t really need mastery of the original song to process. For example, Dreams Arr. 1 and Night Arr. 1. I think I would progress to Level 2 and keep working her Level 1 songs, maybe focusing on one at a time until it starts coming together. Maybe have her sing while playing the LH of some of the songs before hands together.
Sometimes kids know the what to do but the how is more elusive. I would keep giving new material, maybe a little slower though, and try some ideas for the how on the Level 1 songs and I think eventually things will start to come together more for her.
Marilyn V., Iowa
I have found it helpful to encourage students to listen to the audio recording and then play the song. Even if they are not able to play along with the cd, they still get the benefit of listening to the song correctly before recreating the song. Sometimes, there may be a slight problem in a song and, after listening to the audio recording the student is able to identify and correct the problem.
You may also want to do some basic rhythm awareness in class by engaging in clapping hands, stomping feet, tapping rhythm sticks, whatever along to recorded music. Kindermusik uses this extensively to help children hook up with their steady internal beat.