improvising

I have a student in her 70’s who is working on Walk at Eleven. We have been over all the clues many times (C to A to D to G, focusing on the notes a half step above or a half step below, etc.); despite…

• Last updated 1 year ago
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How would you explain to 12-14 year old kids why learning to improvise and compose songs is part of the simply music program? How does it help them learn to play songs, if that is their goal? Do you have the Tune Toolkit Program? The…

• Last updated 2 years ago
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I am going deeper into “scale” with my more advanced students in the Development Levels and in Accompaniment 2. Having come from a very extensive classical musical training, I understand scale, key signature, and advanced theory. However, a student has asked me, and I ask…

• Last updated 3 years ago
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Since my email last night regarding the “Swim Coach” reference to teaching students who play better than you do, I’ve had a couple of emails asking about what exactly “Self-Generating” or “generative” teaching or learning is. What it means, in a nutshell, is the ability…

• Last updated 3 years ago
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I recently had a recital in conjunction with another teacher and it was very successful. It was a noisy afternoon but lots of fun. All students played a piece of their choice. Then we had some accompaniment peices with words for everyone to join in.…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• C&I, chord games, comp & improv, comp and improv, comp/improv, concert, games, improv, improvisation, improvising, musical games, open stage, performance, playing duet at recital, recital

MAC aka Music and Creativity PRogram: I love the extra projects and also Neils’s videos and seems there is a lot that is not part of F1 in MAC. Wondering if it woudl be a consideration to use MAC as a start to lessons (instead…

• Last updated 2 years ago
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Below is an email from a parent. Any advice on strategies I could suggest? This student has been with me for about 6 months. He is in first grade and is moving through Foundation pieces at a just-under-average pace. I have noticed memory is an…

• Last updated 2 years ago
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Visiting a teacher’s lesson recently, Neil Moore was asked by one of the students, to say more about the importance of improvisation. Here’s his response. Importance of Improvisation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgLauBzhxTc&list=PL3o0aF_9qHn4F2sy8QRuPb_jf_r4D9823&index=13 Original video posted May 11, 2020

• Last updated 2 years ago
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When you teach projects from Tune Toolkit, are you assigning them as improv projects or composition projects? Do you have the students come back and play something or report on what they did? How do you keep accountability that they are trying the projects? In…

• Last updated 4 years ago
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I would love to start a conversation about how we might use the MAC soundtracks with our students. Some of the tracks might need some more background or learning to understand their use, but I think others could be used by most of our students…

• Last updated 4 years ago
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