Simpedia

Carrie L., Michigan

What I do in a typical lesson is have them start out with one song they know and want to play. Then I do the newest material, then I go over new material, then I review old material and then I do the new one more time, write things down and go from there.

I teach typically 2 in a lesson of 30 minutes and find that sometimes that seems too long.  It can be done for sure.

I believe Neil talks about us being the ‘method’ coach and then they have to do the work at home.

Debbie V., Oklahoma

When this came up before someone suggested writing the song names on popsicle sticks and letting the kids pick 1 or 2 each week for warm up and review. I do this most weeks and everyone plays whatever they pick & I ask if anyone has any questions. If not we move on.  I always have the harder songs in the cup more often.

When the Reading Rhythm and Notes is done we only review this once a month, but I spend about 15 minutes on it. I also get parents to work on this at least 1 time per week. The same with Accompaniment. They are usually working on a piece, but I don’t hear it every week. Once a month we spend about 15 minutes listening &/or selecting new songs. I also have 3 keyboards available for my groups so I will unplug head phones and let everyone play a song together. This can be fun and interesting and a special lesson in itself. Staying together is a challenge at first, but after a few times my clapped speed usually works out. (Have everyone play a different blues song together! What fun!)

When I run out of time I delete something from the plan but I try not to delete the same thing frequently.

Laurie Richards, Nebraska

I think that is an issue that we all confront, and it has a way of shaping our teaching style. Here are a few thoughts on getting through everything.

It is easy to feel like we need to hear the “proof” that everything we have just taught is completely there for the students. That’s what we are accustomed to in a private lesson environment.  What I have had to do is let go a little and “trust the process”, if you will. Students are still accountable for the material, but there just is not time to hear everything from every student every week.

For example, when reviewing last week’s assignment, I may randomly choose one student to play through it, then ask if anyone has any issues with it that we need to review. If so, we spend a few minutes on it, but if not, we move on.

When students are playing through playlist pieces, you don’t have to hear the entire song. Just enough to let you know they’ve got it. I will stop them in the middle and say something like “okay, that’s great, I’m convinced!” and move on to the next student.

When teaching a segment of a new song, I may have them process it on the Practice Pads, then have 1 or 2 try it on the piano, but not all of them. I remind them that they have all week at home to process it, and the video to help them should they forget.  We may or may not move on to the next section.

Also, I’ve finally realized I don’t HAVE to teach a song in its entirety just because we started it. Sometimes we learn Section A, then move right on to Accompaniment or Rhythm, or an Arrangement.

I don’t get to everything every week. Some weeks we don’t get to Accomp., so I make sure to do that first the following week. Or, if a group seems to be really slacking off on their Playlist, I have spent an entire lesson just reviewing that and trying to help troubleshoot what the issue is.

I have a student just finishing up Level 6 and about halfway through Time for Music, so he has Foundation, Accomp, Rhythm, Notes, and TFM. There’s no way to cover it all in any one lesson. The Rhythm and Notes we just do some transcribing and writing and reviewing now and then, since he has completed them but I don’t want to drop them. Here’s what his lessons might typically be like:

Week 1: Gaz RH descent; select new accomp. piece & look for any chords we might need to review; 3 Playlist Pieces; MOR

Week 2: Gaz RH ascent; play thru accom. piece; start new TFM piece (go thru initial process together)

Week 3: Gaz tailpiece; review TFM piece, transcribe notes, 2 or 3 Playlist pieces

Well, that was rather long-winded. I hope it helps a little. I am very interested in other teachers’ approaches as well.

Steven H., Alaska

I think this is one of the most exciting differences between SM and traditional methods. There will be so much more happening in an SM piano lesson than you would ever expect to see in any other music learning environment.

For me, the time management problem came up as it did for you: most of the programs, with the exception of the Foundation Program, were not getting the time and attention necessary to achieve success. There needs to be a methodical follow-up for every learning element that is introduced – from Arrangements and Accompaniment to Reading and Writing.

Let me simply tell you what a lesson might look like for one of my more advanced students. (Let’s say Level 6 in the Foundation Program)

We will begin with Composition and Improvisation. (C&I is introduced as soon as students can play Dreams Come True.) “Did you write a song?”… “Lets improvise on the chords Am and G.”… I will demonstrate if necessary. (I love this part of the lesson!)

We then move on to the Playlist, from which students will play a randomly selected song.

Thirdly we will look at everyone’s current Accompaniment Project – every student will have their own music that they have brought in, and though I may not have each of them play his or her song, I answer any questions that they have. …”How do you play this chord?” etc.

We then move to the Reading Program. We play the Masters of Rhythm game, do some transcribing (I clap or play, and they write it down), and then I assign some writing homework.

Finally we end with learning a new song, or a part of one, or an arrangement or a variation of a song. Since I started organizing my lessons this way, my students have loved it!

I found that I was moving my students far too quickly through the program. I have organized it so that every project is worth a week, whether it be foundational, accompaniment, arrangement, or whatever. Even though students move at different paces, it helps me not let teaching fall through the cracks. Students will lose what I taught them if I forget to follow up on it, and I can’t afford to have that happen.

I wrote up for myself a set of “Lesson plans” in which I organized the introduction and weekly follow up of each of the programs, and I’m sure as I become more experienced I will improve it.  The students love it when they know what’s going to happen in the lesson. I have a long way to go, as my integration of programs into my teaching is dependent on my purchasing and learning the material myself.

Here is the order in which I teach the early SM projects. When I put them in this order it gives me a better picture of the pace at which to move – thinking one project a week. It is best to teach several projects simultaneously, I think, but spread out over whatever time it takes the students to learn them.

(Foundation)
1. Dreams Come True
2. Night Storm
(Variations begin here)
3. DCT variation
4. Jackson Blues
5. Honey Dew
(Arrangements begin here)
6. DCT 1
7. Chester Chills Out
8. Jackson Bl.1
9. DCT 1b (chords in L H)
10. Bishop St. Blues
11. NS arr. 1
12. Ode to Joy
13. DCT 2
14. Honey Dew 1
15. Amazing Grace
16. Alma Mater Blues
17. Night Storm 2
18. Fur Elise
19. Honey Dew 2
20. Night Storm 3
21. I’ll Be There
22. Alma Mater Blues L2
23. DCT 3
24. Ode to Joy L2
25. Jackson Bl. 2
26. Amazing Grace 7th chords
27. Chester Chills Out 1
28. Dog?
29. Amazing Grace 1
30. Alma Mater Blues—end
31. Honey Dew 3
32. Minuet in G
33. Amazing Grace 2
34. AMB scale & chord
35. Star Spangled Banner
36. Jackson Bl 3
37. Sleeping
38. Ode to Joy 1
39. Light Blue
40. Bishop St. Blues 1
41. Fur Elise L2
42. Bishop St. Blues 2
43. Fur Elise L2
44. Jackson Blues 4
45. The Pipes
46. Amazing Grace 3
47. The Pipes
48. Fur Elise 1
49. Minuet in G L3
50. Fur Elise 2
51. Light Blue L3
52. Star Spangled Banner L3
53. I’ll Be There 1
(Accompaniment Program begins here)
54. White note chords
55. Ode to Joy 1
56. Amazing Grace, C & D
57. Black note chords
58. Auld Lang Zyne C
59. Minuet in G 1
60. Sleeping 1
61. Fluff Pie
62. Tear For a Friend
63. Auld Lang Zyne D
64. Fluff Pie Variations
65. Amazing Grace & Auld Lang Syne in E
66. Walking with Billy
67. I’ll Be There 2
68. Greensleeves
69. Danny Boy Db
70. She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain
71. Danny Boy Eb
72. Dog? 1
73. Finding I, IV & V
74. Tear For a Friend
75. Amazing Grace in all keys
76. Minuet in G 2
77. Family Tree
78. Auld Lang Zyne in all keys
79. I’ll Be There 3
80. Lead Me to the Light
81. Fur Elise 1 arr. L2
82. Lullaby
83. Minor chords
84. Scarborough fair—Am
85. Billy at the Footy
86. Scarborough Fair—Cm
87. Lullaby 1
88. Suspended chords
89. Deep River
90. Light of First Dawning
91. Sonata in C
92. Split chords
93. On My Way Back
94. Squidgies Boogie
95. Dark Blue
96. ‘7’ chords
97. In My Eyes
98. Ballade—section a
99. Chord chart
100. Shoo-fly
101. Fur Elise—section a
102. Danny Boy—all chords
103. The Gaz—1st Cycle
104. Sit By My Side
105. Chorale
106. Squidgies Boogie—second cycle
107. One More Time
108. The Gaz—2nd section, descent
109. The Gaz—2nd section, ascent
110. Ballade—section B
111. Home
112. Old Man Whistle
113. Fur Elise—section C
114. Church Song
115. ’57 12/8 Blues
116. Cannon in D
117. Miles
118. Shadow
119. d-Part
120. Caught Between the Daybreak (and the night)
121. The Blue Danube
122. Beautiful Boy