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Cindy B., Illinois

I set aside some lesson time. Go to the website and open the audio recordings. Explain that most students take a while to get the hang of using the audio, but that it’s a very useful tool for them in their piano skills progress. I select a song that they already know well, and I first have them listen to how the audio version begins.

The first time, I ask, “How many beats did you hear before you start playing?” Often, they have no idea, so we do it again, this time just listening for the number of introductory beats that they need to count.

Then I have them try to start the song with the audio recording, telling them that this is just to practice the start – I don’t let the song continue past the beginning, even if they seem to be getting it.

We practice starting a few times and I never move on as long as there’s any doubt in my mind that they’re getting it. Once they seem to be able to start with no problems, we let the recording play longer – stopping it the second there is a problem.

Start over, and they’ll find that with each attempt, they’re getting farther into the song. I call it “Audio practice” as a skill all it’s own and I assign it just as I do rhythm assignments.

Don’t spend a lot of time on it but definitely spend some time each day until they aren’t stressed by playing with the recordings anymore.

Karen T., Illinois

I also use the recordings in weekly lessons for those songs that are accompaniments.

When a new accompaniment is introduced, I give them a week or 2 or 3 (whatever it takes), to learn to play through the piece smoothly and with understanding. Then we begin what I have termed audio recording training.

That is where I tell them to start the recording and begin playing along with the singer. If they get lost, fall behind, get ahead, or get confused, they are to stop the recording – get re-oriented – and begin again with the recording. They get a little farther each time.

I train them to this in lessons so they can see exactly what I mean. In the very beginning they need to be trained to listen to the introductory beats, and pick up on that tempo.

They need to be trained sometimes on where to hit the first chord in relation to the singer, ie. for Amazing Grace, “She is going to sing A- and you will play the first chord on -maz”.

After they have shown me they can play it through, maybe not perfectly, but make it through the whole song, I will change the assignment. No more stopping the recording. Just play right through. And sometimes they need to be trained in class on how to let the singer go on, and then jump back in, just like you would in a live performance. If they fall behind and just keep playing, then will never catch up. We really have a lot of laughing and fun in this process.

If it’s not coming together fairly quickly, I will ask them to just play it for me without the recording and I’ll watch to see if one of the hands is not quite understanding what to play. If so, I’ll show them what I discovered, and we’ll go back to the audio recording training.

They find that after one or two days they are just breezing through it without having to stop the recording at all.