If I go to the grocery store without a list . . . .
I probably don’t need to finish that sentence. You know what happens: I forget half of the things I need to buy, and I buy things I really don’t need just because they look good.
So, long ago, I started keeping a digital list which I can easily edit the moment I think of an item I need to purchase. That often happens when I’m doing something totally unrelated to eating or cooking.
A similar thing happens in my job as a piano teacher. I might randomly run across a piece and think, “Oh, that would be perfect for Peter.” But I won’t see Peter until four days from now, so how am I going to remember?
I’ve tried lots of things, such as:
Doing my best to just remember, because how hard could it be to hang onto that thought for four days?
Putting the piece in a file folder with Peter’s name on it.
Writing the title on a Post-it note with Peter’s name on it.
Putting a Post-it note with Peter’s name on the actual piece.
I could write a book on the variety of ways I have made all the above methods (and many more) fail miserably.
But today, this very day, a new solution came on the horizon. The Vivid Practice app, which I use to convey assignments to my students, added a FUTURE ASSIGNMENTS folder to its interface. For every one of my students, I have a FUTURE ASSIGNMENTS folder.
I’m in love.
Now, when it crosses my mind that a certain student would enjoy or benefit from a particular piece, I can just add the title to the FUTURE ASSIGNMENTS folder for that student. (Students can’t see the folder. It’s just there for the teacher.) My fleeting strokes of genius don’t have to be remembered. There’s a system for keeping track of them now–a system I think I’ll actually consistently follow since it fits in seamlessly with the daily workflow I’m already using.
My mind is whirling with all the ways this is going to be helpful in my teaching and lesson planning. I’ve used it for only one day so far; but, already, it feels like a process that just clicks for me.
Cedric had his hands perched on the keyboard. He was about to rehearse his recital piece. He had it memorized. The recital was just days away.
In that quiet moment of preparation, the battery-operated clock on the wall seemed to be ticking very loudly, and its 60-beats-per-minute tick was not even close to the tempo of Cedric’s piece.
“You just have shut it out,” I told him. “There will be noises at the recital you have to shut out, too.”
He rolled his eyes.
Soon after that, I noticed that I was hearing the ticking clock on all the recordings I made in the studio too. It was time to make a change. One Amazon search later, and I discovered that silent, battery-operated clocks are actually a thing. You might be thinking, “How could you not have known that?” Fair question. I had the same thought.
Here’s the one I got, and it is absolutely silent. I love it. Unfortunately, I didn’t buy it until after Cedric graduated. Sorry, Cedric.
So I post this little story to encourage you to get rid of annoying tick tocks if they’re happening in your studio too. It was such an easy fix.
His fingers were collapsing as he played, so I picked up my phone and took a close-up video of his hands as he finished the piece.
“Now watch the video,” I told him, “and drop one of these smiley erasers on the piano keys each time you see a finger collapse.”
He watched a few phrases and dropped a few erasers, but about the time he got to the third phrase in the video, he just picked up the entire container of smiley erasers and dumped them on the piano.
We both burst out laughing.
“I need a picture of that,” I said, and picked up my phone again.
We’ve worked hard on maintaining a proper hand position, so I knew he could do it. After this silly exercise, he played the piece again and maintained firm, rounded fingers for the entire piece.
Sometimes, a little levity in lessons can go a long way.
We take a three-week break for the holidays in my piano studio. That’s a pretty long time not to engage with my students, but the long break allows me to fit in holiday concerts that I enjoy playing for. There were five this year.
The day after Christmas, I was thinking about what I might do to connect with students before they return to lessons on January 3. Since I use the Tonara app to give assignments, I decided to add a new assignment to every student’s task list, inviting them to record one of their Christmas pieces and send me the recording.
So far, four students have uploaded recordings. (Hopefully, more will come.) I noticed that each student played significantly better on the recording than they had at their last lesson. They’ve obviously continued to practice over the break! Is there anything that makes a teacher happier?
Eighth-grader Logan played so musically, I thought I would share her recording. You can hear lots of background noise while she’s playing: the dog saunters by, and there’s meal prep and lots of chatter happening. But that’s the reality of how we all have to fit in our piano practice, isn’t it? We do it amidst the life happening around us. (I faded out the recording near the end where the background noise got really loud.)
Piano lessons during this year of COVID have been challenging. I miss the warmth of in-person lessons. I miss being able to correct a hand position with just a touch. I miss being able to encourage a crescendo with just a gesture. I miss the spontaneous levity that happens more easily when we meet in person.
Given the challenges of online lessons, I have–this year more than ever–worked hard to find lots of pieces that will be quick wins for my students. For a piece to be a quick win, I look for these characteristics:
The student has to like the piece.
It must not have any huge challenges, but it can’t be so easy it’s effortless.
It needs to be fairly short.
It must be pedagogically sound.
It’s a big plus if it sounds harder than it is.
Recently, I’ve composed two new pieces that have been quick wins for many of my students over the past few months. I hope you’ll give them a try.
In my studio, summer is a great time to let students work on collaborative projects. Schedules tend to be lighter, and we don’t have the pressure of recitals or adjudications lurking just around the corner.
When I know one of my piano students also plays another instrument or takes voice lessons, I like to ask them to do a piece with another piano student. When that’s not an option, I might ask if they have a friend who could collaborate with them.
Parker and Drew know each other from church where they both sing in a choir that I accompany. I proposed the idea of having them play the Finzi Carol together a few months ago. They liked the idea, so they both got the music and started practicing. Today, they got together for the first time to rehearse. Their excellent preparation made the piece go together easily. Proud of them!
Parker, at the piano, has just completed 6th grade. Drew, on clarinet, just finished 7th grade. Drew is a student of Walter Yee. The piece is Carol, from Five Bagatelles, Op. 23 by Gerald Finzi.
I’m curious to know how other teachers set up collaborative playing experiences for their students. Have any stories or tips to share?
We take a three-week break for the holidays in my piano studio. That’s a pretty long time not to engage with my students, but the long break allows me to fit in holiday concerts that I enjoy playing for. There were five this year.
