Introduction to the piano included the musical alphabet, the pattern of the black keys, finding all the specific keys, an introduction to the Grand Staff, reading the Grand Staff - which hand, which finger, line or space note, the name of the note, and its location on the keyboard. Middle C was introduced. Rhythm values, tempo - steady and even... Applying what we learned to a simple, easy piece of music. I look forward to working with Jayne. Hope that in the future she will play for Miracle since dogs receive so much pleasure from hearing piano music.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
In our getting to know you phase, Jayne's first bit of information was that her dog's name was Miracle. I remember the news stories regarding Miracle and expressed my delight that I knew his owner. Later on I told Jayne that dogs love music. It impressed her. Will definitely make this an incentive for her to practice in the future. When I told her that the goal for the fingers was muscle memory Jayne shared that her fingers knew exactly where to go when she played video games. That sent a red flag. I do not know how long Jayne plays video games, however, scientific reports state the they made lead to short term memory problems. The scientists further report that the solution is music lessons. Once you start playing a piece of music, you are not allowed to stop until you reach the end. Students are told that it is like a heart beat. You cannot allow the heart to stop beating or else . . . Jayne made good eye contact. Mentioned all the benefits she would reap from taking piano - attention to detail, tenacity, resiliency, and it is known as the number one method to raising someone's I.Q. Told Jayne stories that I have developed to make learning the piano keys, the Grand Staff and a method to teaching rhythm values. She was reluctant to review some of the material, however she did quite well. When we finally came to play the very first piece, we put everything we had learned to work, one simple step at a time. She anticipated failure. Told her that I would work with her. Repetition is required when multi-tasking. We were down to our last minute and she started to cry. Her frustration level seems to be low, however I find that discovering a students weakness and playing up their strengths is what makes teaching a valuable mission. I look forward to working with Jayne. Hope that she will play for Miracle, her best audience. Dogs seem to go into dreamland when they hear piano music. That will encourage her since she will be playing to a best friend.
Baylie uses the school piano to practice. However, even though she was only able to practice once this week she retained a fair amount. We were basically able to almost master the first page of the work. Afterwards we approached the Chart for a change of pace. We returned to the "Pink Panther" and we "finished" the second and last page. The notes and their location were written out in hopes that it will help her remember the patterns that we did. The "Pink Panther" is full of patterns which makes it a very easy piece to learn. Practice makes it even an easier goal to attain. Baylie has a great memory, concentrates very well and is tenacious. Those traits always lead to success.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Baylie has a very good memory and concentrates very well. She also demonstrates tenacity. With all those traits she accomplishes what she sets out to do.
Reviewing or Learning new songs from the "Teaching Little Fingers to Play" book
Lesson Outline
Macy worked very hard and was able to play and achieve a good level on seven songs. Each song has something new in it which makes it challenging. However, Macy seems to enjoy challenging herself. The last part of the lesson was going to the Chart where she was able to duplicate what she did last week in the key of C. She mastered all the same tasks in the key of G. Macy had to remind me today that she is a second grader. She has a level of tenacity that exceeds the second grade level.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Macy has to remind me on occasion that she is a second grader. She looks older and she possess a level of tenacity that goes beyond a second grade level.
Baylie was her usual tremendous self. We approached the Chart first - a skills checklist regarding scales and chords. This makes learning a piece of music easier by compressing the information into chords vs. note by note. She quietly and patiently played the work in small increments. This was made easier because we studied the Chart first. We actually were able to play most of the first page. I played the second page for Baylie so that she could see how easy it was. We accomplished a great deal because of her patience, tenacity and her big hands made it easier.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Baylie was very patient and advance in learning the Pink Panther very well. We just about finished the first page. The second page is easier so I'm hoping we can finish it before she leaves us. Her strengths are her tenacity, patience and those beautiful big hands.
This was Macy's first lesson since she returned to the Batt School. She remembered more than most people who have not played in quite awhile. We reviewed the essentials: notes, rhythm, tempo, and fingering. Reading the easy pieces was fine because she concentrated so well. Eventually, we went to the Chart - a check list of skills regarding the scales and chords.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Macy seemed to have picked up where she left off. She remembered more than most people who have not played the piano in quite awhile. Can't wait until next week to see how far we will advance.
We started to learn "The Pink Panther", however it opened up a plethora of theory questions. Baylie asked quite a few questions about music that is theory related so we spent our time learning the relative minors, we also learned the key signatures of both the sharps and the flats. Kevin, her guitar teacher is quite pleased that she is learning theory because it can be applied to any instrument. I also taught her the importance of Transposition. This is the ability to play a piece of music in another key. When I played the guitar I wasn't able to play some chords because my hands were too small. When I transposed the music to chords that I could play it made all the difference in being able to play a multitude of Beatle songs. That's when we learned we had a mutual affection for Beatle music. We also learned by listening which were the major and minor chords in a major scale. Again, I related how many songs I learned to play by ear because of that basic knowledge. Played the "Do, Re, Mi" song and she sang it. What a beautiful voice she has. Last we discussed composing music. I showed her the relation of the melody to the chords. She kept asking good, insightful questions about composition. Hopefully, we will learn the Blues scale next week. It has a built-in melody.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Baylie is a powerhouse of intellectual energy and wants to expand her knowledge about everything musical. Between Kevin and myself she should be able to play her guitar with ease in the areas of Transposition, chords whether they be major, minor, and in composing her own music.
Zeta had stated that she was interested in anything Billy Eilish had recorded. I found a good and easy piece that when presented to her, she seemed to be genuinely engaged. It has three chords that repeat and the additional chord comes in at the end. I showed her where she could access it on YouTube. We practiced the chord progression a great deal, slowly, one section or measure at a time. We then put it all together. We then went back to YouTube to make sure that we had covered everything correctly. There were some minor changes - in the location of where the chord is played. As each student entered the room we asked them to "Name that Tune". There were more students who were familiar with the song than others. This seemed to stimulate interest in learning the piece of music. One student told her to really learn it, It created a boost to her concentration. Hopefully, Zeta will refer to the YouTube video if she forgets the chords or the chord progressions.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Zeta was very interested in her lesson today because we exposed her to learning a piece of music by her favorite composer, Billy Eilish. She repeated each section presented to her over and over again. It wasn't until the end that she seemed exhausted. If she forgets how to play it she can refer to You Tube which is where I learned the melody and the ease of learning this piece. It was a good choice. The students who were familiar with the piece encouraged her to play it. Wouldn't be great if she played it for the talent show on March 27th?
The Chart and another song from the "Teaching Little Fingers to Play"/
Lesson Outline
We learned what a scale was and on paper wrote out all the scales with sharps and all their triads. We then played the C scale, C chord, C triad in Root position, C major triad, C minor triad, a C modified arpeggio. and a C regular arpeggio. We then played one new song. Next week we will learn more C related material and hopefully begin applying the theory to other keys. I played "Fur Elise" so that Baylie could see what she learned today was in that work. She has great hands and I hope to teach her songs that require a larger hand while still applying the theory principles we learned today. Kevin, Baylie's guitar teacher, saw us addressing theory and pointed out the value of what we were learning. When it comes to short cuts in music there really aren't any except for theory. One learns to analyze the music quicker, master it sooner, memorize it earlier, and recall it easier.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Baylie is amazing. She is tenacious. She also asks questions that no other student asks. They are questions regarding creativity. We will be able to almost finish the extensive Key of C variations next week and start applying the theory to other keys as well.
