Hilarious Introduction to the Metronome

The metronome is a very handy tool for measuring a regular beat, guiding practice, giving yourself very strict standards for your pulse and also scaring the living daylights out of your cat. A friend forwarded me this funny video. I have never listened to it with the sound on, but just watching it made me laugh.

Metronome use does help your practice! A student of mine recently had two lessons on two consecutive days. He plays Abram Chasin's Rush Hour in Hong Kong from Three Chinese Pieces and on Monday it sounded okay- he got through it with some minor hesitations. We had a lesson on it, and the next day he came back with a completely different Rush Hour. He was playing energetically with flashy dynamics and had rock solid pulse. "Please tell the rest of the world your secret to such success!" I exclaimed, " To make that much progress in 24 hours is really something!" "I practiced with the metronome," he replied. Then five days later he performed it beautifully in recital.

I shouldn't guarantee that same success, I suppose, but wow, I know it sure has helped me control and organize my practice. I can set a goal for myself and strive to make it, gradually bringing up my tempo in an orderly way. And all of my students who have practiced with the metronome have certainly reaped the benefits. Too much metronome practice can take away the natural breath of the piece, so an understanding of the natural flow of the piece is also important.

Need to buy a metronome? I recommend a quartz metronome and not an annoying beepy digital one. I like a metronome that has all the original numbers series like 6o, 63, 66 through 208, etc. (and not every number there is from 30-300. )

The pendulum kind that the cat attacked in the video above is fun but they tend to break and are not as reliable. Maybe I begin to see why.

Music Education # 5 Learning the Grand Staff with the Hot Note Game

On the floor of my studio I have just installed (with the help of my children) a gigantic grand staff. I suppose it is about 5'x8', and is situated so that the pianist on the bench has the best view of it. The lines are made of shiny blue gift wrap ribbon which contrasts well with the dark hardwood floorboards and are tacked down on either end with masking tape bar lines. The spaces are large enough for feet to step in. I cut out two huge, movable paper clefs on the left side so students can learn how to place them themselves.

Tonight I sat one of my children down on the piano bench while I began stepping all over the lines and spaces, and we suddenly found ourselves playing a funny game that I have to share with you: When you the parent (or teacher) are standing on a line, as long as the student isn't playing that note, everything is fine. But as soon as they find the correct note, pretend your line instantly heats up and you say "Ooh- HOT! Ow! Ow!" and jump to another note on the staff. Then you can say, "Ahhh, that's better!" but then the little one on the bench is busy trying to find the next right note as fast as possible on the piano to make you jump again! Two feet at once is for intervals of a second, a third, etc.

I am curious to know how this will work with my beginners. Maybe there will be a way to incorporate the composer figurines in this game.

Music Education #2 Finding a Teacher

Finding the right teacher for your child is probably the most influential choice that you will make in your child’s musical development. You want an experienced, talented and qualified teacher whose personality is good match for your child. Then you need to make a decision on three points: 1 how far you are willing to drive, 2. how much you are willing to spend, and 3. what kind of expectations do you have of your child and of the teacher.

The first two points of your decision depend on the teacher: as a teenager taking violin lessons, I drove weekly an hour each way and paid more than we had ever paid for lessons, but what I got out of it was incredible. Some teachers may be very close by, or be very cheap, but do not seem to have musical students. Convenience may not be your best option, however it can be a blessing! During my formative years we were very privileged to practically be neighbors with one of the best teachers in the state. Based on these first two points, you can begin your search.

To get names and contact information of teachers in your area, contact music teacher associations, piano stores, Universities, Music Schools, Music stores, churches, friends who have lived in the area for years and internet teacher referral lines. When first talking with a teacher on the phone, you will likely be offered a chance for an interview. Take this opportunity to get to know all the teachers with availability in their schedules around your area. If you believe your child has a real gift and you have a teacher in mind that you had hopes to study with who professes to be full, or says your child is too young, etc. you could try to ask for an interview with the view that the teacher may offer you advice and direction. Expect that teachers may ask for an interview fee, this is normal. (Just a tip: as a teacher I don’t like to be asked “Can I sit through another student’s lesson?” because students pay for private lessons and that is not fair to that student to have a stranger watch their lesson. A teacher's credentials and presentation at the interview should have enough strength to inspire confidence in a prospective client.)

The last point, what kind of expectations do you have of your child and of the teacher may influence your decision once you have had your first meeting. Teachers may require much work from the students, or very little practice, and you may prefer this... or not. (Keep in mind that piano lessons done well equals a huge amount of work for everybody involved. And no, hard work isn't bad! :) ) A very good guideline of questions you can ask potential teachers can be found on the page of the MTNA website that I have linked here: "Finding a teacher" tips.

This will also make you turn to the questions for yourself: Why piano lesson? Do you want to have some music lessons sprinkled over your children's heads? Do you want them to be little Mozarts? Do you want them to work hard and get great at playing the piano, but still do it just for fun? Are you looking for Music Therapy, or Discpline and Competition, or Professional Concert Pianist training? Do the children really want to play? (Most children really do!) Or is it you who actually wants to play? The teacher may ask you some questions like these.

There is something so amazing about hearing someone play the piano really well. It does something to the performer and the audience alike, and we wish we could be more deeply and closely involved in the music making process. I think that is why we seek lessons, to become that musician enjoying it up there on stage, or to give someone we love the ability to become that musician. Music is the sounds of our feelings, and we like to hear our feelings in our ears, and to feel the beauty of music affecting us like that. To be the musician, we also have the power to affect others that way. That's fun. (We also like the applause.)

But the best part of lessons is having music happen in your house every day, and enriching your whole family tree by taking part in active music making. Because when your children become parents, they will want to pass on the legacy by either teaching their own little ones, or getting them lessons as one cherished former student Roya wrote to me; "I hope you'll still be teaching when I have my own kids because I'll definitely be taking them to you for piano lessons!"

Inventor Discovers his Invention is Already Invented

One of the funniest things that ever happened to me when I was teaching a piano lesson was a couple of years ago when Hayden as a dreamy, inventive ten year old said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if somebody made a piano that had a machine on it, that you could put in a disk and punch a button then it would play by itself, and the keys would go down with every note that would play?” I was incredulous at my good fortune. “You mean like this?” I turned a machine under my piano on, pushed in a disk, punched a button, the piano started to play itself and the keys went down with every note that played. Hayden’s expression at my response to his far-out imaginative flight was elevating! I don’t usually find myself laughing at students, but this was too much for me, and he was too astonished to laugh with me at first!