Creating Practice Plans with Beginning Students

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Last year, I spent some time observing at the New School for Music Study in Kingston, NJ (read my notes here, here, and here). 

This school, founded in 1960 by Frances Clark and Louise Goss functions as a keyboard pedagogy lab: pedagogy students gain teaching experience, community members gain instruction, and new teaching approaches are constantly being tested and evaluated. 

One of Clark’s strong beliefs was that students should be taught to be self-motivated learners — this essentially makes the teacher dispensable!

In trying to develop independent learning in my students, I recently began introducing “practice plans” with my students during lesson time (an idea I observed at the New School). Practice plans are 2-4 specific items or practice strategies per piece, neatly written on a sheet of paper that they can keep out next to their books to (hopefully) better organize their practice time at home.

Think of how much learning takes place at home during the week! If a student practices 20 minutes a day, five times a week, that’s 100 minutes of solitary time spent on these pieces (as compared to the measly 30 minutes they spend with me each week).

Here is an example of what this sheet looks like:

This student (age eight) is working out of The Music Tree, Part 1. At the beginning of today’s lesson, we reviewed the last practice plan and checked off the completed items (she was very honest about what she had and had not completed!).

After reviewing the pieces in progress and performing her two recital selections, we wrote out a new practice plan together. This is not a practice notebook where I sit and scribble notes while she plays and I hope she goes home and reads them later. Practice plans are collaborative. 

*As a side note, I do keep a lesson notebook for my own purposes — mainly, keeping up with student progress and repertoire assignments.

“What are two ways you can practice this new piece?” I asked today. 

Erin made a suggestion, I made a suggestion, and I made sure she could demonstrate whatever it was we were writing down. After all, writing “tap/count” is great, but if she doesn’t know what it means when she gets home, it’s not a real practice item.

The exercise of talking through a practice plan for each piece doubles as an assessment tool for me: by having students make suggestions for their practice time (setting their own goals), I have a better understanding of what they’ve learned and how they are applying and reusing ideas and strategies from previous pieces we’ve studied. Also, I find students are more accountable to me the next week when they have to report on the effectiveness of their practicing — they take more responsibility for their progress.

For more information on Frances Clark, visit the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy website.

Matthew's Lesson

Every Monday night at 6:30 p.m., seven-year-old Matthew comes for a piano lesson.  Some days, these lessons are 80% discipline and 20% playing but this week’s lesson was an exceptional contrast. In preparation for our lecture recital, Steve and I had moved the piano from it’s usual front right position to front and center (and rotated 180-degrees).  This change to our normal lesson scene made an immediate difference with Matthew.  The curly-headed, wiggly child sat right down and flipped his book open to our newest page.  “Are we starting with this piece?” I asked, pointing to the first of the two.  Without a word, he brought his hands up to the keyboard and began to play.  He meant business!  I sat to the side and observed until the end of the piece.  Matthew has an excellent sense of rhythm so generally it’s just fingering and tonal patterns that we need to review.  This performance, however, required no review!  He played the song in it’s entirety while chanting the text.  I was impressed!

We moved on to the second piece on the page by reviewing the rhythm/text.  After tapping and chanting, I asked him to find his hand position.  Again, he played straight through, while chanting the text with no issues!

Normally, by this point in the lesson, I would be kindly asking him to take his feet off the pedals, sit still, play with only fingers 2 and 3, etc.  Since he was so focused and playing so well, I encouraged him to explore the change in sound when adding a little pedal.  He played very gently – adding about half of the sustain pedal throughout.

At the end, I asked, “How did that change the sound?”  He had an immediate response.  “It stays,” he said simply.  “Yes!” I replied enthusiastically.  “It makes the sound last longer, doesn’t it?”  “Yes, and if I were just playing notes like this-” he stopped to demonstrate a pattern of steps “then I wouldn’t need the pedal.  But if I were playing here [high register] and then I wanted to go down here [moving to the mid-low register] then I would need the pedal.”  What an insightful response!  It became clear to me that Matthew not only recognized the sound difference but knew how he would use it in the future as a way of connecting patterns in different registers!

Having recently learned about 2nds, playing on white keys (this book starts on the black keys), and dotted half notes, I asked Matthew to improvise a piece that incorporated all three things.  He thought for a minute before beginning.  Thoughtfully, he played a stepwise melody with a repeated rhythmic motive.  He used both hands and a wide range of keys.  The piece ended rather abruptly but from the look on his face, this was intentional.

“That was beautiful, Matthew!”  I said.  “What’s the name of that piece?”  “I haven’t decided yet,” he said in a matter-of-fact way.  “Let’s ask your grandma what she thought,” I suggested.  “I thought it sounded whimsical,” she said.  Seeing the perplexed look on Matthew’s face (“What the heck does that mean?!”) she quickly added, “Like playing with toys.”  “Hmm, what do you think, Matthew?” I asked.  “Toy Days,” he stated.  And “Toy Days” it was.

We moved back in the book to review his recital pieces – “Inchworm” and “Playing Frisbee.”  We work on text from the very beginning of learning a new piece but in preparation for the recital, I’ve been working on having Matthew think the words internally instead of speaking them out loud.  We reviewed this for both pieces and as I joined him on the bench to add the duet part, I reminded him about bringing our hands up to the keyboard at the same time and lifting our hands off the keys and back to our laps at the end of the piece.  His grandmother was very impressed.

I had one more piece to review – “Merrily We Roll Along.”  This is a great example of knowing/singing a song one way and reading it another.  This elementary piano book carefully presents this song within a 3-note range for each hand and with only basic rhythms (for instance, no dotted rhythms).  I believe that reading is important, but I also know that Matthew knows this song with a different rhythm.  I’m not going to correct him with the simplified version when he can hear and play the more complicated version.  All I had to do was turn to the page and he began to play.

I had turned for just a minute to make a comment to his grandmother about practicing but I could hear him working out this song by ear.  He was looking at the book but we both knew he wasn’t really reading it.  He was singing to himself and when he played a wrong note, he would say to himself, “Wait!” and then begin the phrase again and again until he figured it out.  He didn’t stop until he could play all the way to the end.  I thought this was excellent and praised him for using his ear to self-correct.  I played my accompaniment for him and we sang the melody together (with the familiar dotted rhythm).  After that, it was much easier to play both parts because he already had an idea of how the two parts fit together.

We ended our lesson time with a few preparation steps for a new song – reading the text in rhythm and tapping while chanting.  We discussed the implications of the title (“Parade”).  “Have you ever marched in a parade?”  I asked.  “No, but I’ve seen a parade before,” he answered.  “Well, what do you think would happen if you were marching in a parade and suddenly, you decided to stop?”  “You would get run over!” he replied with big eyes.  “Probably so!”  I said.  “That’s what this song means when it says, ‘Keep the step!’”

Lessons like these remind me why I love teaching.  The creativity, the innocence, the playfulness, and the imagination make music so much more fun!  Can we all be a little more like seven-year-olds sometimes?

Making Opportunities Happen

I’ve often been advised to “make the most of opportunities” – I’m sure you’ve been there, too.  Sometimes an opportunity presents itself out of nowhere – maybe it’s an extra time commitment, maybe it’s out of your comfort zone and just when you’ve convinced yourself to pass it by, suddenly the opposing voice in your head says, “Wouldn’t this be a great experience?”  In my case, the opposing voice usually wins.

I recently had a conversation with my dad about this very thing.  In fact, he even quoted my opening statement.  As we continued our conversation, we talked about the importance of making opportunities happen.  It’s great when opportunities just pop up in front of you (Hi!  I’m Mr. Opportunity!) but let’s face it – sometimes the opportunities just aren’t there.  The economy struggles, organizations lose funding, no one is hiring.  Have you experienced this?  How do you respond?

It starts with a problem.  Problems are everywhere!  Pick one and figure out how you can solve it with your given skillset.

Problem: I moved to a town with no community music programs. Solution: open a piano studio (I have nine students after four months) and start two children’s choirs (I have fourteen enrolled this year).  I had to think beyond my comfort zone (i.e. teaching in an established organization where marketing and administration is taken care of by someone else) but as a result of thinking entrepreneurially, I now have the flexibility to set my own schedule and create my own teaching environment.

Problem: there are no opportunities for amateur musicians to come together to play or listen to chamber music in town. Solution: start a summer chamber music workshop.  I give you the Westminster Chamber Music Workshop – a week-long series of coachings, rehearsals, and special events for amateur players and choral singers in the area to come together to network, learn, and make music.  Special events each night will feature guest artists in performance and lecture – free and open to the public!

It’s not always about making the most of opportunities… sometimes it’s just about making the opportunities happen.

Setting Studio Goals

This is the first week of the spring term at the Studio and I have all of my piano students setting goals. 

#1: Practice ___ times per week
#2: Practice ___ minutes per day

The idea came in part from a suggestion from a parent on an assessment that I sent out at the end of last semester. She was seeking a way to keep her 7-year-old daughter more accountable at home. 

To paraphrase her words:

“She loves playing and she looks forward to lessons, yet somehow she never forgets to do her homework but she always forgets to practice the piano.” 

In response, I created a one-page chart listing Monday-Sunday with a column for items and number of minutes practiced. The two goals are listed at the top.

It’s interesting to hear the goals these students set for themselves.

Most say they will aim to practice 4-5 times a week with practice sessions ranging from 15 minutes to 25 minutes. They also get a thrill adding up the number of minutes they will practice per week.

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I think goal-setting is very important. I could dictate that my students practice 5 days a week for 30 minutes each day but I feel that it’s important for the students to set these initial goals themselves. After a few weeks of hopefully successful practicing, I might suggest that we increase those goals. 

This way though, the student has the ownership. It’s not a mandate from me or from their parents, it’s a goal they themselves set out to achieve.

This is the first time I have presented practicing goals to my students so we’ll see how much they achieve in the weeks to come!

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Another goal-setting resource I created for my students includes space for them to jot down ideas about achievement goals, how they want to use their music for good, and creativity goals. Each worksheet is intended for a 12-week or 3-month period of time, giving students plenty of time to work through their action steps.

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Life on the other side of the fence

This week marks the end of my first semester of collegiate teaching.  I survived!  There were plenty of new experiences – leaving the room for course evaluations, grading tests, giving written feedback, and administering juries, just to name a few.  It’s life on the other side of the fence.  I am so thankful for the education I received at Eastman which prepared me for these situations. I saw the need for periodic “checkpoints” – making sure that the students are keeping up and able to master the new concepts during the course of the semester.  How can you grade piano performances by seven different students simultaneously and objectively?I developed a unique system using the technology resources in the lab.  Every few weeks, I chose four items for students to record via Garage Band.  They had 30 minutes to complete these items, which allowed them the opportunity to re-record, if needed.  I am more concerned about whether or not they can perform the selected items rather than how well they do on their first attempt.  At the conclusion of the test time, the students emailed me their files for grading.  This allowed me to use a rating scale to grade their performances on tonal and rhythmic accuracy and expression.  I generally listened to each item three times to focus individually on each of these criteria rather than having to take in everything the first time.  When the students get their tests back, they have a very clear measure of their tonal, rhythmic, and expressive performances across all four items.  It’s a great way to see areas of consistency (i.e., John is great with rhythm but could spend more time on his preparation of tonal patterns).

I graded my fourth and final quiz/exam on Tuesday (yes, I am the teacher that gives a final exam on the last day of class – two days prior to the final).  The final exam is a 15-minute jury.  Students were asked to prepare the following:

• Three 2-octave scales of choice
• Solo piece
• American Song
• Harmonization study
• Transposition study
• Improvisation study

My classes are held in the Music Technology Lab so many of my students are not used to playing on an acoustic piano.  There are four small practice rooms on the first floor of the Fine Arts building (all with Boston uprights) but I thought it might be nice to arrange the juries to be held in a space that had a nice instrument.  My students were enamored with the classroom Steinway – the touch, the sound, the pedals – I think it had a positive impact on their performances.

For the jury, I decided not to record the student performances, for time’s sake.  Rather, I developed a grading chart to be filled out while listening.  I included items such as fingering, characteristic tone, rhythmic consistency, tonal accuracy, hand position, posture, technique, pedaling, phrasing, and articulation, each worth no more than 5 points out of 100.  This proved to be a great tool.  I administered six juries on Wednesday (with grades: 94, 93, two 89s, 87 and 85) with six more to go on Monday.

Time to take what I have learned and prepare materials for my classes next semester!

Boys Will Be Boys

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

I am learning so much about the nature of boys from my piano lessons with seven-year-old Matthew. 

At first, it may seem to an observer that Matthew is easily distracted, often outspoken, and possibly disinterested in piano. However, after several weeks of lessons, I see the situation a little differently.

Tonight, I introduced the slur (Unit 3 of Time to Begin from the Music Tree Series).

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“Do you know what this curved line means?” I asked.

“No!” said Matthew, boldly.

“It means to play things smoothly – like this,” I said as I demonstrated a connected melody.

Wiggling on the bench next to me, Matthew instantly began playing loudly in the bass register of the piano, cutting off my more delicate melody.  Instead of stopping him or suggesting that his playing was loud or interruptive, I let him play. 

I recognized after just a second of hearing him play that he was experiencing this new concept of smooth playing.  He heard me define and demonstrate it – now he needed to experience it.  Imagine the learning that would not have taken place had I cut him off abruptly!

“Can you demonstrate something that is not smooth and connected?” I prodded.

Relating a new concept to what it is not is always helpful in the learning process.  Instantly, Matthew began playing – with both hands.

“What do you call that?” I asked.

I wanted to encourage him to name this opposite style himself rather than me enforcing a foreign name such as “staccato.”

“Crime,” he said with big eyes.

“I guess it might sound like crime,” I responded.  You can never expect the path that true imagination takes!

“We could call it disconnected or – popcorn!” I said, catching myself introducing a foreign word.

Seven-year-olds can relate to popcorn, though this analogy still required a demonstration before he agreed.  Once Matthew understood the concept of the slur and experienced what it felt like to play in a smooth and connected style, the next few pieces came easily.

I have also learned that Matthew loves rhythm and it comes very naturally to him.  To encourage rhythm study in lessons, I created a series of rhythm pattern cards in triple and duple meter.  I let Matthew choose 8-12 cards each week to arrange in any order. 

Tonight, he was confident enough in his rhythm reading that he performed a series of four patterns while I read a contrasting series of four patterns.  This is his favorite way to end our lessons each week!

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Making the Intangible Tangible

My piano studio is officially up and running and I have nine students enrolled for the fall.  I have quite a spread at the moment with students ranging from age 5 to retired adult.  I am also teaching seven students and staff members at Fitchburg State University.  It’s a wonderful opportunity to teach at so many different levels but I must confess, Kindergarten and 1st Grade is still my favorite age. Yesterday, I had a lesson with 5-year-old Lily.

With a head full of curls and always decked out in the latest fashion, Lily is bright-eyed and full of energy.  As such, we started our piano lesson with “warm-ups” a.k.a “get the wiggles out before you sit down on the bench.”  We wiggled our arms, we bobbed our wrists, and we wiggled all of our fingers (what a great way to promote large-body movements to fine motor skills and relaxation – something we all should practice!).

We spent the beginning of the lesson reviewing the pieces we started last week: chanting the texts while keeping a steady beat (for the following piece I used an imaginary oar as a variation of the arm swing), tapping the rhythm on the keyboard cover, singing, and looking for musical patterns.

Crossing the lake in a canoe, Paddling along enjoying the view!

“What do you see when you’re paddling across the lake?”  “Umm,” Lily said, cocking her head to one side.  “I see some trees, and a blue sky… and some clouds, and – this is silly.”  “What is it?”  I prodded.  “A bread-tree,” she replied, matter-of-factly.  What is a bread-tree, you might ask?  In Lily’s words, “It’s a tree with slices of bread on it!”  What an imagination!  If only we could look at the world through the eyes of a five-year-old every once in a while.

The second half of the lesson was spent on new material: We walked in place (keeping a steady beat while chanting the text), swung our arms, tapped our hands, and identified the starting hand position.  After demonstrating the beginning of the piece, I said, “Can you copy me?  Do you have it in your head?”

Immediately, Lily’s facial expression changed and I knew this was a concept difficult for her to grasp.  Think about the question literally – imagine the notes swirling around or maybe the printed page crumpled up in your head.  Quick – improvise!

“It’s not in your head?  Well, open it up (pretending to open a door into the top of my head) and put it in!”  She quickly copied my motions, smiling.  I knew she had heard me play the piece and we had spoken the text in rhythm several times as preparation.  Once we overcame this intangible gap, she played the piece just fine.

I learn so much about myself as a teacher in these kinds of lessons.  I can’t help but come home beside myself with excitement and eager to share my creative experiences with Steve – it’s the five-year-old in me.

The Adjunct: Lessons Learned

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Lesson #1: Never underestimate the power of networking.

Last spring, I applied for a part-time position at a small church in a small town another state away.  I knew no one and no one knew me.  I sent my resume, had a few conversations, and sent a recording of some of my recent performances.  A few days later, I received an email from a Humanities professor at a college in a town adjacent to where the church was located.  She, too was a musician (with three degrees in organ performance) and had received my resume from the search committee at the church.  “Want a job?” she said in one email.  “We have an opening for a part-time adjunct teaching class piano.  You’d be great.”

What a vote of confidence!  I haven’t even met the woman yet!  I went back and forth on whether this was something I really wanted to pursue.  In the end, my final semester of school caught up with me and I was soon fully immersed in the day-to-day once more.

A few months went by.  I got the job for which I had originally applied, performed a collaborative recital, graduated from Eastman, and began moving plans.  Around June 1st, I received another email from the music professor.  “Are you still interested in applying for the adjunct position?  We’re getting ready to make a decision.”  I scrambled to update my CV and resume, write a cover letter, and fill out the application.  Two days later, I was offered the position via email by the Humanities Chair.  “Is this real?” I asked Steve.  “They haven’t even met me!”

Lesson #2: Welcome to the world of guessing.

So I got the job.  Now what?  I was full of questions:

Do I pick the textbook? Do I have to write anything specific in my syllabus? Is there a standard grading policy for the college? How many students are registered for these classes? Do I have an email address? I need office hours? I have an office?! How much does this pay again?

August 1st rolled around.  I moved, I started my position at the church, I began plans for opening my piano studio.  The semester feels as if it’s looming around the corner (it is – September 1st!)  Finally, I received an email from Human Resources with an overwhelming number of attachments (14, to be exact).  Contract, health insurance, mandatory contributions, direct deposit, etc.  By the way, I had five days to submit everything.  I somehow managed to fill out every form correctly and turn it in on time.  This was also the first time I met anyone at the college face-to-face.  “So what do I need to do from here?” I asked.  “Just wait for us to contact you,” the woman replied.

Three weeks later, having not heard anything, I took it upon myself to email Human Resources.  Finally, I’m official!  Now the fun begins.  Before my first class, I need to get a college ID made (building A), pick up a parking pass (building B), pick up a key to my classroom (building C), access Blackboard, find my office (building D), make copies of my syllabus (building E), find my classroom (building D), and figure out how all the equipment in the music technology lab works.

Lesson #3: All freedom comes with a little responsibility.

I feel an enormous amount of freedom in this position.  My first class is in two weeks and I haven’t met any Humanities faculty members.  I haven’t had any type of new teacher orientation.  No one has told me about grading policies, measurement and evaluation standards, or final exams.  I have no idea how many students are in my two classes!  I have a great responsibility to the department and the school.  Despite the challenges of being left guessing, the unknowns give me the great opportunity for freedom in my teaching.  I set the pace, I choose the text, I choose the methods of evaluation.  I am confident in my education and preparation and therefore, I’m ready for the challenge.

Wish me luck!

Notes from the New School - Day 3

April 22, 2010 Logan, a student from yesterday’s Music Tree 1 class returned for a private lesson with Lis.  Because the group class is the primary lesson for these students, the private lessons follow the same lesson plan, reinforcing the activities from the class.  Logan began with his recital piece.  In classes and lessons alike, I was struck by the fact that every time a student played through a piece it was called a “performance.”  In this manner, Lis let Logan play through the piece completely before making suggestions about phrase-shaping and playing with a nice, firm sound.  The remainder of the lesson reviewed content from the class (Take a Trip, two new pieces, two rhythmic preparation activities, and a review piece of Logan’s choice).

Lauren Thompson taught another group of Music Tree 1 students in the afternoon.  I imagined that the content would be very similar but thought I might observe some difference in teaching approach.  “We begin each class with singing,” Lauren said, as the students gathered around her at the piano.  Immediately, the classroom was a different environment from what I observed yesterday.  The familiar melody from the students’ book was transposed to an appropriate singing range and Lauren smoothly segued into an echo activity with three-note tonal patterns using sol, mi, and do.  Soon, Lauren performed the patterns with a neutral syllable and had the students determine the direction and solfege syllables.  “I have pictures of these patterns,” Lauren said as she arranged four flash cards on the music rack.  “Which one do you think goes like this?” she said, demonstrating.  In addition to selecting the appropriate pattern, students were asked to name the intervals and direction notated on the card.  The next activity was a circle dance incorporating movement, form (counter-clockwise rotation, clockwise rotation during the repeat, and in towards the center during the B section), and singing in a minor key.  This easily segued into an echo activity using minor three-note tonal patterns with la, do, and mi.

The first playing activity was a review piece.  Two volunteers played the instruments at the front of the room while the rest of the class sang and played along on the wooden keyboards set out on the tables.  In order to build ensemble skills, Lauren appointed one of the volunteers as the leader responsible for cueing the beginning of the piece for the whole class.  “When the notes go higher do you think we should get louder or softer?” Lauren asked.  Following this discussion, the class performed the piece again with beautiful phrasing and lifts.  Drawing attention to the white board in the room with two rows of rhythm notated, Lauren said, “I forgot where the barlines go!  Can you believe it?”  Students took turns adding barlines for a duple example and triple example and together they performed the rhythm (clapping while counting).

One of the new pieces for the week was taught by rote before students looked at the notation in their book.  Lauren played the piece multiple times and asked a different question at the end of each performance.  “Was it smooth or bumpy?  Soft or loud?  Am I playing on the white keys or the black keys?  Which hand played first?  Raise your hand if you hear me play two right hand notes together.”  After several repetitions, Lauren asked one student to play the piece while the rest of the class played “air piano.”  Following this experience of sound and feel, students were invited to look at the score.  Lauren guided their study by having them circle the signs and add check marks after each slur.

The warm-up assignment from last week was peer-evaluated in what the School calls “players and checkers.”  Two students play the exercise while another two students check for crossed ankles, good posture, a relaxed arm, and a good hand position (space under the hand and strong knuckles).  After evaluating the performances, the students switch places.  Reading and writing activities preparing new concepts were also included during class time.  For reading, students were asked to identify the starting landmark of a notated phrase, name the intervals, and point out any repeated material.  For writing, Lauren drew a note on a line or space of the grand staff and asked students to “spot-place” the nearest landmark, naming the direction and the interval.  This activity reviewed seconds, thirds, and fifths.  The class concluded with work on another new piece and performances of the students’ recital pieces.

My final observation was a private lesson with Natalie Gibson and Kaelen, a second-year student.  In an effort to include me in the exchange and assess Kaelen’s interpretation, Natalie asked him to describe his recital piece prior to performing it.  Afterward, Natalie made a few suggestions regarding dynamics and phrase-shaping and the second performance was polished and musical (four weeks in advance of the recital).  Kaelen played his most recent composition–a waltz.  In preparation for the upcoming faculty’s “all-dance” recital, the New School students were learning about different types of dance music.  In preparation for Kaelen’s newest piece, “Star Wars,” Natalie asked him to transpose the familiar “High Dive,” a piece from last year into the key of G Major.  This was a way to reinforce the tonality and key of the piece and work on phrasing considerations.  This was the second lesson on “Star Wars” but surprisingly, the difficult rhythms and position shifts were fairly smooth.  Natalie assessed Kaelen’s self-awareness by asking him to identify ways to practice and particular measures that needed the most attention.  “Thank you for your great work on this piece,” she said.  “Next week, I can’t wait to play the duet with you because you’ll be ready!”

The remainder of the lesson was spent on activity book assignments reviewing tonic and dominant and triplets.  The four sight-reading series were studied at home so Natalie asked, “Which one of these is your favorite?”  After selecting one series, she asked, “Can you name the intervals?”  Next, Kaelen played on the keyboard lid while counting the rhythm followed by a successful sight-playing performance.  The last few minutes were spent reviewing a piece from Side by Side, a duet book by Ted Cooper and Amy Glennon.  Together, Natalie and Kaelen discussed a few considerations and identified practice steps for the coming week.

Previously: Notes from the New School - Day 1 Notes from the New School - Day 2

Notes from the New School - Day 2

April 21, 2010 Three sixth grade girls shared two benches pushed together in front of the piano keyboard as they rehearsed “Spring Violets” for the upcoming New School recital.  All three private teachers gathered in the studio to listen, observe, and coach.  “Who is the steadiest?” one teacher asked during a conversation about tempo and control.  Few verbal instructions were given to allow students time to play and self-correct.  Responsible for defining their practice at home, each student was asked, “What is your specific homework for this piece?”  Similar to previous observations, students verbalized their practice work as the teachers made notes on their assignment pages.

The trio rehearsal was only the first part of the lesson so the students dispersed with their respective teachers after 15 minutes.  I thought I would be able to tell which teacher taught which student; due to the collaborative nature of the faculty’s approach, however, I was unable to differentiate.  I remained to observe Todd Van Kekerix with student, Emma.  Todd was very soft-spoken in his approach and he often paused in reflection before asking a question or offering a suggestion.  Great emphasis was placed on phrasing in the piece, “Barcarolle” from Accent on Gillock.  “Analyze what you heard there,” Todd asked.  After discussing sequencing and shaping, Todd queried, “How are you going to apply what we just did to the second page?”  Assessing Emma’s understanding, Todd had her mark the “mores” and “lesses” of each phrase.

Amy Glennon and first-year student, Sophie began with a review of technique: a 1-5-3 pattern in B-flat Major.  In a span of five minutes or so, Amy discussed leaning to reach extreme registers, rotation of the wrist, graceful register shifts, and transposition (to C Minor).  Next they reviewed the scales of D Major, G Major, and F Major with the piece “High Dive” from The Music Tree.  They added A Major by expanding the already familiar five-finger pattern.  Sophie’s “special piece” for the recital was well-prepared and very musical.  Last week, Amy introduced the idea of voicing an inner melody within the right hand and Sophie incorporated this very well.  This week, the new concept was pedaling.  Sophie was introduced to the sound and feel of pedaling by listening to Amy’s demonstration, pedaling along with her performance, and then matching the sound she created.  “I’m going to give you your own special ‘Sophie’s Warm-Up,’” Amy stated.  She demonstrated broken fifths between the hands, pedaling every four beats (i.e. C-G [left hand], C-G [right hand] while chanting, “Up, down, hold it”).  This was intended as a practice exercise to prepare Sophie for the pedaling demands in her recital piece.

The Music Tree 1 group classes meet for an hour each week.  This particular class, taught by Amy and New School interns, Judith Jain and Lis Malcolm, had a full lesson plan of activities to accomplish.  As students found their seats in the classroom, the teachers checked practice logs and written assignments from the activity book.  The first activity, called “Take a Trip” reinforced intervals and direction through sound and feel.  A volunteer played the piano at the front of the room while the rest of the class participated by raising their hands, wiggling the first finger to play the exercise, and playing along in the air.  All patterns took place within a five-finger position and were often taken from new song material (another aspect of preparation).

Each student performed a “special piece” in preparation for the recital.  Great emphasis is placed on ensemble playing at the New School: Every student performed a duet with the teacher.  Class members followed along in their books and some played along on the wooden keyboards set at each place.  New songs were introduced by singing and speaking the text in rhythm, preparing hand movement (staccato vs. legato rotation), arm-swinging, walking, and clapping while counting.  Additionally, new concepts such as ties and upbeats were introduced in rhythmic activities–preparation for seeing the song notated in a few weeks.  At the end of class, the students were given a composition assignment: Rearrange a given, familiar piece for performance in next week’s class.

PEPS students meet in small rotation groups every few weeks and in a larger group class of eight students once per month.  Currently, there are 24 students in the program.  I observed two small group rotations and one group class, each an hour in length.  Marvin began each class with scales, often asking two students to play in ensemble: one ascending and the other descending.  The students had fluency goals for June posted in the room: 100-160, depending on age and ability.  Repertoire included Debussy, Clementi, a Mozart minuet (where Marvin led the students in an impromptu minuet around the room while singing words along with the melody), a Bach invention, a concerto by Vandall, and Sibelius’ Romance, to which Marvin stated, “Begin warm, soft, calm, and with a feeling of moonlight. . . .Music that is calm is even.”  Musical discussions included historical influences, theoretical considerations such as the importance of the cadential 6/4 progression, and phrasing decisions supported by careful pedaling.  Students were challenged in thought, touch, and sound.

Previously: Notes from the New School - Day 1