Chrissy Ricker
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On Sight Reading, Part One

4/30/2017

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It seems a bit ironic for me to be writing a post on sight reading, since I don’t consider myself to be a super sight reader! Growing up, I was always a diligent practicer, but sight reading did not come easily to me. Because of this, I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about the skills needed to be a good sight reader, as well as helping my students to develop their own sight reading skills. I can safely say that my students are better sight readers than I was at their age!
 
There are a few skills that I think are key (pun intended!) to being a good sight reader. Here are my top three picks--as well as ways that I help my students to practice each of these skills.

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“Chunking” the notes. A good sight reader recognizes patterns in the music, instead of just focusing on one note at a time. Intervals, repeated notes, chords and inversions—spotting these can help you to read more quickly and easily.​ Help students develop this skill by analyzing their pieces, looking for patterns in the music. Theory worksheets or apps that drill intervals, chords, and inversions (like this free inversion worksheet available in the "free stuff" section of my website) are also very helpful. As an added bonus, students can sight read these worksheets!    

Eyes ahead of fingers.  A good sight reader always looks ahead at what is coming up in the music. Ideally, your eyes should stay on the music, and be at least a measure ahead of your fingers so you can prepare for what is coming up next.​ Help students keep their eyes moving ahead by covering the measures of their music with a piece of paper as they play. Cover each measure as students play the first note, so their eyes must always stay a measure ahead.

Keep calm and carry on. A good sight reader keeps a steady beat and doesn’t stop—no matter what!​ Help students practice this skill by having them sight read with a metronome, or by sight reading duets together. I tell my students that sight reading is about perseverance--not perfection!


What skills do you think are necessary to be a good sight reader? Please chime in below! In my next post, I will share more ways that I work on sight reading with my students.

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Monday Morning Blues

4/24/2017

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It's a rainy Monday morning here--perfect weather for my newest duet, "Monday Morning Blues!"

This evenly-leveled duet for two beginners is a jazzy twist on Grieg's famous "Morning" theme.

​Click HERE to see the music!
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A Special Anniversary...

4/21/2017

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Exactly one year ago today, my first Composers Community piece, "Cat Nappin,'" was published! 

If you aren't familiar with the Composers Community at Piano Pronto, I encourage you to check it out! Over 30 different composers from the U.S., Canada, and England are represented. It is a great resource for fresh new music by living composers to share with your students.

Click HERE to see all of my Composers Community pieces, and HERE to see works by the entire community!

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Rock On! Volume 2 now available in hardcopy!

4/6/2017

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I am super excited to announce that my newest collection, "Rock On! Volume 2" is now available in hard copy format (as well as digital) on the Piano Pronto website!

If you have intermediate level students that want to play like Elton John, Ben Folds, or Tori Amos--please check out this collection! These original rock pieces are accessible and sound really cool (if I do say so myself!)



Click HERE to see and hear the music from this collection.

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A Bach Group Class Lesson Plan

4/2/2017

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In honor of J.S. Bach's birthday on March 21st, my monthly group class was a tribute to Bach! Here are some easy ideas for creating your own Bach-inspired group class to share with your students.

Ice Breaker Activity: Bach podcast and "Bach or Not?" game.
Our first activity was listening to the wonderful Bach podcast on the "Classics for Kids" website, which can be found HERE. This short podcast talked a bit about Bach's life and featured snippets of some of Bach's most famous pieces of music.

Once we finished the podcast, we played a game called "Bach or Not?" To play this game, I typed up a list of Bach facts, some true and some false, and placed them in a box. (For example, one fact read: "Bach had a very small family with only a few children." Answer: NOT!) Each student drew a fact from the box, read it out loud, and we discussed whether it was "Bach or not." This was a great review of the information we learned from the podcast. 


Performance Activity: Playing Music by Bach
Encourage students to prepare a piece by Bach to share with the group! Here is a list of free sheet music sites where you can find pieces by J.S. Bach:
  • G Major Music Theory, click HERE (beginner to early advanced)
  • Making Music Fun, click HERE (beginner to intermediate: scroll down and look under "Great Composers" at each level)
  • IMSLP, click HERE (this is a huge list of works in original form)

Ensemble Activity: Piano Maestro
For a different kind of ensemble activity, take a look at the free Bach pieces with backing tracks available through the Piano Maestro app. At the time of my class, the available free pieces included "Musette" for Level 1, "Minuet in G major" and "Toccata" for Level 2, and "Minuet in G minor" for Level 3. Students really enjoy taking turns playing these pieces along with the backing tracks, and it is great sight-reading practice too. 

What do you think? Have you ever done a composer-specific group class? Please share your ideas in the comments!





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    Author

    Chrissy Ricker is a pianist, teacher, and composer from North Carolina. These are her thoughts on teaching, composing, and all things music.


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