Category: Duets

Easy Video Game Duets!

9/11/2022

What's more fun than playing your favorite video game theme? Playing your favorite video game theme with your best friend!

Check out these 5, evenly-leveled video game duets that your students will be excited to play together! Each duet has been carefully arranged for two late elementary to early intermediate pianists. These would also make great ensemble selections--just double each part as necessary for the number of players you have.

Read on to see these 5 fun duets!

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Two Black Key Improv Activities for Beginners

2/8/2018

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Following up on my new year's resolution to help my students discover the joy of music, I have been trying to incorporate more creative activities into my lessons this past month. Playing by ear, improvising, composing--I have been making these fun activities a top priority during our lessons. To my surprise, helping my students to be creative has also rejuvenated my own teaching, and helped to banish the post-holiday burnout that sometimes happens after Christmas break. It's a win-win!

To that end, I would like to share a couple of the improv activities I have been doing with my students this month. These activities are simple enough to do with beginners, and quick enough to fit into any lesson plan. They encourage students to play with a steady beat, and help them to organize their ideas into a simple A-B-A form. Best of all, these improvs only require 5 notes--the five black keys!

1. Black Key Blues

Help students improvise a melody over a 12 bar blues pattern! Start by playing a teacher duet made up of a simple 12 bar blues pattern in E-flat major, using the chord pattern below. Play four quarter note beats per measure, using blocked or broken chords or a simple blues pattern (such as the intervals 5th-6th-7th-6th).

Eb | Eb | Eb | Eb |
Ab | Ab | Eb | Eb |
Bb | Ab | Eb | Eb |

Next, ask students to create a melody over your duet part using steady quarter notes on the black keys. These notes are part of the E-flat blues scale and pair perfectly with our 12 bar blues pattern!
After playing the 12 bar duet, try a fun "call-and-response" rhythm activity. Using one of your blues chords, play a four-beat pattern and have the student echo it using one of the black keys. Try 8 measures of call-and-response, then repeat your 12 bar blues pattern (with the student once again creating a melody in quarter notes) to end the improv.

2. Pretty, Pretty Rainbow

Create a lyrical duet using only the black keys! Start by asking the student to create a simple melody using the phrase "pret-ty pret-ty rain-bow" for the rhythm (equivalent to four quarter notes followed by two half notes). Students may use any black keys they wish.
Once the student is comfortable with the melody, accompany them by playing harmony on the black keys. Any black keys will work! Aim to repeat the phrase "pretty pretty rainbow" four times to create an 8-bar phrase.
Next, have your student improvise a middle section for the improv by creating "rainbow" sounds on the black keys. They may play the black keys one at a time or in clusters, going down the piano and then back up. Don't forget to hold down the damper pedal for maximum colorful effect!
Finally, repeat your 8-bar "pretty pretty rainbow" section to finish the piece.

What do you think? Have you done any improv activities with your students this year? Please leave a comment below!

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Double the Fun by Teaching Duets!

7/10/2017

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Playing the piano can be very lonely. We pianists often spend many hours practicing alone, while our other instrument-playing friends are jamming in concert band or orchestra practice. It doesn't seem fair, does it?

It doesn't have to be that way! I love teaching duets because it provides my students with the opportunity to make music with a friend--or sometimes to make a new friend through music! Ensemble playing can help build a sense of camaraderie in your studio--not to mention the benefits to your students' reading and rhythmic skills!

I would like to share a few tips that I have found helpful when working on ensemble pieces with my students. With these tips in mind, you and your students will be ready to double the fun with duets!

Choose the right level of repertoire. I find that it is best to assign repertoire that is a level lower than the least advanced student in your duet pair is currently playing. The extra focus required to play with good ensemble and balance between parts makes duet playing challenging enough. Set your students up for success by giving them a piece that will allow them to focus on these challenges without being overwhelmed.

Assign your parts (and your players) carefully. You want at least one player in your ensemble with a strong sense of beat, preferably playing the part that provides the rhythmic foundation for the piece (which is usually the secondo). Pair your students so that a rhythmically weaker student has a stronger player to work with. Or, if you have two students that struggle with rhythm, be sure to assign them an even easier duet than you normally would so that they can be successful!
Make sure students are confident in their own parts before rehearsing together. My students have to pass a 3-part "test" before they are allowed to practice their duets together. Each student must be able to: 1) play their own part successfully on their own; 2) play their own part successfully with the metronome, and 3) play their part while I play the other student's part. Once a student can do these 3 things, the duet fun can begin!
Work on balance between parts by color coding the melody and harmony. One of the most challenging elements of good duet playing is being able to balance the melody and harmony between the primo and secondo parts. I find it helpful to have students go through their parts individually and color code each section to show if they are playing melody or harmony. Then, when students rehearse together, ask them to "play" the entire duet but only play out loud the parts where they have the melody. This is a great way to help students hear the melody throughout a piece and know how their parts work together!

So, are you ready to double the fun in your studio? Do you work on duets (or trios and quartets) with your students? Please comment below!

P.S. Check out some of my own fun duet compositions on my YouTube channel HERE!

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Easy Video Game Duets!

Two Black Key Improv Activities for Beginners

Double the Fun by Teaching Duets!

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