Chrissy Ricker
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Freebie Alert: Chord Group Chart!

1/11/2019

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I have recently been working with a student who is new to piano, but plays guitar in his praise band at church. We have been dedicating part of each lesson to chord theory, and working on making a connection between the chords he knows on guitar and the chords he is learning on the piano.

To help make this connection, I created this chord group chart that shows the four groups we use to organize the 12 major chords on the piano. This free chart would be a great resource for your students who are looking to get started with lead sheet or chord chart playing, as well as those who want some visual reinforcement for learning their five-finger scales and chords--you can even mark the additional keys used in each scale if you wish!


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Click HERE or on the picture above to download your free chord group chart!

What do you think? Do you teach chords using these four groups? Any tricks you use to help your students learning to play chords? Please leave a comment below!
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The Living Composer Project

12/29/2018

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​Who comes to mind when you hear the word "composer?"

For most of my students, the answer to that question is someone like Beethoven or Mozart--a composer who lived and worked hundreds of years ago. And while of course those composers make up an important part of our piano study, I think it is also very important for students to learn about the living composers who are producing new music every day.

To this end, this spring I will be doing a semester-long project to help my students learn more about the music of living composers. I have created a series of worksheets that will help my students to think more about who writes the music they enjoy each day. I hope these worksheets will help my students to research and listen to new music, as well.

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​Feel free to download and use these worksheets with your own students if you like! I am planning on doing one worksheet each month with my students, culminating with each student performing a piece by a living composer at our spring recital in May. However, I tried to make the worksheets flexible enough that you may use them however you like. I will also be blogging later this month about the composers my students have discovered in their research.

Click HERE or on the pictures above to download the living composer project worksheets (#1-4).

What do you think? Do you encourage your students to listen to music by living composers? Who are your favorites? Please share your ideas in the comments!
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A Free Christmas Rhythmic Dictation Activity

11/26/2018

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Today I am sharing a fun new holiday resource: a Christmas rhythmic dictation activity!

Rhythmic dictation--hearing a rhythm and writing it down--is an important skill. Not only does it help students to solidify their understanding of rhythm and reinforce their internal metronome, it is an essential skill for students who want to compose or arrange music. 

This activity has four levels. The first, shown above, uses only quarter, half, dotted half, and whole notes. Level 2 adds eighth notes, level 3 uses dotted quarter and eighth note groups, and level 4 contains rhythms in 6/8 time.

Depending on the experience level of your students, you may play the given examples on the piano, or tap out the rhythms instead. You might find it helpful to use the metronome, to help students clearly hear the beat. You might also find it helpful to tap or play the rhythms one measure at a time at first.

Click HERE to download all four levels of "Do You Hear What I Hear: A Christmas Rhythmic Dictation Activity!"

​What do you think? Do you practice rhythmic dictation with your students?




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    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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