Category: Rote Teaching

The Power of Patterns

9/10/2020

Do you remember the very first piece you ever learned to play on the piano?

Chances are that before you ever had a formal piano lesson, you learned to play something like “Heart and Soul,” “Chopsticks,” or maybe even a bit of "Für Elise." Many of us have fond memories of being shown how to play one of these timeless tunes by a friend or family member.

What do all of these familiar pieces have in common? The allure of these pieces can be summed up in one word--PATTERNS. Each of these pieces is pattern-based, can be learned quickly, and sounds impressive when played correctly. No wonder so many people fall in love with the piano after being taught to play one of these catchy tunes!

Pattern-based music can be a powerful tool in your teaching arsenal. Want to learn how to harness the power of patterns in your studio? Read on for more about how pattern-based pieces can energize your teaching!

0 Comments

"Easy Perfect Patterns" now in hardcopy and on sale!

10/9/2018

0 Comments

I am excited to share that my "Easy Perfect Patterns" collection is now available in hardcopy--and on sale for just $7!

This book is for late elementary pianists and contains 12 pieces in a variety of styles. These pattern-based pieces can be learned quickly and have the potential to be taught by rote, reading, or a combination of the two. Backing tracks are also available for this collection!

Click HERE to see sample pages, listen to the collection, or to purchase!

0 Comments

Friday Freebie and a Teaching Tip!

2/16/2018

0 Comments

Today only, Friday, February 16th, "Highland Dance," the first piece from my new Perfect Patterns book, is available for FREE at Piano Pronto!

Click HERE to get your free copy!

In honor of the occasion, I made a short teaching tip video demonstrating how I introduce pattern-based pieces like this one to my students using transposition and improvisation!

Check out the rest of my Perfect Patterns book HERE.

0 Comments

Holiday Music to Teach by Rote

11/19/2016

0 Comments

Over the past few years, I have found lots of benefits to incorporating rote teaching into my lessons. (In fact, my blog post HERE features a video of how I introduce one of my own compositions, "Into the Storm," to my students by rote.) Rote teaching is a great way to motivate students, particularly those that struggle with reading traditional notation. It encourages careful listening, and offers students opportunities to focus on technique and creating a beautiful sound at the piano. In addition, rote playing encourages students to be creative and truly make the piece their own.

This holiday season, I will be incorporating seasonal rote pieces with my students. Many holiday tunes are simple enough to teach by rote, but in this post I am going to focus on two of my students' favorites--both of which sound impressive and are non-Christmas specific, so they can be used with students of any age or denomination!

When I introduce these pieces, I write a simple guide in the student's assignment book to help them remember the patterns we learn by rote in the lesson. I find that just about any student can be successful with these two fun pieces.

Carol of the Bells
"Carol of the Bells," also known as the "Ukranian Bell Carol," is hands-down one of my students' most requested holiday songs. With its many repeated patterns, it is also a great candidate for rote teaching. Here is how to break it down:

Start by introducing the RH pattern. I like to teach this piece in the key of A minor, so I have students play: C B-C A (long short-short long) Start on finger 3. This is a great finger exercise!
Add the left hand. Starting with thumb on A, play one note with each RH pattern (holding each note for 3 beats).

A G F E F E D A

This is usually enough of the piece to satisfy beginning students. For more advanced students you have the option of including the "Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas" scale pattern, which uses the notes E-F#-G#-A-B-C-D-E-D-C (RH fingering: 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5-4-3)
Once students have mastered the notes, it is time to get creative! Try playing in different octaves to create the sound of high or low bells. Try different dynamics--this piece is especially effective using crescendo and diminuendo, which can be taught by rote. Have more advanced students experiment with using the pedal. Experiment with repeating the patterns of the piece in different ways to create a personalized arrangement. The options are endless!

Pachelbel's Canon
The ubiquitous "Canon" by Johann Pachelbel is another extremely popular piece with my students. Although it is not specifically a holiday piece, it is performed quite often at the holidays. Students are always excited to learn that "Canon" is made up of just a few chords that repeat over and over. Here is how to break it down:

Start by writing out the canon chords. I like to teach this piece to beginners in the key of C major, so I write:

C \ G / A \ E / F \ C / F / G
(I draw an arrow between each chord to indicate which direction you move.)

Have students play each chord in root position, using their right hand. I tell young students to use white keys only; with older students you can go into the theory of major vs. minor chords if you want.
Next, have students play just the root of each chord with their left hand, starting with their thumb on C. Encourage students to use all of their fingers to play these notes, instead of moving their hand to play each one.
Finally, we put both hands together by playing the root of the chord with the LH, followed by the broken root position chord with the RH. This creates a nice four beat pattern. For later beginners, this is a great piece to practice pedaling. Have students lift the damper pedal when the play each left hand note, and put the damper pedal down when the play the first note of each broken chord. Students love the sophisticated sound this creates.
I find "Canon" to be really effective for younger students as a duet. I have students play the chord pattern as written above, as I play the various melodies from the "Canon" high on the piano. Older students might enjoy learning the melodic patterns, too, or experimenting with using inversions when playing the chords. Once again, you have lots of options to customize this for each student.

What do you think? Will you be teaching your students any rote holiday pieces this year? Please leave a comment below!

0 Comments

Teaching Tip Thursday: Teaching by Rote

8/11/2016

0 Comments

Today is Teaching Tip Thursday over at the Composers Community Discussion Forum on Facebook. I shared teaching tips for how I introduce the patterns in my piece "Into the Storm" using rote exercises. Check out the sheet music for "Into the Storm" here.

0 Comments

The Power of Patterns

"Easy Perfect Patterns" now in hardcopy and on sale!

Friday Freebie and a Teaching Tip!

Holiday Music to Teach by Rote

Teaching Tip Thursday: Teaching by Rote

Author

Archives

Categories