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 Most of us teachers have come up with little tricks over the years for introducing certain concepts to our students! Today I am sharing a "2 Minute Teaching Tip" video for how (and when) I introduce the concept of wrist lifts to my students. Interested? Click "read more" to watch the video!
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 Check out this new, limited time freebie over at Piano Pronto! This bluesy solo for intermediate students is great practice for left-hand leaps! Click HERE for your free copy.
This fun piece is part of the Perfect Patterns PLUS collection, which features pattern-based pieces that focus on a variety of technical concepts. This collection is on sale for $8 for a limited time! You can see and listen to the whole book HERE. Have a great weekend!  Teaching technique can be overwhelming. There are hundreds of different technique books out there, and nearly as many different schools of thought on teaching technical concepts. As teachers, we may be afraid of instilling bad habits in our students. Our students, overwhelmed with learning keyboard geography, note reading, and rhythm, may be resistant to practicing technical exercises and taking corrections on their technique. What is a teacher to do?
Over the last few years, I have developed an approach to teaching technique to my beginning students that has changed my teaching for the better. Today, I would like to share the first five techniques I focus on with my students, and the activities I use in my lessons to reinforce these skills. We learn these techniques away from the piano first, then we practice them at the piano using rote patterns like scales and broken chords. Finally, we incorporate these techniques into our repertoire pieces. Mastering these techniques in the first year of lessons will create a firm foundation for the more advanced technical concepts that follow.  I am excited to share the release of the newest book in my "Perfect Patterns" series: "Perfect Patterns Plus!" I wrote my "Perfect Patterns" series to give students who struggle with note reading fun, flashy pieces that can be learned quickly and sound sophisticated. I have had such a wonderful response from teachers and students who enjoyed the original "Perfect Patterns" and "Easy Perfect Patterns" books that I am thrilled to share this newest release in the series! Like the first two books in the series, "Perfect Patterns Plus" contains sophisticated-sounding, pattern-based pieces. However, this book has an added bonus: each piece focuses on a technical pattern that appears in intermediate piano literature. Students will have fun exploring patterns such as the chromatic scale, rolled chords, two-octave scales, blocked and broken inversions, arpeggios, and more! Check out a few of my favorite pieces from this new collection:
Click HERE to see sample pages and hear recordings of every piece in this book! What do you think? Have you tried the "Perfect Patterns" books yet? Do your students enjoy pattern-based pieces? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!  My students love playing flashcard-style games to drill note names and rhythms. So, I had a thought--why not create a similar game to practice technique? So, today's free printable is a set of technique flashcards with a basketball theme that you can use with students of all ages to make practicing technical movements fun!
There are many different ways to explain technical movements to students--however, the analogy I have found most helpful for most of my students is that of a ball--bouncing, rolling, dropping, or rocking. It helps my students to make the connection between technical movements at the piano and sports--just like they do drills and warm-ups at basketball or soccer practice, drills and warm-ups are equally important at the piano. I think drilling these movements away from the piano also helps students to focus on how each movement should feel, without having to worry about what notes are being played. You can do this movement with an imaginary ball, or a real one if you like! Here are the technical movements introduced in each flashcard and how I teach them: 1. Swing and drop. This technique helps students to practice relaxing their arm and shoulder and using their arm weight to drop onto the piano keys. How to do it: have students swing their arms to fully relax. You can check for relaxation by lifting the student's arm and gently shaking it--have them do the same to your arm so they can feel how heavy a relaxed arm is. Once the arm is relaxed, on the count of 3 drop onto the piano keys (or your lap for practice). Just like a ball being dropped, there will be a slight rebound at the bottom--this will keep students from "pushing" into the keys when they play using arm weight. 2. Bounce the ball. This is the technique I use to teach students to play with a relaxed, non-legato touch with a flexible wrist. It is also the beginnings of playing staccato. How to do it: have students pretend they are dribbling a basketball. Make sure they are moving their arm slightly and keeping their wrist flexible (you can demonstrate how silly it would look to dribble with a tense arm and wrist). 3. Roll the ball across. This technique is the foundation for legato playing, as students learn to transfer their arm weight across their hand as they play each finger. How to do it: have students pretend they are rolling a ball across the piano keys. Tell them to notice how their arm moves along with their hand as they roll. 4. Roll the ball forward. This technique helps students to lift their wrist in preparation for phrasing. It is also a good way to help make sure students are playing with a relaxed wrist and arm. How to do it: have students imagine that their hand is resting on top of a ball as they roll the ball forward. This movement should help their wrist lift naturally. It may also be helpful to imagine that they have a tiny ball on top of their hand, and as they "roll forward" and lift their wrist they are rolling the ball off the front of their hand and onto the piano keys. 5. Rock the ball. This technical movement teaches students the feeling of forearm rotation. How to do it: have students imagine that their hand is resting on top of the ball as they gently rock the ball from side to side. Once students are comfortable with these movements, you can use these cards in different ways during your lessons. Here are a few ideas:
Click HERE to download your free "March Madness" technique drill flashcards! What do you think? How do you teach technical gestures to your students? Do you have any tips to help make practicing technique fun? I would love to hear your ideas in the comments! |
AuthorChrissy Ricker is a pianist, teacher, and composer from North Carolina. These are her thoughts on teaching, composing, and all things music. Looking for teaching ideas related to a specific topic? Use the "search" feature or scroll down to see blog posts organized by category!
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