Class+Piano+&+Composition

[|click here to see the iPad orchestra in action.]

**Friday, May 19th – Spring Piano Recital in the Cafe** **All piano students are required to perform! This is a graded performance! Students must arrive at 5:30pm and the recital begins at 6:00 pm. Please bring a plate of cookies or finger food to share! Personal invitations will be mailed out to parents. Please RSVP if your parents and number of guests are coming!**

The school year is almost at an end and the kids have been working steadfastly in preparing for their upcoming recital! Please mark your calendar for May 19th @ 6:00 pm for their Spring Piano Recital! It will be held in the school cafeteria. I will be sending personal invitations and I only ask that you email me with the number of people who will be attending in your party.

Also, I will have a small reception after the recital is over. If you are able, please bring a plate of cookies or finger foods to share. There are students with nut allergies, so please be mindful in this area.

Students are to dress appropriately for the occasion, Boys need to wear dress slacks, dress shirt, neck or bow tie. Girls need to wear a nice dress that covers their knees when sitting, or dress slacks and blouse. NO T-SHIRTS! Students will be graded not just on their performance but overall appearance.

= PRACTICE RECORD PAGE: []= =**//LET'S PLAY…//..! **=

@http://downloads.emediamusic.com/Educational/PKM-EduHome-Mac @http://downloads.emediamusic.com/Educational/PKM-EduHome-Win =Info:=
 * eMedia download: **Here are your download  links for the student versions of the software .

=**SYLLABUS:**= =**HISTORY OF THE PIANO HANDOUT:**=

**A PERCY GRAINGER ** //**READ ALL ABOUT PERCY GRAINGER: **//
 * Percy Grainger was born in Melbourne in 1882 and for much of his life was noted primarily as a successful concert pianist and composer of small-scale keyboard works. He was also a tireless researcher and arranger of folk songs, particularly in Britain and Scandinavia, attracting praise from Britten and Grieg, among others. After moving to the US with his mother Rose, Grainger worked on unique instruments of his own devising, while also establishing a museum dedicated to his life and career in Melbourne in 1938. His legacy assured, Grainger died 50 years ago today. **

=**CLASS VIDEOS:**=


 * The Beginning of the Keyboard Instrument: **
 * Part 1:** https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=The+History+of+Piano&&view=detail&mid=82CF28FEFF28C6436B6582CF28FEFF28C6436B65&FORM=VRDGAR


 * Who Invented the Piano?: **
 * Part 1:** https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Who+Invented+the+Piano&&view=detail&mid=D46F4B359AF9000AD0B6D46F4B359AF9000AD0B6&FORM=VRDGAR
 * Part 2:** https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Bartolomeo+Cristofori+Vita+Film&&view=detail&mid=B0AEA9E5290C16881F87B0AEA9E5290C16881F87&FORM=VRDGAR

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=The+Grand+Piano+Biography&&view=detail&mid=5C7445CA5DFBB846C9505C7445CA5DFBB846C950&FORM=VRDGAR
 * History of the Grand Piano: **

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Documentaries+On+the+History+of+the+Piano&&view=detail&mid=56F16A13C4FD47AB141756F16A13C4FD47AB1417&FORM=VRDGAR
 * The Steinway Piano **

**IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A KEYBOARD OR PIANO AT HOME, BOOKMARK THE WEBSITE: "[|VIRTUAL KEYBOARD]"! THIS WILL TRANSFORM YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD INTO A PIANO KEYBOARD! YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PRACTICE AT HOME AT YOUR OWN TIME!**

DOWNLOAD TREBLE CLEF FLASH CARDS:
 * http://www.makingmusicfun.net/pdf/lesson_resources/flash-cards-tc.pdf**

DOWNLOAD BASS CLEF FLASH CARDS:
 * http://www.makingmusicfun.net/pdf/lesson_resources/flash-cards-bc.pdf**



PIANO CLASS PRACTICE TIPS: ** __// You are required to practice 120 minutes a week - which breaks down to 17 minutes a day! //__

=Top 10 Tips on How to Practice the Piano =

 **As a piano teacher, I sometimes take for granted that students know how to practice. Here are my top ten tips to help make practicing more productive: **
 * 1.** **Don't over-schedule**. I have heard so many students talk about their unbelievably busy schedules. Taking piano lessons is not merely a half-hour a week commitment. It needs to be a daily commitment. Remember, all it takes is 15-17 minutes a day to meet your course goals!!!!!


 * 2.** **Have a set time to practice every day**. If practicing is part of a daily routine, it is much more likely to happen. Make your practice time FIRST! Get-R-Done and over with! Practice where you know you won't be constantly interrupted.


 * 3.** **Do it right from the very beginning.** Once you have practiced something incorrectly, it is very difficult to correct it later on. If you are practicing a piece and you are playing an A key instead of B key, it will take you 35 more times to re-learn it with the correct key. Why waste all that time when you can just start off with slow, attentive practice right from the beginning? Take your time!


 * 4**. **Be your own teacher.** When a student plays a piece for me, I often will ask, "Does that sound right to you?" Their answer is usually no. If you know it does not sound right, do something about it! Check for wrong notes, sharps or flats, incorrect hand positions, etc. Trust your ear to let you know when something isn't right, and take the initiative to correct it instead of waiting for me to make the corrections for you.


 * 5.** **Divide your piece into sections**. Divide your piece into small sections and practice each section until it is correct. Then combine two small sections to make larger sections. Avoid practicing the entire piece repeatedly until you are sure you are able to play the entire piece without mistakes. Playing the piece repeatedly is called "playing" not "practicing." My motto is: "Practice what you don't know first, then add what you can Play well."


 * 6. Analyze the little things.** There are so many notations made in music. Notice the tempo marking at the top of the piece (the recommended speed), the dynamic markings (how loud or soft to play), the finger numbers, the accidentals (sharps, flats and natural signs), the extra markings such as ritardando (gradually slowing down), first and second endings, D.C. al Fine and a whole list of other possible markings. Make sure you know the meaning of all the symbols and words in your pieces before leaving your lesson. I recommend owning a music dictionary to look up any terms that you don't know.


 * 7. Warm-up with technical exercises**. Just like athletes, pianists need to warm up before playing. You can do something simple like a five finger exercise, or something more complex such as scales and arpeggios. Always start out slow and allow yourself time to get warmed up.


 * 8. Limited Hands-alone practice.** I think it is good to start out learning a piece by practicing hands alone. But once you have gone through the piece a couple times with hands alone, it is important to put the hands together in small sections. Your brain needs to work on coordinating the two hands together. Take it slow and steady. Do not try to rush this process. It will take time and a lot of concentration but eventually it will happen.


 * 9. Spend time learning theory.** It's important to learn theory so that you understand how music comes together. If you look at a key signature and understand why certain notes need to be sharped or flatted, that will make it much easier to learn the piece. Students should spend time each day on some type of written work. Whether it's identifying notes for beginning students, or analyzing chord structures for the more advanced students, studying theory will give you a much better understanding of how music fits together.

While practicing the piano can get tedious at times, try to look at it as a puzzle just waiting to be solved. Come up with creative ways to make the piece more colorful with contrasting dynamics and exciting mood changes. Imagine what type of scene the composer had in mind when they composed the piece. With the right mindset, practicing can actually be an enjoyable experience
 * 10**. **Count aloud or use a metronome**. When a person is playing the piano, it is so easy to cheat the rhythm. In the players head it sounds perfectly fine, but to the audience it often sounds like a jumbled, out-of-control mess. So that is why it's important to be held accountable for all of the beats in the piece by counting aloud or using a metronome. I know it is very difficult to do, and most musicians view the metronome as their enemy. But it is so important that the pianist feels every beat to provide a much needed foundation for the piece. Start the metronome at a speed much lower than you are capable of playing the piece at. Then slowly increase the tempo until you are able to play the piece at the desired tempo with the metronome.