Submitted by Joan Fasullo

There’s no question that we all want our elementary students to have a solid foundation in rhythm. Igor Stravinsky said, “There is music wherever there is rhythm, as there is life wherever there is a pulse.” In terms of rhythm, whether it’s playing eighth notes, triplets, rests, or the pesky dotted quarter note & eighth, I believe that adequately preparing students for a new rhythm and its notation is critical to developing that strong foundation. The following is a description of what I do when a student is going to have an eighth rest(s) in a piece for the very first time. 
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My goal is for the student to respond to any new rhythmic notation securely before I ever assign it in a piece. Using the “sound, feel, sign, name” philosophy, I do short drills at each lesson which take just a few minutes.

2.  Ask the student to describe what he hears. With eighth rests, the student might say, “I hear hiccups,” or “I hear some whispers.” Someone might even say “there are rests.” If this happens, I encourage him to be as descriptive of the length of the rest as possible – “Is it a long rest or a short rest?” I think it’s important that the student describes the sound in his own words, as this starts him on the path to “ownership” of the new rhythm.

3. Ask the student to imitate playing of the “hiccups” (or whatever descriptive word he used), using the pointer finger on a single key. Once he can do that easily I ask him to imitate using consecutive fingers within a 5-finger pattern. It’s important to keep things as simple as possible to ensure success with the new rhythm. No reading of the new eighth rest sign is involved at this point.

​Here are four samples of a first measure for RH alone (or LH alone one octave lower). You should play @ three additional measures, putting the eighth rest on a different beat each time. I suggest giving equal treatment to each hand separately, as well as examples in a variety of meters. Choose a slow tempo at first.

4.  Using a grid with numbers on it, demonstrate how to point & count while keeping a steady pulse. In the case of preparing a rest, I simply leave a blank space in its place. The student whispers the missing number. Once secure, I assign the activity to be practiced daily at home. This is an ideal way for a student to practice a new rhythm without seeing the new sign!

5.  Add tapping & counting the grid numbers on the keyboard cover. Once secure, assign it for daily practice. 

6.  Using a single key, assign to play the numbers on the grid. Once secure, assign it for daily practice.

8.  Introduce the name “eighth rest.” Some students will have already figured out its name since it replaces an eighth note on the grid. 

​9.  The student imitates the playing of short (2-3 measure) melodies which contain the new rest, as in #3 above.

​At this point, if I feel the student needs more time and/or experience to gain security, I include the use of a poem with an eighth rest in it. Students may walk the beat as they say the words or walk the rhythm as they feel a steady beat (harder). Younger students thoroughly enjoy this activity and engaging the whole body like this is an optimal way to lead to a strong rhythmic foundation.

10.  Reading & playing short patterns (2-4 measures) which include the new rest. I assign them to be played with both the RH alone, and the LH alone (an octave lower). See #3 above.
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In closing I want to stress that if you decide to try these activities, it’s critical that the student demonstrates 100% security with each before moving on to the next step. Just how long you take to prepare a student for a new rhythm and its notation depends on the age and strength of the individual student. For some it takes a few weeks, and for others it takes several, but I believe you’ll find it’s time well spent!

You will find the Music Tree Activities books by Frances Clark to be chock full of rhythm patterns to be tapped, poems to chant and walk, and short melodic passages to be played. All lend themselves beautifully to these drills. 

I’m just as eager as everyone else to move my students ahead rapidly, but I’ve learned that this kind of preparation actually saves time by preventing wasted lesson time fixing mistakes. Preventing rhythmic errors by preparing ahead develops students with the rhythmic security to play musically!  

Submitted by Miriam Shingle
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​​Perhaps your piano students don’t have trouble visualizing chord inversions on the keys, but chances are some do. There is a fun and easy way to help them!  

Manipulatives and colors are always attractive means to practice or introduce concepts, and are a great way to introduce inversions of chords. I like to start with the C chord and use erasers on the keys, a different color for each note:

You can of course use any erasers….or other objects that are large enough so that they won’t fall between the keys. Sticky flags work well, too, and are less likely to get in the way when the students play the chords.  

Simply “leap-frog” the erasers or objects into the different inversion positions. Students can place their fingers on the “eraser keys” to play. Have the students try moving the erasers to the correct positions as a good evaluation tool to see if they can do it on their own.​​

​Telling It Like It Is

Happily, many of us have returned, at least in part, to teaching music in person.  This may depend on both your comfort level as well as that of your students; or perhaps the studio franchise where you teach is still in virtual mode.  Whether you have been enjoying this new normal, or whether you’re eager for the old normal, the fact remains that many of us currently teach in front of a screen and probably will for a few more months.
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The Opportunity For Growth

Okay, so we didn’t ask for this, but despite the upheaval of the past year, there have been many blessings as a result.  No, COVID is certainly not a blessing, but the adaptation and knowledge that came by force-of-circumstance, and the need to grow beyond what we were before, has caused us to become better teachers, more tech-savvy, and more open to possibilities that otherwise might not have been revealed.
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What Did We Learn?  

About the students…

• That students didn’t know what a measure was.  
• That many students have trouble tracking music as they play.
• That students can actually do more things than we thought without a teacher physically present.

   
About ourselves…

• That we needed to review music terms.  (Uh— a little more than we thought.)
• That we needed to get creative or lose them completely.
• That we can more easily adapt to new situations than we thought we could.

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We Are Not Alone

Amazingly, and thankfully, music educators around the globe have had our backs.  Aside from ample technological advice, there has been an ongoing surge of available resources that can add additional creativity and fun to our lessons.  As colleagues, we can support each other by sharing ideas or websites that we come across from time to time.  Let’s share our thoughts, ideas and resources with each other by clicking COMMENT on this blog.  Here are just two that I recently came by:

• MusicEducatorResources.com
  You can subscribe for free to Jennifer Foxx’s newsletter that informs you of ideas, online games and workshops.  In addition, she gives away a freebie each month!
  
• Colorful Keys YouTube Channel
  Subscribing (which is free) to this YouTube channel will get you periodic notifications about “Vibrant Music Teacher Chats,” which are videos you can watch current to today’s teaching.  
  

Submitted by Jonathan Flowers

Conventional webcams cannot provide the high resolution needed to display sheet music clearly during online lessons. Did you know that you can use the superior camera on your iPhone or iPad as a document camera in Zoom?  This video shows you how!

Submitted by Miriam Shingle

Many of us have been contemplating the return to in-person private lessons, and perhaps some of us have already done so. It is a somewhat elusive decision right now, as pandemic circumstances are
always changing. 

Some teachers and parents may not yet feel comfortable with in-person lessons. Keeping a disinfected and well-circulated environment, tolerating extended mask-wearing, and staying socially distant are all factors to consider when planning for reopening.

While willing to continue lessons virtually, I plan to at least offer in-person lessons to my students starting in September. I feel that giving parents a choice is important for my business to remain intact. In so offering, I will be sharing my safety procedures, such as disinfecting doorknobs and wiping down the keys with hydrogen peroxide between lessons, using hand sanitizer before and after lessons, and requiring the use of a mask. Additionally, I am pleased to say that I had an Air Scrubber installed on my HVAC system this week. It is a whole-house UV bulb that kills viruses, bacteria, allergens and mold, mainly in the air but also on surfaces.

Please comment to share YOUR plans for Fall lessons, as there are certainly things to consider not yet mentioned. Questions to our members would also be great!

Submitted by Miriam Shingle​

It is Recital Season. How does one create the opportunity for instrumental performance during our current situation of having to stay in our homes? What resources are out there for this? Are there any apps that can help?

There is the issue of sound quality and household internet bandwidth problems while livestreaming, the which I am sure many of us have been experiencing in our online teaching. Some of us may be considering posting video recordings of performances, something that I personally currently plan to do, in the HOPES that the videos will actually get watched by families!!

I am hoping that some of us can contribute to this blog by commenting with their recital ideas or already-utilized solutions. Or, perhaps someone out there would like to write a whole blog dedicated to this purpose! I think we as teachers would like to know what each other is planning to do-- or not do. Anyone? Let’s share and continue to support each other...