A Quick Look at Creative Music Making: What Pianists Should Know
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question Special thanks to the Bradley Sowash, member of the NCKP 2023 Creative Music Making committee, for this post. Why is creative music making an important topic for pianists today? Today’s students benefit from instruction in reading and...
Developing Triad Chord Fluency
September 2017; Vol. 9, No. 5
Like language students who have memorized vocabulary but are not yet conversant, pianists who have learned to construct chords may not yet be “chord fluent.” So how do we help our students move beyond music theory worksheets to being able to interpret chord symbols and identify...
November 2017: Create and Motivate: Developing Seventh-Chord Fluency
November 2017; Vol. 9, No. 6
The ability to recognize and play chords without hesitation benefits all pianists. For improvisers, chord fluency enables practical skills such as learning tunes by ear, transforming lead sheets to arrangements, jamming with others, and creating one’s own part in bands. For those who prefer to play...
Rhythm Boxes, Part 1
November 2016; Vol. 8, No. 6
When asked to teach a music course to undergraduate dance majors, I soon realized that decoding written rhythms does not come easily to non-musicians. For these students, writing Xs in “rhythm boxes” was easier to understand than learning to read music notation. Later, I transferred the...
May 2018: Create and Motivate
May 2018; Vol. 10, No. 3
Combining scales and chords Here are three exercises that benefit all musicians regardless of their preferred style or approach to making music: Scales Chord drills Scales and chords together The last two columns offered interesting ways to practice the first two. Now, here’s a way to combine scales and...
March 2018: Create and Motivate
March 2018; Vol. 10, No. 2
The previous issue’s column included a list of the benefits of scale practice as well as an approach to “squaring” scales to fit the four- and eight-measure phrase lengths so common in piano literature. Now, here’s another way to practice scales for advancing pianists. Assign...
March 2017: Create and Motivate: Rhythm boxes, part III
March 2017; Vol. 9, No. 2
My last two columns introduced the placement of Xs in boxes to help beginning students understand rhythms better. Now, I’ll wrap up this series with ideas about how to use rhythm boxes to practice more complex rhythmic concepts. Start by using a word processor to make...
Practicing with Backing Tracks
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
Most young musicians learn to play their instruments with peers in a student orchestra, concert band, or group class. Student pianists, on the other hand, because they typically practice and perform alone for many years may miss out on learning essential ensemble skills such as:...
Teaching with Backing Tracks
July 2017; Vol. 9, No. 4
Backing tracks (pre-recorded or automated instrumental accompaniments) are inherently motivational. Why? Because playing with a snazzy drum groove is simply more compelling than practicing with a metronome. Here are suggestions for integrating backing tracks into your curriculum to enhance technique, timing, and creativity—all at the same time....
January 2018: Create and Motivate: Scales 101
January 2018; Vol. 10, No. 1
C scale notation above a musical staff with faster and slower notes and a repeat sign. Practicing scales combines technique, muscle memory, and theory in one exercise. Yet when I asked a transfer student if she understood why her assignment included scales, her reply surprised...
January 2017: Create and Motivate: Learning and Teaching
January 2017; Vol. 9, No. 1
Rhythm boxes, Part II by Bradley Sowash The last column introduced placing Xs in “rhythm boxes” to represent well-known tunes. Here are more ideas to enhance rhythmic understanding by teaching with this versatile tool. Rhythm box activities Start by making and printing blank tables...
September 2013: Create and Motivate
September 2013; Vol. 5, No. 5
One fun and important area of teaching music that sometimes gets overlooked is creativity. While most of us would agree that improvising, composing, arranging, and playing by ear are necessary ingredients for developing comprehensive musicianship, somehow we may not get around to teaching these skills...
Steps to Learning a Lead Sheet
November 2013; Vol. 5, No. 6
Lead sheets are a simplified form of music notation designed to present the essentials of a tune, while still leaving room for creative interpretation. Lead sheets consist of two main parts: Written melody Chord symbols Interpreting lead sheets works best if you and your students...
Pencil Practice 101
September 2015; Vol. 7, No. 5
Recognizing chord symbols is one of the biggest obstacles faced by beginning improvisers learning to play from lead sheets. Just as foreign language students write conjugations to become better speakers, pianists can improve their chord fluency with pencil practice away from the piano. Writing chords...
Pencil practice 102
November 2015; Vol. 7, No. 6
As a student pianist at music camp, I once asked an improvisation teacher for tips to help me improve my creative skills. “Learn everything you can about harmony” was his quick answer. Today, I agree that, especially for pianists, chord fluency opens more doors to...