Lesson Planning: A Teaching Essential?
September 2014; Vol. 6, No. 5
Road maps and detours by Craig Sale One of my worst nightmares is arriving at the school where I teach to realize I have left that day’s lesson plans at home. On the rare occasions when this has happened, I have managed to conduct a...
Making practice records work
May 2014; Vol. 6, No. 3
There was a sign in my college piano professor’s studio which said “Practice smarter, not harder.” For a determined undergraduate who had no background in good practice habits, these were wise and important words. In fact, my work as a teacher is devoted to showing...
Autumn 2019: Questions & Answers
Autumn 2019; Vol. 11, No. 4
Note from Sam Holland The great psychologist, Abraham Maslow once observed, “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” C.S. Lewis noted, “There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” Changes are coming in...
How Do You Integrate Composition into Your Teaching of Music Reading?
May 2009; Vol. 1, No. 3
Imagine an elementary school classroom in which students are taught how to read a written language both out loud and to their selves. They have vocabulary drills, spelling tests, reading comprehension tests, etc. Yet these same children are never asked to converse or to write down an...
How Do You Teach Fluent Reading on Ledger Lines Between the Staves?
January 2009; Vol. 1, No. 1
In the Spring 2005 issue of Keyboard Companion, the Music Reading Department addressed the teaching of reading ledger line notes above and below the staves. In this issue, we are focusing on ledger lines between the staves. Although many methods begin reading with these notes surrounding Middle C, this ambiguous...
When using an intervallic approach, how do you develop faster note recognition? – Expanding on the “blueprint”
January 2010; Vol. 2, No. 1
If were asked to name the most frequent mistake made by teachers, I would cite the belief that a method or set of materials is complete in and of itself. This belief inevitably leads to some frustration with the materials, and teachers may even abandon...
How do you help a college piano major with poor reading skills?
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
At first glance, the scope of this issue’s topic may seem limited. The majority of readers are independent teachers working with students before they leave for college. The percentage of their students who major in piano is small. However, the following articles by Dr. Timothy...
How can colors be used to help students learn to read music?
May 2011; Vol. 3, No. 3
For centuries, music notation has been a “black and white” subject. To read this music, musicians have decoded black and white print and transferred it into colorful sound. Even when making notations in our printed music we have usually grabbed an ordinary pencil, thus adding...
Introducing students to the music of Schumann
May 2011; Vol. 3, No. 3
Because of the textural, technical, and interpretive demands of music from the Romantic era, students usually do not encounter it until their early intermediate years. Most likely some of the first Romantic compositions a student will study will be by Robert Schumann, whose bicentennial is being...
Four Teachers and Facebook: Ideas for Improving Sight-Reading
September 2012; Vol. 4, No. 5
Earlier in the year, I established a private discussion group on Facebook with four teachers from around the country— Monica Allen, Laura Beauchamp-Williamson, Rebecca Pennington, and Scott Price. Our goal was to have some conversations about music reading which would lead to the sharing of ideas...
Music Reading
May 2012; Vol. 4, No. 3
Experience and research tells us that the more one reads a language the more fluency is gained. This is, of course, true of sight-reading as well. Making this happen with our students in an organized and motivating manner eludes many of us, myself included. This...
Boiling it Down: Recipes for Effective Teaching
January 2012; Vol. 4, No. 1
When I think back on the great teachers I have encountered in my life, I find that they all had one thing in common—the ability to boil things down to their essence. These teachers’ abilities to reveal the essence of the subject matter made my...
Spring 2021: Questions and Answers
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
Q: I’ve enjoyed your Frances Clark Center webinars on preparation activities. I am unsure of what activities I should do with and without the keyboard and would appreciate some specific ideas and guidance. A: The key element in preparation activities is experience! Before encountering a new musical...