making arrangements

One of the joys I have recently discovered with my students is arranging pieces that they are interested in learning, but haven't quite gotten to a level where they can play even an easy arrangement of a particular song. I made an arrangement for one of my students to play Three Blind Mice using chords. We worked on it during a couple of lessons, until she came in last week explaining that it was a little too difficult for her. First of all, I was so proud of her for even verbalizing her struggle. This is very difficult for some students, because they don't want to look stupid or disappoint their teacher. I told her I would work on a new version for her this week. What I'll do is use thirds and fifths instead of chords, which will only slightly change the way it sounds, but will basically be the same arrangement but at a level that she feels more comfortable with for her learning style and ability at this stage. It's a win-win situation.

flexibility

Summer presents some challenges, as it is a time for fun and carefree living especially for young people. Yet piano requires constant practice, a constant commitment to learn. So when one of my students arrived tired and restless yesterday, I wondered how to best use her time. I could tell her attention span was pretty limited and her emotions were a bit raw.

So we did some theory. She enjoyed the writing exercises, which allowed her to just sit, relax and review the notes on the staff. I even decided to make a game out of one of the theory exercises, which make her perk up a bit and it was a great learning tool. During the last few minutes of the lesson, she had relaxed so that we could work on her music. We only spent 5 minutes on her music playing, but that was what she needed. I wanted her to experience the grace side of music lessons, the side that says Bad days will happen...music can be approached in many different ways to help you feel better. And it did make her feel better. She left smiling.