Tag Archives: piano method book

teaching

August Lesson Materials

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In my Ukulele Chord-Strumming Method Book I changed the order in which the initial chords are introduced. Originally I introduced CM and FM in Lesson 1, then GM in Lesson 2, Am in Lesson 3, and Dm in Lesson 4 (before introducing G7 in Lesson 5). I liked the idea that the students would learn CM, FM, and GM right away so that they could potentially play a number of songs after only two lessons. I have noticed however, that many students struggle with GM (it requires three fingers), so I decided to introduce the chords starting with the easiest ones instead, even though they might not be able to play as many real songs until after Lesson 4. Now, I introduce CM and Am (both only use one finger) in Lesson 1, FM (uses two fingers) in Lesson 2, Dm (three fingers) in Lesson 3, then finally GM in Lesson 4. I’ve seen some other books and teachers introduce AM early on because it also uses only two fingers, which I don’t do because I still wanted to keep Unit 1 in the key of C Major (CM, Am, and FM, are much more likely to be used in songs with Dm and GM than with AM).

I wanted do create still more Supplemental Piano Exercises to use with my piano students, so I did Unit 7: Reading Notes on the Staff in C Position, and Unit 8: The Grand Staff in C Position and Slurs.

In my Drum Set Method Book I added three units dealing with compound meters (6/8, 12/8, and 9/8). Unit 5 deals with how to play beats in those meters, and Unit 6 shows how to play four-measure phrases with fills in those meters. Unit 7 brings back the Four-Measure Phrase Song Form to practice a variety of beats and fills in those compound meters. I also added an additional page at the end of Unit 4 and Unit 7 that has drum beats with the bass drum playing either on all the downbeats or playing constant 8th notes (in most of the drum beats I use in the book, I don’t have the bass drum playing at the same time as the snare drum).

For my Guitar Chord-Strumming Book, I was looking forward to taking a break from bar chords, so I worked on Unit 11: Dominant 7 Chords. After I finished it, I was on a roll, so I went ahead and did Unit 12: Major 7 Chords and minor 7 Chords.

Please let me know if you use any of these teaching materials with your students, and if you find them helpful, or if you have any questions or comments.

teaching

July Lesson Materials

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Earlier this month I taught a piano ensemble class for the summer camp at one of my studios. I had to come up with my own materials, so I created a series of exercises and songs that I though might be appropriate for various age groups an abilities. After the camp was done, I liked what I had come up with , so I decided I would use them with my private students as “Supplemental Piano Exercises”. While I still primarily use the Alfred books when I’m teaching piano, sometimes a student will need a little extra work on a concept before moving on, and since I’ve been incorporating more songs into my ukulele, guitar, and bass guitar method books, I figured that I should use them for my piano students too. Also, I thought it might be a good idea to introduce tetrachords and how they can be used to build major scales. These can be found on the “Piano” page, under “For My Students”.

I added some simplified exercises to the beginning of my Guitar Beginning Finger-Picking Patterns. I realized it might be too difficult to use the thumb and three fingers together right at the very beginning, so I created some basic rhythmic patterns using just the thumb and one finger at a time. Then I did some exercises using the thumb and combinations of two fingers at a time (found on the “Guitar” page, under “For My Students”).

In my Bass Guitar Chords Method Book, I finished Unit 3: 12-Bar Blues and Unit 4: Sus2 and Sus4 Chords (found on the “Bass Guitar” page, under “For My Students”).

Please let me know if you use any of these teaching materials with your students, and if you find them helpful, or if you have any questions or comments.