Piano Lessons: How To Put Fun Into Practice Repetition - Volume 26
January 10, 2023
New session of Crescendo Kids Online begins Tuesday, January 17!
How To Put Fun Into Piano Practice Repetition
This Memo includes
Feature Article: How To Put Fun Into Practice Repetition
Student Hall of Fame
Practice Tip
Parents Ask Pam - We very much enjoyed the fall session of piano lessons at the community center. Today I went to sign up for this winter session and was dismayed to see that there are no available openings for my child’s age. I will attempt to add us to a wait list if that is available.
What options can you offer for us to continue lessons? I don't want to lose momentum from the gains he has made so far in your course.
Feature Article - How To Put Fun Into Practice Repetition
It is January, the month of new beginnings and resolutions to do life better. For children, it is about getting back into their regular routine of school, home life, and early bedtimes. When a child is returning to their routine for learning piano, it can seem like they have forgotten everything and are starting all over. To parents and teachers, this is frustrating because it feels like the child is slacking and not very interested. However, from the child’s perspective, it can feel quite overwhelming with so many things changing all at once, even if the change is just going back to “normal.” After all the holiday excitement, “normal” may seem “boring” and so there is this additional lack of enthusiasm. Since practicing is about playing the same thing over and over, it is very easy to see why it seems so hard to get back to the routine that was established previously. Here are some ideas to help get back into the piano routine and maybe even look forward to it.
Always start with something fun. Maybe a song already learned? Maybe creating their own music? Maybe a music game? The best warm up for the fingers is to play what you want to play.
Every practice time needs to have a goal. I heard of one parent telling their child they had to play their piece until they reached their goal or until a certain amount of time had passed. (3 - 5 minutes is plenty of time.) The child quickly learned that piano time could be finished early if they reached their goal before the time was up.
Keep playing time engaging. If I tell a student to play something three times, they usually make mistakes on the third time. It is because the were thinking and concentrating for the first two times, then they figured it was easy and stopped their intense focus.
Keep playing time fun. If you are having fun, you are more motivated to keep doing it. So here are some ways to keep your playing time fun and engaging.
Stick your tongue out while playing the piano
Play with a big smile, then play with a sad frown.
Play while blinking your eyes to the beat.
Play one hand while the other hand is on your head.
Play the same notes but change the rhythm
Play the same rhythm but change the notes
Play the piano while standing up.
Play in different registers, (play at the high end or low end of the piano)
Play on a different instrument setting (for keyboards)
Play with a drum beat
Play each line of music in random order.
Play with different tempos.
Add a clap at each bar line.
Add a rest instead of playing all the C’s or whichever note you choose,
Pretend you are playing for a concert. Announce your piece, play it, then take a bow.
Roll a die to decide how many times to play a section.
Roll a die to decide which section to play.
Choose various adjectives and then play the piece like those adjectives. For example, friendly, fuzzy, with fascination, bubbly, with passion, and frighteningly.
Play with a metronome at different speeds.
Make up words to sing with the music.
Play the first note of every measure extra loud.
Play super soft, then super loud.
Play it all staccato or all legato if it is a staccato piece.
Play every other measure
Play with the right hand an octave higher while the left hand is an octave lower.
Play while sitting on one foot.
Routine doesn’t have to mean boring. There are many ways to keep piano playing engaging. I would love to hear in the comments below what you or your child does to keep their playing time fun.
Student Hall Of Fame
Our students are making great progress! These students have accomplished new goals this last month.
Welcome to our new students - Arianna D, Olivia D, an d Alice P,
5X5 - play the piano for 5 minutes, 5 days in a week, for 5 weeks in a row - August M*, Iris H, Isabella N*, James E*, Lillian R, Maia L*, Angelina D, Kristina D, Grant P, Janice L, Max H, Siya P, ( * indicates first time meeting this challenge!)
Listening - Listened to classical music for 1 hour/week for 4 weeks in a row - Naoki D, Brooks F, Grant P, Isabella N,
100-Day - played the piano for 100 consecutive days - Lillian R and Siya P
50X - Played their new song 50 times in the first week - Isabella N and Kevin J
Finished their current piano book - Ellie D, Monisha V, Yuvl G, Joses C and Nathan H.
Moved up to the next piano level - Mira M, Julian E, Siya P, and Jonathan G.
Practice Tip
One more to add to our feature article above - Put all those practice ideas on small pieces of paper and mix them in a jar. Then you can randomly choose which way to practice. Take out the ones you don’t like and create your own.
Upcoming MOM Events
Want to see all upcoming events? Check out our calendar. It includes when the next Crescendo Kids class begins, school closure dates, piano parties, and recital dates.
FREE Online Piano Party! Students share their own music as well as participate in musical games, creating music and learning some music history. Each party is a little different with a theme and a special guest instrument. Come, meet our piano teachers, play some music, and have fun! All ages and musical levels are welcome. Parties are available to non-students, former students as well as current students. Click the link to sign up. Piano Party Sign Up
Saturday, February 4, at 11:00 am for ages 3 - 6 years old
Saturday, February 4, at 12:00 pm for ages 7 - 12 years old
Parent Information Meetings - Have questions about our online piano class program? Want a tour of our practicing app? Click the link to schedule your meeting with Miss Pam. Parent Info Meeting
Crescendo Kids CLASSES - Tuesdays or Thursdays at North Kirkland Community Center visit kirklandparks.net
Tuesdays: January 17 - March 28, (no class February 21)
Thursdays: September 15 - January 19 - March 30, (no class February 16)
Crescendo Kids CLASSES - Mondays at Spartan Recreation Center in Shoreline visit shorelinewa.gov/registernow
Mondays: January 23 - March 27, (no class February 20)
30 - Minute Private Online Piano Lessons - Did you know that many of our teachers also teach privately? Now you can continue your child’s musical education, or your own, with Move Over Mozart. Click here for more information. Private Lessons
New Crescendo Kids Online begins Tuesday, January 17. Our piano classes are fun and easy to do! Perfect for beginning students ages 3 1/2 to 12 years old. Students are put into one of 4 classes depending on their age and musical ability.
Crescendo Kids Online Sign Up
Pre-Reading - Ages 3 - 5 years, or students not yet reading,
We use a color-coded method for the students to match their five fingers to five keys on the piano. New songs using only those 5 notes are given each week.
Primary - Ages 5 -7 years or older and brand new to music,
This group is for the very basics of piano playing. Students learn to play simple rhythms, correct hand position, and the names of the white keys on the piano.
Beginning Elementary - Ages 7-12 years or younger and reading notes,
This is for students just starting to read notes on the staff. Students are taught how the staff relates to the piano and how to translate the notes to making music. Also, having the students memorize a few key notes on the staff will help greatly with their ability to read music.
Advanced Elementary - Ages 7 - 12 years with previous piano lessons
This group already reads notes on the staff and can immediately identify many of the notes by name. They will learn more advanced technique and music theory beyond the initial basics of learning to play.
Parents Ask Pam
Have a question for Miss Pam? You can email, text message, or message on Facebook your questions. She will respond immediately to you, and your question might be featured in future newsletters.
Q: We very much enjoyed the fall session of piano lessons at the community center. Today I went to sign up for this winter session and was dismayed to see that there are no available openings for my child’s age. I will attempt to add us to a wait list if that is available.
What options can you offer for us to continue lessons? I don't want to lose momentum from the gains he has made so far in your course.
A: I definitely understand your frustration. It is one of the downsides of offering the classes through the community center. However, we do offer a similar program online. I think your child would enjoy it and do very well. Our online program was created in response to all our classes being shut down in March of 2020. Some of the features that make our beginning program so successful is the interaction between the kids, the objectives being presented in multiple ways, the ability of the kids to progress at their own pace, and the lessons being affordable and convenient for the parents. Trying to duplicate some of these characteristics online was our goal. Our Crescendo Kids Online includes:
Weekly videos to present the music theory for that week. These videos are short, 3-5 minutes, and can be viewed any time or as often as needed during the week. In the videos I present the objective and give activities or worksheets the students can do at home to reinforce the new concepts.
Weekly one-on-one private mini-lessons. These online lessons are 8-minutes long, giving the student enough time to review at least one song each week and for the teacher to play a music game or confirm that the video lesson was understood. We keep the time short to accommodate the short attention span of young children.
In interactive practice app to organize all the assignments and to help motivate the students to play more. Our online classes also include a group text for the children to communicate with each other and share their music if they desire.
The program costs $54/4 weeks. It is a subscription that you can stop at any time. I would suggest giving it a try and see how it goes for your child. If it doesn't work for you, there is no obligation to continue.
Your Comments And Questions
We want to hear from you! What questions do you have? What do you like best about this memo? How do you encourage practicing in your home? Please leave your questions and comments below or email Pam directly at misspam@moveovermozart.net