The Chicago Piano Lesson Weekly

For those of you who have expressed interest in the music psychology articles and local events I share with you regularly, you might want to check out my newsletter on those very topics!

The Chicago Piano Lesson Weekly comes out twice a week and can be accessed here, from my website, and highlights are posted regularly on my FaithSlaker Music Facebook page and Twitter.

For today, please enjoy this article on Parents as Engaged Partners in Music.

Work for Beginners

Hello New Suzuki Families!

One of the things you'll find us doing in group classes is using the body as a music staff. See BodyStaffBasics for the basics!

Jingle Bells on the body staff:




And you might be working on the airplane song! Here is one of my Suzuki mom's playing it with beautiful legato touch:

Allegretto 2 Endings

A group class activity helps students recognize the differences in the endings in Allegretto 2 and is a good introduction to form.

Chopin Waltz Pedaling

Encountering the pedaling in the Chopin Waltz in Suzuki Book 5 might be a little difficult at first. It is similar to the pedaling used in the Beethoven at the beginning of the book. However, there is more clarity if the cadence pedaling is not the same as what is used previously. I like to wait and pedal LATE on the downbeat of the cadence.

See below:

Finding your Tempo

One of the hardest things to practice at home by yourself is keeping a steady tempo.  You slow down for the hard parts, you rush through the easy parts.  I get it!  However, your first step to playing a piece at one tempo, is to find the tempo of your hardest passage.  Figure out how fast you're able to comfortably play that, and then start the piece in that tempo.

Here is an example of Adrian playing her toughest passage, and then starting her piece in that tempo. I bet her Sonatina is going to sound so steady in lesson next week!

Counting at the end of Hungarian Folk Song - Suzuki Book 2

If you have mastered the down-ups - the slurred chords, the accents and the coordination needed to play this piece, congratulations!  There's just one more thing - the counting in the last line of the piece!

Here is the last line - it looks easy!  But make sure you count.  (The beats are written in for you here.)

And here is a student practicing it:

Staccato Practice for Beginners

Many students have trouble acquiring the crisp sound of a good staccato.  Usually it is because they are playing down towards the keys instead of up and away from the keys.  Here is a brief example of a child just learning how to play a bouncy staccato: