Rhythm Fun @ Pattern Block Rock

Now that Maestro, the students and I are starting to settle into our school-year routine (right down to the "Back to School Cold"), I have a bit of time to resurrect the Friday Fun Links.

This week's Friday Fun Link is Pattern Block Rock by David Tulga. Each coloured block is worth a certain number of beats. Create a rhythm using the blocks (make sure it adds up to the correct number of beats in the time signature!) and then listen to it.

There's a bit of math involved. But then, there's a lot of math involved in music.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Why We Should Practice Scales, Chords and Arpeggios

A few of my students detest their technical exercises. In fact, I have a few students who really need to pull up their socks in this area if they're going to pass their piano exam next month. I hated them too. With a passion. That hatred was reflected in my poor technical skills mark on piano exams.

Since then, I've learned to like them. Elinor Lawson, my piano instructor at university, assigned me some songs from Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm by Béla Bartok. In it, I found several passages where chords progressed up in a scale (e.g. B chord, C chord, D chord, etc.). I started looking at music harmonically - from the chord progressions to how a melody would be stated in one key and then reappear in a closely related key. I learned that looking for patterns like this made memorizing easier.

In Chopin's Nocturne in e minor, op. 72 no. 1, which I'm currently working on, there are virtuosic scale passages that I've spent many an hour on.

As a listener at a concert, I've heard jazz and classical musicians play scale passages that move in parallel, contrary and zigzag motion.

As a teacher, I see chords, arpeggios and scales in my students' songs.

Scales, chords and arpeggios are often called the building blocks of music as I've illustrated above. They also are exercises in motor dexterity and strength. Those tricky passages in the Nocturne demand technical precision. The dramatic effect is lost if I stumble my way to the top.

It comes down to this: it doesn't matter how expressive a musician is, if he or she is weak technically, he or she can't convey the music convincingly. It's like trying to read an essay or a resume that's riddled with grammatical and typographical errors.

Here are a few more articles on the importance of practicing technique:

• Why Practice Scales?

• Using Scales to Improve All Your Music (primarily for guitarists)

• Scales, who needs them?Why and What For, Anyway?!

• Scales Practice

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Practicing Piano While on Vacation

Some of my students are going to places warm and exotic for Easter Break. One of them, who's taking her Gr. 7 piano exam in June, asked me how to practice while on vacation. Bonus points to her for asking!What I've done in the past is put my music in a binder or duotang and study the score, analyzing the form, dynamics, articulation, rhythm and harmony. If my ear is on that day, I can hum the melody and practice how I'd like to shape it. I've also tap practiced the melody. That can be done in a 10 minute mini practice at the airport, on the plane, at the beach...you get the idea.

I know of one piano accompanist who played "air piano" while on public transit. Her husband, a conductor, would laugh at her whenever she grumbled over hitting a wrong note. "You're playing an imaginary piano. How do you know?" he asked.

She told him that her body remembered where each note was on the keyboard, so her muscle memory was finely tuned.

I've hopped on a few discussion forums to see what others do. If it's a short vacation, the rule of thumb is to enjoy the time off. If you're preparing for a major performance, one can practice as I outlined above. You can also see if the place you're staying at has a piano or keyboard that is nearby and make arrangements to play on it during low traffic times. Several posters advise packing headphones to plug into a keyboard so that the world doesn't have to listen to you drill a troublespot 50 times.

One of my young students brought an Keyboard Chart Chart on his Christmas vacation, which is available at most music stores. He placed the cardboard keyboard on a table or the floor to practice.

I've also heard of a "roll-up piano", made by Hecsan in Japan. Neat concept. However, advanced pianists would have challenges with the small length and the fact that it doesn't play chords very well.

If only we could be all like pop star Alicia Keys - she brings her piano with her everywhere she goes.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Practice Tip: Playing along with a CD

I recently ordered Bleach the Best CD through amazon.com. A courier dropped it off during this morning's piano lessons. As soon as I ushered my day students out the door, I set the CD to Houki Boshi- the song I'm doing for the APTA Festival and played along with it on the piano. This is a surefire way to force a musician to keep going no matter what as the CD doesn't stop for you to correct notes.It was an energizing experience, mainly because the song is supposed to be played at approximately 162 quarter notes per minute.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Sight Reading Tips

Busy week - three posts from me. I've had to do some research for students so I have lots of information to share this week. A while back, one of my beginner students (and her dad) asked me why we had to work on sight reading (playing something you haven't seen before). The easy answer? It makes you a better musician.

There is a practical reason to why students are tested in this area.I told my student that there will be times that she's at a social function, ensemble rehearsal or school when someone will place unfamiliar music in front of her and say, "Play this."

I have a handful of students who need work in this area. We've been spending a lot of time lately going through a passage several times, with them focussing on one area (rhythm, touch, melody, dynamics, etc.) before trying to put all the elements together. Some of them look at me funny when I say, "For the first time through, don't bother getting any of the notes right." It helps though because it lifts the pressure off their shoulders to get it perfect.

Sight reading is also one of my weak spots. Since I've been teaching, I have been improving steadily. Some things I've learned along the way are:

• Look for patterns, be they melodic, rhythmic or harmonic

• Ditch "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" and all those other phrases to remember note names. Follow the note heads instead, reading intervallically, e.g., C then up a step, then down a skip, etc.

• Getting the rhythm and keeping a steady beat is more important than getting every note right.

• You have to practice sight reading - start easy and work your way up.

• Learn to play by feel - without having to look at your hands.

Here are more useful tips in these articles:

Some Tips on Sight Reading More Tips on Sight Reading Sight Reading Studio 1.0 Software

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.