Rhythm
Bruce Berr, Editor
As the editor of this department, I especially look forward to reading the articles for the first time. The fun is not just in seeing which ideas each author develops, but also in discovering the commonalities that inevitably run through the essays of different authors. Each teacher has a unique viewpoint and educational philosophy resulting from diverse experiences and simply from being a different person, yet the department's offering as a whole is inevitably marbled with a few common principles.
Helen Chao-Casano
teaches private and group piano, but also spends much time each
week involved in early childhood music education. Anne Olson is
a Suzuki piano teacher, and she also coaches teenaged string players
in their chamber music (she is also a violist). As you read their
articles, you will see that both teachers consider it vital to
relate musical gestures to experiences in students' everyday lives-this
is indeed empathy in action. They both also want their students
to be doing something with-PLAYING WITH-whatever they are trying
to learn; it is not enough for a student to just simply listen
to someone else's finished performance, or to passively sit and
listen to the teacher talk. Both teachers also have a considerable
array of "tools on their belt." They are prepared to
approach the same concept or skill from any direction at any speed
(and appear to relish doing so), depending upon whatever
that particular student can relate to at that particular time.
All of these conspire to paint a picture of the student and teacher
together, successfully PLAYING WITH the subject matter in a way
that is gently but skillfully monitored and guided by the teacher.
This is effective pedagogy, whether one is teaching tempo modifications
in a music lesson, long division in a math class, or just about
anything else.
from Helen Chao-Casano's article
Prerequisites for teaching tempo modification
"Steady beat 101"
Teaching students about expressive tempo modifications, just like any upper-level college course, has some prerequisites. All of my students must pass "Steady Beat 101." I like to approach steady beat in three ways: 1) through listening and imagery, 2) through movement and physical expression, and 3) through student self-evaluation of performance. In the wealth of pedagogical repertoire, it is easy to find a piece depicting lively images. With beginning students, I like to demonstrate steady beat with an animal piece, for example, Linda Niamath's "Penquins" from A Zoo for You (Frederick Harris). I ask a student some de-personalized questions about the penguin in the piece. The discussion is not about if I-the teacher-played with steady beat, but is about the penguin waddling across the ice floe and jumping into Arctic waters
Then, depending on the student's comfort level and physical coordination, I ask him or her to demonstrate the steady beat through movementeither small or large motor movement. I consider it important that there be a certain kind of rapport in my studio; I want my jumping off the bench and marching together with the student (or waddling as the case may be) around the room to always be a possibility. I tend to watch for things like: Is the student more introverted in expression? Would the student be more comfortable in tapping the beat on the lap? I pick different examples to play, some with a steady beat and some without. Nothing underlines my point more clearly than asking the student to step or conduct to a march performed with an erratic beat! Smiles and giggles usually are sure to follow, and the importance of this skill can no longer be underestimated by the student.
Lastly, I seek the proof in the pudding . . .
Helen S. Chao-Casano, NCTM, serves as the President of the Hawaii Music Teachers Association. She teaches private and group piano at Punahou Music School and directs a nationally recognized Kindermusik program at the Pacific School of the Performing Arts. She has taught piano pedagogy and applied piano at Brigham Young University, Hawaii, and class piano at DePaul University in Chicago. She holds a M.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northwestern University, and a B.M. in Music Education and Performance from the Crane School of Music, SUNY, Potsdam, NY
from Anne Marie Olson's article
Using ritardando/fermata/a tempo for expressive performances
Colored sunlight streamed through the stained-glass window onto seven-year-old Ryan as we listened with enjoyment to his well-prepared recital piece, "Allegro," by Shinichi Suzuki. As Ryan began the B section, I clearly heard his slower tempo, the dreamy, legato character with which he played this contrasting part, the drifting ritardando, the sleepy fermata and THEN a very distinct snore from a nearby audience member!
The snore stopped suddenly as Ryan continued with the A section
again, à tempo. The culprit was Ryan's
younger brother, Kevin. Having listened patiently to many practice
sessions and piano lessons, Kevin had learned the sequence of
ritardando/fermata/à tempo as well as Ryan! Having
been encouraged to "put us to sleep" in the B section
(ritardando) and not to continue until he heard us snoring
(fermata), Ryan then found it great fun to "wake us
up" with the à tempo of the returning A
section. This wonderful piece of music in Suzuki Piano School,
Vol. 1, is the young Suzuki piano student's first encounter
with this sequence of tempo events. . .
Anne Marie Olson has taught Suzuki and traditional piano at the Rockford College Music Academy in Rockford, IL, for the past year. Prior to that she maintained a large Suzuki piano studio in her home. A summer clinician for the Kankakee Valley Piano Camp at Olivet Nazarene University, she has had extensive Suzuki and technique training with Marilyn Taggart of Vermont, as well as Suzuki training at Wheaton College. Currently a student of Bruce Berr, she performs regularly on the piano and the viola, and enjoys playing ensemble and chamber music.
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