Music Reading
Craig Sale, Editor
Regardless of our level of reading proficiency, there are those pieces that somehow mystify or, worse yet, intimidate us in our first attempts to read them. It most likely has less to do with our reading ability than with the visual challenges of the notation. Key signatures, accidentals, phrase markings, use of ledger lines, spatial inconsistencies, abundant fingering-all can complicate the score and obscure the patterns we seek to recognize while reading. When studying these pieces one might understandably conclude that our notational system is severely limited-that such pieces could be represented better with an entirely different type of notation.
Even our young students have this experience in their early level repertoire. The two pieces discussed in this issue are examples of the "hard-to-read" pieces they sometimes encounter. "Blowing Bubbles" by Louise Goss, from The Music Tree Part 2A (Warner Bros./Summy-Birchard) represents the elementary level. "Moon Mist" by John LaMontaine, from The Music Tree 3: Keyboard Literature represents the early intermediate level.
Both contributors to this issue, Joan Fasullo and Stephanie Myers, stress the importance of connecting the student to the score rather than relying solely on rote teaching of these pieces. If we want to give students the tools to be able to decipher such pieces on their own, is rote-teaching the best choice? Using repetitions and playbacks may teach the pieces but, without clear reference to the score, leaves students dependent upon the same kind of help when another hard-to-read piece comes along. I believe teachers want students to learn more than just pieces. We want them to learn something which will serve them in the future.
Of course, another vital part of learning is involved here-the active use of previously learned concepts. For example, when discussing the chord structure in "Moon Mist," the teacher and student are using previously learned ideas about major and minor triads. The use of formal analysis is not new for these students, nor is the idea of silently practicing moves over the keyboard. Yet these are key elements used to help the student understand the notation. The student learns how to apply his/her understanding of musical patterns and smart practice to the learning of pieces which are, at first, visually challenging.
Our writers give
us more than great tips on teaching these and other "hard-to-read"
pieces. They give us a wonderful portrait of the learning process
the mutual discovery of new music, assisted through the
use of previously learned concepts and processes, which helps
equip the student for future experiences.
from Joan Fasullo's article
Some pieces look hard
I remember an experience that I had as a beginning teacher when, running out of time at the end of a lesson, I simply assigned a piece of music to a very good first-year student named Ben. The piece was a favorite of my students, especially the boys. It was only four lines long, with two of the lines being exactly the same. In fact, the entire piece consisted of just four different notes played in various combinations and rhythms. While it was easy and fun to play, differing phrase lengths and the placement of an 8va sign made it hard to read. As Ben was an eager student, I thought he would figure it out easily so I jotted it down on his assignment and directed him to play it for me the following week. He returned to his next lesson having prepared all of his pieces well, but without having even attempted to learn the piece I had hurriedly assigned. When I asked him why, his response was "It was just too hard for me!" Of course it was not, but it looked too hard, and this forever colored his perception of the piece. With my help, Ben was eventually successful in learning to read and play the piece, but he never volunteered to play it or counted it among his favorites. I realized that in that hurried moment at the end of the lesson, I had denied him an important discovery: some pieces look hard, but are easy to play.
Planning an Approach
Believing, as I do, that the student's first impression of
a piece is the most lasting one, it is essential to have some
planned approaches for presenting hard-to-read pieces to students.
I want my students' first playing of any piece to include correct
notes with correct fingering at a slow tempo. Before they play
I want them to experience the physical and musical gestures of
the piece. I believe that their success with this, and their motivation
to practice such a piece, comes as a result of thorough analysis
of the piece or a successful rote-to-note experience with
it. What determines which approach I choose? It depends on the
music. . .
Joan Fasullo holds a B.M. from Marywood University, Scranton, PA, and a Certificate of Professional Achievement from the New School for Music Study, Princeton, NJ where she studied pedagogy with Frances Clark and Louise Goss. She initiated the first group/private piano lessons at Wilmington Music School where she teaches students of all ages, as well as at St. Edmond's Academy, and her home studio in Wilmington, DE. She is the founder and past president of Northern Delaware Music Teachers Association
from Stephanie Myers' article
Demonstration and analysis are useful aids to learning "hard-to-read" pieces
A few weeks before I was first asked to write this article,
I was teaching "Blowing Bubbles", to my 7-year-old
son, a second-year piano student. His first reaction to this piece
was "I don't like a piece that looks like that!"
Students can be easily intimidated by the way the music looks,
so it is our job as teachers to introduce such pieces in a way
that attracts and inspires them. When my son, Stephen, reacted
as he did, I closed the music immediately and started to discuss
bubble-blowing, an activity we did the previous summer. He came
up with quite a few descriptive aspects of bubbles-they go up,
they come in different sizes, they pop easily, they shine, etc.
Then I played the piece for him. After this discussion and demonstration
he was eager to learn it. Now it was time to take a closer look
at the piece!
Visually adapting the score
One might think that simply demonstrating a piece will make it possible for a student with good listening skills to play this piece by rote. Although it can be easily taught as "rote-to-note," I think it is necessary to help the student experience the reading part of the process. This way, when another piece of similar nature is encountered, the student is more likely to figure out what to look for and/or how to break it down to make the reading easier.
With my demonstration of the piece, Stephen discovered that the same set of notes was used over and over again a recognition of a pattern. I then had him highlight the LH notes, indicated with down-stems (see example 3). At this level I find many of the students are still figuring out, and sometimes confused by which hand is to play which notes. Many students begin reading using off-staff notation in which the direction of the stem indicates which hand to use. When they begin reading on the grand staff, they become used to reading RH for the upper staff and LH for the lower staff. In "Blowing Bubbles" the stem direction again indicates which hands to use, but on the grand staff. Highlighting the stems of the LH notes was all I needed to do to help my 7-year-old (and other students as well). . .
Stephanie Nakahara Myers, NCTM, did her undergraduate
study at Calvin College in Michigan, and earned her Masters degree
in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northwestern University.
She has been a director of a Baldwin Music Education Center and
has also served on the faculties of the College of DuPage (IL)
and the Northwestern University School of Music Preparatory Piano
Division. She currently operates a private studio in Wheaton,
Illinois
For the other Samplers from this issue
