News and Views
Helen Smith Tarchalski, Editor
It is generally agreed that learning how to compose and improvise serves as a strong motivator for piano students. In the Winter issue's NEWS AND VIEWS department, Helen Smith Tarchalski poses this question to writer, Nicole Martens: "How do you Promote Composition and Improvisation in the Private Lesson?" In her article, Ms. Martens shares many worthwhile suggestions for ways that teachers can promote both of these skills in lessons without taking up much actual lesson time.
Here is what NICOLE MARTENS has to say about the composition assignment:
Since lesson time is limited, I give very short composition assignments about once a month, often in place of a theory assignment. I spend a brief amount of lesson time-often as little as two or three minutes-preparing students for an assignment and then they complete the work at home. Some specific composition activities that are successful in my studio follow. The only materials needed are a pencil and a spiral notebook with wide lines. The activities are placed roughly in order of difficulty, but they may be assigned in any order.
Rhythm Solo/Rhythm Duet
The student composes and notates a short rhythm solo and/or a duet. (See example 1) This is a great introduction to notation-a chance to work on spacing, writing notes on the staff, and lining up beats.
Crayon Box
The student creates (but does not notate) a piece based on
a color. He/she jots down only what will be needed to remember
the piece at the next lesson.
Recomposition
The student first copies a short published piece exactly as printed into a staff note book (a piece with words works best); then he/she writes another version on the facing page retaining the rhythm and changing the pitches. (See example 2)
Daisy Chain
This consists of a series of recompositions in which the student makes several drafts of a piece-each time changing a new element (pitch, rhythm, words, articulation, dynamics)
Body Orchestra
The student creates an "orchestral" score (rhythm only) for sounds made with the body snapping, tongue-clicking, stomping, etc. See example 3).
Junkyard Rhythm
The student creates an "orchestral" score as in Body Orchestra, except the "orchestra" instruments are made by the student with ordinary household or outdoor objects.
Skeletons
The teacher provides a "skeleton" for a piece, notating just a few elements for the student (as shown in Example 4 below). The student finishes the piece, filling in the "muscles, skin, and organs" (the articulation, dynamics, more notes, rhythm, etc.).
Ostinato
In the lesson, the teacher and student take turns creating
ostinato patterns and improvising in a key that fits the ostinato.
The student is assigned to compose several 1-2 measure ostinati.
At the following lesson, some time is spent playing and improvising
with the student's ostinati. An interesting ostinato can be the
impetus for a full composition!
Makin' Melodies
The student learns about the elements of melodic construction
by identifying those elements in melodies found in his/her own
music, and then in a melody that he/she constructs and notates
in a given key.
Puzzle Pieces
The student composes and notates two-measure sections of a hypothetical piece: beginnings, middles, and endings. An assignment could entail writing three beginnings, three middles, and three endings. This gives the student a chance to write down ideas, and practice notation, without feeling pressured to complete the piece.
Improvisation
In the area of improvisation, Nicole suggests that "much of the compositional foundation actually comes in forms other than composition assignments. A well-rounded path to composing certainly includes improvisation, which enables the student to become comfortable with experimenting at the instrument." She uses the student's . . . technique curriculum as a guide for improvising, beginning with pentascales, then progressing to the complete scale, and she also using chord progressions. At the lesson, Nicole improvises on the bottom half of the keyboard and asks the student to improvise in the treble, using one of the above elements. Her . . . improvised accompaniment can be a chord progression or an ostinato, but it's very predictable and simple. She asks the student to match her tempo, mood, and volume; she further suggests trying things (one at a time) such as . . . using eighth notes, staccatos, accents, etc.
When students learn chord progressions, Nicole has them play a progression continuously in the lower register ("they love to switch places with me!"), while she improvise a melody in the key of the progression. She adds a twist by asking students to mix up the chord progression without telling her what they will play next.
When students are comfortable improvising melodies and accompaniments as separate entities, they can then learn to do both together. For example, one hand could play a chord progression as the other hand improvises a pentachordal melody in the key being studied.
Ear-training
In this area, Nicole assigns songs for the students to figure out by ear. She asks students . . . to find simple melodies (folk tunes, movie themes, commercial jingles, patriotic songs etc.) She gives them a starting pitch in a not-too-formidable key and tells them to try to remember the tune for the lesson next week (writing down the letter names if they feel they need to).
Rhythm and meter
Nicole recommends giving students a three-step process for identifying meter: 1) Clap along with the music; 2) Clap louder on the strong beat; 3) Say "one," beginning on the strong beat.
When students develop some skill at finding melodies and identifying meter by ear, the two activities can be combined. She assigns them to write down a familiar song with letter names above the words, and then add the rhythm above the letter names. (See example 5) They then have all the information they need to put the song on the staff. Transcribing recognizable tunes is a great foundational skill for transcribing their own compositions.
In summary, Nicole writes:
"We all hope that our students will continue to make music after formal lessons cease. What motivates an individual to sit down at the piano and make music many years after discontinuing formal lessons? First, I believe it's an ability to read, and second, a continuing sense of thrill and discovery with the sound of the instrument. If a student is comfortable (composing and improvising) at the piano, he or she will likely be drawn back to the instrument for a lifetime."
NICOLE MARTENS is on the faculty of the
DePaul University Community Music School and maintains a private
studio in Chicago, IL. She holds a BM in performance from Lawrence
University, and an MM in piano pedagogy from Catholic University.
She started the Chicago Area MTA Composition Festival, and gives
presentations on teaching composition and improvisation throughout
Illinois, as well as at the MTNA National Conference. She is also
active as a performer and adjudicator in the Chicago area.