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Fun Duet Repertoire

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:37:43 +0000

Anyone wonder why it’s been so quiet around here lately? I thought I’d give all of you a peek at what’s been keeping me busy the last few weeks, and some ideas for fun duet repertoire… all in one post!

I’ve been privileged to serve as a coordinator for our local association’s Multi-Piano Concerts for the last three years. It’s an exciting program – this year’s event featured two concerts with 16 grand pianos and over 450 performers. (That’s a LOT of piano keys and fingers!!)

One of my favorite parts of the planning process is the opportunity to play through stacks and stacks (and stacks!) of duet literature with a team of colleagues each spring to choose a theme and repertoire for the concerts. This year’s concerts featured the theme “Destination: Musique”, with music that highlighted various destinations around the world.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite pieces from the year, for any of you who enjoy teaching duet literature, or might be looking for some new pieces for upcoming studio recitals:

(Note: Click on any of the highlighted titles below to view video clips of the pieces from the concert)

Late Elementary Repertoire:

A Bell Carol and Jalapeno Hop, both by Melody Bober
These are from her Grand Duets Series, Book 3. I’ve used several pieces out of this book with students, and love them all.

The Sky is Dark - Traditional Taiwanese, arr. Emilie Lin
This is definitely an “off-the-beaten-path” kind of piece! It’s from a book titled Gifts of Asia that contains primarily solo repertoire, along with a couple of duets. Lots of fun pieces in here for a world-music theme recital.

Early Intermediate Repertoire:

Upside-Down Tango by Martha Mier
Like duets with some kind of fun gimmick? This piece requires primo and secondo players to switch places half-way through. My students loved it (although one nearly fell off the bench during the concert!).

Springtime Waltz by Glenda Austin
This is a lovely light piece that appealed to several of the girls in my studio. It’s also available in a solo arrangement (see this post for more details).

Irish Air by Robert Vandall
This lyrical piece gives the secondo player a great share of melody playing. (Sorry, no video clip to share for this one, but you can hear a sample audio clip here.)

Intermediate Repertoire:

The Winds of Time by Kathleen Jendrusik and Carolyn Miller
There’s lots of drama in this piece… and it’s easier than it sounds, so it’s a good piece for busy teen students.

Midnight Sea by Mike Springer
This piece is full of surprises – unique harmonies in the opening, and a melody that shifts evenly between the primo and secondo player.

Bravo Brasilia by Glenda Austin
This piece is, in a word… addicting. The Latin rhythms are a bit of a challenge, but well worth it!! (No video clip on this on either… sorry! You can hear a clip and see music here.)

Late Intermediate Repertoire:

Morning Has Broken, Traditional Gaelic, arr. Melody Bober
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of teaching this piece. It’s a beautiful piece, and a fantastic arrangement. It’s available in FJH’s In Recital Duets, Book 6.

Prayer for Peace by David Karp
This piece features a beautiful, soulful melody. It’s been a hit with several of my students over the years.

Big River Barn Dance by Carrie Kraft
This lively duet is always a crowd pleaser! It’s got a rustic, “Americana” feel reminiscent of Copland.

Advanced Repertoire:

Dragon Dance by Nancy Faber
This was a real showstopper – fast, flashy and SO fun to play!!

The Scarlet Cape by Ralph Federer
Want a laugh for a Friday? Go check out this duet team performing this piece. Even without the antics, it’s a fantastic piece!

A full repertoire list from this year’s concerts (including information on where to find these duets) is available on the KCMTA webpage.

Have any of you run across new duets this year that you love? Or have any long-time favorites? If so, I’d love for you to leave a comment below and share about them… I’m always on the lookout for new pieces to add to my duet library!!

Accidental Adventure

Jennifer Fink — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:47:48 +0000

It feels like it’s been AGES since I’ve posted a new game! We’ve reached the time of year where my students and I begin preparing in earnest for spring theory exams, and that means it’s time for LOTS of theory games in our group lessons. This month, a couple of my elementary groups needed to review a whole list of concepts related to accidentals (sharps and flats, enharmonic notes, whole and half steps, etc.), so I decided to come up with a something new that would let us cover several concepts all at once. Here’s a peek at Accidental Adventure:

I picked up this Eggspert Quizzing System after Christmas, and was anxious to try it out with my students. (Many thanks to Wendy at ComposeCreate for sharing about this fantastic little teaching aid – it was a BIG hit with the kids!) For this game we used the “Wheel of Fortune” setting that randomly chooses a color. If you don’t have an Eggspert system, you could easily play this game with a 6-colored spinner or a dice with colored stickers applied.

Each of the colored decks of cards in the picture above asks a different kind of accidental-related question:

Pink Cards: Correctly Draw an Accidental (you'll need to laminate cards and use a dry erase marker)

Orange Cards: Name a note that is an enharmonic equivalent

Yellow Cards: Identify whole and half steps

Green Cards: Name a note on the staff with an accidental

Blue Cards: Answer a True or False question about enharmonic notes

Purple Cards: Decide if an accidental question has been answered correctly or incorrectly

Here’s how to play:
Place the 6 decks of cards in a row, face down. Divide students into 2 teams and select a team to play first. For each turn, the team will use the Eggspert, spinner or die to randomly determine a color, then draw a card from the corresponding deck and answer the question. If the team answers correctly, they may keep the card. If they answer incorrectly, the card is returned to the bottom of the desk. Play continues with the next team.

The object of the game is to collect the most cards by the end of a designated amount of time. Each deck contains several “Bonus” cards that add a fun and random element to the game. A set of directions, including a list of bonus cards and how they are used, is included in the game file.

You can download the game file from the Free Games page of this site. The file contains a page of instructions for assembly and play.

I’m also posting a short worksheet I used with my groups to review accidental placement before we played Accidental Adventure:

This worksheet is available for download on the Free Theory Sheets page. Enjoy!

Sensory Spotlight: Resistance Band Rhythms

Jennifer Fink — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:21:00 +0000

I’m really excited to get to share a new series of posts with all of you this spring! Sensory Spotlight posts will give you all a little glimpse into some of the fun, hands-on toys and activities we use in my studio when we’re learning new pieces (or perhaps working on some trouble spots in not-so-new pieces!). I hope you enjoy!!

Resistance Band Rhythms

Does anyone recognize this bright-colored piece of exercise paraphernalia? Resistance bands, designed for strength training and physical therapy, can be re-purposed into a great rhythm helper! (And now is the perfect time to go snag one from one of those store-front post-New-Year’s exercise equipment displays!!).

These bands are one of my go-to tools when students are struggling to hold long notes for their full durations. With a band in their hands, the long notes suddenly become fun notes!

In this video clip, Sonia demonstrates how we use the band to show duration. In the first part of the clip, we practice the motions she’ll use with different notes. Once she’s comfortable with the band, I ask her to stretch as I play a passage:

After we’ve worked, and she can successfully match her motions to my sound, I ask her to look at the printed music as she stretches. Ideally, she’ll make a connection between what she feels, hears and finally sees:

Now we’re ready to head back to the piano to see if her long notes have improved!

You can find resistance bands at most stores that carry sporting or exercise equipment. The bands come in a variety of strengths; you’ll want one with a light resistance level so young arms can handle it!

P.S. Sorry about the fact that the videos are showing in a funky vertical orientation. I didn’t discover until I had shot several clips on my new iPad that I need to record with it sitting in horizontal orientation, NOT vertical!! Please excuse my learning curve!!

KCMTA Workshop Follow Up

Jennifer Fink — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:00:19 +0000

Welcome, KCMTA members and friends! I’d like to say a big “thank you” to all of you who came out for the “Get Off the Bench!” workshop. I hoped you walked away with some fun new ideas to try with your students this semester!

If you’re new to this site, I’d encourage you to take a look through the “Teacher Resources” menu above. You’ll find all of the printable games and resources I shared during the workshop, along with much, much more!

As promised, here’s the link to a digital copy of the list of resources in your workshop handout, complete with links to the different resources I mentioned:

Hands-On Theory Resources (245.8 KiB)

I hope you’ll enjoy browsing through the different resources on this site, and find some things you and your students will enjoy. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have questions about anything you find here!

Google Currents – Pianimation Edition

Nathan Fink — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:00:07 +0000

It’s time for a guest post! My wonderful, tech-savvy husband, Nathan, has long worked behind the scenes of my website and blog. Over the holiday break he worked on a fun new way for readers with mobile devices to follow blog posts. If you like to keep up with news “on-the-go” you’ll want to check out the details below:

Pianimation is now available on Google Currents.

If you are using an Apple or Android device to read this blog post, and you already have Google Currents installed, I invite you to click here to add the Pianimation Edition.

Google Currents is a touch optimized news-reader and magazine app recently released by Google. It is now available for download in the Android Market and the Apple App Store for US users only. It’s been called one of the best apps of 2011.

I keep up with my favorite blogs in many ways: email, Google Reader, Facebook and Twitter. Google Currents is just another option. It’s main advantage over RSS readers and other apps lies in it’s ability to display content elegantly when you are not connected to the internet. My iPad is the WiFi only version, and Google Currents lets me read articles when I’ve got time to kill and no internet connection. (Although… it’s still a fun way to read articles when you are connected ).

The content found in the Google Currents Pianimation Edition is basically the same content that you’ll find via any other method of reading the Pianimation blog. However, I am playing around with some options in the Mobile Resources section that you’ll see in the edition. We’ll see if it amounts to much, but I’m hoping to make resources for mobile (Apple and Android) devices easier to find and use (when connected to the internet) from that page.

I’d love to hear what you think in the comments section below.

Get off the Bench! Workshop next Tuesday

Jennifer Fink — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I’d like to extend an invitation to all of my colleagues in the Kansas City area to join me for a workshop, hosted by the Kansas City Music Teachers Association this coming Tuesday, January 10th. The session will be held at Schmitt Music (119th and Metcalf in the Rosana Square shopping center). The business meeting starts at 9:15, with workshop immediately following.

Get Off the Bench!
Enliven Your Lessons with Hands-On Learning

Elementary students come to lessons full of creative energy, ready to “play” with music. This session will explore ways to channel that energy through movement and hands-on learning. We’ll discover quick and simple ways to use tactile/kinesthetic experiences to introduce and remediate musical concepts (including some “grown up” variations on activities that even your older students will want to try!).

The morning will be packed with games, activities and manipulatives that will excite and engage your students in an active, playful learning environment. Come prepared for a hands-on workshop full of fun!

For the many of you who aren’t in the Kansas City area, never fear. Many of the activities I’ll be sharing are coming to the blog this spring in a “Sensory Spotlight” series of posts, complete with video demonstrations. Stay tuned!

$5 Coupon for Alberti Publishing

Jennifer Fink — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:26:06 +0000

Happy New Year! To kick off 2012, the folks at Alberti Publishing are offering readers a $5 off coupon, good for any sheet music download from their site. Visit www.albertipublishing.com and enter the code APB560 at checkout.

If you haven’t visited their site before, you’ll definitely want to stop by check it out. They have a wonderful (and ever-growing) collection of download-and-print pedagogical piano music (and this really, really cool piano assignment notebook!).

Thought for the Week

Jennifer Fink — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:38:23 +0000

I ran across this quote last week, and thought it was a perfect sentiment for all of us as we wind down another semester:

“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”
~William Blake

Sometimes, in the middle of all of the teaching and learning we try to cram into our students’ years, it’s important to remember to fit in time to enjoy all of that hard work! This week, I get to celebrate with my students as they pick up finished CD projects, full of favorite pieces from the year, and play through all of their Christmas pieces one more time (it never hurts to have a little something planned in case Grandma asks for an impromptu recital when she comes to visit!).

I hope you and your students find time to enjoy this busy and wonderful time of year!

Christmas Resource Round-Up

Jennifer Fink — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:34:18 +0000

Are you looking for some fun Christmas-themed games and activities to use in lessons and group classes this month? Or something new and different to keep your student engaged and motivated through these last few weeks of the semester?

Over the last couple of years, I’ve posted a number of Christmas games, worksheets and resources. You have to do a bit of hunting through this site to find all of them, so I thought I’d put together a quick reference post to make them a bit more accessible. Here’s the Pianimation Christmas List!

Christmas Games

Christmas Carol Rhythm Match-Ups (3 levels)
Trim the Tree (a note name game with 3 levels)

Group Activities
(don’t let the title fool you… I’ve used these activities in groups, but they’ll work just as well in private lessons, too!)

Jingle Bell Melodic Pattern Signs (a beginning melodic dictation activity)
Find My Mistake: Christmas Carol Edition

Theory Worksheets

Christmas Carol Harmonizations
Christmas Carol Analysis Worksheets (NEW!)
Snowman Triads
Christmas Carol Rhythm Dictation Sheets

Composition & Improvisation

Christmas Composition Starters (courtesy of a kind reader who shared her file!)
The Winter Blues