Blue Gold Black Green Red

Transcription

1 Aren t the Olympics exciting?! I love how they bring people together across nations to recognize and celebrate hard work, excellence, and achievement. These are things I want to celebrate in my students! So, inspired by this year s Winter Olympics and drawing on the symbol pictured above, I created a piano festival based on five key aspects of musicianship: Blue Sight-Reading Gold Memorization + Performance Black Aural Skills (clap-backs, sing-backs, play-backs) Green Creativity (improvisation, composition) Red Technique This festival is based on a series of weekly events students will have the opportunity to choose which events they would like to train for and participate in. My goal is to focus on one ring at a time, for teaching efficiency and to keep students from getting overwhelmed. Together, we will choose events (2-3 per category); I will give students practice materials to take home so they can prepare for the events. Most events are designed to take place in the lessons. Once students successfully complete the required number of events for a given category, they will earn that Olympic ring. After all rings have been earned, the student will receive a certificate of achievement and perhaps a small prize for participating. This packet includes event listings for each category and helpful resources for facilitating them for Preparatory A, Preparatory B, and Level 1 students (based on the levels of the Royal Conservatory of Music s Music Development Program). Let the Games begin! ashley

2 BLUE: SIGHT-READING Olympic training (sight-play something new 7 days in a row) Sight-Reading Events: Choose 2 Halfpipe (sight-play two contrasting short pieces) 500m Freestyle (sight-read two contrasting rhythm exercises, counting out loud) Remix (sight-play a short exercise with RH, then LH) Short Track Relay (sing, speak rhythm, and play new piece on your own) GOLD: MEMORIZATION + PERFORMANCE Olympic training (practice 7 days in a row) Memorizing + Performance Events: Choose 2 Speed Skating (polish and memorize 1-2 pieces from earlier in the year) Giant Slalom (learn a continuous technique sequence from memory) Semifinal (perform two pieces from memory for friends or family) BLACK: AURAL SKILLS Olympic training (copy tonal and rhythm patterns from recording sing-back or clap-back) Aural Skills Events: Choose 2 Curling (perform two contrasting rhythm exercises, counting out loud) Free Skating (create your own rhythmic series for practice minimum: four bars) Qualifying (sing and play a new song by ear choose something you know) GREEN: CREATIVITY Olympic training (transpose three short pieces to a new key this week) Creativity Events: Choose 2 Freestyle Skiing (compose a new piece) Bobsled (perform a structured improvisation with teacher or family member) Figure Skating (compose or improvise a duet with a friend) RED: TECHNIQUE Olympic training (practice a different technique exercise every day for 7 days) Technique Events: Choose 3 Ski Jumping (play five continuous 5-finger or one-octave scales in steady tempo) Cross-Country Skiing (play three major/minor triads [Prep B/Level 1: with inversions], HS) Biathlon (play one 5-finger or one-octave scale one hand legato, one hand staccato, HS) Snowboarding (play two 5-finger or one-octave scales, descending first, then ascending, HS) Ice Dancing (play two 5-finger or one-octave scales in contrary motion, HT)

3 Sight-Reading Events Prep A: Sight-play two melodies (one treble, one bass) 4/4 wholes, halves, quarters C 4 notes Clap or tap given rhythm 2/4 halves, quarters, eighths 2 measures Prep B: Sight-play a short pentascale melody divided between the hands 4/4 wholes, halves, quarters C or G 4 measures Clap or tap given rhythm 2/4, 3/4 dotted halves, halves, quarters, eighths 2 measures Level 1: Sight-play a passage divided between the hands 4/4 halves, quarters C, G, F 4 measures Clap or tap given rhythm 4/4 2 measures

4 Sight-Playing Examples Prep A: use 4-beat quarter and half note patterns with stepwise motion. Treble clef and bass clef. Prep B: use 4-measure quarter, half, and dotted half note patterns with leaps of a 5th or stepwise motion based on landmark notes. Grand staff. Level 1: Use 4- to 8-measure examples in triple and duple meter with mostly stepwise motion, dynamics, and phrase markings. May include starting pitches a 2nd above or below landmark notes. Grand staff.

5 Aural Skills Events Prep A: Clap, tap, or sing the rhythm of a short melody 3/4, 4/4 wholes, dotted halves, halves, quarters, eighths 2 measures Play back a melody based on the first three notes of a pentascale C, G, F repeated notes, stepwise motion 4 notes Prep B: Same as Prep A Play back a melody based on the first three notes of a major scale C, G, F repeated notes, skips 4 notes Level 1: Clap, tap, or sing the rhythm of a short melody 2/4, 3/4 3-4 measures Play back a melody based on the first three notes of a major scale C, G, F repeated notes, steps, skips 4 notes

6 Songs to Learn by Ear Sources: Christopher Azzara, Jeanine Jacobson, and Joy Morin Pentatonic/black keys: 5-finger positions: 5-finger+ positions: Within the octave: Hot Cross Buns (start on Bb) Old MacDonald Had a Farm (Gb) Mary Had a Little Lamb (Bb) The Farmer in the Dell (Db) Amazing Grace (Db) When the Saints Go Marching In Ode to Joy Jingle Bells (chorus) Lightly Row Go Tell Aunt Rhody Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Frère Jacques For He s a Jolly Good Fellow Skip to My Lou Long, Long Ago Away in a Manger Joy to the World Deck the Halls We Wish You a Merry Christmas Take Me Out to the Ball Game Happy Birthday Simple Gifts

7 Technique Events Prep A: Pentascale: C, G, D, A minor (optional: F, D minor) HS in quarter notes + blocked triad (MM=100) Prep B: Pentascale: C, G, D, A, E, F, A minor, E minor, D minor HS in quarter notes + blocked triad (MM=100) HS in eighth notes + blocked triad (MM=60) One-octave scale: C, G, A minor (natural) HS in eighth notes (MM=60) One-octave contrary motion scale: C HT in quarter notes (MM=60) Broken triads and first inversion: C, G, A minor HS in triplets (MM=50) Level 1: Two-octave scale: C, G, F, A minor, E minor, D minor (natural + harmonic) HS in eighth notes (MM=69) One-octave staccato scale: C, G, F HS in eighth notes (MM=69) Two-octave contrary motion scale: C HT in eighth notes (MM=69) Chromatic pentascale: C HS in eighth notes (MM=69) Broken triads and inversions: C, G, F, A minor, E minor, D minor HS in triplets (MM=50) Blocked triads and inversions: C, G, F, A minor, E minor, D minor HS in quarter notes (with quarter rest in between) (MM=100)

8 Helpful Resources: Gig Harbor Music Teachers Association Susan Griesdale Chanson Voice Studio Joy Morin/Color in My Piano Keyboard Musicianship for the Adult Beginner (Clark) Music Tree Activities, Part I (Clark/Goss) Royal Conservatory of Music, Music Development Program Developing Musicianship Through Improvisation (Azzara/Grunow)