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July/August 2010 Teachers' Guide and Resources
July/August Student Page
Past Issues
Past Teacher's Guides
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interesting links.
Gershwin
The easiest pieces by Gershwin for piano are "Three-Quarter Blues,"
"Merry Andrew," "Impromptu in Two Keys," "Two Waltzes in C," and
"Promenade." They are suitable for late-intermediate students.
Preludes I, II, and III are slightly more difficult.
Recommended editions of Gershwin's Piano Music
George Gershwin at the Piano,
edited by M. Hinson (Alfred) - the most famous piano selections by
the composer, including Preludes, Merry Andrew, and Three-Quarter
Blues
Gershwin Piano Duets, Arr. By M Portoff (Hal Leonard) includes
popular songs by Gershwin arranged for four hands.
Complete Works for Solo Piano, edited by M. Hinson (Alfred) -
includes easier selections, such as the Three-Quarter Blues, as well
as the more difficult pieces, such as Rhapsody in Blue.
Recommended Recordings
Gershwin: American in Paris, Rhapsody In Blue,
Cleveland Orchestra conducted by R. Chailly, with
Katia
Labeque
and
Marielle Labeque
on piano (Decca)
Mad About Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and James Levine, conductors,
played by Los Angeles and Chicago Symphony Orchestras (Deutsche Grammophon)
Intervallic reading (Beginner's Corner)
Many students learn to ready music by naming and identifying notes,
yet they don't always understand the intervallic relationship
between them. When two notes are next door to each other, students
may not see that the distance between them is a step, or a second.
Recognizing intervals in written music helps read and play at sight
faster. With time and exercise, students will develop an idea of
what each interval looks like on paper and how big it is under the
fingers. Short exercises are provided in the magazine, but we
encourage teachers to incorporate a few minutes of sight-reading and
interval analysis in each lesson.
Why Practice This Summer (Beginner's Corner)
Summer gets tricky when it comes to practicing. Many students go on
trips that disrupt practice schedules, some take a break from
lessons and stop practicing, and others might not feel motivated to
get to the piano on hot summer days. Encourage your students to keep
practicing in the summer by assigning a special project or
organizing a summer recital. Come up with a great way to keep them
motivated and share your/their stories with us! We'll print the best
ones on the website. (editor@pianoexplorer.net)
Good Planning
It is worth to spend some time during each lesson designing small
goals for each day of the week between the lessons. Students often
have difficulties seeing how exactly each big goal can be
accomplished. By making a list of small daily goals, students will
learn how to organize their practice time in a productive way and
discover the wonders of a step-by-step approach to learning new
music.
Little bits accomplished every day is better than leaving everything
for the last minute. Lessons will be more fun for everyone involved.
Lists, charts, and reward systems are all things that can help reach
small and big goals.
Share the techniques you use with other teachers by emailing us at
editor@pianoexplorer.net
Puzzle
Answers for July:
Quiz answers: 1. A 2. B 3. B 4. B 5. A
Game (page 9) 1 3 2
Puzzle (page 10)
1. accent - B
2. natural - A
3. crescendo - E
4. sforzando - D
5. sharp - C
Answers to extended quiz:
1. 9
2. Austria: Mozart, Strauss, Beethoven, England: Clementi, Britten,
America: Gershwin, Stravinsky
3. Strauss-Blue Danube, Mozart-Magic Flute Beethoven-Moonlight
Sonata, Stravinsky-Firebird, Britten-Young Person's Guide,
Gershwin-Rhapsody in Blue, Debussy-Clair de lune
4. C
5. a. Clementi b. Beethoven
6. Various answers: promoted the early piano, created a company that
sold early pianos, wrote music specifically for piano instead of
general keyboard music, important piano teacher who wrote music to
help students learn to play, etc.
7. B
8. String: violin, cello Woodwind: flute, clarinet Brass:
trombone, trumpet
9. A-3 B-4 C-2 D-1
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