Summer lessons? How to make progress when practice is in short supply
May seems to be the month (in the States!) that teachers burnout and students slide into a practice slump.
It’s why many teachers take the summer off!
If you don’t have the luxury to vacate your studio and your students are itching to ditch the keys then summer is the time to change things up.
A few days ago, a teacher emailed me with the intention to do just that.
As I began to type my reply, I could tell that my answer could be a blog’s worth of information and so…here are my answers in this post!
I believe my answers really address this question:
How do we design engaging lessons that promise progress when practice is in short supply?
Sometimes a change up just means a clever way to review the basics.
I restructured her questions a bit to make the parameters clear
And because she includes this in her email…
I have found consistent success with anything that I have purchased from you and want to stick solely to your materials because of that and because it is so well laid out.
…you’ll find shameless plugs for the teacher-tested and student-approved resources that could be beneficial to her and YOU over the summer.
Question #1 (WHEN you need something fresh)
I normally teach year-round with a lighter summer schedule. While I do not want to do a summer camp, I would like to offer students a choice of "classes" this summer instead of continuing through the normal studio year curriculum.
I was wondering if you wouldn't mind offering some suggestions for three different courses. These courses would have to
be easy for me to pull together in a month's time
include enough content that would extend over a period of 10 weeks from June to August.
work even though students would attend an average 6-7 lessons out of those 10 weeks
Despite this being a pretty big ask, it wasn’t that hard for me to come up with MORE than three ideas for courses!
The following suggestions are based on skills that are important and yet often neglected during the normal teaching year and what I’ve done over the years.
Each of the recommended resources that I connect with the topic has plenty of sequenced content that could stretch over about 6 weeks.
#1 Improvise within the 12-Bar Blues
The blues is one of my favorite ways to explore creative options because of its classic twelve-bar framework.
As a pianist gets more comfortable with the characteristics of the blues, the options are endless. Every year I pull out the blues and follow the lessons in Be Cool and Play the Blues.
TIP: Years ago, students created their original blues based on their favorite Dr. Suess Book—many more details about that are in my resource. This past year, students improvised blues around original lyrics. For ideas on how to generate lyrics, check out these two links.
#2 Read from chord charts
Kaitlyn co-wrote and composed this song for her senior project.
To most, sight reading means reading fully notated sheet music but I believe a well-rounded sight reader must also confidently read from a lead sheet and a chord chart. Navigating chord charts is an essential element of How to Play Piano in a Band. In the course, good friend and longtime band leader Drew Collins and I explain what the signs and symbols mean on a chord chart, and how to interpret them. We inform and prepare players for the three roles a pianist may have when playing with guitar, vocalists, bass guitar, and drums.
Working through this three-module course with students will equip them to play in a band. A NEW module has been added that includes down-to-the-minute 4-day camp plans! The step-by-step plans could be adjusted for private lessons.
A course and curriculum to equip pianists to play with a worship team or pop band. ON SALE--normally $208!
TIP: With the course comes a FREE training on May 4, 2023. The sign up is in the camp module.
#3 Improvise within chord progressions and generate back-pocket improvisation patterns
Rookie musicians may struggle to recognize which chords “play nicely” or “hang together.” One way to get “under the hood” of harmony is by improvising within tried-and-true popular chord progressions. Then there’s the decision of what to play when improvising and that’s when it’s nice to have a catalog of ideas. The 321 Challenge offers guidance and ideas for improvisers to develop and collect favorite back-pocket patterns. Quite often students compose a piece from the ideas that appear from using the 321 Challenge.
TIP: Check out these resources for popular chord progressions.
Get Inspired! Episode #19 = thoughtfully curated selections of pop tunes.
Hook Theory = clever site with ALL the top chord progressions
Auto Chords = thank you to Marie Lee who clued me in on this cool app
#4 Compose an original piece
Rylan always loved to compose and he did so every year until we parted ways after his senior year in high school.
Click on the picture of him in the snow to hear one of his original pieces.
His mom recently let me know that his creativity has trickled into his college/career life—he just received a big write-up in the University of Colorado newsletter.
Composing takes time and brain space so summer is a good time to abandon standard repertoire and method books and concentrate on this unique process. After exploring options in the 321 Challenge or Be Cool and Play the Blues assign students to notate their original masterpiece.
My resource called Cookie Cutter Composing sets specific boundaries for the composing process and is a guide for teachers to help their students compose. Boundaries avoid decision fatigue and choice overload and have helped my students compose lovely original masterpieces. Cookie Cutter Composing SAVED my online lessons during the lockdown. You can hear my students’ compositions in the video above.
TIP: If you need guidance on how to coach creativity, then consider attending a Composium this summer. Check out the lovely projects composed by Composium Alum (teachers JUST LIKE YOU!) at this link.
This summer there are FIVE Composiums–some dedicated to composing and some to arranging. Sign up for the time and/or topic that works best for you.
#5 Design an arrangement of “Happy Birthday”
Maddy’s arrangement is just about ready for the next birthday in her family. Click on the image to listen.
Although some may ask “Why teach Happy Birthday?” I believe it’s a terrific tune for learning how to play from a lead sheet. And before showing the student the melody, let students attempt to play it by ear. Because their ears know it so well, it allows them the luxury of hunting and pecking to find the correct notes. Tips on playing by ear and how to harmonize the tune are provided in my resource Perry’s Party Piano Camp. The curriculum provides plenty of off-bench activities to reinforce concepts covered: major scales, improvisation, chords, tonic and dominant, and much more. Although plans are designed for groups, they are easily transferable to private lessons.
TIP: After students master the Happy Birthday lead sheet, assign them to transfer what they’ve learned to a new lead sheet.
Question #2 (WHEN practice is scarce)
I have two students who are in high school and desperately want to continue piano, but their schedules and life circumstances currently limit their practice in huge ways. Both want to continue lessons and yet both students cannot commit to practice during the week.
Do you have any advice on what to do with them as they want to continue?
Answer
I believe any of the courses listed above could be used with students committed to attending lessons with little practice between lessons. Because music is a spiraling curriculum (new concepts are built on previous knowledge) combining a brief review of the previous week’s content with new material in each lesson will lead to progress!
Sometimes students have gaps in learning, so this “no-practice season” is the perfect time to dive deep into theory concepts, music history or practice strategies—whatever suits your students’ needs!
#1 Chords
Perhaps my favorite topic to tackle? Chords. Knowing chords and how they work together to make progressions gives musicians a huge advantage when it comes to sight reading and improvising.
Plan lessons around triads and then focus on inversions, chord progressions, and 7th chords. Test what students learn about chords by improvising and sight reading sheet music, lead sheets, and chord charts. What’s mastered in one week can be applied to the following week’s content that may feature new progressions, inversions, 7th chords, etc.
My digital course The Full Scoop on Chords provides the ideal scope and sequence for understanding chords and their symbols. The videos serve as tutorials for students and are inspirational for teachers interested in how to teach chords.
#2 Scales and key signatures
Lilly aced her theory test thanks to drilling theory during the summer months.
Working your way around the Circle of Keys to learn about major scales and their relative minor is a dynamite way to build theory dynamos! Design lessons on mastering the spelling and fingering of specific scales and their diatonic chords. Test students’ familiarity of each key by asking them to improvise and sight-read in the key. Make sure to use Key 7 to design lessons.
TIP: Consider these resources to expand a course on scales
Blog post about teaching major scales
MusiClock = my top pick for backing tracks for improvising on scales.
Key Master = random ways to play scales
Escape Room Games = clever way to test knowledge
#3 Rhythm
Rhythm could be tied in with the two listed above (chords and scales) or stand-alone. I firmly believe that good sight readers understand rhythmic notation. Solid rhythm reading skills are the KEY to being a well-rounded musician.
Perhaps you’ve heard this quote before?
If it’s the right note at the wrong time, it’s wrong.
In each lesson, plan to develop strong rhythmic understanding by dedicating time to meter, time signatures, note values, and rhythm patterns through:
Ear training
Dictation
Sight reading rhythms
Improvising within rhythms
Creating rhythm patterns within various time signatures
Mastering polyrhythms– 2 vs 3 and 3 vs 4
Rhythm Make It Count has tons of activities and suggestions for developing strong rhythm readers.
TIP: Other suggested resources:
Rhythm Produce = includes superb tips and visuals for polyrhythms!
Escape Room Games = check out the games specifically related to rhythm.
Groove Pizza = cool app for creating rhythm loops.
Let’s Drum This! = a studio staple for teaching rhythm!
Summer is THE time and place to help your students make connections with YOU and with specific elements of music.
Give yourself the freedom to stray from what you normally do and enjoy the adventure.
After decades of teaching, it’s been fun to connect these course ideas with videos and photos that prove they work!
TIP: surprise your students with a slice of watermelon.☺️
