Activities that will keep your piano students engaged… and won’t cost you more time or money.
Here are 7 ways to break up the routine and add a little character to your piano lessons… without spending more time or money.
Tell your students they are NOT allowed to play a piece as written this week.
Instead, instruct them to mix up the components of the piece to play it differently.
For example, they could:
This challenge is similar to “mix-up your piece,” except now you are challenging students to take components of different songs and mash them together.
For example, they could:
Ever notice that students avoid practicing songs they don’t like?
Makes sense – I avoid activities I don’t like, too.
Instead of insisting that they keep practicing that dreaded song until they can play it correctly, empower them to change the song by saying something like:
“It’s OK not to like every song you are learning. I don’t like every song.
This week, I want you to think about and identify what you don’t like about this song.
Is it the key? Mood? Melody/harmony? Rhythm? A specific section?
Then next week, tell me specifically what you don’t like, and we’ll brainstorm some ideas of how you can change the song so that you like it better.”
Once or twice a year, hold a composition challenge.
I find it works best to have a theme, even if it’s just giving a song title or specifying which notes can be used.
We want our students to develop good technique, but especially for those younger, restless students, giving them the freedom to explore out-of-the-box techniques can make their day!
For example, can they play a song:
Rotate through different themes to keep your students improvising, such as:
Did you know that the world’s most adorable sports team plays the piano? Use some printable characters in your studio to help your students explore music theory.