Third set of Notes in the Fast Lane

I’m posting the next set in the speed reading series,  Notes in the Fast Lane  Levels 9-12. There are four pages and this set each contains all the notes on the grand staff from bass G to treble F. They are  arranged in a different order on each page, but all 4 pages are of equal difficulty. Please note that this is different for the previous sets I published. This set was specifically made to  work on speed. I plan to use levels 9-12 by requiring a faster time to complete each level.  For example, the last level, Level 12 would have to completed in  35 seconds. This would be something the older students can do, and a challenge for the younger children to work toward.  It might be fun to have them work several years to complete all the levels.  Young children simply cannot write as fast as older children and what is a simple matter for a teen is quite difficult for younger child.

One way to use these sheets would be to devote a few weeks to doing them now and then do it again in April next year.  Keep a chart of each level and  next year they can see how they improved. I am going to make a 4 certificates for completion of each set and some kind of chart to help keep track.

I left this series very open ended so you can do whatever works with your studio. I’m sure every teacher will do it differently. If you have used them successfully in a different way, send me an email and I’ll post it here to share with other teachers. Let me know if I can use your name.

If you want to see the other sheets in the series, you can find Levels 1-4 here and Levels 5-8 here. Each set of four has a different colored border.

Many teachers have downloaded the Mother’s Day composing activity on the staff. I have had many teachers ask me for a Father’s Day activity. I’m putting a poll here to see if the majority of teachers prefer a composing activity or an Elementary level song with no composing. If you would like something for Father’s Day, please spend 2 seconds to answer this poll.

Mother’s Day on staff

Mother’s Day on the staff

I wanted a Mother’s Day activity for my students in Level 1,  so I modified the my pre-reading  Mother’s Day activity.  While it may look similar to the one I posted a few days ago,  because I reused  my flowers and graphics,  I wrote a new tune especially for this activity. This time I used steps and skips and two measures of hands together playing that is often a challenge at this level.

I call these measures the “tricky bits” and we learn them first,  hands separate. Then we play measure 3 and 4 hands together, but not on the keys. We play them in  the air, on the fall board, on our arm or leg, and any other way that strikes our fancy. By the time we finally get around to playing it on the piano, it is so firmly in the student’s muscle memory that the tricky bits become the “easy bits”. If they need a little more practice hands together, we start at the bottom of the keyboard and play going up or down in all the octaves. This takes a while, but it pays off when they get home. Students are more likely to practice if they have already worked out the “tricky bits.”

Mother’s Day Pre-reading Activity

This is a Mother’s Day activity for the young beginner. 

I had a lot of fun making it and I hope it’s not over the top with all the pink polka-dots and hearts!

When I wrote this, I decided to make the tune very easy with only one measure containing steps and skips. I didn’t put any instructions on the sheet so students can present it to their Moms as a Mother’s Day present. If you have never used composing activities like this one, email me for instructions.

 If this activity seems too easy for your students and students are familiar with pentascales,  choose a challenging key.  In the white center of the green flowers at the bottom of the page, the student can either fill in finger numbers or note names. Since the composing section  is so short, encourage your student to move up or down octaves and not just stay in one hand position. My students love to try something different, even if it doesn’t make a lot of musical sense and I’m very accepting because that will encourage them to compose more.

If you want a pretty way  for students to present this to their Mother,  trim off the white border, laminate it, and add a pink bow. Or you could print it off on sturdy card stock or glue it to foam board.  If you have any other ideas, let me know!

Roses in the Springtime

Roses in the Springtime

A teacher asked me to re-post this springtime  song that was on my web site last year.

This song comes from a one of the piano books I wrote for my students in level 1 to work on sight reading. First I have the student circle the thirds and then look for the 4th in the LH, which is usually hard to find. It should be played legato, but I left off all the markings so the student can concentrate on reading intervals.

I always improvise a teacher accompaniment for this, in a flowing style.

For the record, you can probably tell I did not do the art for this piece. I’m not sure where I got the picture because it was several years ago.  I thought it was so pretty I couldn’t resist using it.

Notes In the Fast Lane – levels 5-8

Notes In the Fast Lane Levels 5-8

I am finally getting around to adding the next 4 levels of Notes In the Fast Lane Levels 1-4.  Teachers have written me saying how much they like these activity sheets and asking for the next levels. I didn’t have an internet connection for a few days so I am behind in my posting.

You might notice that I changed the color for these 4 sheets. I decided that if I change color after every 4 levels, it will be easier for me to keep track of them.

Some teachers have asked me for a chart to help keep track of the level of each student. I think that is a very good idea, so I am working on it. If you want a chart, just hold on and I promise to get it up by this weekend.

Don’t forget that a lot of teachers are laminating these sheets so they can use them over and over. Other teachers may want to put them in their student’s folders or send them home so parents can see what their child  is doing. Of course, you will probably find them in the bottom of their music bags, which is why teachers always ask students to get papers signed if they really want the parents to see them! That is why a folder with each students’ compositions, papers, etc. is such a good idea if you use a lot of activity sheets.

One more thing. I don’t think Notes in the Fast Lane works well with my preschool students. I did not intend these for young students, but I tried the first sheet anyway with one of my kindergarten students who is very bright. While they did help him remember the notes, the staves are too small and they are too close together.  I’m going to make a set for pre-school children that are more child-like, but I would appreciate help from any of you (especially if you use My First Piano Adventures) as to what notes should be on each page.   I will consider what each teacher says and then try to make some pages that will work for most of us.

Let me know if these are helpful in your studio!

Prodikeys PC-midi by Creative

Every now and then I ask my composition students if they would like to see my *keyboard*.  They curiously follow me into my office and then do a double take when they see a a “keyboard with a keyboard”. Granted my midi keyboard doesn’t have 88 full size weighted keys, but it’s  handy,  none the less. Several years ago my very old computer keyboard died, and when I saw this one on the web, I decided to try it out. While it is not for everyone, I love mine!

Actually it comes in very handy when I am notating my music on the computer.  I usually compose at the piano on staff paper the old fashioned way, or if it’s a melody only, in my head. Once I decide to notate my music  in Finale, I come into my office where I have this  keyboard.  

I don’t think this  midi keyboard was designed for  professional composers. With only 37 very tiny keys, I certainly can’t play it like a piano or use it to compose past early elementary levels.  I use the midi keys to get ideas, experiment with positions and key signatures, and to notate music in Finale.   It works great when I just want to write a simple melody line, like some of the pre-reading and early elementary pieces I post occasionally. 

There are a lot of  features that look fun for children and hobbyists,  but I’ve never used them.  It might work great in a composing lab for children, if you have room for that sort of thing.  I did a check on the web, and it is about $40.00 – $60.00.  Mine was  cheaper a few years ago, not much more than a regular computer keyboard. Creative makes several models with different features and prices.  There is a cover for the (midi) keys, so when you don’t need it,  the midi keyboard doesn’t get in the way. It easily turns off and on, so when I don’t need a midi, it’s there under the cover, forgotten. While I have heard some people have not been successful using it with Finale, I’ve had absolutely no problems.

This midi keyboard is made by Creative and is called Prodikeys PC-midi.  It plugs right into my UBS port. The first one I ordered developed some problems when it was a few months old, and the company cheerfully replaced it at no cost to me.  This one is several years old, and it has never given me any problems. I hope it lasts a a very long time. http://www.prodikeys.com/

Notes In the Fast Lane

Notes In the Fast Lane was created for a teacher, Kathy,  who wrote me wondering if I would like to make a set of  timed progressive tests to teach students to identify notes quickly.  Her students are using something like this that she collected from various sources and they really like the challenge of moving up levels.  She thought it would be helpful to have a set written just for piano, using a grand staff.  

If you use these, you will have to decide on the score and/or time the students will have to accomplish before they move on to the next level.  Also, just because they pass a level this week doesn’t mean they will remember it next week!   I am going to require students to repeat each level over and over until they are very fast before they move on.  If they have to count up the staff to find the note name, they are not ready to move on!

Also, remember that just knowing note names does not mean a student can sight read or play with artistry. Students need to be encouraged to read music by intervals and not think of note names when they play. But they need to know note names, also, so this is to help with that part. And, of course, some students know the note names but have no idea what octave they are on the keyboard. You might even want to use these sheets in two ways, writing the notes and also playing the notes.

I created this set of 4 levels, with more to come.  I haven’t actually used them with my students,  so email me or leave a comment if you see mistakes.  Level 4 includes all the notes from bass C to treble C. Obviously I need to create a set with the other notes on the grand staff, and a set with ledger line notes, so check back here if you are interested.

Thanks to Carol for reminding me to post that these can be laminated and used over and over. That saves a lot of printing costs!

Deck Copy Offers from Kjos

 

The Neil A. Kjos Music Company, music publisher,  has a special offer for piano teachers to order desk copies of some of their publications. Everything  listed in the brochure is 40 to 50%  off. Included is the new beginning book by Keith Snell I reviewed a few weeks ago, the 10 graded levels of the classical Neil A. Kjos Piano Library by Keith Snell,  all kinds of theory aids and more.

The offer also includes the book by James Bastien,  How to Teach Piano Successfully and Beth Gigante’s A Business Guide for the Music Teacher, which was so helpful in getting my piano studio organized and professional.

The Bastien offering include a lot of fun, colorful note reading books, some with stickers , wipe off books, and other fun stuff. There is also a series called Theory Gymnastics that looks like a lot of fun, but I haven’t seen the series in person. Just looking at the the small preview, the pages look like the funny theory activity sheets I make up, with funny cartoon animals. At least they have the resources to hire a real artist, because they look very well done!

If you received this offer but haven’t taken a look at it yet, it’s worth the time. This offer is for desk copies, so there is a limit to one copy of each book. Get additional copies from your favorite music dealer.

Notate “See the Bunny” on a staff

Some elementary students are too old to use the pre-reading composition activity I posted a few days ago. My older elementary students, around 2nd to 4th grade,   want to write it on a staff.  Students older than that don’t want bunnies and jelly beans, so we start with staff paper.  Today I am posting a companion to the pre-reading See the Bunny composition activity I posted last week. In a few weeks I hope to post some composing sheets for older students.

The composition activity sheet I am posting today is too long  to complete in one lesson unless you have a lesson devoted solely to composition.  There are several ways to speed it up:

• The teacher can write in the notes for the student.
• Have the students write only whole notes on the staff and later change them into quarter and half notes.
• Keep the activity in a folder and work on it over a longer time period.

You probably have some more ideas, so pass them along.

I received some requests from teachers to post this. If you have any students complete this activity, it would make my day to see their compositions. If you don’t have a scanner you can use a camera phone  and send it to my email address.

To print today’s post, click here.