Piano Camp Planning
Next week will be my week of piano camps and I’m sitting here at my dining room table with papers scattered around, jotting down ideas and finalizing the daily outline while the strains of Vivaldi’s Oboe Concertos quietly escape the speakers of my CD player in the background. There are always so many ideas and possibilities to consider, it’s hard to narrow everything down into a concise lesson plan!
Our local music teachers association is organizing a Music Olympics festival next month and my week of piano camps will be spent, in large part, preparing for the event. We’ll be meeting for two-and-a-half hours each day Monday through Thursday. And since I’ve got one group from 10:00-12:30 and another group from 1:00-3:30, I’m having an open lunch time where everyone can bring a sack lunch and hang out together and visit while we eat. Should be fun!
In preparation for the Rhythm Marathon event at the Music Olympics, I’ve been working on specific ideas to help my students develop rhythm skills. I downloaded these wonderful rhythm flashcards from D’Net’s music blog and now I’m devising a variety of ways to use them. I also found this idea for a rhythm game using body percussion that looks pretty fun. (There is a whole page of music lesson plans on this site, contributed by different music teachers. I’ve only looked through a handful, but some of them have some really good ideas!)
I’ll be sure to take pictures during the piano camps and post them here so you can join in on the fun [at least in a virtual-sort-of-way!]!
June 25th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Good luck with your piano camps! Thanks for the links.
June 26th, 2008 at 2:04 am
Natalie, I can’t wait to read about your camps. I have wanted to do some for awhile, but haven’t gotten there yet. I’m sure you will have lots of great ideas.
I did up some cards for you with dotted quarter/8th note combinations. Hope they help, and thanks for the idea!
D’Net
June 26th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Thanks for the great ideas! I am planning a Summer Choir Camp for August 18-22. The rhythm is just the kind of activity I need!
I would like to talk to you sometime soon about how you handle your group lessons. I teach both piano and voice. I don’t think group lessons for piano and voice would work at the same time, but I would like to start group lessons for piano this year.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Natlie,
I just came across this free download reently. I used the I hate homework and I like hotdogs ensembles in my piano ensemble class Monday after we were done recording their pieces and they loved it. Very easy to do. Go to: http://www.ktpercussion.com/ebkdownload/
Good luck with your camps!
November 11th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Wow! Your piano camps sound fabulous!!! Love your ideas and incentives.
I teach at a music institute in Canada during the summer. So I understand and support your piano camp idea.
Ever thought about hiring a guest clinician?
Don’t know where you are, but I’m always looking for new opportunities.
You can check out my blog to find out about me, or if you are genuinely interested, I could pass along a resume. In the mean time, I will continue to learn from you! Keep up the good work!!!