Category Archives: Worksheets

Monday Mailbag – Free Scale and Chord Progress Chart

Posted on by

I’m a bit confused on the metronome settings on your free scale and chord chart – a quarter and an eighth note side by side, same tempo? What’s the difference between (two) eighths at MM-60 and a quarter at MM-120? Also, regarding chords, do you mean each chord and its respective inversions within each key?

You’re right that the amount of notes played at these two tempi would be exactly the same. The distinction is in the rhythmic feel. When playing eighth notes at MM-60, the student would feel two notes per pulse; whereas when playing quarter notes at MM-120, they would feel only one note per pulse. Then the eighth notes at MM-120 would be played two per pulse. Part of the purpose in playing scales this way is that the student gain a better internal sense of pulse that they can apply to their playing.

As far as the chords, yes, eventually the student will be playing inversions of each primary triad and seventh chord within the key. We have a wonderful systematic state curriculum, though, that I use as a guide for when students should be learning and playing various scales and chords, so I adapt according to the student’s level and individual progress. Older students also play scales and arpeggios in triplets and sixteenth notes, so the columns have to be adjusted for this purpose, too!

Also, if you like the general idea of using a scale and chord progress chart, but want to develop your own custom version, be sure to check out this post: Free Scale Chart and Tips for Making Your Own Progress Charts!

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

Loads of Free Music Theory Worksheets!

Posted on by

One of my students’ moms sent me a link to Free Music Theory Worksheets page of the  gmajormusictheory.org website. I know I’ve been there before, but it’s obviously been a while as they have added a ton of free printable worksheets! Since I rarely use theory books in my teaching, I’m always on the lookout for great spots like this where I can easily navigate to a particular concept and print out a correlating worksheet to give a student. This will be a perfect addition to my list of go-to places!

Kick-It-Up-A-Notch! a one-week intensive piano course Materials Are Available!

Posted on by

After hours of writing, working, testing, tweaking, re-designing, and implementing, I am excited to announce that the Kick-it-up-a-Notch! a one-week intensive piano course package is now available!

This course is specifically designed for middle school and high school students who are serious about music. In order for students to participate, I required them to commit to an hour of practice between each of our daily 2-hour sessions. Some of my older students are used to this kind of practice schedule, but for some it’s an entirely new experience. But it gives them a glimpse of what they can accomplish when they work diligently to accomplish their goals! You can see a few photo highlights from our first week of Kick-it-up-a-Notch! in this post.

One teacher has this to say after receiving her package of materials:

“You are amazing, that’s all I can say!  It is so well put together.  I can’t imagine the time you have put into all of this.”

I am really excited to share these materials with other teachers, and hope that you and your students find the experience as beneficial and rewarding as we did!

Quest for Capital Practice Incentive Theme Package is Now Available!

Posted on by

It is with a great deal of excitement that I announce the availability of the practice incentive theme that we used in our studio this year: Quest for Capital! You can get your copy today…and see below for your chance to win all the studio materials for use in your own studio!

Quest for Capital is without a doubt one of the most fun, educational, and motivating practice incentives we’ve ever done in the studio! I like to think of it as an entrepreneur-meets-music-student endeavor. :-) In addition to investing in specific piano skills (a.k.a. Stock Options) throughout the year, students could also dream, plan, and create special Capital Improvement Projects that were showcased at The Gallery at the end of the year. The students were given a small table space and encouraged to sell their projects for a small profit, thus experiencing the excitement of integrating their music talents and knowledge with other areas of life and producing something of value in society.

The practice incentive is designed to provide a framework that will spur students on to attain greater proficiency in their skills and get their creative juices flowing as they contemplate possible project ideas. Students have already been asking me if we can do the same theme next year, or at least keep some of the same elements so that they can work on new projects. I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome of this theme and about the potential for it to be used in other music studios all over to inspire students in creative musical endeavors!

And now…for the special deal! Through the end of June, you can get $5 off the practice incentive package price when you use this coupon code: 59W3E7W2.

AND – everyone who purchases the practice incentive by the end of June will be entered in a drawing to win my complete set of studio materials – all the laminated studio cash, the wall banners, and the stock folders on the wall! Just select the Quest for Capital theme on the Resources page and checkout, and you will be entered in the drawing. The winner will be chosen at noon (CST) on Friday, July 1, using a random number generator.

Time for Year-End Evaluations – Free Downloadable Forms

Posted on by

It’s hard to believe that the spring semester of lessons is coming to a close. One of the most helpful things I ever started doing was scheduling Year-End Evaluations at the last lesson of the spring semester. Last week I sent home Student and Parent Questionnaires with each of my students. Next week, parents will attend the lesson with their child(ren) and we will use the time to discuss their questionnaire answers, go over my evaluation of each student, figure out summer plans, and discuss future goals and ideas for each student.

A handful of my studio parents attend every lesson, so I see them all year long, but for those who don’t, this is a great opportunity to catch up and make sure we’re all headed in the same direction. It also gives them a chance to voice any concerns or share ideas for working more effectively with their child(ren). I really love spending this time with the families and would highly recommend it for any teacher!

Here are a few links for free forms that you are welcome to download, adapt, and use in your own studio:

Year-End Evaluation Forms – this is a generic form that I use for every student. It takes a good bit of time for me to do this, but it is so helpful to think back over the past year and be intentional about future planning.

Year-End Student and Parent Questionnaires – a sample form that I used several years ago.

2011 Year-End Parent Questionnaire – I like to tweak the forms a bit each year to solicit specific feedback. This is what I’m using for the parents this year.

2011 Year-End Student Questionnaire – this year’s version.

Monday Mailbag – Free Scale Chart and Tips for Making Your Own Progress Charts!

Posted on by

I am searching everywhere for a template for individual progress charts and a master to keep in the studio so all my students can see how everyone stands up. Any ideas?

Probably one of the most valuable skills I have learned on the computer is how to use tables to create forms and worksheets of all shapes and sizes. Whether it’s fully-customized assignment books (like I create for all the practice incentive themes), piano scale fingering diagrams, or simple charts (like these key signature charts), a good working knowledge of tables will help you get the job done!

Here’s a free scale and chord progress chart that you can download for use in your studio.

For those who are interested in having an editable template to start with to create their own charts, you can download the MS Word version of the scale and chord progress chart. The symbols may not render correctly (unless you have the Bach Musicological font installed on your computer), but it will at least give you a start with the table layout. Here are a few tips to help you along the way (for PC users):

  • To merge multiple cells into one cell, just highlight all the cells, right click the mouse, and select the “merge cells” option.
  • To change the type or thickness of the border (or to remove the border) around specific cells, highlight the cell, right click the mouse, and select the Borders and Shading option.
  • To change the size of the cells, just hover the mouse above the line you want to move until it has the double arrows and then click the left mouse button and drag the line to make the cell/row/column as big or small as you want it. You can also specify exact dimensions using the Table Properties option when you right click the mouse while hovering over the highlighted cells.
  • All of the table options are also accessible by clicking on the Table option at the top of the screen when you have highlighted the table or a portion of the table. Experimentation is often the best way to figure out how to best utilize all the options!

If you’ve never worked with tables before, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but every minute you spend to experiment, learn, and create, is well worth it. Consider it an investment with guaranteed returns as you find yourself creating all sorts of great-looking and well-designed materials for use in your studio!

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

Free Major and Minor Arpeggio Keyboard Fingering Diagrams

Posted on by

Sarah, over at the Piano Discoveries Blog, recently posted some fabulous Major and Minor Arpeggio Keyboard Fingering Diagrams! Ever since I started using the scale fingering diagrams with my students (which we use very extensively now!), I’ve been thinking about designing something similar for arpeggios. However, I am thrilled that Sarah has done just that, and I plan to utilize these diagrams with my students!

Another of Sarah’s resources that I just discovered are these wonderful FACE Flashcards for Treble and Bass Clef. I can guarantee that these will get lots of use in my studio!

Fun Ear Training Song for Young Students

Posted on by

Even though I don’t have a super good ear when it comes to music, I do know that quite a few years of being in choirs and taking voice lessons has helped develop a better ear than I would have had otherwise. I’m always interested in incorporating singing elements into our lessons, but sometimes it’s difficult to know the best approach. When I came across a couple of fun Children’s Ear Training Songs on the Easy Ear Training website, I knew I had to give them a try!

I decided to start with the Froggy Interval Hop. I love trying to incorporate as many different learning styles as possible into each activity, so I dusted off my large foam board keyboard that I made years ago and pulled a little stuffed monkey from my collection of mini stuffed animals. I didn’t have a frog, so the activity became Monkey Interval Hop for us! I also found a cute little monkey graphic on-line and printed off an octave’s worth of little monkey cards. After putting a little bit of sticky tack on the back of each monkey card, we were ready to go!

I sat at the piano and played the song while singing along and placing the monkey cards on the corresponding number of notes to represent the interval. My little student got to hold the stuffed monkey and sing along while hopping on the first and last monkey to represent the interval we were singing. For example, when we sang, “Hop, hop, hop, hop, three little monkeys hop,” she hopped like this: C-E-C-E-C-E-C-E.

We’ve only done it a couple weeks so far, but there are a ton of possibilities for using this simple, but creative song to help young students train their ears. Here are a few that I’ve thought of:

  • Include intervals all the way up to an octave.
  • Instead of always going in order, place the monkey cards on random notes to have the student develop an even better awareness of the different intervals.
  • Transpose to other major keys to develop familiarity with different scales.
  • Try using minor keys to develop tonal awareness.
  • The teacher plays and sings the first interval and the student tries to correctly identify it by placing the monkey card on the correct piano keys.
  • Use all sorts of different animals just for fun!

In addition to using this during private lessons, I think it would be a really great activity for a small group of young students – perhaps a perfect addition to a pre-piano camp! :-) Those are a few of my ideas thus far. Can you think of other creative ways to use this activity to help students develop a well-trained ear?

Meet the Orchestra – Collection of Printable Pages

Posted on by

Making Music Fun recently announced that their whole collection of Meet the Orchestra pages has gone printable!

Find instruments in the Woodwind Family, the Brass Family, the String Family, the Percussion Family, and the Keyboard Family. For each instrument, you can read about the history, how it’s played, how it’s made, and an extra fun fact. This is a super resource for music students who want to learn about the different instruments!

Free Major Chord Worksheet

Posted on by

Sarah, of the Discoveries Piano Studio blog, recently posted a free major chord worksheet that is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! It is a page of shamrocks with the root note of a chord pre-printed on one of the leaves. Students have to write the name of the two subsequent notes to form a major chord. Especially with our Music Progressions evaluations coming up in a little over a month, I think this will be the perfect fun, but helpful activity for some of my students!