One of my objectives with every group class (held monthly) is for students to not only perform for each other, but also to play music together. We accomplish this in various ways, but for our January group piano class, I thought it would be interesting to try having a jam session. This isn’t something we pianists typically do, but I’ve had my students learning scales and chords and chord progressions, etc. for years, so I figured it would be a great way to help them experience a practical application for all that keyboard theory!
I let them each choose an instrument, and designated the one at the main piano the leader. The others had to listen and try to match their tempo and style, plus anticipate when they were ending so that everyone would end together. Whoever was on the cajón led in with a solid beat. I gave them a chord progression and set them loose. They had a ton of fun, and it’s something we definitely want to continue to incorporate in future group piano classes!
Allysia says
This is something I’ve always wanted to do with my adult students, but have just never gotten around to coordinating! Looks like a lot of fun!