Having been a long-time piano student who graduated from high school with no idea how to tell what key I was playing in, I’ve been determined as a piano teacher to make sure that my students understand music theory. Not in a disconnected fill-in-the-answer-in-the-theory-book way, but in a way that ignites greater understanding and appreciation of the music being learned and played. I always love brainstorming for creative ways to encourage students to pursue a deeper understanding of music theory with our piano practice incentive each year. In the past several years, I’ve been honing in on the value of teaching musical form and analysis from the very beginning of piano lessons, so this year one of the ways students can earn an extra 10-Degree Coin in our Destination: GPS practice incentive theme is by identifying and explaining the form of a piece they are learning.
Here’s a snapshot of one of my beginning students quickly labeling the form on her new piece, River Rafting (from the fabulous Piano Safari method!) at her lesson this week. All it took was a quick glance at each line for her to identify the patterns and compare each line, then apply the correct AABA label to it. We then discussed how that form compared with her previous pieces and if she could remember any others that used the same form. Identifying the form then serves as the basis for discussing how to best learn and practice the new piece and is also invaluable for introducing cognitive memorization. Instead of only relying on muscle memory, I want my students to be able to mentally chart a path through their piece that they can follow any time they are playing from memory. It’s truly delightful to watch students grasp and get excited about these music theory concepts from a young age!
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