I want my students to feel an internal beat; it seems that any kind of external beat (counting, tapping, metronome, etc.) can be “warped” or ignored while concentrating on note location, etc. But, I’m having trouble with some students who never seem to get it (it doesn’t matter what song it is). When approaching a […]
Feeling the Pulse
Bring the Sounds of Africa to Your Music Lessons: Guest Post by Alan Grainger
As a music teacher, you’re always looking for ways to brighten up the music room and bring something new to your lessons. We think we’ve found the perfect instrument. African drums much like the djembe are the perfect way to spice up your music lessons, and really engage with your students. Not only are they […]
4 Tips for Instilling Rhythmic Precision
The longer I teach, the more I recognize the essential importance of teaching and working toward rhythmic understanding and precision in my teaching. Some students, of course, have an intrinsic sense of pulse; others, well, not so much. The Musicians Way has an excellent article about how to instill a better sense of rhythmic precision […]
Rhythm Ensemble Activity – Free Download
One of the other activities at our Travel Tour last Thursday night was a Rhythm Ensemble. This was our first activity of the evening, so as students arrived I let them look through the stack of seven parts and select the one that they felt most confident being able to accurately play. Each of the […]
Monday Mailbag – How to Cure Students of the Incessant Compulsion to Repeat Measures Until All the Mistakes Are Fixed
What do you do with a student who replays measures again and again? I can see that he is thinking through each measure and wants to correct a rhythm or note mistake, but it’s as if he’s in his own world making it right. Help! I assume you’re looking for an answer something other than […]
Monday Mailbag – Keeping a Steady Pulse
I am a piano teacher to eight students, and also a student myself. Keeping a steady pulse is one thing that I struggle with when I play, so I don’t often put enough emphasis on it when I teach. Could you share some ways that you work on it with your students so I could […]
