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Thoughts on piano method books and other teaching materials 8/1/2009 9:32:56 PM
The author explores the universe of method books with a retrospective of John Thompson and middle C obsession.
It's a welcome relief that we are living in a new and exciting era of piano teaching that has ushered in new ways of thinking about learning our celebrated instrument. In the old days, John Thompson pumped out a series of books that focused on middle C as the center of the keyboard universe, and neophytes associated this ultra famous landmark with finger number 1, the thumb, mostly in the Right Hand.
What followed was the association of certain finger numbers with notes adjacent to middle C, so that over time, the student felt almost obsessively secure with the five notes spanning from middle C to G using 5 consecutive fingers.
Once the black notes came along, panic set in.
I probably would have been one of those middle C fixated players had I not stumbled upon my beloved teacher, Lillian Freundlich in the far reaches of Carnegie Hall one rainy afternoon.
But in my long career as a teacher of many beginners who progressed along to significant advancement, I began to observe what method books were crippling and which ones seemed to break through conservative barriers to full fledged pedagogical and expressive freedom.
Robert Pace was one of the early innovators, as was Frances Clark, but by far the most inspired creators of a series of method books for children have been Randall and Nancy Faber.
Why not start on the black keys was their thinking? And it worked.The symmetry in the combinations of double black and triple black notes invited exploration so why delay a child's gratification to dance on these slim keys, and make instant music.
And the Fabers tied their music to lyrics that imbued a sense of organized rhythm.
In summary, the early Faber primer materials have become a modern day playground as music teacher with joyful, youthful themes springing to life in very catchy melodies supported by harmonically lush teacher accompaniments. Who could ask for more?
In the course of this primer adventure, when the student finally gets to the staff, with notational and metric symbols, he/she has had considerable experience navigating around the piano with floating notes attached to appealing lyrics. It's by osmosis that so much learning takes place, and this alone makes the journey worthwhile.
Now for the down side of method books. And this is just one opinion to consider. I believe if they are used for TOO LONG they run their course and need supplementation, or a good injection of repertoire based learning.
For me, the early primer and lesson book level one exposure is enough to get things off the ground. After that learning experience, I look for pieces directly from the piano literature, in their virgin form, not transcribed, simplified or otherwise transformed so they bear no resemblance to what the composer had intended. I find minuets, dances, preludes, rondos, that correlate to the level of the student, and usually at the beginning of the second year of study I take the leap--or even sometimes, before, depending on the individual student and his or her readiness.
James Hook's Minuet is a good example of what I select. A contemporary of Mozart, Hook composed a charming piece in two voices, in binary form, that for the most part follows stepwise, and skipping note movement. In studying this one page composition, the student is challenged to learn independent lines, shape them, observe dynamics, and sing through his/her fingers. The music is definitely engaging.
Rameau's Menuet and Rondeau is another musical gem that trumps any transcriptions that tend to reside in method books as they move along past primer and level one stages.
If a teacher is imaginative, and makes the effort to look far and wide, he/she will find so many compositional treasures in the shorter musical forms that will nurture a student's appreciation of form, structure, melodic and harmonic contour.
After all is said and done, so many of the great composers we regale from the past actually wrote children's pieces for the very reason that they wanted to engage their ears and their fingers.
Kabelevskly composed delightful pieces for the children enrolled in his Russian based music school. Schumann wrote the Album for the Young that is pure inspiration. Bartok created a set of books for young students with youthful themes/titles, that were folk based. Bach composed minuets, bourees, and other dances. Mozart miniaturized some of his forms to entice the young student.
In summary, I favor a musical journey that is varied and up to tempo. I prefer not to habituate students to method books for the long term, but rather I endeavor to spice up their musical diet with a menu of great compositions that will truly foster musical nourishment and growth over years.
More Blogs by Shirley S Kirsten • Realizing the full potential of piano students - Sunday, August 9, 2009 • Thoughts on piano method books and other teaching materials - Saturday, August 1, 2009
