Adding Creativity and Improvisation to Traditional Piano Lessons

 

 

I found this chart funny and interesting for one reason:  the greatest fear.  For me that is not a place to fear, but an opportunity for improvisation!

OK, I'm not completely serious, however, since I learned to improvise early in my musical development, I have been known to slightly rewrite a recapitulation or two, but only when playing from memory.

This brings me to an interesting article I read today.  As I'm preparing for another year of teaching piano, I'm looking for ways to revitalize my studio and provide maximum benefits for my students.  It's time to shake things up!

In my research, I ran across this article by Edward Weiss. 

Do piano teachers have it backwards? They do if they start with the note-reading approach. Most would agree that music is a language. Language is learned first by speaking it. Yet this simple logic eludes many well meaning music teachers as they head first into the study of note-reading.

But just imagine if children learned how to speak the language of music before learning how to read and write it? Imagine the connection, the innate sense of 'wiring' for lack of a better word that can occur if we introduce kids to simple diatonic harmony and improvisation first.

Speaking the native language is a natural and thrilling experience for children. They can't wait to use words and communicate. So why is it that note reading is literally forced down the throats of our young people instead of giving them the opportunity to express firsthand through improvisation?

True enrichment comes from direct experience with the music. And this is best accomplished when children can actually create on their own without the aid of sheet music. Why this isn't being done more is a complete mystery to me.

Watch a child at the piano as they experiment with music firsthand and you will see a joy seldom seen via traditional piano lessons. They beam as music, their music is created before them. Just a few brief improvisation rules are introduced and the child can happily create.

In fact, not only is this route easier than note reading, it's also faster. As children become more comfortable playing and becoming adept at the piano, learning and progress also becomes an easy thing to do.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit now and get a FREE piano lesson.
 

 

 

George Shearing - Piano Icon

When I was eight years old, George Shearing and his trio played on the Community Concert Series in Havre, Montana. Friends of my parents, Verlyn and Jackie Stahlecker, took me to the concert. This event was my very first concert experience and from that moment on, I wanted to be on stage.

The fact that Shearing was blind and could play the piano did not make a big impression on me; his playing, however, did.

After the first piece, I was transfixed; I wanted more than anything to be in a jazz trio. I found the music the trio played thrilling, and their improvising on the melodies - fascinating. I thought the string bass was so cool and loved the bass solo moments with the hushed piano chords -- and, of course, being out at night without my parents...Intoxicating!

My favorite piece from that concert was "Lullaby of Birdland", which happens to be Shearing's most famous composition. I learned to play the piece in high school, and even today I can still play and improvise over the chords in spite of my faulty memory.

Once under Shearing influence, I began to improvise on my "classical" tunes. I became very proficient at improvising in various classical styles, so much so that my Mother could not tell if I was playing what was in a score or improvising on it. She called my ramblings "Melissa-isms" and would yell up from the basement at me as I practiced: "Now, is that Mozart or a Melissa-ism?"

I would never tell.

I had a good ear, but the teaching methods of my day considered the ability to read music so critical that no one was ever allowed to play a melody for me, for fear of my not learning to read. This was quite traumatic for me, and almost ended my music career before it began.

But I did learn to read music, and then rarely played by ear. Later, sightreading became very important for me, as my first music job (at age 10) was to play for the children's choir at church. Choir pianists are forever sightreading, so I was forced to focus on that, while my ear training suffered. I think as a consequence, my ability to memorize music was compromised. Of course, playing by ear has been pretty much out of the question.

Luckily, though, all of that "improvising" in the style of various composers helped me whenever I would have a memory slip (and I always did, and still do slip whenever playing from memory). I've gotten myself out of many a trouble spot my improvising a measure or two until I could find my way back into the score. At first this impressed my teachers, but later they would be very angry with me when I would "get away with improvising" through memory slips.

Nowadays, I always play with music -- even when I have a piece memorized. I no longer want to improvise my way through memory slips, and the presence of a score calms my nerves so I can play with greater musicality and accuracy.

Regardless, thank you, George Shearing - sensational piano icon - for making a lasting impression on me and for being such a great artist. I'll never forget you.

Here's a link to a wonderful interview with Shearing. Also a link to the NPR tribute and Terry Gross' Fresh Air remembrance.


Go to Dailymotion.com for a great video of Shearing playing "Lullaby of Birdland". There will be a few short advertisements, but persevere. Other Shearing videos are on this site as well.