[Menvi-discuss] piano methods

Wed Jun 4 15:03:38 EDT 2014

Stephanie, are the Pauline Hall books and the American Popular Piano 
Repertoire method available from NLS?  Thanks.
Marda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephanie Pieck" <themusicsuite at verizon.net>
To: "'This is for discussing music and braille literacy'" 
<menvi-discuss at menvi.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 7:37 AM
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] piano methods


> The "American Popular Piano Repertoire" method is very good; very 
> well-paced
> so students play a lot of different music before making huge jumps in
> difficulty. You might start in Level 1 or 2--the preparatory grade would
> probably be too easy for your adult student.
>
> I've never used the "Little Mozarts" book, but I find that Pauline Hall's
> "Tunes for Ten Fingers", "More Tunes for Ten Fingers," and "Fun for Ten
> Fingers" books generally captivate very young students while providing a
> very thorough foundation. These can be had from RNIB; if you can't 
> purchase
> them, you may want to look into signing up for their international lending
> library service. I know it works; I borrowed old ABRSM exam books and used
> them for several months.
>
> Hope this helps ...
>
> The Other Steph (Pieck)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of
> Stephanie Mitchell
> Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2014 9:36 PM
> To: menvi-discuss at menvi.org
> Subject: [Menvi-discuss] piano methods
>
> Speaking of piano books etc I do have a few questions. I have just taken 
> on
> an adult student. I'm using the "piano lessons book 1" by Waterman which
> seems quite good. She already has knowledge of treble cleef and seems a
> little shaky with the bass but could still read it quite well.
> She wants to do pop as well and I was wondering what I could use along 
> side
> the book work that would keep her interest. I need to have a braille copy
> too so I can follow along. I thought of the american popular piano or the
> easy Dan coates piano, but not sure if they would be too hard for her.
> Any ideas?
> Also, does anyone know if the "music for little mozarts" books are in
> braille? I have 4 year old who is keen to start and I'd heard good things
> about this book.
> Steph
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Stephanie Pieck <themusicsuite at verizon.net>
> To: "'Th is for discussing music and braille literacy'"
> <menvi-discuss at menvi.org>
> Date: Tuesday, June 3, 2014 9:50 pm
> Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Yamaha piano course and gradings, any help?
>
>>
>>
>> Winy,
>>
>> One approach you can try to correlate grading systems is to try and
>> find pieces that are common to both and see which grade they occur in
>> on each scheme.
>>
>> Alternatively, see when the student plays particular scales--i.e., the
>> ones with all those pesky sharps and flats!--or when they move from
>> playing scales in simpler form (i.e., one octave only; hands
>> separately; legato
>> only) to more advanced (with hands a third apart, for instance).
>>
>> An important thing to keep in mind is that grading systems are highly
>> subjective, and while they can provide a useful framework for study,
>> they aren't the be-all end-all of teaching.
>>
>> Another gauge for progress is to ask the student "How long have you
>> studied?" Be prepared to take their answer with some skepticism,
>> however, because there's no guarantee that a student who has taken
>> lessons for five years will be playing Mozart sonatas! If the Yamaha
>> school has had a high rate of teacher turnover, then the student may
>> have studied for five or six years, but with many changes in teaching
>> methodology which will hamper their progress. Just because a school
>> follows a curriculum doesn't mean that all the teachers employed by the
> school are equally adept at implementing it.
>>
>> In my own studio, whenever I am presented with a transfer student, I
>> use most of the first lesson to make my own assessment, discussing
>> with the student how long they've been playing, what books they have
>> used, and then having them play. Prior to the lesson, I tell the
>> student (or their parent) that I will ask them to play some pieces
>> they feel comfortable with--things they may have played for a recital
>> or exam, etc. I ask them to bring the books they were last using to the
> class.
>>
>> Once I've had them play their chosen pieces--which says a lot about
>> how they play, incidentally--I ask questions about the books, like how
>> far they've gotten in their current one, or if they have any
>> particular books they enjoyed using more than others.
>>
>> After that, I ask for scales, do some sight-reading (for many
>> students, this is where the real truth of their studies starts showing
>> itself), and finally, I give them a piece to start working on with me.
>> This last item allows the student to experience my teaching style and
>> also lets me see their approach to learning--i.e., what do they
>> struggle with; what comes easily; are they attentive to details or
>> oblivious to everything except the current note they're staring at.
>>
>> If the student continues to come for lessons, then I begin to work on
>> technical things such as posture, hand position, etc.
>>
>> I read somewhere that the average student should be at ABRSM Grade 1
>> level after about one to two years. The grades can be taken annually
>> after that, although personally I think the gradient in difficult
>> between grades--i.e., moving from Grade 5 to Grade 6, for instance, or
>> Grade 7 to 8--gets a bit steeper toward the higher end of the system.
>> I also think there's a bigger jump at the low end of the system--so
>> Grade 1 to 2 to 3 requires a bit more advancement than going from 3 to 4
> to 5.
>>
>> Of course, all these are just my own personal opinions. I make no
>> claims to be a "great teacher" or even an expert in anything. But I
>> hope some of it is helpful.
>>
>> Stephanie Pieck
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf
>> Of Winy Kwany
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2014 2:16 AM
>> To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy
>> Subject: [Menvi-discuss] Yamaha piano course and gradings, any help?
>>
>> Hi all,
>> I have a new student. She is still studying in Yamaha Music School
>> here with Yamaha piano course curiculum. She said she will have grade
>> 7 Yamaha piano exam in July or October this year. I did an acessment
>> on her and I found her playing level is for grade 2-3 (She hasn't used
>> any pedaling yet, but have played simple Bach and some classical
>> pieces). I have some questions.
>> First, does anyone ever transcribed Yamaha piano course into braille?
>> If so, where I can obtain them?
>> Second, how I can get the grading of Yamaha and ABRSM on track? I am
>> confused with the system. Yamaha has 13 grades, from grade 13 to 1. I
>> read in the website, but I am still confused. For example, if the
>> student is in grade 7 Yamaha, in what grade will it be for ABRSM?
>> Thanks in advance. Any input, suggestions, will be highly appreciated.
>> Winy.
>>
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>
> Mitchell Piano Studio
> Phone: 0450354342
> Web: www.mitchellpianostudio.com
>
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