I feel that my students benefit by "overlearning" a few fundamental skills, rather than skimming or surveying lots of skills. The question becomes, how can I keep the students engaged while repeating a fundamental skill like the 17 natural notes? Here are some ideas:
---The most obvious is to vary the right hand picking or fingering.
---The next most obvious is to vary rhythm figures such as dotted quarter/eighth.
---Less obvious, but very interesting and "fun" is to play the scale in:
-------Contrary motion.
-------Parallel octaves.
Process:
---demonstrate the skill in repeated notes.
---echo the skill.
---play in unison.
Steve Eckels Guitar Essentials & Ensembles
Discussion of Teaching Strategies and Materials for Guitar Classes
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Learning Targets vs. Performance Goals
It is important that students know why they are working on a particular piece. There is a difference between the "objectives" (learning targets) and the "songs" (performance goals), and students benefit when the learning targets are made explicit. Here is an example of how this would look for the song "House of the Rising Sun"
The Performance Goal: to memorize and overlearn the song.
The Learning Targets:
---Fingerpicking the circular arpeggio, with roots on the D, A, and E strings.
---Playing chord progressions (Amin-C, C-D7, D7-F, Amin-E)
---Fingerpicking chord progressions.
Check for understanding:
Materials: paper & pencil.
Teacher demonstrates:
---Play the circular arpeggio, and ask students to identifty the skill: "the circular arpeggio".
---Finger the chord progression, and ask to students to identify the skill: "the chord progression..."
---Fingerpick the chord progression and ask students to identify the skill: "picking a progression"
---Sing and play, etc.....
The Performance Goal: to memorize and overlearn the song.
The Learning Targets:
---Fingerpicking the circular arpeggio, with roots on the D, A, and E strings.
---Playing chord progressions (Amin-C, C-D7, D7-F, Amin-E)
---Fingerpicking chord progressions.
Check for understanding:
Materials: paper & pencil.
Teacher demonstrates:
---Play the circular arpeggio, and ask students to identifty the skill: "the circular arpeggio".
---Finger the chord progression, and ask to students to identify the skill: "the chord progression..."
---Fingerpick the chord progression and ask students to identify the skill: "picking a progression"
---Sing and play, etc.....
Popcorn Reading
Students enjoy collaboration, and partner reading can be an enjoyable way to spend "time-in-text". "Popcorn reading" is when two students read together - the more advanced student plays a note, and the partner echos or "pops" the same note. The goal is to play the notes without a pause. Rhythms can be ignored at first. As the students progress, they can alternate notes, echo measures, or play in unison.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Chunking: Breaking a Guitar Song Down to Fit the Individual
Students come into my guitar class with varied backgrounds
and skills. My goal of
"engagement of all students" is accomplished by teaching the students
how to "chunk" the material.
Students should be encouraged to find their "learning
edge", and working at the level where they can succeed. In guitar class all these levels may
occur simultaneously. I will give
two examples. The first is on a
sing-and-strum song, and the second on a written melody.
Chunking and Sing-and-Strum Song
1. Finger the left hand only
2. Strum the right hand only, while muting the strings with
the left hand.
3. Finger pick the right hand only
4. Play the bass notes only
5. Strum whole notes, half notes or quarter notes, while
fingering the chords
6. Strum the rhythm pattern only.
7. Strum the rhythm pattern and finger the chords.
8. Sing only, with goal of memorizing the words and melody
for later use.
9. Sing and strum.
10. Sing and strum by memory.
Chunking a Melody or Ensemble (simultaneously)
1. Play the key
tones only.
2. Play the
first note of each measure only.
3. Spell the
notes. (A,B,C etc....)
4. Play the
rhythm only on muted strings.
5. Play the
rhythm only on the key tone.
6. If there are
multiple parts, students focus on one part until they move to the next
part. 7. The advanced students can play through all the parts sooner.
8. Advanced
students can play two parts simultaneously.
9. Remedial
students can take time to write out the note names and fingerings using a
reference chart.
10. Advanced
students can focus on tone, or playing in higher positions.
Ask you students to define chunking: Breaking a song down
into skills that fit the individual.
Friday, November 11, 2011
In Depth Learning
In-Depth Learning
Students find comfort in repetition, and knowing what to
expect.
On the other hand, too much exact repetition leads to
"boredom".
A challenging and rewarding goal for me is to find
interesting ways to look at a subject or skill from various angles and
parameters - to emphasize different aspects of the same skill.
In my second year guitar class, we were working on a
chromatic pattern that was presented in tablature - 121-232-343 - in the open
position. It didn't take long for
the students to learn to play the pattern proficiently. Rather than dropping the pattern and
moving on to something else, in the spirit of in-depth-learning, I looked for
way to build on the skill that they had established. Further, in my class, I always ask, "how can I point
the "stuff" I do towards music reading?" The following is a list of the
variations that I used.
1. I would play excerpts of the pattern, and have students
write it out using sharps only.
2. I would play excerpts of the pattern, and have students
write it out using flats only.
3. Play an excerpt a fifth away, and have student determine
the interval. Divide the class in
two groups and let them hear the pattern in parallel fifths.
4. Have them finger and play the pattern on their guitar in
parallel fifths.
5. Repeat the process in other intervals such as octaves,
thirds and sixths.
6. Convert the pattern to a diatonic scale, and repeat the
variations.
7. Play the pattern completely on one string, as well as
across the neck.
As you can see, with a little creativity, I was able to
create varied repetition of a single idea. The students find comfort in linking a known skill to a new
skill. The objectives of finger
independence was expanded to include, note reading, interval theory, and
theme-and-variation.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Use Fingerpicking to Support Music Reading
How can I point the "stuff" I do in guitar class to improving music reading? Nearly all guitar skills can "point" towards music reading in one way or another. Fingerpicking is no exception.
1. Have students spell the C chord CEGCE and notate it vertically as a block chord. For beginners you may notate it for them. Do this on the left side of a stave.
2. Circle the bass note. This represents the "thumb" (p)
3. Draw a bracket connecting the top three notes. These will represent the fingers (i,m,a)
4. Draw the stems and beams for the ascending arpeggio. (More advanced students will not need you to draw the stems and beams.)
5. Students add the noteheads (from the block chord on the left). Be sure they spell the arpeggio C-G-C-E.
6. Do this for the chords in a song you are working on.
7. Read and loop the arpeggios.
8. Play the song.
1. Have students spell the C chord CEGCE and notate it vertically as a block chord. For beginners you may notate it for them. Do this on the left side of a stave.
2. Circle the bass note. This represents the "thumb" (p)
3. Draw a bracket connecting the top three notes. These will represent the fingers (i,m,a)
4. Draw the stems and beams for the ascending arpeggio. (More advanced students will not need you to draw the stems and beams.)
5. Students add the noteheads (from the block chord on the left). Be sure they spell the arpeggio C-G-C-E.
6. Do this for the chords in a song you are working on.
7. Read and loop the arpeggios.
8. Play the song.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Use Tablature to Support Note Reading
Tablature can be used to support reading. To do this it is essential
that students always 1) write in the note names, 2) recite and sing the note names while playing. If students simply play the notes without comprehending or hearing them, the tablature may create a diversion from note reading. As an additional exercise students may convert tablature into notation. The good thing about tablature is that it gets students "doing" music as soon as possible which is a positive step towards learning notation.
Recite (comprehend)
Write (comprehend)
Convert to notation (comprehend)
Sing (hear)
that students always 1) write in the note names, 2) recite and sing the note names while playing. If students simply play the notes without comprehending or hearing them, the tablature may create a diversion from note reading. As an additional exercise students may convert tablature into notation. The good thing about tablature is that it gets students "doing" music as soon as possible which is a positive step towards learning notation.
Recite (comprehend)
Write (comprehend)
Convert to notation (comprehend)
Sing (hear)
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