Monthly Archives: November 2016

70/100 – Sight-Reading – Grade 1 Piano

This might become a short series of posts… or there again it might not – see how time and inclination go… I’ve a couple of young students who started working towards their Grade 1 (ABRSM) piano exams this term, Sight-reading … Continue reading

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69/100 – Jig-saw Learning

What do you do when a pupil turns up at a lesson, declaring that she hadn’t done any work on the piece from last week because “it is too difficult”…. Let’s pretend she was a violin pupil learning to play … Continue reading

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68/100 Mexican Wave (3) – Clearing up the Instruments

The “Mexican Wave” idea is proving to be a fertile area for posts! Last week, I faced the usual problem of ending a lesson with thirty children, each holding an instrument. There are various methods of achieving this without some kind … Continue reading

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67/100 Mexican Wave (2) Rhythm Wave

Another “use” for the Mexican Wave; The aim; pick a rhythm, and pass it round the circle without missing a beat. You could choose a spoken phrase, for example Strawberry Ice Cream or maybe use a rhythm card. (It has … Continue reading

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66/100 Mexican Wave (1) – The Buzz

I’ve had a bit of a theme going these past few weeks, based on the Mexican Wave. So, the next couple of posts will be around this idea. So; The Buzz… Everyone sits in a circle. The goal is to … Continue reading

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