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Position:Home>Performing Arts> A question for music teachers?Question: A question for music teachers!? Hello, I'm currently in piano pedagogy and have a question about the assignment of some pieces!. If there is a short work that was composed as one piece of a larger work (i!.e!. Ten short pieces op!. `2), would you assign a child one short piece from the set, or wait until the student is old enough to play the entire work as a set (which is probably how the composer intended it to be performed)!? Can you explain why you choose either way!? Thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Honestly, it depends on what the student needs!. Most educational pieces were specifically written to address specific issues!. (Especially Etudes) I would assign a piece based on the fact that a student had a particular weakness, needed a particular challenge, or most likely needed a really fun piece of music to play that was worth listening to!. I would assign a short piece in a larger set, simply to encourage the student to explore the rest of the book on thier own! There isn't enough time in any lesson plan, to play through every single piece in all but the most basic instruction books!. There have to be a few pieces stuck in there for the student to find out about on their own!. The best teachers will know what challenge each piece of music presents and what you can get out of mastering it!. The very best ones can say, "Yeah, I played that one back when I was ----- It was a really fun piece to play!"Www@QuestionHome@Com You can definitely begin teaching 1-2 of the shorter pieces!. You don't have to wait until the student is proficient enough to play the whole thing!. Start with some shorter pieces and eventually, the student will have learned them all, then they can be performed together later down the road!. If it's good music, then it's good music, even if you only learn bits and pieces at a time!. To me, the exposure to that kind of music is the most important, not whether the student can play the entire work at one time or not!.Www@QuestionHome@Com As a teacher, you're always asking the question, what does this student need to learn next!? Depending on the answer you come up with various exercises or pieces to teach and reinforce those concepts!. IMHO, pieces of music are tools to accomplish my teaching objective!. So I might only have a student learn the Brahms Op!. 118 No!.3 while leaving the other 5 in that set for another time!. To clarify the above statement, I'm talking about teaching in terms of teaching for concepts as opposed to performance!. When making repetoire decisions for which a student is going to be expected to perform - then the I think you have to come at the problem from a different angle !.!.!. you may end up at the same conclusion, but the reason that lead you there will likely be different!. Hope this makes sense !.!.!. I'm only on 1 cup of coffee this morning!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Well it depends!. If it is a collection of sonatinas, then you don't need to wait until the kid can play the opus in its entirety!. Many opera are played so, sometimes even a sentence of a sonata can be played alone (e!.g!. Mozart's Turkish March!.!.!.part of one of his sonatas)!. It is quite usual to play a single part of composition alone!. I would say that Ten short pieces op!. 2 needn't be played in its entirety!. So, it's up to you, but you know my opinion!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |