Educational Resources – Page 8

The Intermediate Pianist

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

The Intermediate Pianist series is a fresh and ground-breaking approach which is full of brilliant musical ideas. It’s sure to enable pianists to play with greater understanding and engagement, and comes very highly recommended.

Here’s the Pianodao review…

Improve your sight-reading!

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

“When pupils can sight-read, not only do they do well in exams but (rather more importantly) it allows them to learn pieces more quickly, which frees up much of our teaching time, allowing us to concentrate on developing the musician. Ultimately, it gives them independence: they are able to learn music on their own – the greatest gift we can give.”

So says best-selling author Paul Harris in the introduction to Improve your sight-reading: Teacher’s Book – latest addition to his ever growing Improve Your Sight-Reading series, just published by Faber Music.

Written to work alongside the well-known, long-published Improve your sight-reading ‘pupil’ books, the Teacher’s Book mirrors the introduction of keys and concepts in those, as well as offering useful tips for teachers.

Most important of all, the Teacher’s Book includes dozens of new progressive practice tests for each of Grades 1-5, which can be used in lessons to complement the use of the pupil books for home practice.

As such, the book offers the potential to elevate what was already a great resource into a more complete sight-reading system which bridges both lesson and home use.

Let’s find out how well it succeeds in this aim…

LCM ‘In Concert’ anthology

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

London College of Music Exams may be less well known to readers than the ABRSM and Trinity College London boards which I have written about previously, but that may be about to change

Certainly LCM offer a very wide range of different assessments for piano players. According to my colleague David Barton:

“I estimate that LCM offer nearly 20 different options for pianists at 15 different levels, right from the earliest stages of learning, through to the Fellowship of the London College of Music (FLCM). The range of options now available is fantastic; I feel enormously lucky to be teaching at a time when the needs of a diverse range of learners of all ages is finally being met by examination boards, led, in my view, by LCM. We live in exciting times, and it will be interesting to see what options continue to develop in the future.”

And it isn’t just in the area of examinations that LCM are looking to innovate and lead the way, but also in the area of publications…

When Publications Officer David Duncan told me that he hopes to significantly shake up their publications, I quietly thought to myself ”thank goodness”, as their previous efforts haven’t been particularly user friendly, well edited, or attractively presented.

That said, nothing prepared me for the extent and speed with which LCM Publications would reinvent itself: their new collection of selected works from their Piano Diploma syllabus has taken my breath away.

Put simply ’In Concert’ is an extraordinary achievement, and in a completely different league from LCM’s previous published efforts. And whether or not you are interested in LCM’s Diploma exam, this is a highly desirable new collection for players looking for interesting and diverse repertoire at this level.

Let’s take a closer look…

Improve your Music Theory!

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

ABRSM’s former CEO Michael Elliott reportedly once said:

“Separating theory from practice can’t be a good thing.”

While this is a great soundbite for those promoting theory courses, the obvious irony here is that ABRSM have themselves, for generations, separated music theory from practice in their own examination syllabus and published materials.

Paul Harris’s new series Improve your Theory!, written for students preparing for ABRSM Theory Grades 1-5, aims to change this situation for the better. Introducing the series, publishers Faber Music explain that:

“Firmly rooted in Paul Harris’s Simultaneous Learning approach, it will transform how music theory is taught and learnt, improving every aspect of musicianship along the way. Never before has theory been so fun or seemed so natural!”

The books have already been awarded ‘Best Print Resource 2016’ at the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence, so let’s see if they live up to the hype…

Rhythm Games

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

A gift to Pianodao readers, this set of 37 full-sized cards are mostly in Common time, with a handful in Compound time.

They include easy note values, rests, dotted notes, ties and syncopation. A couple of blank cards are also included for you to copy and use for your own additions to the pack.

Rhythm Flash Cards Download

The set is far from comprehensive, and is based on cards I used when delivering group keyboard teaching in schools – so I hope that you enjoy it as it is, and feel free to develop something similar to fit your own needs!

Some Games

Here’s a few ideas of games you can play with students which will put these flash cards to creative use.

Although the main focus here is on pulse and rhythmic development, the activities integrate many other aspects of musical learning, including the development of aural memory, sight reading, music theory and writing, improvisation and composition.

You’re sure to think of many more similar activities and games, so these are just a taster:

Sound Before Symbol

This is an aurally based activity that helps students make connections between notation and music.

For this game select four cards (with the same time signature) that include rhythms previously introduced.
Lay out the cards and start clapping the rhythm of one card repeatedly (as a loop). If you have an electronic keyboard you could add a drum beat while clapping, or you could use any suitable music recording as a backing track (but this isn’t necessary).
Ask the student to join in clapping the same rhythm.
Finally ask the student to identify which card you are both clapping.
Then repeat using a different card (or selection).
This game can also be extended using two cards as a repeated loop – now the student has to identify which two cards of the four have been selected.

Clapping Game

This activity helps a student develop instant visual recall of rhythms when sight reading.

For this game select four cards and fix them where they can all be seen (e.g. stick them to the board/wall, or stand them on the book rest or desk).
Ask the student to clap the card that you are pointing to repeatedly on a loop.
When you are ready, switch to a different card.
Increase the speed at which you switch card.
Then try the same thing with two pairs of cards (making two bar/measure rhythms).

Create a rhythm

This activity uses the rhythm cards as the basis of composing and writing. It is excellent as a music theory activity because it links notational understanding to sound.

Having clapped a set of several cards, invite the student to arrange four cards in order to create a four-bar/measure rhythm phrase.
Clap the phrase together, and discuss what aspects of the rhythm work best.
Make changes and try again.
Finish by writing out the four bar/measure rhythm and clapping it one more time, this time using the version the student has written out.

Compose a Tune

This can be an extension to “Create a Rhythm”.

Take a four bar/measure rhythm and set the student a home assignment of writing a melody using the rhythm.
Encourage the student to compose an answering phrase using similar rhythms.
In the next lesson the student can provide their written notation and play their melody.
Check that what the student plays matches what they have written, as differences here will point to any misunderstandings they have about the rhythmic notation.

Improvisation Game

This is a really simple way to encourage a beginner to start making up their own improvisations.

Select one rhythm card and ask the student to play the rhythm using one note, then two notes, and then three different ones.
Expand the note pattern, using the same rhythm, to four bars/measures.
Add a second card, and ask the pupil to include both rhythms in their improvisation.
Expand this to 8 bars/measures.
Continue adding more cards and extending the length of the improvisation according to the student’s ability and enthusiasm.

Detective Game

To finish off, an activity that links all the others back to the music that the student is actually learning.

Take the cards used in previous activities, and pick the most difficult or newest rhythm introduced.
Ask the pupil to find where that rhythm appears in a piece they are currently learning.
Clap the rhythm within the context of the musical phrase in which it appears.
Finally, play that phrase in isolation before going on to rehearse the full piece.

Good luck!

There are so many variations on these ideas, as well as many great alternative games and activities which work well with individuals, groups and classes. So these are just offered as an inspiration to get you started, and I hope you have fun making up your own ways of using the cards to foster musical learning!

Pianodao offers over 700 articles and reviews, all FREE to access.
If you appreciate this content, please support and follow the site:

FREE Subscription

Make a Donation 🤍

Practice Starters – Pick a Card!

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Created by leading educator Paul Harris and brought to us by Faber Music, “Practice Starters” is an innovative pack of cards which aims to kick start and refresh your practice sessions. As we’ll see, it’s a great learning resource, and a lot of fun!..

Lucinda Mackworth-Young: Piano by Ear

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Lucinda Mackworth-Young’s new book “Piano by Ear” fills a massive gap in the market. Quite simply this is the book that I, and no doubt many other thousands of pianists and teachers, have been waiting for. For years!

I even considered writing something like it myself at one point, back at the time my 1990’s Keyquest tuition books for electronic keyboard were just out. But thank goodness: Lucinda Mackworth-Young has saved us all the effort, and has certainly done a great job of it!