Recreational Music Making (RMM)

I recently became aware of a growing movement called "Recreational Music Making," or RMM for short. The idea behind this movement is that making music is something everyone can enjoy and instead of pressuring students to perform increasingly difficult pieces the teacher's job is to create a supportive and fun learning environment. Instead of traditional private lessons, most recreational music making students participate in classes. This might seem counter-intuitive, as private lessons allow for more focused interactions between the teacher and the student, but a group lesson has the advantage of peer support. Students feel like they are a part of something, and music lessons become a time for socializing and enjoyment instead of performance and pressure.

The idea of recreational music making intrigues me because I have definitely pursued some non-traditional paths in my own studies and with my own students. Traditional music methods are judged more on their ability to teach skills (for example, playing in all keys) than on student enjoyment. In other words, while music publishers recognize the need for good content they are constrained by a rigid framework that emphasizes increasing virtuosity. While the path of classical study and virtuosity is traveled by many, there are others whose needs simply aren't being met by more traditional approaches. I have taught several students whose interests or abilities do not fit into traditional molds, and I've developed more customized programs for these students to address their needs. These programs involve the use of chords, the inclusion of more popular music and improvisation. Instead of "one size fits all" piano lessons, I like the idea of giving students more options. The idea of playing a musical instrument is one that many people dream about but few successfully pursue. Recreational Music Making, with its focus on enjoyment rather than achievement, has the potential to attract students who might not otherwise learn to play, or for whom traditional music lessons were a less-than-satisfying experience.

For those looking to pursue recreational music making as students or teachers, Brenda Dillon offers several recreational music making books:

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Piano Fun for Adult Beginners (Recreational Music Making for Private or Group Instruction). For Piano/Keyboard. Educational Piano Library. Softcover with CD. 72 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.296807).

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Piano Fun - Pop Hits for Adult Beginners Arranged by Brenda Dillon. For Piano/Keyboard. Educational Piano Library. Softcover with CD. 40 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.296897).

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Piano Fun - Romantic Hits for Adult Beginners Arranged by Brenda Dillon. For Piano/Keyboard. Educational Piano Library. Softcover Audio Online. 56 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.130918).

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Piano Fun - Christmas Hits for Adult Beginners Arranged by Brenda Dillon. For Piano/Keyboard. Educational Piano Library. Softcover with CD. 48 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.120871).

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The Recreational Music Making Handbook (A Piano Teacher's Guide). Composed by Brian Chung and Brenda Dillon. For Piano. Reference Textbooks; Textbook - Piano. Book. 52 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.32783).

Five Ways to Support Your Child's Music Education

Like most music teachers, I have a large number of young students. Over the years I've watched with interest to see what works and what doesn't, both in my own teaching and also in the way parents encourage and support their children's musical education. As a father of three young musicians myself I know some of the challenges parents face as they endeavor to encourage effective practice and keep their kids interested. Here are 5 ways I've discovered to more effectively lead children along the path to musical success and enjoyment:

1. Make sure it's about them, not you. Whether you are a top-notch musician yourself, have never played an instrument or quit lessons as a child after only a few years of taking them, do not attempt to live vicariously through your children and do not place the burden of resolving your issues or achieving your dreams on them. Let them be themselves, and understand that learning to play an instrument isn't necessary for health or happiness or success in life. Although it can certainly contribute to all three.
2. Be involved. There are a number of approaches parents can take when choosing their level of involvement in lessons. I have some parents who sit and watch every lesson in its entirety every week. Other parents have almost no interaction with me. The right balance will vary from student to student, but I love it when parents ask me questions about what their kids are practicing, how they're doing and how they as parents can help. I love being able to talk about different teaching approaches and learn from parents what is and isn't working. I also love to hear honest feedback about how easy or difficult it is to get children to practice and whether or not they are enjoying their lessons. It takes the guesswork out of my job.
3. Be understanding. Some parents and teachers take a very militaristic approach to music lessons. While the choice of music teachers and the tone at home is entirely the parent's domain, I do not subscribe to the theory that misery now leads to joy later. There's a time to push and there's a time to punish, but those should be the exceptions and not the rule. If a child is resisting practice, a small change may be all that is needed. Perhaps a different time of day, a different learning method, better songs or some kind of reward system could make the difference. If these approaches continue to meet with resistance, talk with the teacher and see what other options are available. As a last resort, consider changing teachers or instruments before giving up on music altogether.
4. Be an example. If you play, play often and let your children hear you. If you don't play, consider taking lessons right along with them. Your example is far more powerful than your words, and it's never too late to learn.
5. Fill their lives with music. Taking your children to concerts lets them see what music study can do for them. Listening to great music helps them develop a good ear. Being exposed to a variety of genres allows them to choose their own path. Whether or not your children become professional musicians, they will experience lifelong benefits from the music education you've provided.

Accelerate Your Piano Progress

Over President's Day weekend I took some time to research various technologies for enhancing musical skill. At first I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking for. I found flash card programs, music theory quizzes, computer-generated and human created arrangements for improving sight reading ability, and a host of other games and tutorials intended to both entertain and educate.

I also found something that I didn't expect: a site that has completely changed the way I approach piano instruction. As a music teacher for the past eight years I've spent enormous amounts of time investigating method books for learning. Anyone who has taken piano lessons knows exactly what I'm talking about. There's the Hal Leonard method, the Bastian method, the Piano Adventures series, the Noona method, the John Thompson series, etc. Each of these systems has comparative advantages and disadvantages, but there are many similarities among them. No learning method will ever be perfect for every student, but usually I can find something that's good enough to get the job done. There's no way to get around the fact that learning to play the piano well takes an enormous amount of practice time over the course of many years, and some students simply aren't willing to invest the required energy.

If I could discover or create the perfect piano method, it would contain a repertoire that students love with plenty of good material for beginning through advanced players. It would build slowly from the most basic to the most complex concepts, and it would include theory and technique as well as teaching good practice habits. But there's only so much a series of method books can do to motivate students to practice. Sometimes it's just going to feel like work. Sometimes students will struggle to achieve mastery of a certain skill. And sometimes they'll wish they could be doing anything but playing the piano.

So what if the problem isn't with the method books themselves, but with the entire concept of learning to play piano from a series of printed books? What if measuring mastery could be a more objective process, like measuring IQ? What if students could receive instant feedback, not only at their weekly lessons but also every time they practiced a song at home? And what if this could be coupled with an effective step-by-step learning method, instructional videos and high quality songs that students love to play? This is the vacuum that technology can help fill.

All of my students, without exception, enjoy playing video games. I've watched my own children spend hours and days trying to master their skills, beat the bad guys and attain the highest possible score. Their intensity rivals the time and effort spent by the great masters learning their craft, be it music or chess or mathematics or art. I've always said that if I could get my students to approach piano practice the way they approached video games, I'd be the most sought after piano instructor in the world.

And I'm happy to say I've discovered a way to do exactly that.

The basic premise is simple: students play along with the computer on a midi keyboard. When they are finished they receive a score, along with an easy to understand visual depiction of any timing or pitch mistakes they've made. When playing songs they have the opportunity to learn one hand at a time, then both hands together, section by section, slowly at first and then faster and faster. Bronze, silver and gold trophies are awarded based on the level of mastery achieved, and the available repertoire is expansive and high quality and continuing to grow. Students who used to watch the clock during their lessons are now begging me to let them play their songs "just one more time" so they can get a better score, and their progress or lack thereof is clear to us both each week. Even when students are just playing beginning songs, the process of practicing is made more enjoyable by the backing track that accompanies each song. It feels like and prepares students for playing along with other musicians.

This technology isn't perfect. It doesn't ensure that students are holding down notes for the correct length of time, just that the attack was correctly timed. Nor can it know if a student is using correct fingering. That's still my job as a teacher, and I can also help with pedaling and expression. But that's the beauty of this solution: the basics of note reading and rhythm take care of themselves so I can focus on the more nuanced aspects of performance and develop musicians, not just note readers.

One of the things I love most about being a music teacher is seeing students that might have otherwise given up keep playing and find joy in the process. I want to help them find the passion that I've found, and I want them to give the piano enough of a chance to allow them to develop the skills to play their favorite music, whether it's pop or classical or new age or jazz or something else entirely. I believe this technology has the potential to make practice more fun, to encourage more of it, and to ensure higher quality practice--all things that will lead to greater skill and greater enjoyment of the piano.

To learn more, check out the videos on the site below. And feel free to post comments. I'd love to hear what you think!

http://www.acceleratedpianolessons.com

The Power of Listening

I often tell people that I wasn't really musical until I started taking piano lessons at the age of 26, but that statement isn't entirely true. I did have some early music experiences that helped me become the musician I am today. My uncle taught me how to whistle when I was five years old, and to this day I still whistle whenever I am happy. Then when I was thirteen I joined the church choir and have been participating ever since. But there was something even more important to my development than these avenues of musical expression: listening.

The benefits of having listened to music for more than two decades before learning to play an instrument weren't obvious at first, when I was still focusing on rudimentary note reading and fingering skills. But as soon as I started to learn some chord-style piano techniques I began to add embellishments to songs and make them "my own." One of the first songs I learned that sounded like "real" music to me was the song "Moon River" by Henry Mancini, which has long been a favorite of mine. Over the years I made small changes to my arrangement of "Moon River"--tweaking notes here and there, substituting chords, etc., until I realized that "my" version sounded very much like a version I had listened to frequently about a decade previously. This revelation--that I had been slowly transforming a song into something that so closely resembled music I had heard many years before--was surprising, and the fact that I had been doing it without any conscious thought whatsoever opened my eyes to the true power of listening.

There are two ways to learn rhythm: by looking at music notation or by hearing a song. I encourage my students to develop both skills. Being able to play rhythms simply by looking at them allows them to play songs they have never heard before, but being able to listen to a song and get the rhythm into their heads can also be extremely useful. There are some music teachers that refuse to play a song that a student is learning to play because they want to ensure that their students are actually reading the notes and not just trying to play by ear. I understand where they are coming from, because it's important for students to develop basic note reading competency. But once my students reach a certain point I usually agree to play through a new song once for them so they can at least know what they are working towards. This is because I recognize the power of listening, and in my own experience it is the combination of note reading and listening skills that enables expressive playing.

For several years I wanted to learn to play the song "Killing Me Softly." I had the sheet music, but my attempts were less than satisfying. I didn't have a lot of spare time to count the rhythms and play through the song with a metronome (which was my typical approach), but while I was at work one day I decided to put on headphones and listen to the recorded version of the song repeatedly throughout the day. The next time I sat down at the piano I was looking at the very same notes I had tried to play before, but this time I knew the song inside and out and was able to play it quite well. This experience convinced me of the power of listening, and ever since it has been one of the secret weapons I use to enhance my playing.

Right-hand Techniques for Chord Style Piano

In my previous blog entry I introduced a variety of left hand techniques to enhance chord style playing. But what about the right hand? In standard notation the right hand often plays more than a single note, and there are chord style piano techniques that allow us to do the same thing.

One option for adding additional right hand notes is to find an arrangement featuring two notes for the right hand as well as chord symbols. Usually this requires finding a complete standard notation version of a song and sometimes it can work well. There are two drawbacks to this approach, however. First, it requires additional time and practice to learn to read and play more than one note at a time on the treble clef. Second, and perhaps more significantly, the chords won't always sound with the additional notes being played. This is because music arrangers expect musicians to either play the full arrangement of a song or to play just a single melody note along with the chord. They don't usually try playing their arrangements with left hand chords and multiple right hand notes to make sure it sounds okay when played that way.

A better option is to ignore any non-melody notes that you might see on the treble clef and just make your own decisions about which additional notes to play with your right hand, using the chord symbol as a guide to ensure that every note will fit. This technique is somewhat advanced and can require a lot of practice to perfect, but it can help certain songs sound more "full."

In the example below I am using 6th and 5th intervals in the right hand, with octave chords roots being played by the left hand. Note that even if a lead sheet only features a single melody note, any chord note can be added to the right hand, as long as it is BELOW the melody note and not so far away that both notes can't be played with one hand:

If we can play octaves with the left hand, why not play them with the right hand? You might be surprised how much more full this can make a song sound. In slower songs playing the lower note of an octave just a little bit before the higher note can also create a very pleasing and beautiful effect:

Finally, we'll look at adding "fills" with the right hand. Note that in this example, even though the melody might sound a little bit different than what we're used to hearing, all of the original melody notes are still played. We're just adding extra notes in between some of the melody notes. These extra notes, in most cases, simply came from the notes that are contained in the chord. For example, in the first measure I added an E note, which is safe because E is one of the notes in the C major chord:

Left-hand Techniques for Chord Style Piano

I have been playing chord style piano for about nine years and absolutely love it. But when I first started music lessons I felt like chord style piano was the lazy person's way to play simplified songs until they could gain enough skills to play the "real way." I think this idea came from a misguided belief that chord style piano simply involved playing the melody notes with my right hand while playing block chords at the beginning of each measure with my left hand. While this is a first step to learning very basic chord style songs, I now realize that chord style piano IS a "real way" to play and that there are many techniques that can be used to make songs sound MUCH BETTER than many of the note for note arrangements I used to play. Personally, I find it easier to play sophisticated sounding songs using chord style techniques than by using any other method. Chord style piano also allows me to be more creative, making song arrangements that are uniquely my own. Also, because I don't have to use all of my mental faculties to focus on reading individual notes, chord style piano allows me to be more expressive and make use of the piano's full range of pitches while executing more complex rhythms with my left hand than I am able to do when I'm reading notes. Using chord style piano techniques allows me to feel the music instead of just thinking about it. As an added bonus, because the same chords are used over and over again in different songs, once I learned a handful of chords I saw those same patterns again and again. This allowed me to get more "bang for my buck" when learning new songs, and eventually playing chords was as easy as buttoning a shirt or riding a bike: I was able to do it reflexively without any conscious thought.

Every child learns her native language simply by listening and repeating what she hears, not by learning to read first. Yet traditional music lessons do the opposite: note reading is taught first and note playing is taught second. This approach is logical and effective, and with dedication and practice it can produce very capable musicians. However, it doesn't work for everyone. How many people do you know who took a few years of piano lessons and decided it wasn't for them? Perhaps you are one of those people! But maybe if you had been introduced to chord style piano you would have been able to play more of the music you loved (whatever it was) and found music lessons more enjoyable. In my experience chord style piano is both easier and better than traditional classical instruction, as it allows students to play the songs they really want to play much more quickly than they could otherwise.

In this blog entry I'm going to introduce, through a series of videos, various techniques that demonstrate what's possible with chord style piano from the very simplest methods to more advanced styles. I included standard notation for both the right hand and left hand parts in each video to demonstrate how the left hand notes could be played, but in chord style piano the bass clef (left hand part) is either ignored by the musician or it isn't there at all. Songs that don't include the bass line and just have the melody and chord symbols are often referred to as "lead sheets," and compilations of lead sheets are sometimes called "fake books" -- not because you can't make real music with them, but because they don't contain note for note arrangements of songs. Instead of being told exactly which notes to play and how to play them, chord style musicians use chord symbols to understand the full array of possible harmony notes that might sound good with the melody. It's up to them to select which of those possibilities they want to incorporate into their playing. If a lead sheet begins with a C chord, any C, E or G note on the piano could theoretically sound good with the melody; however, there some C, E or G notes will work better than others. For example, playing the LOWEST C, E and G notes on the piano simultaneously produces a very "muddy" sound. Experience will help you learn which notes will work best in various situations.

My first video demonstrates the most basic chord-style technique. In this video the first line of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is being played using block chords with the left hand. For those that may not be familiar with the term "block," it simply means playing all of the notes of the chord simultaneously. For example, a C major chord contains three notes: C, E and G. If I play the C, E and G notes all at once, that's called a block chord. If you'd like to learn how to play other common chords, check out this printable chord chart.

Here is what a basic chord style piano song sounds like:

Next I'll show an example of a chord style piano song that is being played using arpeggios instead of block chords. This simply means that the notes of the chord are separated in time rather than being played all at once. This technique is sometimes referred to as "broken chords" and they are featured prominently in Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

If you are new to chord style piano and start to feel overwhelmed by some of the more advanced techniques I'm about to present, don't worry. I'm simply trying to demonstrate what's possible with chord style piano, and with time and practice you will be able to more easily incorporate some of these techniques into your playing while you develop your own style.

Here is what it sounds like if arpeggios are played twice as fast as they were in the previous video. This example uses eighth notes instead of quarter notes in the left hand:

The next video illustrates a very useful technique that every chord style pianist should know: power chords. Power chords can be safely used to accompany just about any melody, usually with quite satisfying results. As mentioned above, a C major chord has three notes: C, E and G. If we only play the C and G notes and ignore the middle note, we're playing a power chord version of C (sometimes referred to as C5 because it uses the 5th tone of the C major scale). We could use these notes for a Cm chord as well, because the power chord tones (C and G) are the same for C minor as they are for C major:

Here is what happens if we play power chords while doubling the left hand tempo. Even though there is a G7 chord in the last measure, I am ignoring the "7" in this example and simply playing G and D notes (which are the "power chord" notes for the G chord) with the left hand:

Here is an "up and down" power chord pattern that can work well with certain songs. Notice the rhythmic change in the left hand part:

It is not necessary to play the left hand part the same way throughout an entire song. Using a variety of left hand techniques interchangeably can add depth to your playing, so this next example demonstrates a few different techniques. In the first measure I'll introduce a new pattern that I call the "ballad" pattern. The ballad pattern involves playing the root, fifth, octave, ninth and tenth scale tones and can sound great in slower songs. To play this pattern for a C chord, start with a C note, then play the G above that, the C above that, the D above that and the E above that. Note that the ninth tone  (D) isn't part of the C major chord, but it can still sound good in many situations. The rest of the song uses different inversions of block chords. I selected these particular inversions because it created a descending bass line for the last 5 chords (the bass note starts with G and moves down the notes of the scale to C). A good bass line, in my opinion, is second only to a great melody. In certain fake books you might see a chord notation like "G/D." This doesn't mean you can choose to play a G or a D chord; it means you are supposed to play a G chord with a D as the root (lowest) note. If you are just starting out with chord style piano, I would suggesting ignoring those "slash" chords and just playing a standard G chord. But as your skills develop you may discover that playing the recommend inversion (C/G, for example) can sound quite good. In some cases, slash chord notes aren't part of the chord itself. For example, F/G can sound great in the right situation, even though G isn't one of the three notes in the F chord:

In my last video I'll demonstrate a fun technique that involves hitting a single chord note and then playing the full chord an octave higher. In the first measure I alternated between the C and G notes for the root note to add interest and variety, but in the rest of the measures I simply used the root note of whatever chord was being played:

Chord style piano is a set of tools and techniques that's versatile enough to be used by professional musicians, beginners and intermediate players alike. In my experience it's especially useful for adults who want to learn to play the piano, and it will help new players create more satisfying music more quickly than any other method I know.  As an adult learner myself (I started playing at the age of 26), I am living proof that this approach WORKS! In fact, I released a Christmas album featuring chord-style arrangements of some of my favorite songs. It's called "Christmas Notes" and you can listen to it on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and bandcamp. I had been playing chord style piano for about 8 years when I started working on this album. Listen to the music to discover the possibilities that chord style piano can offer, then get started on your own chord style piano journey today!

Embracing Mistakes

There are many different theories about the role mistakes play in live music performance. In my opinion music educators spend far too much time teaching students how to avoid mistakes and far too little time helping students know what to do when they make them.

When I first started playing piano, mistakes were an enemy that could not be vanquished. Through proper practice and effective technique I was able to reduce the number of mistakes I made, but eradicating them entirely seemed like an absolute impossibility. They would always resurface at the most inconvenient times -- usually when I was performing for a live audience. I used my practice sessions to develop muscle memory as well as I possibly could, and I tried to select pieces that were appropriate for my skill level. But still mistakes would show up exactly when I least wanted them to, and the harder I tried to eliminate them the worse I played. After a large number of public failures I decided that a new approach was in order and I began to embrace my mistakes.

Embracing rather than erasing mistakes might seem counterintuitive, but it significantly improved the way I practice and play. Music is a language, and when you know a language well enough there is usually, if not always, a way to redeem yourself when you make a mistake in a conversation. For example, I might be having a conversation with a friend in which I want to say, "Don't forget to call your mother." But if I start by saying some filler words like, "I think ... " then I can still successfully convey my thought by finishing the sentence with "... that you should definitely remember to call your mother." Music, like language, has syntactical logic and conveys emotion and meaning. Like language, it has a set of rules. But also like language we understand that some rules were made to be broken (if you've ever been privy to a text conversation between two teenagers, you are probably well-versed in the flexible nature of language). Music has a certain flexibility as well, although the degree to which it can be bent to your will depends upon the audience, the style of music being played and the song itself. But if, for example, I am on stage performing an arrangement and meant to play an A note, but instead I played a G, that is certainly a mistake, However, if I now move -- in a rhythmic way -- to the A note, it might have the unexpected effect of actually ENHANCING the original tune. This is because music ultimately is an aural experience. The notes written on a page may be the notes the composer intended, and they may sound absolutely amazing when played perfectly and expressively. But the notes on the page are not the only possible notes that could be used. Some variations--purposeful or otherwise--can be made without the audience even noticing, and some may even sound better than the composer or performer intended or expected. Even rhythm, as important as it is, allows a certain amount of flexibility. A slightly faster tempo at the beginning of a measure followed by a slightly slower tempo--purposeful or otherwise--can be used as an effective expressive device, and again it can enhance the original tune.

If you are in a piano competition where judges are looking for performers to robotically duplicate what is on a printed page, then the techniques I'm describing in this blog entry are definitely not for you. But in most settings they can be quite effective, and they can keep performers from making one of the biggest mistakes that performers so often make: focusing on mistakes so much when they happen that it draws the audience's attention to them (and tormenting themselves after every imperfect performance). In my case, the more I focused on my mistakes the more I made them. As soon as I started learning how to gracefully recover from a mistake my playing improved dramatically. Now instead of playing a passage over and over until I can play it perfectly, I work towards perfection while playing "around" the tune, learning how to avoid the worst mistakes and how to recover from the others. Then if I make one of those not-great-but-not-horrible mistakes while performing, I know exactly how to make it sound "right."

Jazz improvisers understand that there are no mistakes in improvisation--only unexpected turns. When I am teaching students how to improvise, this is the first thing that I tell them. Many of my students confuse improvisation with composing and first. While the two endeavors are definitely related, improvisation is composing in real time without pausing--whereas composition is, by definition, a stop-and-go process. In order to improvise well, a student must be able to lose her inhibitions and allow some less-than-ideal notes to pass by, more frequently at first and then less frequently as the practical application of music theory becomes more natural. If the student sees every unexpected turn as a mistake, improvisation will feel like continual failure and inhibitions will increase instead of decrease.

I once heard a cocktail pianist say that when he makes a mistake he sometimes repeats that mistake in subsequent phrases to make it sound like he did it on purpose the first time. This may not be the right approach for your preferred style of music (and some mistakes are so jarring that they really shouldn't be repeated in ANY style of music), but there are times when it can work quite well. This strategy can apply to both note and rhythm errors. For example, if you are playing a song that begins with four quarter notes and accidentally begin the song by holding the first note longer than the second, why not continue that pattern and apply a sort of "swing" effect to the whole song, or at least to that section?

Human beings tend to gravitate towards whatever they are focusing on. If you are crossing a narrow bridge and someone behind you says, "Don't look down," that's usually the first thing you will do. If we as musicians find ourselves focusing too intently on our mistakes: worrying about them before we perform, thinking "This is the place where I always mess up" as we begin playing a difficult section, and dwelling on our mistakes for days or weeks after we make them, then mistakes will continue to play a prominent role in our music. But if we prepare as well as we can before a performance, if we teach ourselves not just how to avoid mistakes but also how to respond when they happen, and if we let them slide by without acknowledging them any more than absolutely necessary--occasionally even welcoming them as friends and making them part of the music we are playing--then our audiences will likely never even notice them and we can begin to focus on our ever-expanding repertoire of success. Perhaps there is even a life lesson buried somewhere in this advice about music.