Klarinet Archive - Posting 000248.txt from 2003/07

From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Teaching problem
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 00:07:09 -0400

Stan,

FLASH CARDS FLASH CARDS FLASH CARDS!

I use the Hal Leonard Music Flash Cards, sets A and B with all
of my students (or at least the students I have that don't have
a music degree already.)

The yellow cards in set A are wonderful rhythm cards, and they
are two sided, so it gives a LOT of rhythm practice, mixed
rhythms included. I think the students learn the rhythm stuff
BETTER when they are not trying to get a good sound, blow,
breath, etc... I get the students to either stomp their foot
while they clap the rhythm, or I have the metronome on while
they clap. Then I also have them sing the rhythm on one pitch,
so they can get the endings of the notes correctly, which is
hard to do with the clapping.

I teach theory separately for ALL of my students, whether they
think they need it or not. I just let a student go last week
because she "thought" she didn't need theory outside of the
method books. She couldn't answer the questions in a beginning
theory book 1/3 of the way through, but was trying to convince
me that she didn't need it anyway...HOGWASH. We didn't gel, and
I asked her to find another teacher. Amazing...a student who
thinks they get to be more hardheaded than me? <GRIN>

The vast majority of my students figure out just how much the
theory and flash cards help within 2 or 3 weeks of using
them...the results are THAT impressive. By the way, the theory
book I use is "Theory for Beginners" by Barbara Wharram (I use
the spiral bound workbook, not the text book - published by
Frederick Harris Music.) If you do decide to use this book, it
is wonderful, but there are two egregious errors that I have
found... 1. is on page 20. It is a crossword with terms for
PIANO theory, although it doesn't give you all the answers
beforehand. I usually do this page with my students, since as
wind players, they are not going to know about keyboard pedals
or hammers hitting the strings necessarily without seeing it
explained in the book. 2. is on page 24, which is talking about
accidentals. The book erroneously says that an accidental in the
measure only affects the notes on that space or line, and not
the octaves. I think Bach would have some choice words for
her...lol! I just make sure I cross that out WAY before we get
to it, and rewrite it to say that an accidental affects ALL of
the notes in that measure, regardless of the octave.

This book also has a good deal of rhythmic exercises that, when
done separately from the playing exercises, seems to present
rhythm more clearly, since it is isolated. It also does a MUCH
better presentation of scales and keys than Rubank. I even have
one student looking for an instrument, and we are doing theory
BEFORE he has his clarinet. He is doing quite well, and may
actually be better off than my students that start the theory
and Rubank together.

Amixed rhythm playing book I strongly suggest for LATER (at
LEAST a year after the Rubank book is gone, and you are well
into another method book like Rose or Uhl) is the Odd Meter
Etudes by Everett Gates (either David Gornston or Sam Fox
publishing...I have an old book here, and don't remember who is
publishing it now.) This will take a student starting from about
the 2 1/2 or 3rd year through at least 1-2 years down the road.
I wouldn't start this too early, until at least the theory book
and the flash cards set A AND B had been used thoroughly, as
this book moves very fast into odd meters and rhythms, and they
can get lost quickly without a good theory background.

Hope this helps...if you need any more ideas, drop me a line. By
the way, you asked about doing this with your "tough cases".
I'll say again...I use the theory book and flash cards with ALL
of my students. If they are ready to go past that level, they
can finish the theory book and be able to do ALL of the flash
cards in a set in under 4 minutes. Until then, they can work in
the book and with the flash cards. I don't single out my
"problem children" because I think they all benefit from these
things.

Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--- Stan Elias <elias1@-----.net> wrote:
> Collective wisdom,
>
> I have a couple of middle-school kids, ages 9 and 11, as
> students. They are
> both having a hard time with rhythm, both counting evenly and
> dealing with
> the complexities of dotted quarter notes. They both know that
> a dotted
> quarter lasts as long as three eighth notes, but they are
> having trouble
> translating that knowledge into performance (I have them on
> the Rubank
> elementary book). We have tried speaking the rhythms and
> clapping the
> rhythms; they have tried to imitate my playing; and I have
> tried to get them
> to play simple patterns without reading any music.
>
> I tried to get one of these students to learn to count evenly
> by watching
> the stepping second hand on a wall clock and counting "1, 2,
> 3, 4, 1, 2, . .
> ." without getting either ahead of or behind the moving hand.
>
> I have tried lavish praise when they do it right. I have tried
> rote
> repetition when they don't. They still don't get it.
>
> What have I missed? What am I doing wrong? Is rhythm
> recognition and
> understanding a developmental thing? What have you done that
> works on
> particularly tough cases? TIA for your help.
>
> Stan

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