Learning to play without learning music theory…
Learning to only read music and play piano without immersing into bitz and pieces of music theory is like learning foreign language from watching actors in movies talk without learning to read and write the language. Learning music theory while learning to read music and play the piano helps link the notes and patterns on the music into a cohesive web of music understanding.
Growing up taking piano lessons, elementary piano teachers may or may not incoporate if at all any music theory learning to read music, play and peform. I was a piano student lacking this knowledge for many years…until I decided to go the study at university just for learning my music theory. Without learning to see the patterns and grouping of notes on the music, it affected my abilites to memorize more complex music. In my case, I had to default to kinesthetic (muscle memory) and some aural memory( well you know what the music piece sounds like, right?). This method may be okay for kids learning easier pieces, but at advanced senior or granduate level its best to have other dissecting methods of making sense of the music at the level it is.
Imagine having ten fingers on the piano…not like a violinist or flute player who only has one note at a time…learning music on the piano is meant to be learned with and understanding of music theory to be a complete musician pianist. At any moment in time in piano music, when more than one finger is touching or depressing the key, music theory comes into play like diatonic or non diatonic chords, scale degrees, solfege…or intervals which is all about relationships and patterns of notes.
I get appauld sometimes with parents who would not allow their kid to enroll in music theory exam event in Spring Festival when I offer it as an inclusive portion in my piano lesson instructions.
Learning Music Through Multiple Modalities…
My understanding of music memory crystalized upon further study at University I studied. I learned the different modalities a person may use when they are learning to memorize their music. Growing up taking lessons, my elementary piano teacher emphasized sight reading new music every lesson to a point that she discouraged me from memorizing music as elementary piano student. I became a stellar sightreader, however, the more I sightread, the less memory I had. I often defaulted to kinesthetic and aural memory to get me through memory work…Other concepts crystalized in my university study…ie using visual cues and self prompts or diaglogues to guid through a memorized performance. Each person should have combinations kinesthetic, aural, visual, internal dialogue, music theory understanding to help successfully pull off a piano performance from memory. I find that depending on the music composition, some modalites may be more effective than others. Tracing to how the composition was composed can greatly help the learning and memorizing process. Working on sections or portions of a piece of music and not learning entirely from beginning to the end when trying to memorize is also a good piece of advice. Always take notice of opening sections and hand locations on the keys as well as the chord at then end of a section which can denote the key can be of great help.
Traits and Gifts with Special Population…
I had the blessing to work with several special needs children during my graduate coursework in applied behavior analysis…Piano lessons can be a life saving blessing to a kid who have fine motor issues with holding a pen or pencil and need to learn their letters and alphabets.
The sheer joy of taking lessons and ongoing practice and learning for fun can be rewarding when it spreads to other areas of growth. I worked with a special need child who memorized his festival music and played with only his two fore fingers at the Spring Festival exam. He received praises and had a blast at his first spring festival piano solo exam. He ultimatly overcome his reluctance to use all other fingers on the piano by his second year. Sometimes, starting with just little bit or enough can lead to growth and overcoming what was seemingly hard.
One another special need child, I use adaptive method to get him to play his music with the metronome with minimal increasing tempo up to total increment of 80 beats per minute during his lesson! I was delighted and knew he was rhythmically enjoying the repetitions with the metronome…Sometimes we tend to think we have to work hard or sweat at it to obtain a desired skill…using adaptive methods and pleasant reinforcers…where is the sweat? We both were smiling towards the end of the lesson.
Keep Your Plushy Bears and Beanies…
I did research and found resource materials on a topic that I was very much interested that became a huge blessing for me and other kids I applied it to. Have you ever hear the saying or heard of studies put out in the nineties, that a person cannot develop perfect pitch after they live pass 8 years of age? Well…that is a myth! Having perfect pitch just means you remember what a particular pitch sounds like…My philosophy is if you are not tone deaf and can hear pitches, with some practice and fun music activities…anyone who can hear pitches and can sing or hum a tune (not perfectly) can develope perfect pitch. Even if remembering a specific pitch is only for a short period ( say only during that piano lesson) with repeated diligence that temporary memory can solidify and become permanent.
I used a method I gatherd from reading over research materials that I purchased to work with special needs and non-special needs children to help them develop aural discrimination using their favorite plushy toys…It got hiliarious, when this particular child can sing the pitch when I whip out a particular plushy toy and adjust his pitch when I switch to another plushy toy!
Use proven psychology methods, making music exercieses into intriguing fun games and allowing kids to earn reinforcers made lesson fun and kids begging for their piano lesson each week. Pairing kids with what they need to discriminate and learn during music activities creates smoother transition into mastering skills like note reading, aural discrimination, and kinesthetic coordinations to play music fluidly with confidence.