It’s my last week of teaching for the year, and I've been reflecting on the supplemental books that have been most successful with my elementary and early intermediate students this year. The new year can be a great time to start fresh: with new repertoire, new technical routines, or new creative challenges for our students.
As we prepare for the Spring semester and look forward to lessons resuming in January, I want to share nine collections I’ve been using with my students this year. Some are etudes based on specific technical patterns, others are solo repertoire books. Most of these are available through Piano Safari, though they can be used alongside any method book.
For reference, my elementary and early intermediate students are in Piano Safari Levels 1-3 and range from 2nd-7th grade.
If you're looking to refresh your teaching materials for January or add some variety to your studio library, I hope you'll find a few gems here that spark your interest.
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It’s my last week of teaching for the year, and I've been reflecting on the supplemental books that have been most successful with my elementary and early intermediate students this year. The new year can be a great time to start fresh: with new repertoire, new technical routines, or new creative challenges for our students.
As we prepare for the Spring semester and look forward to lessons resuming in January, I want to share nine collections I’ve been using with my students this year. Some are etudes based on specific technical patterns, others are solo repertoire books. Most of these are available through Piano Safari, though they can be used alongside any method book.
For reference, my elementary and early intermediate students are in Piano Safari Levels 1-3 and range from 2nd-7th grade.
If you're looking to refresh your teaching materials for January or add some variety to your studio library, I hope you'll find a few gems here that spark your interest.
083 - Bernstein & Bill Evans: Inside My Recent Intermediate Studio Class
Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning
17 minutes 37 seconds
8 months ago
083 - Bernstein & Bill Evans: Inside My Recent Intermediate Studio Class
It starts simply. Two blocked jazz chords with I-V in the bass. And then the vocalist comes in:
“Twenty-four hours can go so fast. You look around, the day has passed…”
This is Leonard Bernstein’s song “Some Other Time” with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, written for the 1944 musical, On the Town. It’s about three sailors on 24-hour leave in New York City who meet three women before leaving for war. Four characters perform this song (in the stage version), hoping to catch up some other time, but knowing they may never see each other again.
I first heard this song a few weeks ago on Bill McGlaughlin’s weeknight radio show, Exploring Music. We’ve been listening to this show for over 16 years—we have it on while we cook and eat dinner.
A few weeks ago, he did a series called “Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace).” Nestled in the middle of the Wednesday night program, he paired Bernstein’s “Some Other Time” with jazz pianist Bill Evans’ improvised solo piano recording, “Peace Piece.”
I was captivated.
I got up from the dinner table and went to the piano to find the two chords by ear, playing along gently with the recording.
Today, I’m taking you behind the scenes of these two pieces of music—exploring how they’re made, what they have in common, and how hearing them played back to back inspired a listening and improvisation project in my intermediate-level studio class last month.
Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning
It’s my last week of teaching for the year, and I've been reflecting on the supplemental books that have been most successful with my elementary and early intermediate students this year. The new year can be a great time to start fresh: with new repertoire, new technical routines, or new creative challenges for our students.
As we prepare for the Spring semester and look forward to lessons resuming in January, I want to share nine collections I’ve been using with my students this year. Some are etudes based on specific technical patterns, others are solo repertoire books. Most of these are available through Piano Safari, though they can be used alongside any method book.
For reference, my elementary and early intermediate students are in Piano Safari Levels 1-3 and range from 2nd-7th grade.
If you're looking to refresh your teaching materials for January or add some variety to your studio library, I hope you'll find a few gems here that spark your interest.
