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Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.....Recital Darlene Irwin

It's December and preparations for Christmas are in full swing.

Last Friday evening, I held my annual Christmas Piano Recital/Musical Party. My students look forward to this event all year long. They started picking their pieces months ago. I have a rule that once you pick a piece it's yours...no one else can play it. One student has already picked her piece for next year.....The Bell Carol is certainly one of the most popular selections! They don't have to choose a Christmas song, but most of them did. One student decided to play Sonatina in G+ by Clementi. We both felt that this was a great opportunity for him to test his memory for an upcoming Grade 8 exam. (I did think of calling it The Christmas Sonatina…..maybe not!)  

The recital was a huge success. All students were in attendance and everyone had a great time. Some used their music, some took the music up and didn’t even look at it and some felt brave enough to play from memory. The most important thing is that they were excited to share their music with each other. 

This was certainly the case with my youngest student. She could hardly wait to play Jingle Bells with me. She has only had 11 lessons, but she already plays with confidence and she loved having the bells on her arm.

 


I'd like to share my six secrets for planning the best Christmas recital ever:

Be organized

I use an Excel sheet called 'Christmas Recital Planning Charts' to organize and prepare for my recital. The file contains several worksheets including the Initial Planning Chart, a Program Planning Chart, the Final Program Planning Chart and a Refreshment Sign-up Chart. I use the Initial Planning Chart to time the pieces before I put the program together.

I find it works well to have the students sitting together at the front of the hall. It helps to have numbers on the students' seats. That way, the students know where to sit and what order they play in. This facilitates the flow of the program. 

Shorter is Better

Time the recital pieces! Parents and students will get restless if the program is too long. I find that 60-75 minutes works best…I call this a 'Father Friendly' recital. If you have lots of students, you could hold two separate events (Junior and Senior). My Christmas recital last Friday started at 7:00 and was over by 8:00.

 

Be Prepared

Make sure the students have 6-8 weeks to work on their pieces. Some students are able to get their songs up quickly...that's great. We can put those pieces on a shelf and work on something else in the meantime. However, most students require more time to feel comfortable performing in front of an audience. It's important that they also prepare mentally for their performance. They are not allowed to say the word nervous….instead I tell them that they are 'excited'…it’s a whole different feeling.

The Three Levels of Memory

This leads to my next point....pieces should be memorized. I don't require them to play from memory at the recital unless they feel at ease doing so. However, they will play so much better if their piece is memorized.

I have a theory about memory and performing. (My students know that I always have a theory about something!)

My theory is that there are three levels of memory. 

Level 1: The first level is if you can play it at home, but not for me. 

Level 2: You can play it for me but it is still not really ready for a performance.

Level 3: You can play it for anyone. Your piece is memorized in sections and you have many safety nets all the way through. I saw a quote on Facebook that went something like this  - "Don’t practice until you can play it right. Practice until you can’t play it wrong!"

One of my students played Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky. We discussed the fact that it was written for the celesta. That led to the idea of performing it on her keyboard, which has a cool celesta setting. 

 

 

Variety is the Spice of Life

Make sure that you have lots of variety. I love finding new and different arrangements of familiar songs. I place special numbers throughout the program and I list them in darker print on the program. This helps to keep the program interesting. Some of my students play other instruments as well. Last Friday, we had additional special performances with harp and voice, accordion, several duets and a fun keyboard piece. Here is an excerpt of What Child is This. The singer is a piano student who has never had formal training. She has a naturally beautiful voice that blended so well with the harp.

 

Make it Fun

Above all, the recital/musical party should be FUN. My students wouldn't miss it.....it is one of the highlights of our musical year. It is so important that this be a positive, enriching experience for them. Each Christmas, I make the traditional Piano Cake which is reserved just for them. After the recital, we had an informal social time with the parents supplying the rest of the refreshments. This also gave me a change to mingle, visit with their families and take pictures.

At their lesson this week I will ask my students what they liked the best about the recital….something other than the food! I know that they will be excited to share their favourite moments. We might even pick their piece for next year. 

This Christmas season, my wish for all my students is that they develop a deep love of music in all its beauty and variety, that they learn to play this instrument we call the piano, that they learn to sight read well, that they gain self-confidence as they perform and that they continue to play, enjoy and share this wonderful gift of music throughout their life.

♥︎ Remember - Great Music Comes From the Heart ♥︎


Discovering Musical Gems Darlene Irwin

One of the biggest challenges for a teacher can be finding appropriate pieces that students love to play! I’m always looking for interesting, well written music that captures their imagination but also contains sound pedagogical ideas. Finding such a piece is like finding a hidden treasure.

These past few weeks my students have been busy preparing for their first master class and for the Christmas recital. I teach many different levels, ranging from beginners to advanced. Several students are working towards specific goals such as recitals, exams or evaluations.

We currently live in a rural area and all of my students celebrate Christmas. Because of that, most of them have picked a Christmas song for the recital. However, this was not always the case. When I lived in a large city, I had a more multi-cultural program, reflecting the various ethnic backgrounds of my students.

Master classes and recitals are great because students have an opportunity to share their musical gems with others while building confidence at the same time. It’s important to broaden their musical horizons by having them experience all different styles and types of music, from the Classics to Modern to Pop and Jazz. It's also important that we, as teachers, avoid getting stuck in a ‘musical rut’ by always teaching the same material. 

Every year I try to find something new and fresh to share with my students. It makes them feel special because they are playing something unique. They especially enjoy descriptive pieces that paint vivid musical picture.

Regular Pieces

Here are some of the wonderful musical gems that my students have worked on this fall. A few are regular graded pieces, others are Christmas songs, some are pieces that I have taught before and some I am teaching for the first time. 

Elementary (Pre-Grade 1 - Grade 2)

 

Starfish At N
ight (Anne Crosby) from 'Freddie the Frog'
-  very simple and yet very beautiful 
-  have students write a story and draw a picture
-  great piece to introduce descriptive playing to a younger student

Pagodas in the Purple Mist (Faber & Faber) from 'Piano Adventures Performance' 2B
great piece for teaching the pentatonic scale
-  I played the duet with my student while her sisters improvised on a xylophone





To Fly Like an Eagle (Anne Crosby) from 'Freddie the Frog'
-  evokes picture of a magnificent eagle soaring high above the majestic mountains
-  patterns, counting, pedal, phrasing

The Wind (Chee-Hwa Tan) from 'A Child's Garden of Verses'
- another wonderfully descriptive piece
- broken triads, smooth peddling between hands, dynamic contrasts
- can you imitate the wind as it ebbs and flows? Think of a windy, stormy winter night!
- one of my favourite books, based on poems by Robert Louis Stevenson

Intermediate (Grade 3 - 5)


The Stormy Sea (Anne Crosby) from 'In My Dreams'
-  very dramatic piece, fun to play
-  alternating arpeggios, peddling, dynamic changes, 6/8 time

Bedbug Blues (Christopher Norton) from 'Connections' level 4
-  can play with a cool, jazzy audio track (download on the Connections website)
- the password to obtain the audio track is on the inside cover of the book
-  imagine the lazy bedbugs laying around waiting for their next meal!!
- teaches counting and rhythm (swung eighths), listening and staying with the beat

Blue Iris (Teresa Richert) from 'Petals for Piano' (scroll down page on Teresa's website)
- click here to listen to this piece (from the website)
- all pieces based on provincial flowers of Canada
- Blue Iris is the flower of Quebec
- can you visualize a field of beautiful flowers moving gently in the breeze?
- left hand ostinato, melodic projection, fluid flowing lines
- check out Red Leaf Pianoworks for more exciting new piano repertoire

Intermediate/Early Advanced (Grades 6 - 8)


- very descriptive piece with modern notation
- always a student favourite
- many changes of dynamics and mood
-  dream-like story about a castle, bats and wolves in the dark mist

The Irish Washerwoman (arr. by Phillip Keveren) from 'The Celtic Collection'
- great collection of clever and creative arrangements of Irish folk tunes
- fun but challenging piece in 6/8 time
- lots of clef, tempo and key changes, very rhythmic and lively

Star Gazing (Alexina Louie) from 'Star Light, Star Bright'
-  Grade 8 exam piece (RCM Syllabus), uses some modern notation
-  chord clusters and rapid repeated notes to create a shimmering effect
-  lots of dynamic changes and patterns
-  very ethereal, beautiful sound picture

Christmas Arrangements

My students love playing creative arrangements of familiar tunes.
These types of arrangements can sometimes be challenging to find, but they are well worth learning.

Elementary (Pre-Grade 1 - Grade 2)


Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Faber & Faber) from 'Piano Adventures Christmas' 3A
- easy arrangement of a classic song by Tchaikovsky
- relay the history of the piece and explain the use of the celesta

Mary Did you Know? (arr. Dennis Alexander) from 'Christmas Hits'
- Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course level 2 
- beautiful arrangement of this song
- gentle syncopation, chord patterns, melodic projection and balance

Intermediate (Grade 3 - 5)


Away in the Manger (arr. Jerry Ray) from 'Simply Christmas'
- this book contains lots of beautifully simple and elegant arrangements
- clever use of Brahms' Lullaby throughout
- balance, phrasing and rubato

Go Tell it on the Mountain (arr. Martha Mier) from 'Christmas Jazz, Rags and Blues' book 2
- well-written fun, jazzy arrangements of Christmas favourites
- syncopated rhythms and jazz harmonies

O Little Town of Bethlehem (arr Melody Bober) from 'Christmas Encores' book 1
- beautiful, inspiring and interesting arrangements
-book 2 is also a favourite
- gentle syncopation, melodic projection, tricky scale passages

Intermediate/Early Advanced (Grades 6 - 8)


We Three Kings in the style of Liszt (arr. Carol Klose) from 'Bach Around the Christmas Tree'
- classic carols written in the styles of some of the great composers
- creative, fun way to introduce styles and time periods of different composers
- second volume is called 'More Bach Around the Christmas Tree'

The First Noel (arr. Phillip Keveren) from 'A Celtic Christmas'
- this book is truly a hidden gem
- wonderful arrangements of familiar and not-so-familiar carols
- fresh approach using Celtic rhythms and colour

I Saw Three Ships (arr. Phillip Keveren) from 'A Celtic Christmas'
- fun romp in 6/8 time
- changes of time and key signatures

Duets - Early & Late Intermediate


Silent Night (arr. Melody Bober) from 'Christmas Memories for Two' book 1

O Come All Ye Faithful (arr. Melody Bober) from 'Christmas Memories for Two' book 1

Angels from the Realms of Glory (arr. Melody Bober) from 'Christmas Memories for Two'  Book 3
- 3 wonderful volumes in this series
- lovely arrangements, great for recital programs



Our first master class of this year was a HUGE success. Everyone loved sharing their special songs and hearing new and interesting pieces. After each performance, I asked them what they liked about the piece. Here are some of their varied and insightful comments....I loved the dreaminess of that piece, I closed my eyes and imagined that I was flying over the mountains, I loved the sounds of the different chords, I could clearly hear 2 voices in the right hand, it sounded very dramatic, the balance was GREAT, I LOVED the story!

Don’t be afraid to try something different. My students love playing imaginative and descriptive pieces. They also enjoy playing creative arrangements of old favourites. Have fun exploring some of these musical gems with your students. 

**Feel free to share your Musical Gems in the comments below.**

♥︎ Remember - Great Music Comes From the Heart ♥︎