Read What I Write

Author: admin

4 Nov

Does anybody have any tips for getting students to actually read the markings you write in their music? I feel like I always paid attention to dynamic markings and such when my teacher wrote them in pencil (maybe I didn’t, but I think I did!). When I played out of my father’s old piano books, I noticed that his teacher wrote in RED. It was so distracting to me that I always stumbled through whenever I reached another red marking. I vowed never to use red in music ANYWHERE!

Any other tips? Maybe having the students actually write the markings in themselves? Maybe something else?

Filed under: Problems- Help me!

3 Responses for "Read What I Write"

Mike Saville November 4th, 2008 at 3:52 am 1
My own experience is that written in pencil marks if not done carefully can be confusing and distracting. The music can become so full of markings that the student forgets what all the markings mean.

My approach is not to put rings round things – that’s just confusing and distracts as you say – you also end up with rings round everything!!

I try to keep markings consistent and simple – I also try not to use REALLY BIG markings. The student needs to get used to reading proper sized markings.

I also avoid red pen as it is too permanent – though if we could get eraseable coloured pens that might change.

A useful exercise that I use is to get a blank piece of paper and get the student to start at the beginning of the staff and write down every musical marking and what they mean. Then go through this with them and clear up any confusion. I find that directing attention in this way is very effective.
Ruth November 6th, 2008 at 8:29 pm 2
I don’t know where I have been….but I mark everything in red for the music that I play myself. Markings are meaningless to a child who has no concept of musicality. Markings are there to bring the music to life. Let your students decide what markings they want on the music they play. Nothing is sacred about dynamic markings, until they get to very advanced music. when they have some say about how they want to interpret their music…they will remember to play it that way. so what if they want to play a piano section forte, or visa versa. Let them create and be loosed from the musical decisions of another performer. Until we involve them, it is just rote playing and not music at all.
melody November 10th, 2008 at 4:01 pm 3
Too many pencil marks can be confusing, but I do use pencil (better yet, have the students use pencil) to mark things that will help them succeed in their home practice. This might be a tricky note that stretches them out of their position or a clef change or a dynamic marking or whatever seems likely to trip them up.

Instead of a very explicit mark, I often will just draw a face (eyes and nose) staring at the item in the score which needs extra careful attention. Several years ago, one of my students named the little guy “Alfred,” and all my students love him. He makes them think! We will play through the section several times in the lesson, and I will make remarks like, “Watch out for Alfred!” or “What is Alfred trying to tell you?” as they play.

Sometimes, especially with older students and more complicated pieces, we make a personal-use photocopy and mark it up with different color highlighters. Each expressive category (dynamics, tempo, articulation, etc.) gets a different color. Then I have the students practice from that copy, sometimes focusing just on one color.

This next idea came from the Music Mind Games website and has been working well for me and my students: Use the Avery removable dot labels to mark sections that need extra work during the week’s home practice. They catch the students eye immediately when he opens the music, and they can be taken away at the next lesson when he demonstrates mastery of the section.