This year, my 9-year old student who enjoys the singular status of being the only child amidst a crop of adult students, was eager to tackle “Silent Night,” and my having shuffled through various holiday collections had produced a particular arrangement with simple primary bass chords and broken chord interludes that nicely tied in to our theory journey.
For months, we had been studying scales in Major and Relative Minor through the Circle Fifths, and had added construction of CHORDS in ROOT position on each scale degree starting with C Major and A minor (Harmonic form). –(there is a scant reference to the PRIMARY CHORDS on the Chord Sheet below, but only to show their identities as I, IV, V, not how they can be juggled or “inverted” for smooth transit between them)
The “chord” universe had been carefully prepped with a pre-identification of minor and Major thirds, and how they are arranged to create Major, minor, diminished and Augmented Chords or triads. (EAR-Training experiences were naturally integrated into our lessons) In the days between lessons, my pupil practiced her aural identification of these various chords at Tone Dear.com
http://tonedear.com/ear-training/chord-identification
While a digital piano is enlisted at this particular Internet site which is not the best vehicle to expose a child to various chord changes, it still seemed to heighten my pupil’s aural sensitivity. (Again we were focusing on identifying ROOT position triads: Major, minor, diminished and Augmented)
Chord “inversions,” the next juncture of study, as presented in the “Silent Night” arrangement, (IV and V7), enabled the pupil to experience various “positions” of chords in the bass to effect smooth voice leading.
The piece, as notated, also had a preparatory Schemata of the PRIMARY bass chords used, with an attached illustration of the abbreviated forms of the Dominant 7th.
In this video sample below, I demonstrated the principle of chord “inversion” for the student.
This particular holiday selection (“Silent Night”) had also provided reinforcement a NEW rhythm, the dotted quarter–8th figure which permeated the music.
Finally, as a creatively driven teacher, who has consistently inserted composing opportunities into the pedagogical environment, I assigned my student the task of composing a 8-measure piece in 3/4 time using dotted half notes in each measure. It was to use Chords in ROOT POSITION from the A Minor Harmonic form scale in the treble. (Chord Sheet reference) This exploration was to serve as a springboard to INVERTING her chosen chords in a follow-up composing opportunity.
In this initial instance, she was to include a Major, Minor, Diminished and Augmented chord in whatever sequence that suited her creative inclination and then label these ROOTED triads in the score. Each chord enlisted fingers 1,3,5 in the Right Hand. (Note that in my teaching practice, I adhere to the principle of framing a composing experience with a particular educational goal, particularly when building a solid learning foundation in the primary year of of piano study.)
The student was asked to practice her chord piece notated in the TREBLE CLEF with a supple wrist in a singing tone fashion, while fleshing out a melody streaming through the upper most voice (the fifth of each chord) This brought up the notion of “voicing” chords which excited her. She had free reign to choose dynamics and enter them in her score.
Next, we had planned to leave the bass clef staff blank until the student had finalized her Treble notated chordal progressions.
Following this creative undertaking, I suggested adding one bass note per measure, perhaps considering the Root of each chord to match up with the treble harmonic sequence, though when I demonstrated adding a THIRD of each chord in the bass, she was far more pleased with the result.
Here is my pupil’s draft of her composition that enlarged her consciousness about chords and their harmonically colorful variety.
As mentioned, for part 2 of this composing adventure, she will put all her treble chords in first inversion, while considering another choice for the bass line progression. It will be stimulating to explore noting the ROOT in the bass against the treble inverted chords, and then sample the third, or the fifth through the bass sequence.
In conclusion, this holiday period offered a wondrous aesthetic journey with educational rewards for both teacher and student.
LINKS:
https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/liz-age-8-composes-a-piece-at-her-third-piano-lesson/