How to focus in music reading

[musicrebel4u]

Wish to receive your opinion on this video:

[tsagari]

Hi there,
I am not a piano teacher, I am an adult piano learner and I have two children 6 and 10 years old that are piano learners too. My concern has always be as far as the children are concerned how you introduce them in music reading.
I find that what you have done is very interesting and since you said that you have worked on that method for so long,  you can see for your self if it works in principle. I found some elements like what you do with the bars and the colours very interesting,  others very complecated (letter and pictures). The size of the score however is very important. Our teacher (mine and my children) I remember for the scales gave us a book with extremely big notes and colour notes. This was very usefull.
In my country learning methods are the traditional ones both hand together from the very first day introducing rythim as well. The problem with this is that at the beginning the is no melody and the whole process is borring.
To conclude I believe that many things have to change on how we introduce music and music reading to young learners and although in other aspect of  teaching there is progress (like teaching foreign languages for example) nothing much have been done for music and I think this is because the learing process is not the job of the pianists who teach piano to the young learners. Most piano teacherer  at list in my country they are pianist which means that they do not Know the scientific elements of the learning process and consequently they do not know how to help their students. Even the introductory methods, I do not Know if are written by the proper people and not by musicians.
Thanks for lisening
Sorry for the English
Nancy

[m19834]

Hi Hellene,

I think that you make some interesting points regarding a beginner's perception of the piano and of note-reading from the staff.  I particularly appreciated your visual aid with the photo of the rows of women standing on the risers. 

If I am understanding correctly, you would like for students to be capable of singling out notes on the staff in order to differentiate those notes from the rest of the notes sitting on the page ?  So, if I use your example from the video, of the photo with the women standing together, your idea of focus in reading music would be similar to having an individual be capable of actually pointing out your grandmother in that photo ?  And, if I am understanding correctly, your basic idea of reading music is based on being able to single out notes on the piano and on the staff (similarly to being able to single out specific letters within words) ?

I guess you would like for students to have a point of reference and this is the purpose of the yellow line at the top of the measure (when the staff is being viewed vertically) ? 

I watched several more of your videos and I do think you have a lot of good ideas.  For me personally, when I look at the keyboards with so many stickers on them, I get a little over-stimulated visually.  And, I don't understand what any of those stickers actually mean nor how a "door" makes sense for "c's" (for example) -- that part of the system seems a bit overcomplicated to me (as an individual is then learning an entire system on top of another (simple) system, and the basic system of reading music being one they need to learn and be familiar with anyway (are you confused yet  ?)) and I think I would have a very difficult time getting "past" all of the visual stimulation to finding something that I could plant my feet in and use at home alone.  This particular part of the system does not convince me that students would have an easier time finding specific notes on the piano than just relating to the groups of 2 and 3 black notes, and I think that it wouldn't make sense to students in how to find a "door" until they relate to the groups of 2 and 3 black notes anyway (and then the need for the sticker is no longer applicable (if it ever was in the first place)).

Overall, I have to applaud your passion and your dedication to what you are developing.  I believe it's rare to have a person care as much as you seem to care about whether or not people are clearly grasping music-reading or not.

I would like to know how many times a week you meet with a complete beginner ?


Thanks,
Karli

[musicrebel4u]

wooof, so many questions 
English is my second language and I will try to be short and illustrative.
I use stickers fo very young kids, piano key guides for more advanced students
But students always get the point, when any visual support is beginning distractive - they remove it from piano keys. It is like with map when we are driving. At first we need it, but when we memorize the direction we don't look at it.
I teach my students once a week for 1/2 an hour (private lessons)
or 2 students at a time for 45 minutes once a week
But they all have software program at home and practice with this (I hope everyday, I wish...  )
I will try to post some helpful pictures and videos to answer more of your questions

[musicrebel4u]

Most of the teaching approaches try to develop students upon octaves. But the main obsticle is lines and spaces.

[musicrebel4u]

But when I teach 2-3 year-olds even stickers on piano keys isn't enough for visual support

[m19834]

wooof, so many questions 

Yes  .  But, please take it as a sign of sincere interest.  Thanks for your quick response and please feel free to take your time on the rest.  I am always interested in improving my own teaching and do enjoy exploring different ideas.   Since this forum is meant to be interactive and conversational, vs. meerly a product-selling venue, I am supposing you don't mind talking a bit about these things.

Thanks,
Karli

[musicrebel4u]

Yes  .  But, please take it as a sign of sincere interest.  Thanks for your quick response and please feel free to take your time on the rest.  I am always interested in improving my own teaching and do enjoy exploring different ideas.   Since this forum is meant to be interactive and conversational, vs. meerly a product-selling venue, I am supposing you don't mind talking a bit about these things.

Thanks,
Karli

Well, there are many issues that I have to explain to you.
First: balance of abstract and concrete visual information on any page. If you are reading novels, you do not care about illustrations. Moreover, illustrations are distractive for your eyes.
But when you were young you loved picture books, when there are more pictures then words.

I explained about this in the following video:

For young beginners we use Solfeggio note names Do Re Mi etc and NO MOVABLE DO! Because it helps to connect every note with speech memory and pitch at once. But we also use ABC, because we believe that every musically literate person has to know and Solfegio and ABC.

[musicrebel4u]

Now about 2 and 3 black keys.

Most music teachers start training eye-sight to recognize keys in octave and then through the theory and drills they try to help to connect each key to a note.

But the main obstacle in music reading is reading lines and spaces. Students always confuse E with F, when they see E-G, they play E-F. They confuse second line with the third etc.

Many start with 'hand position' and fasten each finger to a key. Students learn music pieces upon their muscle memory but it does little or none for lines/spaces recognition.

Frustration of students is very understandable, because without proper visual training they are practically hopeless, like you may be hopeless to find a spice in somebody's kitchen. Somebody would patiently keep looking, somebody would give up.