transfer student problem/Mayron Cole method

[harmonygirl]

Hello,

Does anyone use the Mayron Cole Method?  I am considering supplementing some of my transfers with it to help improve there reading.  I would love to know a lot about what the books cover and when, quality of the music, etc  One student in particular is a transfer student and came to me at the end of Alfred level 2 (orange book) and still really struggles with reading.  I'll point to a note (an easy one, not ledger lines, etc) and sometimes it will take her 10-15 seconds to get the name of the not correct, with wrong guesses in between.  Then she struggles to find it on the piano.  Any other suggestions for fixing this problem would be appreciated.

[jimbo320]

I'm not to keen on teaching but it would seem best to make the student comfortable. Maybe go over from scratch. I was told the single method is best. Do one thing. Do it well then move on.....

[fleetfingers]

I am not familiar with the Mayron Cole method. I just googled it and read a little/watched a sample video and it looks good from what I can see. She points out some weaknesses in other methods that I've also observed. For example, many methods and/or teachers introduce a concept and move on, assuming that the student has internalized the concept and knows how to apply the concept to his/her sight reading. Her system is designed to continue to reinforce previous learning. Sorry I can't give you any feedback based on experience, as I've never actually seen the books or tried the method. But in theory, it looks good. She does a few things that I do in my own teaching.

Can you use her method and its materials for private lessons, too? Or is it only for classes?

[harmonygirl]

Can you use her method and its materials for private lessons, too? Or is it only for classes?

The FAQ's said it can be used for private lessons as well as group.  One of the main goals the author had in writing it was to ensure her students could read music very well.  She doesn't stick to a single hand position and seems to use fingerings sparingly and uses a lot of songs for reinforcement. 

Does anyone have any more suggestions on correcting the problem or comments on the Mayron Cole method? 

[john90]

You could try making simple flash cards about 1" square. Draw the note on the staff on one side, and the letter on the other. It can be practised on the way to a music lesson too, assuming your pupil isn't driving!

[slane]

I'm using these flashcards ... https://linkwaregraphics.com/music/flashcards/notes2/

I've printed them out on photo paper. Cut them out and folded them according to the instructions and then I hold one up and say "what's this note?" "where is it on the piano?" "OK, lets put that note there". They stick nicely behind the black keys.
Introducing one note at a time makes it easy to remember.

[harmonygirl]

Thank you for the advise, I also rediscovered these: https://beaskeys.com/productline/descriptions.html  I used to have them but lost them.  They work well, they are cardboard flashcards that fit right on the keys.

Thank you

[fleetfingers]

Those little baby flashcards that go right onto the keys are a neat idea. I've never seen that before.

I use flashcards, but what I find works even better is to print out a line of music and have the student write out the letters underneath. The notes are arranged in steps and skips, so the student can see as they're writing in note names what the patterns are. What I mean is that as they're writing, for example, C D E F G they can visibly see that the notes are going up - line, space, line, space, line - and the letters are going in order. When they write out skips, C E G B D F, they'll see that as they skip spaces and go from line to line the letters follow the "order of skips" (see Bernhard's comments in this thread https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=2713.0). With my students, so far, I am drilling them on steps and skips. Eventually, I'll want them to recognize other intervals and chords readily as well, but I suppose that is for later once they get the basics down.

I have them fill out these papers at each lesson (I start with one measure at first and the amount they do gets longer, but the time they spend remains the same, which is minimal) until they can do them quickly and easily. I think it's better than flashcards because they're not only having to figure out each note one by one, they also begin to notice how the letters, lines, and spaces all relate to each other. And having to physically write things out engages them more in the process. It's a good idea to do the reverse, too: give them the letter names and have them draw in the notes and bar lines themselves.

[dbmusic]

I use the piece the child is learning and extrapolate all the concepts I want to teach/reinforce from there. For 'flashcards', I simply draw a very light pencil rectangle around notes I want the student to recognise/locate quickly. This always includes the first note for each hand so they know where to start. Other notes are chosen depending on phrase beginnings but it is important to start with two notes and build from there. I have blank flashcards made up [always using the grand staff once it has been introduced] and we transfer notes from their pieces to the flashcards to 'play' with at subsequent lessons. When they have several notes we make up our own melodies with them, organising them on the piano and playing what we've composed. Sometimes we write the piece out on a magnetic grand staff and play our composition. What I do depends on the child's learning style and where they are in the learning process. Everything I need to teach is embedded in each student's current repertoire. If I teach holistically, everything seems to make sense.

An interesting point regarding flashcards being taught in isolation is that I often found students could quickly name and locate notes from the flashcard, but when they were asked the same note in a piece of music, they often couldn't name or locate it.

[harmonygirl]

Thank you so much everyone for your replies.  Thank you dbmusic and fleetfingers for your suggestions, I plan to give them a try.  I also did order the Bea's Keys and a Mayron Cole Book as she is at the end of her current books.  Thank again, I have really gained some new ideas from you all.  It is nice to have a place to go to ask advise and know you'll get some great ideas.