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New challenge
Jul. 8th, 2021 08:54 amTwo of my piano students are Indian- both born in India, but they've lived in English-speaking areas long enough that language is no issue (except with the parents!). They are both quick and interested, but not very disciplined about practice so their progress hasn't been fast. The older one told me about 6 months ago that she really wants to be able to play chords, to use lead sheets, so we've been working on that. Lately she's been preparing three songs to play with a little garage band, and stretching beyond what we've done so far.
One of the three songs is a Christian Contemporary song-- from India. So it's utterly unfamiliar to me, and she hasn't been able to find sheet music for it, just chords. She's doing remarkably well on it, but she's singing, and wasn't finding the melody for a key phrase. I asked her to play me the recording of that spot a few times, poked at the keys a bit, and then said "Okay, here it is!" and played the troublesome phrase. She exclaimed "How did you do that?? I've been trying to figure it out for a week!" She immediately incorporated what I showed her, and it helped tremendously. (I think she has mostly learned to sing from choir directors pounding out the part on piano, so hasn't developed her ear to hear a vocal line clearly.)
So.... I've asked her to choose a couple more similar songs, and we'll choose one of them and work on it together. In addition to teaching her chords and theory, I'll help her with those listening skills and some basic voice. And I'll learn the song with her, and maybe we can ultimately do it together in church. Fun stuff! A bit scary-- I'll be teaching skills I was never formally taught, but mostly figured out for myself. But there are lots of reasons why I'm the person to teach her, rather than looking for someone more qualified.
One of the three songs is a Christian Contemporary song-- from India. So it's utterly unfamiliar to me, and she hasn't been able to find sheet music for it, just chords. She's doing remarkably well on it, but she's singing, and wasn't finding the melody for a key phrase. I asked her to play me the recording of that spot a few times, poked at the keys a bit, and then said "Okay, here it is!" and played the troublesome phrase. She exclaimed "How did you do that?? I've been trying to figure it out for a week!" She immediately incorporated what I showed her, and it helped tremendously. (I think she has mostly learned to sing from choir directors pounding out the part on piano, so hasn't developed her ear to hear a vocal line clearly.)
So.... I've asked her to choose a couple more similar songs, and we'll choose one of them and work on it together. In addition to teaching her chords and theory, I'll help her with those listening skills and some basic voice. And I'll learn the song with her, and maybe we can ultimately do it together in church. Fun stuff! A bit scary-- I'll be teaching skills I was never formally taught, but mostly figured out for myself. But there are lots of reasons why I'm the person to teach her, rather than looking for someone more qualified.
