What is a mini-solo-recital? I give my students the option of doing a solo-recital of eight songs for their families anytime during the year. Thank you Dr. Julie Knerr for this fun idea! This is in addition to an end-of-the-year recital where all of the the students perform for all of the families.
PIANO SAFARI REVIEW
I've been teaching piano for 9 months now and I love it! I have been wanting to write a review of the Piano Safari method since I started using it, but I've hesitated to do so since I'm such a new teacher. What would my opinion mean to anyone, right? I wanted to at least teach through the entire book once before reviewing. Well, I can't wait any longer, I just have to rave about it now!
What I love about the method:
1. The students get the immediate satisfaction of playing songs on the piano through rote teaching (I show them how to play a song without requiring them to read the music). I know there are some out there who wouldn't think this is a good thing, but it is a fabulous way to help students become great musicians, not just great sight-readers. It helps them develop an ear for music; it gives them experience playing more complicated rhythms, making it easier for them to read those rhythms when they are sight-reading; it allows them to work on proper piano technique without being bogged down with reading; and last but not least, it instills confidence and joy in playing the piano, increasing the likelihood that they will continue on with music lessons. Kids like doing things that are enjoyable! There are many benefits to rote teaching, much better explained by experts here, here, and here.
2. It also teaches sight-reading from the beginning. I have always been a fan of the Suzuki method, which my daughter used as a 5-year-old when she started playing piano. She was taught by rote/imitation and I appreciate even more now the complexity of the songs she was playing at such a young age. However, Suzuki delays learning to read music for quite some time, and I always felt my daughter would have benefited from an earlier introduction/focus on it. When I decided to teach piano, I specifically wanted a method that taught sight-reading AND playing by rote (I sought this purely for the joy element, I didn't realize all the other benefits at the time). The Piano Safari method was exactly what I was looking for. Repertoire Book 1 has "Reading Pieces" and "Rote Pieces" so the kids systematically use both approaches. The first two videos below are examples of "Reading pieces" followed by a couple of "Rote pieces."
Old McDonald, one of the early "Reading Pieces"
Herbie Hippo (aka Peter Piper), this is one of the first rote pieces we learn. I also learned this as a child, but I didn't learn it in 5 different keys! With Piano Safari, the kids get early exposure to transposing as they learn to play this song in the key of Gb, B, C, F, and G. My son even transposed it into other keys! This video shows Gb, B, and G.
Cleaver the Beaver, a fun rote piece
3. The Sight-Reading and Rhythm flashcards are fabulous! This is how they work: there are 5 levels of flashcards with 16 cards each. Each card has two lines of notes to be read, plus a rhythm pattern to tap out. The students pass off one line at a time. First they "practice playing it in their brain," then they play it for real. You can see a demonstration of this here. I put a star by each line as they pass it off, then I put a sticker on a chart after they complete the whole card. The kids get to pick a prize from my "big box" when they have passed off an entire level. I usually do 2 to 4 cards at each lesson. This is one of those things I originally did just because the method said to do it, without really appreciating the value of it. Now I have all of my students working through these cards, even those who are using different method books (because they transferred from another teacher). Reading rhythm is such an important part of sight-reading, and these cards ensure that we systematically work on reading rhythm at every lesson.
4. Online resources--I love the Piano Safari website! I highly recommend reading the essays under Pedagogical Resources. These essays were so valuable to me when I started teaching. They are valuable regardless of what method you use. The instructional videos are also very helpful to me in teaching with this method, and the performance and reminder videos are valuable to the students. They are great for inspiring and motivating the students and showing proper technique.
5. Customer Service--the ladies who created this method are the best! I have emailed Dr. Knerr many times with questions regarding this method. She has been so helpful, really going above and beyond in answering my questions and sharing her wisdom and expertise. She has even thoroughly answered my piano -teaching questions that were unrelated to her teaching method. I am so thankful for all of her help!
6. Last but not least, I love the eighth-notes! Some method books delay introducing eighth notes until the third book while Piano Safari includes them right away. They are so fun to play, they make the pieces more diverse, and the kids are very capable of reading and playing them.
When I discovered Piano Safari, I was immediately excited about it, but found myself hesitating to use it because it seemed to be unheard of among my piano teaching friends. I could only find ONE online review about it, fortunately it was a glowing review. :) It is a recently published method, so that explains why it isn't well known. I'm just glad I took a leap of faith on this method and hope others will too. I wanted to add another glowing review to the web; I'm sure other teachers who have discovered it are doing the same.
A few things to consider before choosing this method:
1. It takes more time. At each lesson you work on reading music, work through the sight-reading and rhythm flashcards, and work on a rote song. I teach 45-minute lessons and often wish for more time. I try to include games and activities that help with music theory as well, so that also takes time. Dr. Knerr recommends 45-minute lessons and I would hesitate to do less than that.
2. I find it hard to switch transfer students to this method because the approach and order of information taught is different. For the most part, I have been keeping my transfer students in their former method books because I'm not sure how to make a complete switch. I do use the sight-reading flashcards with all of my students, have I mentioned that I love those sight-reading cards?! I also teach some rote songs and use Piano Safari terminology to teach different techniques and rhythm patterns (i.e. sleeping lion paw for heavy arms).
3. I think that Piano Safari is geared toward young beginners and you will need to have patience with the pace at which sight-reading/note identification progresses if you are accustomed to another method. All of my students are under the age of 14. I have transfer students who are in Bastien, Piano Adventures, and Alfred. All of these methods move to the staff more quickly and move through reading a variety of intervals more quickly. That doesn't mean the kids are always ready to move that quickly, but the teacher may be. :) Piano Safari Book 1 has five units, the first one is reading black keys (using finger numbers), the second is reading white keys, the third unit starts reading on the staff with 2nds (intervals), the fourth unit adds reading 3rds, and the fifth unit combines 2nds, 3rds, and unisons. The student only reads one staff at a time in the first book (either bass or treble), but they play rote pieces with two hands from the grand staff. Also, the focus in Book 1 is on reading intervals with only a few guide notes. Knowing all the note names of the staff is delayed until book 2. This pace seems just right for most of my students, but a couple of them have been anxious to move to the staff more quickly and sometimes I wonder if it would benefit the students to read on the grand staff sooner. On the opposite end, I have seen kids struggle in other method books that move through these concepts too quickly for them and it can lead to frustration and lack of self-confidence at the piano. For me, this slow and steady approach is well worth it, especially for young students. For older beginner students, I use a combination of Piano Safari and Accelerated Piano Adventures (this was recommended to me by Dr. Knerr), and that has worked out really well.
4. It is important for parents to understand this approach. Supportive parents will make sure the kids listen to the CD (for rote pieces) and watch the reminder videos when needed. Some of my parents do this better than others and I can really see the difference in the quality of playing. Parents and teachers should read the frequently asked questions page before starting this method as it will help them understand this approach.
5. It is important to read the online teacher guide and pedagogical resources. The Repertoire book itself doesn't have a lot of instruction for the teacher, but the online teacher guide has a wealth of information on how to teach each piece. I printed out the teacher guide and the essays and had them spiral bound at Staples for easy reference. Sometimes I forget to read the guide until after I've taught a piece and when I do read it, I realize I could have taught it much better. So, don't neglect the guides if you go with this method.
To conclude, I am thrilled with the Piano Safari method! I spent many hours researching different methods and playing through different lesson books trying to find one I could love. I'm so glad I found this method that matched the way I want to teach. Thank you Dr. Julie Knerr and and Katherine Fisher for your fabulous program. Teaching piano has been such a joy!
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