Now that you know Do can move to change the key (read and watch the magic key post), you might be wondering... Why Change Keys? We've learned to play some pretty great songs in the key of C. Why can't every song be in the key of C all the time? Life would be easy for the pianists. Why bother with key changes? Voice First, singability. The voice or instrument you hope to perform the music with you will be able to cover a certain range. If the melody goes too low or too high for that voice or instrument to reach, transpose up or down so the voice will be able to reach all of the notes. When we sing "Turkey in the Straw" in Key of C during Purple Semester, the notes are a tad low for some singers in my class. Then we transpose it and sing in the key of F and everyone notices, "yeah, that was easier to sing!" YOU can test your singing range by following a video like this one. Now you know what your range is! Instruments have a range, too. A chart like this one demonstrates the range each instrument can cover. You'll get a different tone and sound from instruments when they are playing at different parts of their range. The composer needs to consider which instrument he's performing with!
Voice Type: Soprano, Range: B3 – G6.
Voice Type: Mezzo-Soprano, Range: G3 – A5.
Voice Type: Contralto, Range: E3 – F5.
Voice Type: Countertenor, Range: G3 – C6.
Voice Type: Tenor, Range: C3 – B4.
Voice Type: Baritone, Range: G2 – G4.
Voice Type: Bass, Range: D2 – E4.
Concert Pitch
ALSO, now that you know how to transpose, you are going to love composing for large ensembles! Some instruments play a C and it matches the C from the piano. Those instruments are in concert pitch. But for many instruments, the simplest note does not happen to be a C. With no valves are pressed, the simplest note that comes out is something else. To make the music easier to read and play, we rewrite their music so that everybody's home note is written as middle C. Here is a chart showing the transposition for different instruments. When I show my French-horn-playing son a middle C, he plays a note that matches Bb on the piano. Not to worry... the composer took it into consideration when writing each part for the ensemble. My piano music has me playing a Bb on the piano at the same time he is playing "C". Sounds good! Now that you know how to transpose, you can take your favorite piano music and transpose it so your clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone friends can all play along with you. Fingering Instruments Speaking of clarinets, (and saxophones and double reeds), there are many sizes of clarinet that change the range by something other than an octave. To make it easy to switch between instruments in the same family, the sheet music is transposed so the same note has the same fingering, but produces a different actual pitch. A few minutes by the composer, transposing music for each size of clarinet, guarantees that he can assign anyone to play any size of clarinet and they'll know the fingering. Flavor But if you're playing piano without other instruments, why would you want to play in different keys? Composers sometimes say different keys have different feel to them. Keys that have several sharps have bright, exciting sounds. Keys with several flats have more relaxed or somber sounds. Historically, this used to be more true because instruments were not tuned as exactly as they are today, they were not perfectly tempered. That is, the step in wavelength between notes was not always equal. The well-tempered clavier was well tempered because you could play scales in all keys on it, but those scales did not all have the same exact pattern of steps in wavelength. So, yeah, back then the key of F# sounded really different from the key of C. Learn more here. Modulation But my FAVORITE reason to learn to play in other keys... I love changing key in the middle of a song! That's called modulation. Changing key for a section of a song adds interest and variety and feeling. Listeners will really perk up and notice that something is different. Modulation can also increase or decrease intensity and emotion during a song. Modulation is a powerful way to give your music the feeling that you want to convey. Watch some examples of modulation in pop songs here. Our LPM students get to modulate right in the middle of the song Magic Keys. You can watch the song and experience all of the education again in this post. Read/watch Magic Keys here. Enjoy adding some modulation into your own compositions. - Gina Weibel MS Let's Play Music Teacher
Does your child have a favorite song, bedtime story, or moviehe requests over and over? As adults, we are constantly seeking new stimulation, while children often crave just the opposite.
Repeating activities helpsneural pathways develop tocreate long-term memories. Repetition gives kids a sense of power, accomplishment, and belonging, so it's no surprise they crave repetition.
It's true in music class, too. When we play a new game in music class, there is often some trepidation as everybodywondershow it's going to work. The next time we play, students are more at ease. They know with confidence, "I belong here, I know what happens next, I know what we do in this game, and I am a success in this class."
Layered Repetition Large doses of learning are squeezed into Let's Play Music classes by layering content. Yes, we may sing the same song for seven classes in a row, but each time, as the students become more proficient, we add new elements.
Students get the repetition they need for mastery and confidence, and teachers have a sneaky way to introduce new material in each and every class.
Below are some possibilities that your teacher may focus on over the weeks, all within one song. Want to help us get the most from class time? Listen to the music at home so your child is already familiar with the song and lyrics before class...your teacher doesn't want to spend much time on that.
Notice the lyrics, what do they mean?
Listen carefully to the melody, can you recognize the common melodic patterns? Can you play the melody on bells/ keyboard? Can we transcribe the melody?
Shall we sing the entire song using just solfege and handsigns instead of lyrics? Can we transpose to another key/ multiple keys?
Focus on the ostinato. Play it on bells/ keyboard while you sing.
Can you hear the harmony? What chords do you hear? Identify the chord progression.
Audiate parts of the song.
Listen to the rhythms, can you identify the bugs?
How does this song make you feel, how do you want to move/dance? What words describe the type of sound or style of playing?
Notice the format of the song- do sections or phrases repeat? How are thesections different?
etc.
The Rule of Seven
In Marketing, there exists a well-known idea that a prospect must see or hear about a product at least seven times before they'll take action and buy it. The point is, the ability to generally recognize something is strengthened with multiple encounters.
This is why, in music class, we will also present several songs or games for each concept covered (common melodic pattern, common rhythmic pattern, minor tonality songs, common chord progressions, legato vs. staccato, etc.) Experiencing each concept in multiple, slightly different musical examples gives students a chance to better recognize and isolate the element.
Spaced Repetition & Memory When we learn a new bit of information on Day 0, we all start to forget the information right away. It's a bummer, but that's just how the brain works. Our brains need cues to get the message, "hey, this stuff is worth remembering."
The forgetting curve looks like an exponential decay curve.
Each time we review what we know (and start to forget again right away), the decay curve is a little bit flatter. Each time we can allow longer periods between review, and we can remember just a little bit longer before we start to forget.
The trick for optimizing learning is to plan repetition of activities and information so that the reviews coincide with the intervals of time when students are starting to forget their facts. With organized intervals of repetition, we can study smarter, not longer.
That's why we sing a new Let's Play Music song or game in every class, several times, when it is first presented. Then it comes back (less frequently) for us to review and sing.
Remember Every Song If you want to study smart, try creating your own spaced repetition learning: review pieces of information that you are retaining well less often than pieces that you are not remembering well.
Here's quick piano example: Choose the piano songs you want to review. How about every song I have memorized. Attempt to play through the songs. Based on how accurately you can remember the song, decide if you will review it again tomorrow, next week, next month, in 4 months, or next year.
As part of your routine, each time you play piano, include some work on a new piece you are trying to memorize and include a play-through, from your schedule of a piece that you already know.If your list is short and you're having fun, you might play more songs than are on your list (playing memorized songs is really fun.)
The importance of the list is to remind you of your songs- if you wait too long, you'll forget what you worked hard to memorize in the first place.
Remember, the goal is to practice again just as you are about to forget, and that happens at increasing intervals each time. By making it part of your routine to play through one memorized song (it's fun-you won't mind), you'll retain every song you've ever memorized, forever!
