Sight-Reading Curriculum for Group Piano Class
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Running head: SIGHT-READING CURRICULUM FOR GROUP PIANO CLASS SIGHT-READING CURRICULUM FOR GROUP PIANO CLASS: BEGINNER TO INTERMEDIATE LEVEL By STEPHEN DANIEL GEORGER SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: DR. SANDY B. GOLDIE, CHAIR DR. KEITH THOMPSON, MEMBER A PROJECT IN LIEU OF THESIS PRESENTED TO THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF MUSIC UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2015 SIGHT-READING CURRICULUM FOR GROUP PIANO CLASS 2 Abstract The purpose of the project is to review what research has been done on sight-reading at the piano for beginner and intermediate level students and to create a curriculum to help students better their sight-reading skills with regards to melodic reading and rhythmic reading. Two questions have been addressed throughout my research. The first one is: what are the components of effective sight-reading skills (the ability to look ahead in the music, reading rhythms, understanding keyboard geography)? The second one is: what are the most appropriate teaching strategies and activities to include in an effective sight-reading curriculum for group piano class? This curriculum can be utilized for all beginner to intermediate level piano students at the secondary school or collegiate level. It is designed to incorporate principals of having the ability to look ahead in the music, the ability to recognize common pitch patterns (major chords, scales and arpeggios), the ability to recognize common rhythm patterns, the ability to predict what is coming next in the music and understanding keyboard geography. The curriculum accommodates a fifteen week course that meets two hours per week (two days per week, one hour per day). Fifteen minutes are spent on this curriculum each period. It can be implemented at the beginning of each class and act as a warm-up and sight-reading practice. There are six exercises that the students are to complete each week based on the specific rhythms stated in the objective for that week. SIGHT-READING CURRICULUM FOR GROUP PIANO CLASS 3 Sight-Reading Curriculum for Group Piano Class: Beginner to Intermediate Level Students all over the world and of all ages take piano lessons. Students may take piano as an elective in college and even middle school. We teach music students to learn to read music and to play with feeling, dynamics, articulation, etc. At some point in this students’ lifetime, they are asked to sit down and play something that they have never seen before. This is when the student stands back and utters the words “I can’t.” Why is this? Not enough of our music students know how to sight-read at the piano. According to Mark Olivieri, “In general, students are not sight-reading in their lessons as much as they should” (Personal Communication, November 20, 2014). As music educators, we need to understand a clear definition of sight- reading and determine what it is we need to work on with our students in order for them to better their skills in this area. Kopiez (2006) states, “The unrehearsed performance of music, so-called sight-reading, is a skill required in particular fields of western music culture. It is characterized by great demands on the performer’s capacity to process highly complex visual input (the score) under the constraints of real time without the opportunity or error correction” (p. 97). Mark Olivier believes that sight-reading is an important part of the music education curriculum (M. Olivieri, personal communications, November 20, 2014). After completing a preliminary review of literature, studies indicate that music education needs a curriculum for group piano. “While some music education programs have reduced the emphasis on music reading skills, characteristics of traditional programs written music continues to frequently serve as a starting point in instrumental music instruction” (Gudmundsdottir, 2010, p. 61). Music teachers teach the basic theory of reading music, but when it comes time to reading fluidly, students struggle (M. Olivieri, Personal Communication, November 20, SIGHT-READING CURRICULUM FOR GROUP PIANO CLASS 4 2014). After completing this preliminary review of literature, it is evident that only a certain amount research has been reviewed. There is information on sight-reading on band instruments and some on piano. The research that has been done pertains to students of a more advanced age and level. Each student has a different way of learning and way they approach the piano. As students sit down at the piano, they must have a set of skills that will assist them in learning music. “Sight-reading is an integral part of the musical experience for all musicians. “ A specialized area within the larger domain of cognitive research on sight-reading has focused on the patterns of eye movements discernible in experts” (Brittin, 2005, p. 44). As Brittin (2005) states, music educators are focused on this larger domain and not digging deeper into what music reading actually is. Reading music is much like reading a book. If the students are reading one note at a time with breaks in between, there will be no fluidity and comprehension will be very difficult (L. Jackson, personal communication, November 20, 2014). In a study completed by Zhukov (2014) titled Exploring advanced piano students’ approaches to sight-reading, “the findings emphasize the need for a new approach in the development of sight-reading curriculum for higher education.” There were 74 students surveyed in this study and it was discovered that when students got to the higher educational level, they had little to no experience sight-reading. Purpose The purpose of the project is to review what research has been done on sight-reading at the piano for beginner and intermediate level students and to create a curriculum to help the students better their sight-reading skills with regards to melodic reading and rhythmic reading. Rather than just giving students things to sight-read and monitoring progress, the project reveals what skills the students need to work on within the larger scheme of sight- SIGHT-READING CURRICULUM FOR GROUP PIANO CLASS 5 reading. A series of lessons were created to help students practice the skills that they need to improve to become better sight-readers. A certain amount of research has been done to determine what skills students need to become effective sight-readers. This includes rhythmic and melodic reading. The project will include objectives, goals and assessments. Guiding Questions 1. What are the components of effective sight-reading skills (the ability to look ahead in the music, reading rhythms, understanding keyboard geography)? 2. What are the most appropriate teaching strategies and activities to include in an effective sight-reading curriculum for group piano class? Component Skills of Sight-Reading There are several components of effective sight-reading. The curriculum is designed to incorporate these components that include having the ability to look ahead in the music, the ability to recognize common pitch patterns (major chords, scales and arpeggios), the ability to recognize common rhythm patterns, the ability to predict what is coming next in the music and understanding keyboard geography. Researchers have their own ideas on what skills are the most important for sight-readers to obtain. This curriculum incorporates several of their ideas. Pike (2012) is a firm believer in the idea of “chunking”, which is the idea of taking several small ideas and organizing them in such a way that is easier to remember one large idea verses several small ones. Being able to recognize that a group of four notes organized as a broken pattern that creates a major triad is chunking. This repetition of music (intervals or rhythmic), will give the students a repeated pattern they can recognize. Soon, the students will be able to see Alberti bass in a section of music and will be able to recognize it as a whole instead of reading all of the notes individually. Kostka (2000) determined the amount of hesitation that students demonstrated SIGHT-READING CURRICULUM FOR GROUP PIANO CLASS 6 while looking at music for the first time. She suggests that the students’ ability to recognize notes and intervals at a rapid pace will improve students sight-reading ability. Betts (2000) has done research that supports Kosta. He finds that the ability to harmonize increases one’s ability to sight-read. If the student is able to quickly recognize groups of notes, they will then be able to recognize chords and chord structure. The hierarchy of key signatures also plays a role in the students sight-reading skills. Alexander (2012) finds that the more sharps and flats that are in a piece, the more difficult it will be for the students to sight-read effectively. In my curriculum, I have incorporated a variety of keys with up to two flats and sharps. This way the student gets exposure to a few closely related keys. The ability to predict rhythms is important. Hayward (2009) talks about the prediction of rhythms. If a student looks at the first few measures of music and understands the rhythms, they should be aware that those same rhythms may appear in the rest of the piece. A lot of repetition occurs in music and the students should be able to be aware of repeating measures that may occur. Activities and Strategies to Assist in Effective Sight-Reading Skills Several researchers have looked at the different ways to teach sight-reading to students. It is much more than simply giving a student a book and having them sight-read. Olivieri (2014) suggests that this is one way to approach sight-reading but other researchers suggest differently. Swope (2011) lists a few suggestions to assist in teaching sight-reading.