Picture: Dr. Barry and pianist Chloe Li audition for the North Carolina Symphony Youth Concerto Audition
Lessons that inspire and grow intermediate students! Summerville, SC. Studio is available to Nexton and Cane Bay.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=carol+ann+barry+minstrels
Dr. Barry performs Claude Debussy’s Minstrels.
It’s important each fall season to consider what your intermediate student could accomplish this school year. Without the skills and technical elements essential for developing a more advanced technique, students tend to stay where they are–stuck in the middle. Set your student up for success with these three elements:
- Technical growth–have a solid plan for developing their technique. If they can play a one-octave scale, move up to two. Playing cadences in root position only? Add in the inversions. Never played an arpeggio in two octaves? It’s past time to learn. Can your student play a one-octave arpeggio? It’s time to learn two octaves, hands alone, then hands together. As the year progresses, it’s easy to drop these elements in favor of working on the repertoire, but a well-balanced lesson should include both the technical elements and the repertoire.
2. Repertoire that inspires! Consider adding one “stretch piece.” Just one piece one level higher than they are currently learning can gradually move them to that new plateau.
3. A year rich in performance events gives structure and purpose to learning. Recitals, musicales in the community centers, festivals and competitions, both live and online, can motivate students to accomplish specific goals in a timely manner.
Create a purposeful year from the very beginning! All the best for a musically fulfilling school year.
Dr. Carol Ann