Ramey Piano Studio

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 by Marin Ramey | Composing

It is so exciting to have out first studio-wide composing focus this month! Students were assigned a buddy and we worked together to create a motive based on the buddy's name. Depending on the level of the student, they used the middle C 5-finger scale, the treble C 5-finger scale, or the G 5-finger scale. I mailed all of the motives to the buddies. Students brought their letter to their lesson so they could work with me on composing their songs (if your child forgot to bring it, please help them locate the letter and put it into their piano binder for their next lesson!)

Students have written songs about family members, dogs, soccer, and other games. They can use any idea for their song! I helped them write the motive 4 times and we came up with 4 more measures together. Some students are adding left hand notes and/or chords depending on their level. Writing music on the staff takes another level of knowledge and attention to detail. It's been very valuable to see students demonstrate a knowledge of rhythm through spacing their notes in a measure. They also need to know which side of the note the stem goes on, how long the stems are, and some students will be adding articulation (staccato and legato) and dynamics (softs and louds).

Monday, February 3, 2020 by Marin Ramey | Composers

February's composer is Frederic Chopin (pronounced show-pan). Read all about him and listen to some of his music here. He wrote some very beautiful piano music!