New Year, New Assignment Sheets!
From now on, you’ll see two new categories on our weekly assignment sheets: Replay and Remix.
Replay
Every week or so, students will choose a “Replay” piece to review. They may choose any piece they’ve played in the past—all lengths and difficulty levels are possibilities. For example, a student working from Book 3 in their method could choose a favorite piece from Book 1 and replay it, applying the skills and knowledge they have now that they didn’t have before. A HUGE thank you to fellow piano teacher Christina Whitlock for sharing her concept of a Replay Week, which inspired this new weekly assignment category—her podcast can be found here.
REMIX
Occasionally, students will have a “Remix” assignment that goes beyond review by playing the an in-progress or previously-mastered piece in a new, creative way. Possibilities include:
Transposing the piece to another key.
Playing a major-key piece in its relative minor key.
Playing all the articulations or dynamics oppositely from what is written.
Playing the piece in a different meter. A current student favorite is going all the way back to Charlie Chipmunk (the first piece in Piano Safari Book 1) and playing it in 3/4, 5/4, 6/8, and even 7/8 time.
Composing a new section of the piece, transforming it to ABA form. For example, the original piece could serve as the A sections, and the student would compose a short, contrasting B section.
Activities from the “Do it Again!” menu are also great for remixing pieces.
Reeeeeeemix! Source
Other Additions
Since Google Drive has become such a huge part of tracking assignments, student progress, and practice reminders, the last addition to the weekly assignment is a Google Drive column. It will contain a checkmark if an assignment has online resources to use at home. Simple as that! Here’s to a new year and a more streamlined way to track assignments!