From now on, you’ll see two new categories on our weekly assignment sheets: Replay and Remix.

Replay

Occasionally, 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 heartfelt 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

Students will also have an periodic “Remix” assignment that goes beyond review by playing 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.

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. A simple checkmark indicates when online resources are available to support practice at home.

Here’s to a new year and a more streamlined way to track assignments!