With exams over these last couple of lessons can be a good time to try out some other approaches to learning and just have a good time making music. Here are some activities to spark your imagination and make it through to Christmas!
- Duets. What is there not to love about playing duets! It's great for sight-reading, ensemble skills, intonation, listening, style...
- Christmas Carols. Even though many Christmas Carols are not as well know as they used to be, young students still seem to love playing them - especially as duets!
- Playing lots of easy music. Learning repertoire quickly and accurately is a really useful skill to develop. By playing pieces that are not technically demanding the student has an opportunity to listen to themselves and really enjoy making music.
- Start on a new venture - learning a new skill like vibrato or double-tonguing can take several attempts and might need a long period of gestation. This time of year could be a good time to explore something new.
- Improvising. Many of us can be a bit scared of the prospect of playing music without and dots on the page to guide us but improvising can actually be quite easy and lots of fun. Start with something simple like a pentatonic scale (G, Bb, C, D, F) and alternate one bar per player. Of even more simply choose 2 notes and see what you can do with them. It should be like a little conversation between the 2 players.
- Busking is a great way to get students playing more. Armed with a flute, music stand, pegs and a collection of pieces along with a hat, once those coins start coming in most kids are hooked!
- Christmas Gift Idea. Students could make a recording of themselves playing as a gift for their family!