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hello,

wondered if anyone could help with a little problem?

have just started teaching a few children and it's going really well and i really enjoy it. however one of my pupils is finding it hard to grasp quavers, i've tried to explain their rhythm in a few different ways but have now seemed to have hit a rut on ideas.

whats the best way to go with this?

thanks, vicky

Have you tried the good old "one-and-two-and-three-and" technique, writing 1+2+3+ over the top of the music?

oh yes! i have one and two'd and three'd a lot! hmm, tis a tricky one!

Although my day job is tuning pianos, I moonlight as a recorder teacher and I've found the best way of teaching quavers to little ones is by using two syllable words where each word equals a crotchet beat. So the third line of the nursery rhyme, Hot Cross Buns has eight quavers (four beats) " One-a, pen-ny, two-a, pen-ny". You can do a lot with words to match the rhythms you are trying to teach - "ca-ter, pil-lar" is a good word for four quavers. The more outrageous, the better, in my experience.

I'd use 'Learn-it-dim-wit' - which is why I don't teach!

Bet you'd use a ruler on the knuckles too although that's probably illegal these days

Nah...I'd just 'knock' the lid down...mind you, you can't even do that with the new Yamahas and Kawais - they've put some sort of braking mechanism on it so it can't slam shut. Most frustrating when you've been playing Scriabin and losing heavily. You just have to kick the piano instead ...

Ah, but with a ruler you could rap the rhythm on the knuckles then with any luck they would throb in the right tempo.

D'you know, it's so nice when you meet someone who shares your theories and ideas on teaching...!

hehehehe we are baaaad
Believe it or not I did managed to teach all my grandchildren the basics before four of the five decided it was all too hard.(or maybe they didn't like their teacher And I didn't use the ruler on their knuckles once....but I was often tempted when they hadn't practiced between lessons.
I purchased a toy drum and demonstrated the tempo of the different notes on that, they loved doing that, Now my two eldest went on to become accomplished drummers.
Hmmmmmmmm maybe that says a lot for my piano teaching techniques

Perhaps if you'd taught them the drums they might be accomplished pianists by now... !

Hello Vicky,
Have you tried leaving the piano and just clapping rhythms?

The hardest thing is learning to play triplets in one hand and quavers in the other

let us know how you get on

Seriously Vicky, try the toy drum...it does help and makes it fun for the little "angels"

I think the French have a system where they count 'ta-fe-te-fe' - but that's probably only a variant on '1 and 2 and'.
Would a metronome help? They'd only need to worry about counting the beats then, rather than keeping them even as well. Kids do like gizmos! They could clap the quavers against the metronome's crotchets - and you could have fun getting faster and faster and faster. And refer to things like soldiers marching and clocks ticking - I found that helped if I removed the concept of rhythm as something only encountered in music as an abstract idea. I dimly remember that I got them to clap the crotchets and I clapped the quavers to show them how the rhythms fitted together; the brain is so good at blotting out painful experiences!

Well it seems from your last post you did teach at one time Gill. Are there any survivors to tell the tale??

All in secure units away from the general public, all with a tendency to twitch and jump at loud noises...

Thank you for all your ideas , liking the metronome one especially! I think we're getting there now, bit of patience does the world of good. Slowly but surely as they say...

You deserve a medal - hang on in there!

ooh there's that M word again ...and no I don't mean medal If the M thing fails or intimidates the little darlings there is still the drum.

Or corporal punishment...