While many parents of piano students brag about their children’s ability to play complex pieces, they sometimes overlook the difference between performance and genuine mastery. To see if the kids have mastered the challenging piano exam pieces, consider these pointers.
Requirements
Pay close attention to accuracy and apply the proper weight with your fingers. It’s crucial to instill the habit of marking fingerings and placing fingers correctly before playing, as this prevents mistakes and helps kids overcome challenges with rapid passages later on.
Rhythmic sense must be correct, we use metronome to regulate the rhythm, start with setting the tempo at slow speed and each ‘tak’ from metronome beats the smaller value of quaver or semiquaver, once the kids can play these small value notes evenly and accurately, we increase the speed to higher level.
Articulations: Marking out articulation such at staccato and legato lines on the score is important, finger touch weight must be adjusted according to articulations and dynamics markings. Commas and full stops help kids breathe between phrases and lift their hands by marking where each phrase ends.
Pedalling: There are different requirements of pedalling technique depends on which composer’s piano work the kids play, for Baroque composers like Bach and Clementi, half pedalling are used sparingly for those passages with repeated notes for legato smooth effects. Composers like Chopin and Mendelssohn often use “legato pedaling” to smoothly transition between harmonies. This involves depressing the pedal as the harmony changes, sustaining the new chord while eliminating the sound of the previous one.
These helpful tips can assist you in the early stages of learning a piece. We’ll continue our discussion about important tips for teaching kids expressive piano interpretation.
