Helping young piano students to find the confidence to be creative on the keys can be a difficult task. Without years of experience under their belts, they can feel a little shy when it comes to freely exploring the piano. However, instilling this confidence and giving young, beginning students the tools to be creative has many positive benefits.
And this is why I like to spice things up with a little introductory improv.
Introductory improvisation helps your new piano students play beautiful music right away, develops their sense of rhythmic pulse, and teaches them to listen as they play… all very good things!
Paint Chip Improv For Early Elementary Students
Prepping for Paint Chip Improv is about as easy as it gets: head to your local hardware store and grab a few 4-color paint chip strips.
Why a paint chip?
First off, kids just love them.=! Ask a child to choose from a stack of paint chips and they’ll be immediately excited about picking a favorite color. Next, paint chip colors have wonderfully creative names. This is essential for paint chip improv for two reasons: 1) the creative names spark your students’ imaginations, and 2) the paint chip names provide the necessary rhythm to make this activity work.
How To Make Paint Chip Improv Magic Happen
1. Have your student choose a paint chip. Read the names of each of the four paint colors and determine their corresponding rhythms (by clapping… of course). For example, one of my paint chip colors is called “Tangerine Dream”. This becomes two eighths, a quarter and a half note. It’s easiest if you work within 4/4 time when deciding on the matching rhythm.
2. Write each rhythm you come up with directly in each of the four squares on the paint chip. Don’t worry if some of the rhythms have eighth notes (these can often be taught by rote if your students’ method book hasn’t yet introduced this rhythm).
3. Clap through each of the four rhythms with your student either saying the counting or saying the paint chip name. Then, practice playing each of the four rhythms on any group of three black keys.
Now it’s time for the Paint Chip Improv
1. Begin improvising in the left hand using the chords of Gb Major and a Db Major (I switch back and forth between the two chords in a progression that “works” with what I hear happening with the choices my student is making). Make it smooth and flowing and use the pedal. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy at all.
2. When your student is ready, she can play the first Paint Chip Rhythm on any group of three black keys while you improv the accompaniment. All that matters is that she nails the rhythm; which black keys she plays and in what order is irrelevant… it will sound “right”!
3. If your student is comfortable and catching on quickly, she can simply move through each of the four Paint Chip Rhythms (staying on the same group of three black keys). If not, she can repeat just one or two of the rhythms.
You’ll be surprised at the beautiful collaborations you come up with! Choose a new paint chip each time and keep them in a special place in your student’s piano binder where you can then grab one and jam away instantly!
If Your Kids Like Improv They’ll LOVE Composing
If you’re looking for a great step-by-step composing method that is fun and easy to teach (not to mention… hilarious) then you’re definitely going to want to check out our resource, The Curious Case of Muttzart and Ratmaninoff. These 12 composing lessons will give your students the tools to begin composing from day one!
Love this idea! So creative 🙂
You guys never cease to amaze me!! Keep up the excellent work! 🙂
What a wonderful idea, I love it…. off to find the paint chip strips
Improv makes me nervous, but I think I can do this. Thanks for the great idea!
I love this idea!! I can’t wait to try it. Maybe I’ll head to the paint store today….
Love your new ideas! Thanks. Off to the paint store.
Wonderful! as usual. Always love how you take everyday things and bring them into the piano studio. This one is great…who doesn’t love color. And you’re so right about the names of the colors being so creative. Can’t wait to use this one! Thanks.
Strangely, I did EXACTLY this with my 5 year old granddaughter last week. Exactly! How weird is that?? …and she was lost in a musical world of her own making for at least 15 minutes!
The improv bit, I mean …not the paint chip part. But I WILL be trying the paint chip idea, too.
Too funny Sandra! I thought you did mean the paint chips and I was wondering if we were somehow cosmically connected (or if I’d pocket-dialed you by accident one day while teaching 😉 ) Yes the “black note improv” is instantly enjoyable for kids… I love watching them explore sounds!
What a fun way to get them improvising!! Can’t wait to try this with my students!! Thank you so much!!
I wonder how many paint store employees are scratching their heads wondering why paint chips are suddenly so popular today. Heading for the store myself.
ha ha! I was thinking the same thing last night… we’re causing a world-wide shortage of paint chips… interior designers are going to be scrambling LOL 😉
I love this idea. So creative. Thank you!
Brilliant!!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hi Andrea & Trevor – I’ve taught for many years and I’m really grateful for your creative ideas. Got a question: What do your student binders look like – 3-ring? with a plastic pencil envelope to keep track of paint chips? with pockets for the week’s assignment sheet / misc? I don’t encourage binders and so my students have to deal with messy sheet music. What to do?
Hi Joan – yes, I use 3 ring binders with dividers and page protectors (paint chips can go inside the page protector). I go one step further and put the plastic page protector for paint chips behind their “composing” divider (they have the Muttzart and Ratmaninoff sheets in their binders behind this divider too). We blogged about binders as yes, it can be a problem! You can read it here https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2014/01/01/starting-off-fresh-begins-with-the-piano-binder/
This paint chip idea would work well also with the World Piece improv from Forrest Kinney’s Pattern Play. I always start the first lesson with a beginner with World Piece, but this gives the student a definite rhythm to work with. Sometimes they don’t know how to construct meaningful rhythmic patterns at the beginning. Thanks!!
I use “pattern Play” but this will be such a fun way to help the kids get into the rhythmic aspect. Why did I not think of this? (Lol). Seems so obvious now. Thanks.
Such a great idea! A great step to composing which brings me to ask…Are you planning a 2nd composition book? Love the first!
Hi Sheryl! Yes… we’ve already started working on a sequel to The Curious Case of Muttzart and Ratmaninoff. Hoping for a late fall release now that we’ve completed the first of the TEDDtales books 🙂
Wow! This is great. I love it and will try it with my kids. I am happy I was directed to this site.
Thanks for sharing! I am really grateful! 🙂
All the best!
Tried the first segment of TEDDtales on a student today… she was begging for the next one each time!! It was hard to stop!! These are great!!
To clarify, there are 4 different rhythms on each card?
Love to use black key improv. Even performed it at a recital with one of my beginners. The audience loved it. We even agreed on a sign that warned him that I am about to change the rhythm. It is absolutely amazing to see how quick some of them respond.
Do you actually mean the SAME rhythm In 4 corners of paint chip
Like tangerine dream 4 times
Thanks
Way cool. Thanks.
A photograph of a paint chip with the rhythm would clarify if for a few of us; one beat per section of paint chip? or ?
Hi Petra – yes, one rhythm per section of paint chip (most have 4-6 sections).
There were a couple of questions asking for clarification-(Linda & Bess)-I was looking for the answers —please clarify. Each paint chip has its own rhythm, corresponding to the name?
Hi Petra – yes, each paint chip “section” has it’s own rhythm corresponding to the name.