Twelve years ago Trevor and I went to San Francisco. I have no idea why we haven’t been back since because it was one of the coolest cities we have visited. We, of course, hit up all of the major attractions… Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard Street.
We also ran into some guy who hides behind a bush then screams “BOOOOO” at passerbys. He then follows up his little gag by saying, “Made you holler, now give me a dollar”… I digress… but you gotta love him!
Despite all of the awesome attractions, our favorite part was going to see STOMP.
While running a broom around my studio the other day, getting tidied up for another week of lessons, I was again reminded of STOMP. And it occurred to me that my piano students could have a blast sweeping my studio. Watch the video below to see what triggered this revelation and then keep reading for a printable that you can use to clean your studio too 🙂
How To Play Sweep The Studio
Sweep The Studio doesn’t need to get nearly as complicated as the video above. In fact, I’m going to give my piano students a broom and begin by just teaching them two simple motions from the video; a long sweeeeeeep to represent a half note and a short tap to represent a quarter note.
Then using the rhythm found on this printable, my piano students are going to start sweeping the studio. You may discover that simply drawing the rhythm from the printable on a whiteboard makes the teaching process easier and more visible… you’ll also be able to quickly experiment with new sweeping rhythms.
And that’s it! Your students will have a blast AND dust bunnies will be eradicated from your studio forever.
Let the Quirky Continue
Sweeping the studio to teach rhythm, an evil cat and a doofus dog to teach composing, a superhero to save the boys on your bench? What can I say… Trevor and I love quirky. So if you too want to add some excitement to your piano teaching day either The Curious Case of Muttzart and Ratmaninoff or The Adventures of Fearless Fortissimo will be a great place to start!
Barbara says
Stomp is amazing! Thanks for bringing them to mind again. This is a great video for students to see that rhythm can be fun (and how important it is.) I’m already having thoughts of expanding your idea…how about since it’s summer they can ‘sweep” the deck; get two students together (or use in a summer camp) and have one play the rhythm on piano while the other sweeps; add some other “Stomp Instruments” and have a couple students play those together. I’m thinking I can get a lot of mileage out of your idea…thanks for the inspiration!
Sandra says
Wouldn’t it be great fun to work out a group rhythm routine to present at a recital? …But it would have to be a venue where the floor could stand up to the beating! I’m going to seriously think about this for another year.
Love ‘Stomp’!! I’ve seen them twice and would go again if I had the chance.
Drema says
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing this idea~ The dishwasher and clapping one is great too. =) Now my mind is flowing with tons of ideas for when to use this in the upcoming days and year.
Actually, as I’m typing, I just realized that we can type rhythms out too. Thanks again for the inspiration!
Jennifer Foxx says
Love Stomp! It’s been awhile since I’ve had a “Stomp” lesson with my students. I need to do that again. So fun. I have never been able to see Stomp live. One of these days, one of these days… 😉
Susan Parrish says
I saw that same guy holding a bunch of branches in SF 20 years ago too! It was fun to watch the after people me react to him jumping up. I’ve had the
Hetty says
Great article — just moved into a studio with lino floors throughout — may need to invest in a few brooms! 🙂
Joanne says
As usual, another awesome idea! Thanks guys, I don’t know how I got along without your support. 🙂